Micah 2:8–9

“live this day compassionate of heart, clear in word, gracious in awareness, courageous in thought, generous in love?” Even if it may be uncomfortable. John O’Donohue

At some point we have to decide how conscious we want to be, how much truth we can take.  Because there will be a price to pay living this open or truthful or alive.  Speaking personally, I don't know if I'm willing... to be that open or vulnerable or exposed.

Taking the curtain down is not about impressing anyone.  And yes, it is bigger than that.  It is about choosing what our heart calls us toward.  I cannot tell you what will happen.  But I can tell you that if we choose to follow our heart--to let more of life in--we will create the space to remember that love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learn. Sabbath Moments.

A pandemic-related eviction ban expired over the weekend, and it could lead to a widespread displacement of renters.

As a professed Christian nation we are to take care of the poor, the oppressed and the foreigner, citizens most  affected by the Covid epidemic. 

Has money become our yardstick on how we love our neighbor?

Micah 2:8–9

8 “Lately My people have risen up as an enemy—

You pull off the robe with the garment

From those who trust you, as they pass by,

Like men returned from war.

9 The women of My people you cast out

From their pleasant houses;

From their children

You have taken away My glory forever.

Instead of walking uprightly, the nation had become violent and oppressive in their actions toward each other. The Israelites were treating each other not as brothers, but as foreign enemies.

The people believed themselves to be safe as they journeyed through the land of Israel. However, the evildoers brutally attacked these unsuspecting travelers and robbed them of their clothing.

The treachery of the evildoers even extended to the abuse of women. The children of these defenseless women would have been deeply impacted by the loss of their inheritance. They may have been forced to sell themselves as slaves in a foreign land. Faithlife Bible.

With skillfully written wordplays on the names of Judah’s cities, Micah prophesied of the coming destruction of Judah. He turned around the meaning of a number of town names as a way of describing the world being turned upside down. Shaphir, meaning “Beautiful,” would be shamed; and Jerusalem, a name suggesting “Peace,” would be disrupted. Lachish, a name sounding like the Hebrew word for swift steeds, would flee on its horses. All this agitation was caused by God’s judgment on Judah for worshiping other gods on the high places. In fact, idolatry was so rampant that Micah describes Jerusalem and Samaria, the capital cities of Judah and Israel, as high places themselves. NKJ Bible.

Sinners cannot expect to rest in a land they have polluted. You shall not only be obliged to depart out of this land, but it shall destroy you. Apply this to our state in this present world. There is corruption in the world through lust, and we should keep at a distance from it. Matthew Henry Commentary.

Psalm 120:6 My soul has dwelt too long with one who hates peace.

Psalm 120:7 I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.

Jeremiah 10:20 My tent is plundered, and all my cords are broken; my children have gone from me, and they are no more. There is no one to pitch my tent anymore, or set up my curtains.

Ezekiel 39:21 “I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.