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Introduction

Every year:

• We have Christmas.
• shops are bustling with people scrambling for presents.
• families working hard for big meals and Christmas trees.
• pastors prepare messages that come from passages the gospels celebrating the

birth of Christ as Savior.

• We see pictures of people in a stable surrounding a small baby.
• Tinsel and lights fill the stores with bright colours.

But is that all there is to the Christmas story?

It brings us to a key question.

Why Christmas?

What are the key reasons for celebrating Christmas?

To get the answer we will travel back more than 700 years before the birth of Christ,

to a prophet called Micah.

Open your bibles to Micah.

 

Historical Background

The book Micah was written about 735 BC – 710 BC.
He ministered during the reign of the kings:

• Jotham(750-731BC)
• Ahaz (731-715 BC
• Hezekiah 715-686BC

 

Israel was a divided kingdom at this stage between the Southern and Northern kingdom.

 

In 722BC the Assyrians took the Northern Kingdom Israel Captive after defeating their capital city Samaria (a three-year siege)

So, this took place just before the Assyrians would come and conquer the northern kingdom and almost took the whole southern kingdom.

Micah prophesied against both kingdoms, but the majority of the content concerns the Southern kingdom.

A quick overview of Micah and you see a large list of sins addressed.

You read about:

• ► Micah1:7 idolatry and collecting earnings from idolatry.
• ► Micah 1:9 Israel described as having an incurable wound.
• ► Micah 1:14 Deception
• ► Micah 2:1 Devising wickedness on their beds and in the morning do them.
• ► Micah 2:2 Them coveting people’s fields and tear them away, they oppress people.
• ► Micah 2:4 how they are called faithless.
• ► Micah 2:8how they are described as enemies.
• ► Micah 3:2 They hate good and love evil.
• ► Micah 3:2-3 about what appears to be cannibalism.
• ► Micah 3:4 practice evil deed
• ► Micah 3:5 Prophets who lead their people astray, for the sake of food.
• ► Micah 3:11 Priests instruct for a price and prophets divine for money.
• ► Micah 5:10 disobeyed Gods commands concerning chariots.
• ► Micah 5:12-13 practiced soothsaying, idolatry, false religions, worshipping the work of their hands.
• ► Micah 6:12 cities of violence, inhabitants speaking lies, using deceit.
• ► Micah 7:2 there is no upright men, all lie and wait for blood shed.
• ► Micah 7:6 disrespect their parents.

You also read God’s responses of intended judgment upon both kingdoms.

Reading Micah, it almost sounds like the day-to-day events of South-Africa

Let us dive into our passage as we glean from the Scriptures the true reasons for Christmas.

 

Proposition

5 Truths About Yahweh’s Actions That Reveal the True Reason for Christmas

1. Yahweh’s Word vs 1
2. Yahweh the witness vs 2
3. Yahweh’s decent vs 3
4. Yahweh’s power vs 4
5. Yahweh’s reason. vs 5