He Who Has Ears To Hear…!

 


       Micah 5 & 6 

      Romans 1:18 - 32



Now muster 

your troops,

 O daughter of 

troops;
    siege is laid 

against us;
with a rod they 

strike the judge 

of Israel
    on the cheek.

18 For the wrath 

of God 

is revealed from 

heaven against 

all ungodliness 

and 

unrighteousness

 of men, who by 

their 

unrighteousness 

suppress the 

truth. 

19 For what can 

be known about 

God is plain 

to them, because 

God has shown 

it to them. 

20 For his invisible 

attributes, namely,

 his eternal power 

and divine nature, 

have been clearly 

perceived, ever 

since 

the creation of 

the world, in 

the things that 

have been made. 

So they are 

without excuse. 

21 For although 

they knew God, 

they did not honor

 him 

as God or give 

thanks 

to him, 

but they became 

futile in their 

thinking,

 and their foolish 

hearts were 

darkened.

 22 Claiming to be wise,

 they became fools, 

23 and exchanged the 

glory of the immortal 

God for images 

resembling mortal man 

and birds and 

animals 

and creeping 

 things.

2 


But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    who are too 

little to be 

among the clans 

of Judah,
from you shall 

come forth for me
    one who is to 

be ruler in Israel,
whose coming 

forth is from of old,
    from ancient days.

24 Therefore God gave 

them up in the 

lusts of 

their hearts to impurity, 

to the dishonoring 

of 

their bodies 

among themselves, 25 because 

they exchanged the 

truth about God 

for

 a lie and a

worshiped 

and served the 

creature rather 

than the Creator, who is 

blessed forever! 

Amen.

3 


Therefore he shall

 give them up until

 the time
    when she who

 is in labor has 

given birth;
then the rest 

of his brothers 

shall return
    to the people 

of Israel.

26 For this reason

 God gave them up 

to dishonorable

 passions. For their

 women exchanged 

natural relations for

 those that are 

contrary to nature;

 27 and the men 

likewise 

gave up natural 

relations with women 

and were consumed 

with passion for 

one 

another, men committing 

shameless acts with 

men and receiving 

in themselves 

the due 

penalty for 

their error.

4 

28 And since 

they did 

not see fit 

to 

acknowledge God, 

God gave them 

up 

to a debased

 mind 

to do what 

ought 

not to be done. 

29 They were filled 

with all manner

 of unrighteousness, 

evil, covetousness, 

malice. They 

are full 

of envy, murder, 

strife, 

deceit, 

maliciousness.

They are gossips,

30

slanderers, haters 

of 

God, insolent, haughty, 

boastful,

 inventors of 

evil, disobedient 

to 

parents, 31 foolish, 

faithless, heartless, 

ruthless. 

32 Though 

they know God's 

righteous decree 

that 

those who practice such things 

deserve 

to die, they not 

only do 

them but give approval to those who practice them.

And he shall 

stand and 

shepherd his flock 

in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty 

of the name of 

the Lord his 

God.
And they shall 

dwell secure, for 

now he shall 

be great
    to the ends 

of the earth.


5 


And he shall 

be their peace.


When the Assyrian comes into our 

land
    and treads in our palaces,
then we will 

raise against him 

seven shepherds
    and eight princes 

of men;


6 


they shall shepherd

 the land of 

Assyria with the 

sword,
    and the land 

of Nimrod at its entrances;
and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian
    when he comes into our land
    and treads within our border.


A Remnant Shall 

Be Delivered


7 


Then the remnant 

of Jacob shall be
    in the midst of 

many peoples
like dew from 

the Lord,
    like showers on 

the grass,
which delay not 

for a man
    nor wait for the children of man.


8 


And the remnant 

of Jacob shall be 

among the nations,
    in the midst of 

many peoples,
like a lion among 

the beasts of 

the forest,
    like a young lion 

among the flocks 

of sheep,
which, when it 

goes through, treads down
    and tears in 

pieces, and there 

is none to deliver.


9 


Your hand shall 

be lifted up over 

your adversaries,
    and all your 

enemies shall be 

cut off.


10 


And in that day, 

declares the Lord,
    I will cut off 

your horses from 

among you

    and will destroy 

your chariots;


11 


and I will cut 

off the cities of 

your land
    and throw down 

all your strongholds;


12 


and I will cut 

off 

sorceries from 

your hand,
    and you shall 

have no more 

tellers of fortunes;


13 


and I will cut 

off your carved 

images
    and your pillars 

from among you,
and you shall 

bow down no 

more
    to the work 

of your hands;


14 


and I will root 

out your Asherah 

images from 

among you
    and destroy 

your cities.


15 


And in anger 

and wrath I will 

execute vengeance
    on the nations 

that did not 

obey.




6 


Hear what the 

Lord says:
Arise, plead your 

case before the mountains,
    and let the 

hills hear your 

voice.


2 


Hear, you mountains, 

the indictment 

of the Lord,

    and you enduring foundations of 

the earth,
for the Lord 

has an indictment against his people,
    and he will 

contend with

 Israel.


3 


“O my people, 

what have I done 

to you?
    How have I wearied you? Answer me!


4 


For I brought you 

up from the land 

of Egypt
    and redeemed 

you from the 

house of slavery,
and I sent 

before you Moses,
    Aaron, 

and Miriam.


5 


O my people, 

remember what 

Balak king of 

Moab devised,
    and what Balaam 

the son of Beor 

answered him,
and what happened

 from Shittim to a

Gilgal,
    that you may 

know the righteous

 acts of 

the Lord.”


What Does the Lord Require?


6 


“With what shall 

I come before 

the Lord,
    and bow myself 

before God 

on high?
Shall I come 

before him 

with burnt 

offerings,
    with calves 

a year old?


7 


Will the Lord 

be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten 

thousands of 

rivers of oil?
Shall I give 

my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of 

my body for the 

sin of my soul?”


8 


He has told you, 

O man, 

what is good;
    and what does 

the Lord require 

of you
but to do justice,

 and to love 

kindness,
    and to walk 

humbly with

 your God?


Destruction of the Wicked


9 


The voice of 

the Lord cries 

to the city—
    and it is 

sound wisdom 

to fear your

 name:
“Hear of the

 rod 

and of him 

who appointed

 it!


10 


    Can I forget 

any longer the treasures of wickedness 

in the house of the wicked,
    and the scant measure that is accursed?


11 


Shall I acquit 

the man with 

wicked scales
    and with a 

bag of deceitful weights?


12 


Your rich men 

are full of 

violence;
    your inhabitants speak lies,
    and their tongue

 is deceitful in 

their mouth.


13 


Therefore I 

strike you 

with a 

grievous blow,
    making you 

desolate because 

of your sins.


14 


You shall eat, 

but not be satisfied,
    and there 

shall be hunger 

within you;

you shall put 

away, but not preserve,
    and what you preserve I will 

give to 

the sword.


15 


You shall sow, 

but not reap;
    you shall 

tread olives, 

but not anoint yourselves with oil;
    you shall tread grapes, 

but not drink 

wine.


16 


For you have

 kept the statutes of Omri,
    and all the 

works of the 

house of Ahab;
    and you have 

walked in their counsels,
that I may 

make

 you a desolation, and your inhabitants a hissing;
    so you shall 

bear the scorn 

of my people.”


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