Passage: Micah Series: Mid-Week Discussion Title: Prophecy Overview I. Why, What & How? A. Why? 1. We need to move from just facing forward all the time (toward a pulpit/ preacher) to facing one another. a) Sitting like this is good and important, but it is only a piece of the pie for growth. Iron sharpening iron is essential for growth to maturity. 2. O.T. Minor Prophets a) Since November of 2008 we ve been working our way through the New Testament with acts as our outline. b) The last time we were in the O.T. as a church was on Wednesday nights back in 2011 as we were going through the book of Isaiah. c) So I ve wanted to do something in the O.T. and especially the Minor Prophets for some time now. B. What? 1. Over the next 9 weeks (including tonight) we re going to tackle the Book of Micah. C. How? 1. But this is going to work a little differently than we might normally do it. a) Because we need to move from facing forward to facing one another, I m only going to share each week for about 15 minutes. b) Of course, we did this at the beginning of the year when we did a 9 week series on the Nature of God and then 9 weeks on the Fruit of the Spirit. c) But this is going to be even a little bit more different than that. 2. How is this different? a) We re doing a book study (1) Our last to 9 week rotations were great, but they were topically focused. (2) They were theological and doctrinal, but they were topical b) We re giving you homework (1) The homework isn t going to be crazy actually it s as crazy as you want to make it. Some people will spend 30 minutes on this a week some will spend 2+ hours. Some of you may just show up on Wednesday night, having put in no time. (a) But you ll get out of this what you put in. (b) The ball is in your court! c) We re expecting you to come (at least somewhat) prepared to discuss the text. 3. Inductive Bible Study a) Some of you have taken classes in School of Ministry before called Inductive Bible Study. In that class we train you to do three things when studying the Bible: Observation, Interpretation and Application. (1) It s a simple scientific method. 20150920_570101 1 of 5
(a) The weather man observes a storm in the pacific, observes where the high pressure and low pressure systems are, observes what the jet-stream winds are doing and interprets that we re going to have rain tomorrow. The application: bring an umbrella or jacket and leave a little early, cause they re may be traffic. (2) This is exactly what we re going to do with the Book of Micah. (a) Your homework throughout the week will be to read through the chapter that we re going to study (chapter 1 this week, for next weeks discussion). (b) i) It s probably best to read the chapter 2 or 3 times. ii) It might even be helpful to read the chapter in different versions of the Bible (NKJV, NLT, NIV, ESV, NASB, HCSB, etc ) iii) Then you will read through the chapter and answer some standard observation questions (which we re going to give you). (1) Observation asks the simple question, What does the passage say? Here we want to know basic things (who, what, when, where?) (a) What is the historical & cultural context? (b) Who is speaking? (c) Who is being spoken to? (d) How is God revealed? (e) What does the passage reveal about the person/ people spoken of in the chapter? (f) Is there a key theme or topic? (g) Are there any reoccurring/important words used in the chapter? (h) Is there a truth to believe or a command to obey? iv) In addition we want you to ask the 5th question Why? (1) This is the act of interpretation. Here we ask the question What does the passage mean? (a) Why does God command this or that? (b) Why is God going to judge or bless? In your discussion groups we ll focus on application. i) When we come together on Wednesday nights, I ll share for about 15 minutes some words of summary on the chapter, then we ll split up into our Men s Women s and Youth Ministry groups and answer specific application questions, which we ll give to you each week. (1) This is why it will be helpful for you to do some homework and come prepared. It will give you much better chance to answer the application questions intelligibly. 20150920_570101 2 of 5
II. 4. Summary a) Tonight we ll give you some observation and interpretation question which you ll use each week, for each chapter (they ll be the same questions each week). b) When we gather together each week we ll give a summary of what we ve just studied in our homework and then we ll split up to discuss application of the text with application questions that we ll give you each week. c) Then we ll close each night in prayer. Micah A. Biblical Placement 1. Biblical Break-Down a) Pentateuch b) History c) Poetry d) Prophecy (1) Major/Minor 2. Minor Prophets a) Minor just because they re smaller not because they re the minor leaguers B. Historical setting Larger Context 1. Creation (Genesis 1 & 2) Fall (Genesis 3) Call (Genesis 12) Redeem (Exodus) Assemble (Exodus, Numbers) Commission (Leviticus, Deuteronomy), Establish (History, Joshua Esther) C. Person, Place & Time 1. Micah 1:1 ~ The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. a) All the details are given in the first verse (1) The word of the LORD (a) This is a prophetic utterance from God. (2) Came to Micah (a) That came to Micah (b) Who was Micah? (3) Of Moresheth (a) A man of the town/city of Moresheth (4) In the days of Jotham, Ahaz & Hezekiah (a) When did Micah live/prophesy? i) During the time of Kings Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. (1) 7th & 8th Centuries BC roughly 751 BC to 680 BC (2) Historically found in 2 Kings 15-21 & 2 Chronicles 26-33 (3) During the time of Isaiah, Amos & Hosea (b) Who were they? i) Kings of Judah (c) What is Judah? 20150920_570101 3 of 5
i) Part of the ancient Kingdom of Israel ii) The Southern Kingdom, comprised of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. (d) Why was there a Southern and Northern Kingdom? i) The nation experienced a split following the Reign of King Solomon, when his son Rehoboam became king (1 Kings 12 & 2 Chronicles 10) (5) Concerning Samaria and Jerusalem (a) Who was Micah speaking to? i) This is important! If you re going to interpret the Book of Micah correctly, you should begin with the contextual focus of the book, which was to the people of Israel (Samaria and Jerusalem) in the time in which He lived. (1) Prophetic Interpretation 6 lenses (a) Historical (Historicist) what was the interpretation in he near history in which it was spoken/written (b) Preterist what was the interpretation as it related to the 1st century/early Christian History (c) Christological (Messianic) what is the interoperation/fulfillment as it relates to Jesus Christ. (d) Idealogical (Idealist) what does it teach from an ideological/allegorical point of view (e) Ecclesiological is there a fulfillment or focus for the Church? (f) Eschatological (Futurist) is there an end times focus? ii) There s also different kinds of prophecy (1) Didactic: Didactic prophecy is that which reveals something of the character of God or His will and is largely intended to teach, and typically it is teaching or giving some moral instruction. It comes from the Greek word didaktikos, which means Able to teach (1 Timothy 3:2, 2 Timothy 2:24). (2) Predictive: Predictive prophecy doesn t need much of a definition. It s what we generally think of when we hear the word prophecy. But there are basically two kinds of predictive prophecy too. There is the typical apocalyptic prediction of future events, but then there is what I call Cause and effect prediction. It is God saying, If you do this, then this is what will happen. It s the classic blessings and cursings of Deuteronomy 28. This is where conditional if/then statements come in to play. iii) It s not that Micah doesn t speak prophetically about the Messiah, he does. It s not that Micah does t give prophetic words for the church, or end times he does. But when 20150920_570101 4 of 5
III. Pastor Miles DeBenedictis interpreting Prophecy, you should always begin with the historical, contextual fulfillment and move from there. D. Overarching Theme 1. Micah 6:8 ~ He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? a) Micah is burdened by the abusive treatment of the defenseless (poor) and rebukes anyone who would use their status or position (political) for excessive power or personal gain. Helpful Hints A. Blue Letter Bible (blb.org) B. Words to watch for 1. Therefore, for, because 2. Woe = Judgment is certain or coming 3. Watch for conditional if/then statements 4. Keep track of the I will s of the text a) God makes I will statements throughout the book C. Places to keep track of 1. Judah / Jerusalem (Judah is the region or kingdom of Israel in the South, Jerusalem is the Capitol) 2. Israel / Samaria (Israel is the northern kingdom and Samaria it s capital) D. Don t be discouraged 1. Prophecy is difficult to interpret! Even for well seasoned Bible teachers/ students. a) Prophecy is filled with poetic metaphor and simile. It is filled with places that you won t know (remember, you have a map in the back of your Bible), people you ve never heard of and ancient Jewish idioms that modern Gentiles like us have no idea about. 20150920_570101 5 of 5