I've been pretty sparce on original material lately. I have been churning out papers for the end of the semester, and have about 30 pages worth to go before Tuesday, which wouldn't be so bad if one of them wasn't a Hebrew paper. Anyway, I thought if I were to post anything it would be from a paper.
I just finished a paper on Micah following a method that kept everything within a historical-grammatical-only method, which I distain (see here). Last time this happened with Job I went back through the book to see what it really meant by the criteria of Christ (John 5:39; Luke 24:44-45) rather than old German Liberal methods, and I found Christ has something to do with Job! Anyway, I threw this paragraph on the end of the paper on Micah as my conclusion just for fun and truth's sake:
Micah is not rightly read or understood until it leads to Christ. (DTS Doctrinal Statement Article 1) Christ is the climax of Micah’s restoration. The labor pains of judgment for sin give birth to Christ, in predicted Bethlehem. (Matt 2:1-6; Micah 5:2) Micah predicts a greater restoration of the Temple than Ezra records. (Ezra 3:12; Micah 4:1) Jesus points to Himself as that Temple, greater than the Temple built in the restoration. (Matthew 12:6) Micah’s greater ruler, who’s ways were from ancient days, is the eternal second Person of the Trinity. (Micah 5:2) Micah’s great shepherd is the Good Shepherd. (Micah 5:4; John 10) Christ is the firstborn, sacrificed where Israel’s would not do. (Micah 6:7) Some of the promises of Micah await fulfillment in full, such as the bringing of peace to all the earth (Micah 4:3). Whether these promises have been realized, begun to be realized or await another day, nothing could be more sure than that they all find their fulfillment and realization in Jesus the Messiah. (John 5:39; Luke 24:44-45) The ultimate resolution to the argument of Micah, then, is Christ.
2 comments:
I laughed at the line about German liberalism.
A beautiful ending, I'm loving the Christocentrism (if a papist is allowed to say so).
Great post!
"Some of the promises of Micah await fulfillment in full, such as the bringing of peace to all the earth (Micah 4:3)"
Only if you mix the sensus plenior and the literal (and there are laws against mixing):
4:1 Establishes Christ over all the places of worship, and all people flow into him.
4:2 The gentiles will say "Let's go to Christ. Jacob is mentioned because he is the usurping second son as Christ is the second Adam. We know God three ways; Instinctively (hearing), understanding (seeing), and living (walk). In the day of Christ, Micah says we are taught (seeing; no longer blind) and are walking (no longer lame). John the B. was told that Christ was fulfilling the prophecy of Micah when he was told "The blind see and the lame walk".
4:3 "This is the condemnation, that the light(life of Christ) came into the World" His perfect life in the face of the same temptations puts us to shame and condemns us. We have already been judged. Swords (the word) has been changed into an instrument of planting for a harvest. The spear represents the sins for which Christ was pierced. The piercing for destruction has been turned into piercing for discipleship.
4.4 Christ is the vine and we rest in his shade (grace). The fig tree represents the cross, and we rest in the finished work of the cross.
Post a Comment