The Key West citizen., 1940-04-20
Sunday School Lesson

Micah wras b peasant living
about twenty miles west Of Jeru-
salem. He wrote in the last de-
cades of the eighth century BIC.
Like Amos and Hosea, he de-
nounced the hypocrisy and So
;cial evils of his day. + 81
We know very little of Micah's
life and surroundings Beyond
what we have in his book. Liv-
ing in a small town, named
Moreshethgath, Micah was af-
forded excellent advantages in
the making of a prophet: Direct
contact with nature; the quiet
ness and remoteness which made
possible deep study; the eppor-
tunity of viewing public affairs
from a distance and thus seeur=
ing a correct estimate and q full
Ter appreciation of the problems
of the downtrodden and op-
pressed.
While Micah was not prophet
In a professional sense, he was
confident that his call came di-
rect from God, for he declared,
Il am full Of power by the Spir-
it of Jehovah, and of judgment,
and of might, to declare Is unto
Jacob his transgression and to
Israel his SIM. III
His book seems to be a eollec-
ton ofhctes taken from his pub
lie prophecies. Micah probably
realized the. fact that the people,
SO deep in sin and indifferent to
his messages would not profit from
them, so he wrote down some of
the prophecies concerning the
Jews in the hope that he would
reach a wider circle of people at
that time and in the future.
The Book denounces Israel,
holds a promise to the faithful
remnant, predicts the captivities,
announces the birthplace of our
Lord. 1t condemns the oppres-
sors of the poor, the deceitful-
ness of the poor, the rulers who
were corrupt and venals the
judges who made justice a sham
and a shame, and such similar
evils.
DIR. H. C. Moore declares, mi
cabs. message for. his time, which
lis a mastery message for# the
tnen Of our time to be seven-fold:
L.. Right is. always right. 2. The
poor must have a chance.
I3. Prosperity is based on moral
ity. A. Confidence is wonE by
righteousness. s.. Rise after
every fall. 6. Life is an open
book before God, Z. The Golden
Age is .ahead''.i -
Is Even in his day, more than
two thousand years ago, Micah
saw visions Of the perfect day
when war should be no more,
when the peoples of the earth
would live in brotherly love and
the Lord would reign over the
new heaven and the new earth
forever and ever. Every genera
ton which has ever lived has
looked forward to a warless
world, but so far, every genera
ton has looked in vain. A re-
liable historian has declared that
there have been only 327 years of
peace during four thousand years
of recorded history. And yet
man always dreams of the day
when the peoples of the earth
can beat their swords into
plowshares, and their spears into
pruning hooks for nations will
no longer lift up a sword against
another ration, for they deS not
desire to learn of war any more.
How can such a day become
pessible how can peace become
enduringg When mem all 'meh
the teachings of Micah,
as outlined in the seven points
above and put into practice the
teachings of Christ as expound-
ed in the Sermont on the Mount.
especially with regards to the
Golden Rule. Selfishness, in
dividual and national, is the pri-
mary cause of misunderstand-
ings and wars. The desire to get
for ones self or ones country
that which rightly belongs to
another is the underlying mis-
ehief-maEer. When men and ma
tions reach the place where they
are willing to do unto others as
they would that others should
do unto them, then peace will
become possible in this old
world.