When God exposes our sin, He has a purpose for that exposure. He wants to set, and in some cases, reset the boundary of our lives where the Lord, not our rebellion against Him, defines our lives.

Micah was a prophet. He prophesied about the people’s accountability for their actions. He also made it clear that the Lord’s love never dies. Micah said that judgment, a consequence of our sin, would come after the Lord had offered many opportunities for His people to repent. Once God’s judgment was complete, He would restore His people to Himself and forgive their sins.

In his prophecy, Micah said that because of unrepentant sin, “Others will set your boundaries” (Micah 2:5). Micah went on to say, “And the Lord’s people will have no say” (vs. 5) in what happens once those new boundaries have been set in place. Every repented sin will have a negative consequence.

“Don’t say such things,” the people responded. “Don’t prophesy like that. Such disasters will never come our way!” (vs. 6). The Lord responded, “If you would do what is right, you would find my words comforting” (vs. 7).

This revealed a misunderstanding that happened in Micah’s day and continues to happen today regarding prophecy. We use 1 Corinthians 14:3 to define what prophecy should look and sound like: “But the one who prophesies speaks to people for edification, exhortation, and consolation.” Some have interpreted this verse to mean that all prophetic words are easy to digest and that none carry the need for repentance.

The word “exhortation” used in I Corinthians 14:3 refers to calling someone near to God. It is defined as a court summons to come close to God to hear what He wants to say. In that summons, we will be offered a chance to readjust our lives to align with His will. Once we make that adjustment, we will be comforted by His truth, even if our summons to return to Him makes us feel uncomfortable in the moment of exposure.

When we choose to obey the word of the Lord, a new boundary is set for our lives. “I will bring you together again like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture” (vs. 12).

Once we have been enclosed by God’s truth, we will experience a new boundary. We will be like sheep under the guidance and watchful eye of the Good Shepherd, not choosing instead to continue following the direction of our unrepentant sins that caused us to wander like sheep without a Shepherd.