Micah 7:18 - 20
ESV - 18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. 19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
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God is and will always be. God will never leave Himself without a witness. Though His anger is pure and justified, He is loving and full of grace. In the exodus, with all the trials, a remnant was left that entered the promise. In Elijah's time 7000 refused Baal. (1 Kings 9:18) Isaiah 1:9, a small remnant was left instead of total destruction like Sodom and Gomorrah. Romans 9:29 Think of these Bible personalities, Daniel, Shadrach, Abednigo. How about Esther and Mordecai. John the Baptist... During the church age, the believing Jews composed God's witnesses. When the church goes home, still God will have His name declared. Revelation 7:3-8 Psalms express the joy and the sorrows that the tribulation saints will sing. God is and will always be.
God's attitude to sin is that He knows all sin, grieves over sin, and hates sin. Sin provokes God's anger, but GOD IS ALSO MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS (Exodus 34:6-7 See also Nehemiah 9:17,31; Psalm 78:38; Psalm 103:8-14; Lamentations 3:22-23; MICAH 7:18-19; Romans 11:32). God's patience with sinners 2 Peter 3:9 See also Romans 2:4; Romans 9:22; 1 Timothy 1:16 His forgiveness is brought out in such passages as Micah 7:18-19; 1 Timothy 1:15-16; 1 John 1:9 Propitiation is the satisfaction of the righteous demands of God in relation to human sin and its punishment through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ upon the cross, by which the penalty of sin is cancelled and the anger of God averted. [The NIV is distinctive at this point, in that it generally translates this term by “atonement” and related words.]. The need for propitiation: God's anger against sin Psalm 7:11; Romans 2:5 The provision of propitiation: Jesus Christ the atoning sacrifice-- The promise in the OT Isaiah 53:5-6 See also Isaiah 53:10-12 The fulfilment in the NT Romans 3:21-26 The motivation for propitiation: God's love 1 John 4:10 See also Psalm 103:8-12; Micah 7:18-19; Romans 5:6-8; 2 Corinthians 5:19 Assurance of forgiveness Assurance is the God-given security that believers have in the blessings of divine grace. Believers are assured of the unfailing love of God and of their relationship with him as Father, the salvation and eternal life which he offers, and the sure hope of one day sharing his glory. 1 John 1:9 See also Micah 7:18-19 DBT NET Bible You will once again have mercy on us; you will conquer our evil deeds; you will hurl our sins into the depths of the sea. The sea is a metaphor used to show that the Lord disposes of Israel’s sins by throwing them into the waters of the sea (here symbolic of chaos). The late Dr. Warren Wiersbe says that the "Sea" symbolizes "Forgiveness" here in Micah 7:19, and that "Hurl" symbolizes "Salvation/Forgiven." (in his book, Index of Biblical Images: Similes, Metaphors, and Symbols in Scripture.). The Sea Although space exploration has received much publicity, there is another world, equally intriguing, the exploration of which has not received so much attention. Although much closer to us, the world of the sea still contains many mysteries. One remarkable conquest took place early Saturday morning, January 23, 1960. History was made that day as a two-man crew descended to the deepest known point on the Earth’s surface. The Challenger Deep, 35,800 feet below the surface, had been conquered. Were the highest mountain to be dropped into this trench it would still be covered by over one mile of water. -T.P.F. Dr. Bruce K. Waltke, a professor I had at Dallas Seminary for Hebrew, says “Micah's name means, ‘Who is like Yah,’ and in this concluding prophecy he asks, ‘Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance?’ (v. 18). As at the beginning of Israel's history, the Lord hurled Pharaoh into the sea, now at the end of their history, he will hurl all their sins into the sea (Mc 7:19). Although Israel has been unfaithful, the Lord will remain faithful to his covenant promises to Abraham and the fathers (Mc 7:20); he cannot deny himself (2 Tim 2:13).” What though your numerous sins exceed The stars that fill the skies, And aiming at th’eternal throne, Like pointed mountains rise: What though your mighty guilt beyond The wide creation swell, And has its cursed foundations laid Low as the deeps of hell: See here an endless ocean flows Of never-failing grace; Behold a dying Savior’s veins The sacred flood increase. It rises high, and drowns the hills, Has neither shore nor bound: Now, if we search to find our sins, Our sins can ne’er be found. --Isaac Watts
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