The Verse - Micah 7:18-20

¹⁸  Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
    and passing over transgression
     for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
    because he delights in steadfast love.
¹⁹ He will again have compassion on us;
     he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
    into the depths of the sea.
²⁰  You will show faithfulness to Jacob
    and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
    from the days of old.

 Micah 7:18-70 (ESV)

So as you can see, I am still slowly making my way through the Bible, albeit at a snail's pace. I was so encouraged by these verses the other day that I thought I would share them with you.
Not much is known about the prophet Micah; like so many of the other prophets he was taken out of his line of work and sent to deliver a message of judgement from God to His people. This was not an easy job at any time, but it was especially difficult when the people were prosperous outwardly but spiritually bankrupt within, due to their idolatry and social corruption. Micah's prophecy is thought to have taken place around 750-686 BC.

What I found fascinating about Micah is how he moves so swiftly from condemning the sin of the people, to describing the judgement of God, to revealing the hope of the faithful despite the judgement. In fact, John Macarthur notes that the booklcan actually be divided so there is a third of each. In many ways, this mirrors the Gospel.

Although the book deals a lot with sin and punishment, I was so encouraged by the hope that Micah speaks about in the closing verses to those who are faithful.

Because there is truly no God like our God.

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance? 

A God who knows our sin, but yet looks past it and calls us His children if we repent and trust in Him.

He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.

A God who has great joy in loving those who call upon His name, and is slow to anger.

He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.

A God who desires to be with us in times of suffering, and who through His Son's death on the cross has cleansed us from all unrighteousness.

You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.

When Jesus said on the cross "It is finished", He was referring to your sin. Your past, present and future sins were dealt with on the cross. 


You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
from the days of old.

God's promises are forever, and through Jesus' work on the cross we join the great forefathers of our faith. God's plan of salvation was always the same throughout history. The only difference was between those who had faith in the coming Messiah, and those who had faith in the Messiah who has come and will come again. 

I hope these verses were as encouraging to you as they were to me.