The Scriptures in time and space - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Micah 1:1,

"The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem."

Some folks, who could stand to be better versed in the material contained in their Bibles, fail to acknowledge the authenticating information contained in it. As Micah writes his prophetic utterances, he does so, not as if this material was fished out of thin air, not as if this material had no mooring in time and space, not as if this material spoke of heavenly things without reference to earthly things we can see, touch, know and smell. No, Micah writes the message God gave him in the context of time and space.

Micah begins his prophetic message by anchoring it to the time frame he lived in. The "word of the Lord" came to a real man named "Micah of Moresheth" during the reign of three kings of Judah: Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. We know of these kings. We know when they reigned in Judah and we know of some of their activities. It was during this time-frame God spoke to Micah.

Micah ties his message to the geographic world we know existed in his day. We know where Samaria and Judah existed in his day, where Jerusalem was. We also know of the extent of the land holdings the Assyrians amassed during this time frame. Micah makes mention of various places of his day, such as: Gath, Beth Ophrah, Shaphir, Zaanan, Beth Ezel, Maroth, Akzib, Lachish and others.

Beyond the who, when and where of Micah's message, he spoke of the "what" of his message, to the religious and social evils of the day. The idol worship, the "high places", as well as the decline of the moral fabric of the day, of those who "plan iniquity", the rampant theft of property, the fraud and pillaging of estates are all documented by Micah. These, of course, frame the proof of God's indictment of his people for abandoning him.

Our Bibles are not filled with fanciful tales that have no bearing in or context of reality. On the contrary, much of the material in our Bibles are couched within the context of real space, real time, real events. Space, time and events that are clearly documented and much of which has been authenticated (not as though it needed it) by the external sources of historians of the day as well as modern day archaeology.

Folks who attempt to dismiss the Scriptures as simply the writings of men who sought to fool others have great need to get themselves better informed. Simply put, the Scriptures are "the real deal!"

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com