In the Prophet Micah’s day, most of the people had placed their hope in the wrong things. They had rejected the warnings of God’s prophets, choosing to listen to false prophets instead. Those false prophets merely told them what they wanted to hear and failed to call them to repentance for their sinful behavior.
That kind of deception is one of the devil’s oldest tricks. It started with his deception of Eve in the Garden. But deception leads only to despair when people realize their hope was placed in the wrong thing.
Today many are deceived into believing lies about human sexuality, God’s character, how He works through our trials, the reality of God’s discipline and judgment, and many other false belief systems. Each of us needs to be sure those things in which we place our hope are firmly grounded in God’s truth.
And in our New Testament reading …
In Revelation 9 the fifth and sixth trumpets sound! The fifth releases swarming locust-like demons with tails like scorpions. They will attack those who do not have the seal of God. Their stings will leave people begging to die, but not even able to commit suicide. And the sixth is even worse.
Welcome to “God’s Word Day by Day.” Why not make the coming year the best ever when it comes to your understanding and enjoyment of Scripture by signing up for these daily devotionals? And if you’re already signed up, no need to sign up again. Enjoy today’s post!
Today’s Readings:
Micah 1-3
Psalm 144.9-15
Proverbs 30.10
Revelation 9.1-21
When Your Hope is in a Lie
Micah 1-3:
Losing Hope
Like many in our culture today, the people in Micah’s time rejected God’s truth (Micah 2.6). They dismissed the prophets as “prattlers” or babblers. But God said the real “babblers” were the false prophets who told people what they wanted to hear (Micah 2.11). Furthermore, God warned them of a time when their false prophets would be exposed for the fakes they were and discredited, leaving the people with no hope, because they had put their hope in lies (verses 6-7):
6 “Therefore you shall have night without vision,
And you shall have darkness without divination;
The sun shall go down on the prophets,
And the day shall be dark for them.
7 So the seers shall be ashamed,
And the diviners abashed;
Indeed they shall all cover their lips;
For there is no answer from God.”
Deception is one of Satan’s oldest tricks. Jesus called him the “father of lies” (Jn. 8.44). Just as he did in the garden where Eve put her hope in his lies, he often plants seeds of doubt by asking, in effect, “Did God really say …?”
Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’? (Gen. 3.1).
But sooner or later he simply calls God a liar:
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ (Gen. 3.4-5)
He’s Still a Liar
There is no end to the lies people place their hope in today. Lies such as:
“The Bible was written for people in another day and time. This is a different world so it has no application for our lives today.”
“The Bible was written by men who wanted to keep women in their place or control the behavior of others.”
“The Bible doesn’t condemn homosexuality. It’s fine within a loving, committed relationship.”
“The Bible is just a book of nice stories.”
“There is no God. You can live any way you choose and not answer for it.”
But the truth is God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13.8). Though the Bible was penned by men, it was inspired by God (2 Tim. 3.16; 2 Pet. 1.20) and is the plumb line by which we are called to live our lives (2 Tim. 3.17; 2 Pet. 1.2-4; Rom. 1.18-23). And God will judge every lie, either now or when those who promote or embrace them stand before Him (2 Pet. 2.4-8).
More Subtle Lies
There are other more subtle lies that can cause even believers to become disillusioned or angry at God. Many have a misunderstanding of God’s character, a lack of understanding of how He works to grow us spiritually, or other forms of bad doctrine. If you’d like to read more about this subject, you might check out one of these posts:
“The Nasty Downside of Bad Doctrine”
“Legalism & the Prosperity Doctrine”
“What Is the ‘Whole Counsel of God’ & Why Is It So Important?”
Where is Your Hope?
So, where is your hope? Is it firmly fixed on truth? When we hope in God, it’s a hope that does not disappoint:
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Rom. 5.1-5).
Today’s Other Readings:
Psalm 144.9-15:
True Happiness
… Happy are the people whose God is the Lord! (v. 15).
It’s the same today and always will be.
Proverbs 30.10:
God’s Care for the Afflicted
Do not malign a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.
God looks out for His servants, especially the downtrodden and the afflicted, those who do not have the ability to defend themselves.
Revelation 9.1-21:
Opening the Bottomless Pit
Yesterday we covered the first four trumpets of God’s judgment. Chapter 8 ended with this:
¹³ And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, ‘Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!’
Then chapter 9 opens:
1 Then the fifth angel sounded. And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. 3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
Tails like Scorpions
This star is not a celestial body, but an angelic being, possibly Satan himself. He opens the bottomless pit, the place where a group of fallen angels have been kept locked up since before Noah’s time. Out of the pit come these locust-like creatures with tails like scorpions. These are not actually locusts, but demons. Instead of attacking vegetation, they will attack those who do not have the seal of God. The sting will be so painful that people will try to commit suicide, but will be unable to do so.
9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. 10 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
“Breastplates of iron” indicate that they will be indestructible or at least very difficult to kill. They will be allowed to create havoc and destruction for five months.
12 One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.
The Sixth Trumpet
13 Then the sixth angel sounded. And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’ 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. 19 For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.
These are demonic angels. They are released along with an army of demonic beings. They will kill a third of the world’s population. The horses breathe out fire, smoke, and brimstone—a sulfurous rock that melts and produces a suffocating gas. Even their tails are deadly weapons.
20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.
Unbelievers who survive will still refuse to repent and turn to God!
Tomorrow chapter 10 …
Coming Up:
In the next few days, we’ll talk about grace, the responsibility involved in being a true friend, contentment, the goal of life for every believer, the second death, and about God as the Righteous Judge. I hope you’ll join us.
Get Ready for the Coming Year with a Plan for Your Bible Reading
The holidays are just around the corner and the new year will be on us before we know it. What will you do to make Bible reading an ongoing habit in the coming year? I want to encourage you to set a goal to read through the Bible again or for the first time. If you join me here, I’ll take you through a plan that covers both the Old and New Testaments in about 15 minutes a day. Sign up here for my daily email. It can serve as a gentle reminder to stay on track and I believe you’ll benefit from the additional background and application comments that I share.
Start today so you can begin the habit and it will be a regular part of your day come January.
You can also follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Just click on the social media icons. But nothing replaces having the daily devotion pop up in your inbox each day. It, usually (once in a while life gets in the way), goes out at 6 a.m. MST.
Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
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