Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.-Micah 7:18-20***In the Promised Land, throughout the years that King Jotham, and his son King Ahaz, and Ahaz's son King Hezekiah successively reigned in Jerusalem over Judah, the southern nation, and King Pekah and his murderer and successor King Hoshea reigned in Samaria over the northern nation of Israel, Micah the prophet was proclaiming the words of the Lord God to the Israelites. The divinely inspired words that the Lord God gave Micah to speak are similar to the words that the Lord God proclaimed about himself to Moses the prophet less than 700 years earlier. Forty years after the Lord God descended in the cloud and made the proclamations, Moses went upon Mount Nebo, and the Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses died and was divinely buried. Joshua, Moses' successor, was from the tribe of Ephraim, descended from Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Sarah (Sarai), Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob (Israel) and his 2nd wife Rachel, their firstborn son Joseph and his wife Asenath, and Joseph and Asenath's 2nd born son Ephraim, whom Jacob proclaimed to be his own son. Joshua led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham, and Isaac, and to Jacob, and their descendants. Over 400 years after 110-year-old Joshua died and was buried in his tribe's portion of the Promised Land, Rehoboam, the son born to King Solomon and Naamah, became the 4th king to reign over all of the Israelites in the Promised Land. After Rehoboam gave a specific answer, the Israelites split into 2 kingdoms, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of Solomon. Judah was the nation in the south, Jerusalem was the royal city and Rehoboam was the 1st king to reign. Israel was the northern nation, Samaria was the final royal city and Jeroboam, the son born to Nebat and Zeruah, was the 1st king to reign. Pekah was the 18th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel. During Pekah's 20-year reign, the Assyrians invaded the kingdom and King Tiglath-pileser, ruler of Assyria, began taking Israelites to Assyria. During the 9th year of Hoshea's reign, the Assyrians conquered Samaria, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Rehoboam's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson Jotham was the 10th king to rule Judah. Ahaz was the 11th king and Hezekiah was the 12th king. Hezekiah's great-great-grandson Jehoiakim (Eliakim) was the 17th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiakim's 11-year reign, the Babylonians (Chaldeans) invaded Judah and Jerusalem and King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of Babylon, began looting the temple of the Lord. Jehoiachin (Jeconiah/Coniah), the son born to Jehoiakim and Nehushta, was the 18th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiachin's 3-month reign, the Babylonians took more prominent Israelites, including Jehoiachin, his wives and mother, to Babylon. Jehoiakim's brother Zedekiah (Mattaniah) was the 19th king to rule Judah. During the 11th year of Zedekiah's reign, the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Over 500 years after Israelites began returning to Judah and Jerusalem, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Solomon and all of Judah's kings, to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 13:1-14:45, 20:1-29, 26:1-27:23, Deuteronomy 31:1-34:1-12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-2:23, 1 Samuel 1:1-3:21, 8:1-31:13, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 6:1-81, 7:20-29, 10:1-29:30, 2 Chronicles, Ezra 1:1-11, Micah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26
Reference Scriptures:
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.-Psalm 103:8-12
Click the link below to read more posts in this category: