KEY VERSE:
“For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?” (Micah 1:5).
MESSAGE
One of the ways we learn in life is from people’s actions. Many of our skills and behaviours are as a result of imitation. We learn both positive and negative things. A well-known expression goes, “One person’s misfortune is another person’s warning”. We can profit by observing the mistakes of others and avoiding the same. One reason for punishing an offence is not only to correct the erring one but that others will learn from it so it can serve as a deterrent to them.
In the passage, the prophet wanted Judah to learn from Samaria’s mistake. The capital of the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians. Samaria’s departure from the Lord evidently caused the fall. Micah saw that Judah was moving in the same direction as Samaria and here, he called their attention to Israel’s mistake in the hope that they would learn.
Believers are to learn from the mistakes of past generations and other people. Instead of looking at them with an air of pride, we should tread with caution, knowing that the same fate can befall us if we are not careful. The Lord expects that the judgment that comes on others due to their sins and carelessness should serve as warning to us. Instead of heeding the warning and learning from the failings of others, some people still continue to rebel against God.
We must be reminded, as Micah did to the recalcitrant people of Judah, that God’s standard and demand for holy and righteous living do not change. If He had punished a set of people in the past for the same acts of sin and rebellion, He will do the same today. The only way to avoid suffering the same punishment with the sinful and disobedient is to learn from the judgment that came on them, take heed and avoid their evil examples.
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