“God Shows Clemency” Adult Sunday School Lesson

International Sunday School Lesson

For Sunday July 26, 2015

Purpose: To identify the role of prophets in the overall biblical message of God’s faithful love

Bible Lesson: Micah 7:14-20

Background: Micah 7:11-20

Micah 7:14-20 (CEB)
(14) Shepherd your people with your staff, the sheep of your inheritance, those dwelling alone in a forest in the midst of Carmel. Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead, as a long time ago. (15) As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show Israel wonderful things. (16)Nations will see and be ashamed of all their strength; they will cover their mouths; their ears will be deaf. (17) They will lick dust like the snake, like things that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling from their strongholds to the Lord our God; they will dread and fear you! (18) Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity, overlooking the sin of the few remaining for his inheritance? He doesn’t hold on to his anger forever; he delights in faithful love. (19) He will once again have compassion on us; he will tread down our iniquities. You will hurl all our sins into the depths of the sea. (20) You will provide faithfulness to Jacob, faithful love to Abraham, as you swore to our ancestors a long time ago.

My Thoughts by Burgess Walter

This is our final lesson from Micah. There are many bible scholars and teachers today that want to ignore the Old Testament writings. They claim the Old Testament stories and records are no longer relevant. I think today’s lesson does a great job of transitioning us from the old to the new.

We need to remember that Jesus used the Old Testament in most of his teachings. We also need to remember the first century Christians relied on the Old Testament stories, along with the teachings of Jesus to spread the good news of the gospel. The New Testament as we know it today was not canonized until the 3rd century.

In our lesson text Micah goes from declaring God’s judgement, to declaring God’s love and compassion. Micah sees a God ready to forgive. Micah sees a God ready to guide a nation back into his fold. I think the opening lines of our text show that correlation.

Micah’s text is a great bridge to the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. All of us, like the nation of Israel, have grieved God and we all are in need of His forgiveness and redemption. Although we are unworthy, God has shown us his love now, through Jesus the Christ.

Just as the hymn writer says, “the love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell.”