Sundnv School Lesson
(Continued from Page 2)
of the Northern Kingdom. Sa
maria was its capital city; Jeru
salem was the capital city of
Judah.
Both Samaria and Jerusalem
were urban centers where the
social and economic vices of the
people would have been more
frequently practiced. These were
the great market centers; they
were also the places where many
of the poor people of the rural
areas came looking for some
sort of livelihood. For these
reasons Samaria and Jerusalem
were particularly singled out as
representative examples of the
religious and moral decay of
God's people.
In Micah 2:6-7 it appears that '
the people were trying to get the
prophet to stop preaching doom
and woe (such as we find in 1:
8-16). This reaction was prob
ably partly due to the fact that
the people did not want to be
reminded of the truth. But there
is also something deeper here, i
In the ancient Near East the i
people believed that spoken j
words could actually help bring '
to pass that which was spoken.
Hence the people did not want
the prophets to speak of disaster
for fear that by their speaking
the prophets might actually
bring disaster upon them.
Micah 3:11 is significant be
cause priest, prophet, and prince
alike were condemned for hav
ing led the people astray. They
were more severely criticized
because they had acted under
th< pietense of having the word
and protection of Yahweh.
In Micah 6:1-2 the hills, the
mountains, and the very founda
tion "pillars" of the earth itself
were called to act as jury in the
courtroom where Yahweh would
present his case against the
? apostate people Israel. In verses
1 3-5 Yahweh began to plead his
case, reminding the people of
his gracious acts toward them,
particularly of his delivering
them from Egypt in the Exodus.
In Micah 6:6-7 the questions
asked imply a No answer. The
conventional methods of wor
shiping a deity were not those
preferred by Yahweh. The offer
ing of multitudes of sacrificial
animals and enormous quantities
of oil, or even the rather cQm
mon practice of child sacrifice,
did not please Yahweh. What
pleased him was the expression
1 of love for one's fellow men.
WHAT THE SCRIPTURE
SAYS TO US
As society becomes more and
more complex, the expression of
love to one's fellow man be
comes more and more difficult.
The question prises, then, How
can we put into practice in our
own highly complex, industrial,
urban, secular society the prin
ciples of action that Micah sug
gested in the magnificent pas
sage, 6:6-8?
It seems to me that we must
grow into a mood of concern
that will help us see and under
stand the needs in our day and
(Continued on Page 8}
? .\'v ;
Susan, 1 1, likes her bedroom
about 68?. She gets that
temperature with an individual
room control. Martha likes the
kitchen at about 70?, and she
gets it with an individual room
control.
Bobby, 1 , sleeps best at
about 75?; John, Sr., at 68?.
They both get it with individual
room controls. (The easy installa
tion and economical operation
make John, Sr. pretty happy, too.)
John, Jr., 9, likes the TV
room at about 70?, and he gets
that temperature with an
individual room control.
With flameless electric comfort heating, there's a thermostat in every room, so everyone in
the family gets his way. Because of many such exclusive advantages, electric comfort heating
and other electric heating systems are growing more popular every day. Today, electric
I heating is chosen for more new homes and apartments served by Duke Power than any other
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