SUMMER FRUITS!
Micah 7:1-7, "Woe is me! For I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit. The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up. The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity. Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me."
Just about every Christian begins this walk with Jesus in the frame of mind that we want to serve the Lord with gladness and walk in the paths of holiness and righteousness that will please the Lord. The Love of God within us constrains us and our only desire is to please Him. What happens over time with this commitment?
We live in a time when it is increasingly harder to find Christians who really desire to live holy and righteously toward God.
2 Timothy 3:1 says, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come."
Who can doubt that if this were the only criterion by which we judged the times in which we live that this would not be the case. Day-by-day the times are growing more perilous and we groan for the coming of the Lord but cry out for the lost at the same time.
The prophet, Micah, faced much the same situation in his day. His cry was one of woe, or how bad things are, for I am in a land of evil and there is no solution to the troubles I see. It reminds me of the old Spiritual that says, “Nobody, knows the trouble I see, nobody knows but me.”
The TV Show “Hee Haw”, used to feature a group that sang the song, “Gloom, despair, and agony on me. Deep, dark depression, excessive misery. If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all. Gloom, despair and agony on me.”
We may laugh at the lyrics now but there isn’t one of us who has not faced this state of depression, doubt and fear at some time in life. If you haven’t, then you simply haven’t lived long enough and that day will surely come for you too.
Micah compares himself to a Summer Fruit, but what does that mean? What is a summer fruit?
In the Land of Israel there were vast vineyards of grapes and fig trees in abundance. In the springtime of the year these plants would develop sweet and sumptuous fruit. Before the arrival of the searing heat of the summer, they would be harvested and then processed to provide drink and food for the nation. The harvesters would miss some of the grapes and figs on the plant as they passed by.
Those fruit left in the fields would begin to over ripen very quickly, and then dry out on the branches. Into these fields would go the poor and hungry to glean the fields of any left over fruits. It was in one such instance that we read where Ruth went to glean in the fields of Boaz and eventually became his wife.
During the springtime the harvest would take place. Oh what a grand time it was. There would be sweet fruit available everywhere and an abundance of blessing for all.
Micah was comparing himself to that Summer Fruit, the one that was left in the field beyond its time for harvesting. He had begun to feel that the abundance of the presence of God and the blessings of God were lifting from upon Israel. The Jews had turned from their worship of Jehovah to worshipping of idols. They had turned from God, the blessings were gone, the abundance of His presence was gone and now they faced the judgment and anger of God for their failure.
Holiness, sanctification and godliness were rare in the land now. There were so very few who really called upon the name of the Lord. There were so very few who would bow their head to the Father in Heaven. Every man was looking out for himself now. Only a remnant remained to worship God and serve Him with all their heart.
In a sense, Micah felt as though he had been left behind when the harvest came, only to be an over-ripened fruit. He still sought the face of God. He still loved God. He still wanted to serve God. He still felt the presence and power of God in his life. He still lived in holiness, sanctification and righteousness according to the Standards of the Law that God had given to Israel.
It is getting harder and harder in our day to find those, even Christians, who live according to the standards of holiness and righteousness. Try preaching that message and you will not see many come and you may lose most of what you have had. People don’t want to hear the message of holiness, righteousness and sanctification any longer. All they want to hear are messages of faith, joy, peace, love and happiness.
Those messages are great and so important, but my Bible still says in 2 Corinthians 7:1, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." It still says in 1 Thessalonians 4:7, "For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness." Hebrews 12:14, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:"
In fact, God speaks of holiness, sanctification and righteous living numerous times so that there can be no question as to whether these doctrines should be part of the life of every man who would want to make Heaven his home.
The first fruits of our walk with the Lord are so sweet and blessed as we bask in the abundant riches of His grace and forgiveness. He cleanses us from all sin and we find ourselves rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Oh, but how quickly we begin to settle into our own lifestyles.
What passes for holiness and godliness today that we would not have thought about a few years ago? Where is the cry of our heart and the nation to return to God by sanctifying our lives? How far have we allowed our standards to erode?
Just like Micah, those of us who love God with all our heart, who depend upon the Blood of the Lamb and the price Jesus paid on the Cross for our righteousness and who strive to live a sanctified lifestyle, we feel like the Summer Fruit. We cry Woe is ME! There are so few who really love God above this world. There are so very few who will chose the paths of righteousness and holiness above their own desires for the easy and fun life that the world seems to offer.
God, we groan for the deliverance of our own soul, of the souls of our lost loved ones, and for the souls of a lost and dying world.
God, where are the foundations that were laid for my country by those who formed the Constitution to include freedom of religion and our basic Bill of Rights? What has happened to our laws that once defended the righteous victims instead of the criminals? God our springtime harvest has turned to summer and now most of the blessings that you bestowed upon us, as your chosen people are seen no more.
Micah said that the good man is perished from the earth. He had searched throughout Israel and just couldn’t find many upright or good people in the land. Just as the sweet flavor of the early fruit disappears when the harvest is ended and the summer has come, the sweet spirit of righteousness and peace was gone from among the people.
Let me tell you that the verses that follow give us a pretty good description of our day.
They hunt every man his brother with a net.
There was once an ancient duel that was held between the retiarus and the secutor.
The retiarus carried a net that he would cast over the head of the secutor hoping to trap him so that he could easily be killed with a short sword. The secutor would escape the net by parrying it with his own sword, or perhaps a trident, then chase the retiarus in an attempt to kill him before he could prepare his net for another cast. The secutor (pursuer) would constantly be chasing the net man, each trying to get ahead of and destroy the other.
That’s our life today. Every day we live we must be wary of those who would cast a net over us and try to destroy our freedom, our finances, our family or our possessions. We must defend against every cast. Then we must chase after them and watch them so closely to prevent another try. Life seems to be just one long match between the retiarus, the Devil, and the secutor representing us. Perhaps its time to trade roles, trap the Devil and put him on the run.
Micah says that they do evil with both hands.
People are earnestly greedy. Mankind has come to the place, just as it was in the days of Noah, that his every thought and every action is designed only produce more and more evil as he chases wealth, power and fame at any cost.
The prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward.
The leaders who should be judging according to righteousness and holiness are bought and sold so that their judgments don’t bring justice at all but only wealth to themselves. Which of you doubts the power of money to buy your way out of just about any charge in the courts of our land? Whoever can pay the most wins. Judgment and justice are for sale today just as they were in Israel in Micah’s day.
Even in our churches we must be careful that greediness doesn’t creep in. It’s so easy to take sides in any argument or any discussion when those who are more disposed to being your friend than those who are not present a point of argument.
The great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire. The great men of Israel, the Scribes, Pharisees, and rulers of the land, considered themselves above the Law. They made no secrets of their unjust ways and even flaunted their unrighteous judgments and acts before the nation as if to say, I dare you to do anything about it. You can’t touch me.
The oppressed the poor with every decision, they sought to get all they could from those who could least afford to give and then misused and abused everything they received.
The best of them is a briar; the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge. Even the best of those who ruled over Israel were found wanting for righteousness. They were useless to Israel. They carried no desire to bring Israel back to God and anyone who dealt with them in any way would suddenly find themselves trapped in a web of lies and deceit that could not be broken.
There are so many spiritual lessons that we could learn right here. In the heart of a man when he begins to stray from the paths of righteousness, there is a web of deceit that Satan casts over him, so that there is little chance of escape. That is why it is so hard to come back to God once we backslide or leave His presence.
Likewise, when you deal with the politics and business of this world, you had better watch your back for someone might want you to pay the piper for anything they do for you.
The day of the watchmen and thy visitation cometh. Surely the day was coming to Israel that they would face the wrath and judgment of God, and so is this present age. We shall soon see Jesus coming in the clouds to take away His bride.
As the watchman upon the wall would sound the shofar when the enemy approached to ready the people for battle, so must we stand upon the wall and shout it to the world that the end is coming. It won’t be long, brother and sister, until Jesus will visit this world. First He will come to take his bride away, but secondly to bring a visitation of judgment for sin.
Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide. The times are growing so evil that it is getting harder and harder to know who is your friend and who is not. Circumstances and need will make enemies of the best of friends when conditions are right.
How many of you have had friends who turned on you or talked about you behind your back?
How many of you have listened to the counsel of someone you trusted only to find that the counsel was destructive and wrong?
Micah says to keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. My brother in Christ, if you have a wife that you can place your absolute faith and trust in, you are so blessed. Most married couples are not really couples, they are just individuals who agreed to live together for a time but who still seek their own individuality and freedom.
For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
Talk about the dysfunctional family. Israel was filled with them and so are America and our churches.
In my work in local schools I see so many kids whose parents don’t care and don’t have time for them. I see so many kids who hate their home, don’t respect anyone and who expect everything to be given to them. I see the same thing in our churches.
God help us to build our families under the leading of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit with one Father and one Mother who live together for life and love, train and supply the needs of their children. Our kids need role models. Too many today don’t even know what a normal family is!
But even with all of this sin, evil and degeneration of society, Micah knows the answer to every situation. You and I know that answer also.
Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me."
God is our refuge. He is our strength. He is our salvation. He will hear our cry and He will answer our prayer.
I will look to God for He is the only Answer.
If you have begun to feel the woe of the summer fruit that has lost its sweetness; if you feel as though you have been left behind as the work of the Lord has moved on; if you desire to be blessed; if you desire to return to a life of holiness, sanctification and righteousness, then LOOK TO GOD!
He hasn’t left you alone. He is standing right there, just waiting for you to turn to Him in repentance. He is just waiting, right where we left Him.
