18 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.
19 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.
20 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 KJV)
Does God perform a different work to Jacob than he does to Abraham? Does he perform truth to only one and only mercy to the other? No, he performs both works to both men because in Christ, like a husband and wife, the two become one. And in Christ mercy and truth also become one.
10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12 Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps. (Psalm 85:10-13 KJV)
Mercy and truth make up the twin themes of all Scripture. We may call them by a few other names according to various translations and parallel verses. Thus mercy and truth may be known as mercy and justice, righteousness and justice, righteousness and peace, steadfast love and justice, steadfast love and faithfulness, righteousness and truth, mercy and law, and other combinations of these ideas. Thus we see that Righteousness=mercy=steadfast love and Justice=peace=faithfulness=truth=law. The same Hebrew words are not always used when we see these English words, but the words do convey this idea. Use your Strong’s Concordance, the online resource BibleGateway or a good Bible program like SwordSearcher to study this out.
The reason we see no peace in today’s world is because justice is not founded upon righteousness. Since men hate righteousness their sense of justice is arbitrary and often founded upon politics (who a person knows or what that person says he believes). Today men call good “evil” and evil “good.” Therefore justice is never done. All of this will change, however, when the overcomers begin to rule, for they will rule with a rod of iron. The rod of iron is the rod of truth, the rod of God’s Law. Overcomers will implement God’s Law throughout the world with an attitude of mercy, for in them, as in Christ, mercy and truth have met together and kissed one another. This is why the Scripture says that mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:13)
Remember now that Micah prophesied the coming of the ruling mountains of Israel in the very same phrases as did Isaiah. He said,
But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.
5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. (Micah 4:1-5 KJV)
God’s overcomers make up the coming mountain, or government, of the Lord. Scriptures give this kingdom many different names, the mountain of the house of the Lord, the mountain of the Lord, the mountains of Israel, Israel, Zion, Jerusalem, and New Jerusalem, for example. It is because people fail to discern the prophetic and spiritual application of Scripture that most people still interpret so many Bible prophecies concerning Israel as relating to the ancient land of Israel in the Middle East. The prophets did speak of that land when they first prophesied and their prophecies were fulfilled in the natural. They will soon be fulfilled spiritually when God reveals his sons.
God’s sons are those who took to heart Scriptures like “judge not or you will be judged,” “if you judged yourselves, then you would not be judged,” and “the spiritual man judges all things.” God’s sons do judge sin within themselves and condemn it, but they realize that they still sin. They understand that in Christ God pardons their iniquity and that he will “pass over” their sins because they have confessed their sins and placed the blood of Jesus upon their lintels and doorposts (their head, heart, hands, and feet). They do not judge the world and say that they will cast all of its sinners into fiery hell, but they do still say that the world sins and their deeds are evil. They still cling to God’s definitions of good and evil and they do judge and discern all things. They have allowed God to write his law upon their hearts.
Remember that Micah prophesied to Israel of old and to Israel today, his overcomers. Consider how the leaders of ancient Israel fell away from God’s word and were judged and destroyed. Now consider how this very thing has happened within Christianity.
Hear, you heads of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel!
Is it not for you to know justice?—
2 you who hate the good and love the evil… (Micah 3:1-2 ESV)
And,
Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets [today’s Christian prophets]
who lead my people astray,
who cry “Peace”
when they have something to eat,
but declare war against him
who puts nothing into their mouths.
6 Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,
and darkness to you, without divination.
The sun shall go down on the prophets,
and the day shall be black over them;
7 the seers shall be disgraced,
and the diviners put to shame;
they shall all cover their lips,
for there is no answer from God.
8 But as for me, I am filled with power, [“me” = the overcomer]
with the Spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression
and to Israel his sin.
9 Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob [this is the word of Christ which is the overcomer’s word also]
and rulers of the house of Israel,
who detest justice
and make crooked all that is straight,
10 who build Zion with blood; [overcomers despise the blood of killing]
and Jerusalem with iniquity. [[today’s city of Jerusalem is a city of blood and sin]
11 Its heads give judgment for a bribe; [Bible teaching and prophecy is bought and sold today]
its priests teach for a price;
its prophets practice divination for money;
yet they lean on the Lord and say,
“Is not the Lord in the midst of us? [yet all the churches say God is in their midst]
No disaster shall come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you
Zion shall be plowed as a field; [today there is no visible city of God, only the ruins of destroyed Christianity]
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height. (Micah 3:5-12 ESV)
And finally, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8 KJV)
