Sermon: Micah (Part Three): Who Is a God Like You?
#1636
Martin G. Collins
Given 29-Jan-22; 74 minutes
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transcript:
In Pennsylvania the state examined the convictions of more than 3,500 teenagers sentenced by two judges. The judges were convicted of taking kickbacks as part of a scheme to fill a private juvenile detention center. A Reuters investigation uncovered one of the judges' schemes which they labeled "Kids for Cash." The judge, nicknamed Mr. Zero Tolerance, was a big supporter of harsh sentences for kids. He sent hundreds of children to a local detention center during his tenure in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
For example, he sent an 11 year old to juvenile detention for almost two years after the kid took his mom's car for a ride down the block. He also sent a 15 year old to the same detention facility for mocking her assistant principal on a social media platform and he also gave a 17 year old five months for helping steal dvds.
So the judge got kickbacks from the detention facility where he sent those kids. No wonder the hearings often lasted only two minutes. He received up to $1 million dollars for putting hundreds of innocent children behind bars. The courts wised up to his plans and eventually sentenced Mr. Zero Tolerance to 27 years in prison. Following his sentencing, nearly 4,000 of his previous convictions were overturned.
This is only a brief illustration of the corruption of some judges. Countless other crimes are committed by the political, economic, academic, military, and religious leaders in the United States and in other countries. However, God requires the descendants of the children of Israel to live up to a higher standard. The book of Micah addresses the actions of such oppressive leaders and the resulting suffering of the people. The prophet Micah emphasizes the integral relationship between true spirituality and social ethics.
About one-third of the book of Micah indicts Israel and Judah for specific sins, including oppression, bribery among judges, prophets, and priests, exploitation of the powerless, covetousness, cheating, violence, and pride. Wow, Judah was in good shape back then, was it not? Another third of Micah predicts the judgment that will come as a result of those sins. And the remaining third of the book is a message of hope and consolation.
Micah declares that God's justice will triumph and the divine deliver will come. But true peace and justice will prevail only when the Messiah reigns. The "goodness and severity of God," as mentioned in Romans 11:22, are illustrated in God's promise of divine judgment and pardon. Micah exposes the injustice of Judah and magnifies the righteousness and justice of God.
Now having come from the countryside, when Micah arrived in the city he saw that the sins of the city, committed by the leaders who lived and worked there, were the main sins of the whole nation. The city of Jerusalem represented the rest of the nation and its sins, but excelled in it. That was for which the judgment of God was coming. But Micah was still very concerned for the people of the city. He never give up on them. His prophecy begins on this note in Micah 1:1 where it says, the vision he saw concerning Samaria [the capital of northern kingdom of Israel] and Jerusalem [the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah]. Throughout his book, he keeps coming back to these cities, particularly Jerusalem.
As he approaches the end, he calls out to the capital of the southern kingdom again, and in Micah 6:9, he says, "The Lord's voice cries to the city." speaking of the city of Jerusalem. His call is for justice, for mercy, and for walking humbly with God. It is a call very much needed in our time. American church leaders have had very little to say to the cities in our nation and their crimes, their sins. Even stranger, some of the secular writers today are beginning to note and point out this deficiency more than the religious church leaders of this nation.
So, Micah composes the indictment we find in chapter 6. In form it is a legal summons and proceeding and the same kind of call and accusation already found in chapters 4 and 5 of Hosea and chapter 3 of Amos. In Micah 6, God enters a legal proceeding against His people, calling them to remember what He has done for them and what they have done against Him.
There is a special background to this judicial proceeding which happens in chapter 6, in which the future glory of the nation is pictured. This section follows the prophecy of the coming divine King of Israel and is therefore set in a future tense. It is a reminder of what the nation could be. The Assyrian in Micah's day represents the enemies of God's people in every age.
Micah 5:5 And this One [that is, the Lord] shall be peace.
In some translations—the ESV, the New King James version, and the King James version—there is a separation here. The beginning of verse 5 and "this One shall be peace" ends the previous section. Then, for example, in the New King James version, there is a heading over the second half of the verse: Judgment on Israel's Enemies. Here is the second half of verse 5:
Micah 5:5-6 When the Assyrian comes into our land, and when he treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princely men. They shall waste with the sword the land of Assyria, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances; thus he shall deliver us from the Assyrian, when he comes into our land and when he treads within our borders.
First, this is a reminder that the nation could be victorious. As Micah wrote, the kingdom of Hezekiah was being humbled under the hand of Assyria. But the nation had been victorious in the past and it would be again. Micah is trying to encourage them in his inspiration by God. What a contrast between the possibilities open to those who love and serve God and Judah's present ministry under the hand of Assyria.
Second, the nation could be a source of blessing and even a corrective judgment for others. The influence of the remnant among the nations is described next in verses 7-9.
Micah 5:7-9 Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, that tarry for no man nor wait for the sons of men. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, who, if he passes through, both treads down and tears in pieces, and none can deliver. Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off.
It is interesting there that the remnant of Jacob is dispersed throughout the entire world, in the midst of all of these other people's, all these Gentile nations, which is very similar to what we are seeing today.
Micah uses two images. The one image is like dew and like rain, which would be one image, and the beneficial influence of the remnant is given or withheld by God alone. Dew is an image of blessing, as it literally was in Judah's dry land. The other image is like a lion and like a young lion, which is a symbol of destruction and fierce judgment. The remnant, no longer a gentle rain or a blessing, is now a destructive lion or a hand of judgment.
Israel had been both in the past and would be again. But what was she now at this point in Micah's writings? She was neither—neither a blessing nor judgment or destructive. What a great contrast there is between her potential and her present reality at the time of Micah's writing.
Third, Micah writes of a day when the nation would be purified of its sin and maintained in an attitude of pure and intense devotion to God. And she would give up trust in foreign military alliances, in the occult, and false gods. But at the present, the opposite was the case. The people were the people of God in name only. You could not tell by looking at their actions that they had anything to do with God other than their religious rights. Now, God answers the prayer of Micah in verse 9 to cut off things that compromise the holiness of His people
Micah 5:10-11 "And it shall be in that day," says the Lord, "that I will cut off your horses from your midst and destroy your chariots. I will cut off the cities of your land and throw down all your strongholds."
The armies and fortifications rather than the Lord were often relied on as security against external enemies. Israel and Judah would have to abandon their faith in foreign military alliances, which similarly this nation has to do as well, and all the Israelitish nations of the world will have to not rely on alliances for its protection.
Micah 5:12-13 "I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no soothsayers. Your carved images I will also cut off, and your sacred pillars from your midst; you shall no more worship the work of your hands."
The seeking of occult knowledge was explicitly forbidden in Israel. In representing the presence of the deity in this wrongful way, Israel was tempted to bow down to created things rather than their Creator. She would have to get rid of her occultic practices which were rampant at that time.
Micah 5:14-15 "I will pluck your wooden images from your midst; thus I will destroy your cities. And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury on the nations that have not heard."
Asherah images are wooden images of the female fertility goddess of the Canaanites. This is what the Israelites and the Jews later were worshipping, those types of gods who were regularly denounced by the prophets. Israel would have to denounce and stop trusting in her false gods.
The chapter has concluded with God's removal of idolatry and He completely cleanses His people from military and occultic idols. Now, the Lord alone, as the sovereign Ruler, has the right to rescue His people and punish the nations that did not give heed to or hear diligently or obey what God has instructed. Idolatry is a primary factor in Israel's disobedience, but Micah's indictment against Gentile nations is contrasted in a wider context. The nations returning to the Lord receive instruction while those that will not submit to His role receive destruction. So God is offering instruction to Israel and Judah and He is offering destruction to the Gentile nations because they will not hear.
Next, God builds His case against Israel against this important background in chapter 5 that we have just read. The closing section of Micah, being chapters 6 and 7, describes a courtroom scene. God has a controversy against His people and He calls the mountains and hills together to form a jury as He lays out His case. The people have replaced heartfelt worship with empty ritual. They are going through the motions, but they are not really doing anything from the heart other than wrong things. Thinking that this is all God demands they have divorced God's standards of justice from their daily dealings to cover their dishonest and their ruthless practices, and they have failed to realize what the Lord requires of them, requires of His creation. There can only be one verdict and that is guilty—because they are guilty.
Nevertheless, the book of Micah closes on a note of hope. The same God who executes judgment also delights to extend mercy. The first part of God's accusation is that Israel, particularly the city of Jerusalem which stood at the spiritual heart of the nation, had forgotten the true God. That is, the people had forgotten the mighty acts of God toward them in past days. This is why in the Old Testament we are constantly reminded of what He did bringing the Israelites out of Egypt by His mighty hand and to this day we should also be reminding ourselves of that very thing and not forgetting the mighty hand of God.
Now, God had made them a nation by redeeming them when they were slaves in Egypt and He had given them leaders—Moses, Aaron, Miriam—and had brought them into their own land. In this covenant lawsuit in Micah 6, Micah calls creation as a witness, as I mentioned.
Micah 6:1-2 [the caption in my Bible is: God Pleads With Israel] Hear now what the Lord says: "Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, O you mountains, the Lord's complaint, and you strong foundations of the earth; for the Lord has a complaint [or an indictment] against His people, and He will contend with Israel."
The words case and complaint, or sometimes translated indictment, translate from the Hebrew word rib, which suggests a legal procedure. Then the Lord interrogates His people and provides them an opportunity to respond.
Micah 6:3 "O My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me."
The Lord reminds Israel of its covenant relationship with Him. And the two questions in verse 3 assume that the Israelites believe the Lord has wronged them. He challenges the Israelites to substantiate their claims. In other words, He says, answer Me, answer My accusations. Next, the Lord recounts His past faithfulness to them and He reminds them that He directed the events surrounding the Exodus.
Micah 6:4-5 "For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of bondage; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab counseled, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, from Acacia Grove to Gilgal, that you may know the righteousness of the Lord."
So, the people had forgotten this. They had forgotten it in the sense that it no longer made a difference in their lives. It was not motivating them to overcome. The faith of God's people is strengthened in the present by recounting, by remembering His covenant-keeping deliveries of the past. The Lord then establishes the demands of covenantal obedience.
Micah 6:6-7 With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
This is the question for all people in every age. The values of the sacrifices mentioned here escalate in an attempt to discern the price for entering God's presence. You keep getting more and more of a sacrifice with each phrase. The way in which the proposals increase in absurdity, ending with an outrage, shows Micah is exposing an attitude that wrongly sees physical sacrifice as an entry fee rather than as an avenue for God to administer grace and forgiveness to the repentant who will express thankfulness.
Verse 8 is a key verse which summarizes what God wants to see in His people. Justice and impartiality tempered with mercy and compassion. This is what God wants to see in His people. Justice and impartiality tempered with mercy and compassion as the result of a humble and obedient relationship with Him. (Where have we heard that today? In the sermonette, a perfectly fashioned complement to the sermon. God knows what He is doing when He organizes services.)
Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
The crisis within the covenantal relationship is described beginning in verse 9. The Lord's lawsuit continues with the city and its people indicted for specific crimes.
Micah 6:9 The Lord's voice cries to the city [that is, Jerusalem]—wisdom shall see your name [or you could say it is sound wisdom to heed solemnly]: "Hear the rod [or hear of punishment]! Who has appointed it?"
Of course, that is a rhetorical question. It is God.
The second part of God's accusation is that having forgotten Him, the people had become increasingly corrupt, and dishonesty and violence had become shameful signs of their culture. This is particularly true of their city. So God asks,
Micah 6:10-12 "Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the short measure that is an abomination? Shall I count those with the wicked scales, and with a bag of deceitful weights? For her rich men are full of violence, her inhabitants have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth."
Deceptive speech corresponds naturally with deceptive scales. This brings to mind the things that God says He hates.
Proverbs 6:16 These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue [that is lies in general], hands that shed innocent blood [violence], a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies.
That is, a false witness speaks lies against other people in malice. That is the difference between those two lying things. The lies in general also incorporate the false witness who speaks lies.
We must ask whether Micah's description of his nation is not also an apt description of our own and whether God's call to the city of Jerusalem is not a call to our own cities too. In making this comparison, we acknowledge that the Israelites, including Judah, were God's people in a way different from God's use of any other peoples in history. God had entered into a special covenant with them and had promised to be their God nationally. They were bound together by worship of the one true God.
At the same time, while not erring on the side of overly comparing the United States of America with Israel, we do not want to err on the side of missing our unique experiences of God's blessings either. And we know God has blessed this nation with tremendous blessings.
So the Israelitish peoples are spread and scattered across this globe and they are in groups, so to speak, in various nations. The United States has more than other nations and the UK, Australia, Canada, and so on in parts of Europe. We are spread out all over the globe but these things still apply very well in cities that the Israelites live in and have control over especially. We live in such a secular age that our spiritual roots are even willfully suppressed and forgotten.
In case we are not quite convinced of our culpability at this point, let me place an evidence the present tone of our national life and show that this is precisely what God foretold as the essence of His judgment upon Judah, and the Lord Himself delivers the sentence.
Micah 6:13-16 "Therefore I will also make you sick by striking you, by making you desolate because of your sins. You shall eat but not be satisfied; hunger shall be in your midst. You may carry some away, but shall not save them; and what you do rescue I will give over to the sword. You shall sow, but not reap; you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil; and make sweet wine, but not drink wine. For the statues of Omri are kept; all the works of Ahab's house are done; and you walk in their counsels, that I may make you a desolation, and your inhabitants a hissing. Therefore you shall bear the reproach of My people."
There are several things emphasized in connection with this judgment. First, it is gradual. As we go through these think about these as a possibility of what may happen to our nation because of the same sins that we are committing now that they were committing then.
God says, "I have begun to destroy you." That is, He was not doing it all at once. God controls their weather and their crops and therefore the people's turning from God bring severe economic consequences. Second, it is expressed in frustration that people will eat but not be satisfied, store up but save nothing, plant, but not harvest. God emphasizes the ultimate futility of the people's activity. We are seeing that more and more today in this nation and all the Israelitish nations of the world and how futile the efforts are becoming in what we are trying to produce.
Third, it will result in contempt and ridicule of the once-favored nation by other peoples. Does this nation still have the pride of its power (or the other Israelitish nations)? With the counsels of the wicked human kings like Omri and Ahab and of the corrupt leaders, the city becomes like its inhabitants, vilified and belittled. Is this not what is happening to the United States?
Each of these elements can be seen in contemporary America, but of the three, the most evident of all is frustration, at this point. Within the memory of at least a quarter of the Americans alive today, there is a remembrance of this land as the land of opportunity and high ideals. Here was freedom's home, here were unending personal possibilities, here was progress measured in such tangible things as safe homes, good schools, gainful jobs, and fair prices—all of which are deteriorating today. An individual could plot his advance year by year and decade by decade. In those days we were proud to be Americans.
But things have changed. In less than a lifetime the conditions of our national life have been so altered that nothing seems to work any longer. The system is broken. Our economy is struggling. Our military has proved to be inadequate for most challenges. Even though the power is there, the pride is lost. We have lost the pride of our power or are continually losing it. Prestige abroad has plummeted and within a national life once marked by moral standards and high aspirations, has become a frustrating cesspool. People do what they want without regard either to God or humanity. Our cities are dirty and unsafe. Crime abounds, structures collapse, the roads and bridges are having trouble now keeping up. Look at how many deteriorating collapses they are having. Perversions flaunt their evils in our faces.
This is precisely what God told Israel would happen to that favored nation. Israel's case is our own. We are tempted to write culture off at this point, shrugging it off as being wicked and horrible, which indeed it is, particularly the culture of our cities. But desperate though the situation may be, we are not yet right in doing that, as far as giving up on them. Who knows what God may do for this nation to cause it to repent. He did it for Judah. Judah had an extension of blessings.
What must we do? The answer is back in verse 8 of Micah 6, a verse which contains what are probably Micah's best known words, even though most people would not know that they are actually from Micah.
Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly your God?
Obviously, God is emphasizing humility today. This is a word for people who are willing to do all sorts of religious things, but are not willing to do what is needful. The verses before this, Micah 6:6-7, contain four questions asked by the ungodly but religious inhabitants of Jerusalem to the effect that they were more than willing to do anything God might require if only He would make His wants known. So I ask you, did God make His wants known to Israel before this time, before Micah? Well, they were claiming He did not. Here are the questions that they asked (that we read earlier):
Does He want burnt offerings, calves a year old? This is what they were thinking in their minds. They are willing to bring those. Does He want thousands of rams, perhaps ten thousand rivers of oil? That can also be arranged. Perhaps He wants the firstborn children. They suggest that they might even offer their children.
This must be seen against God's criticism of them for their forgetfulness of His great acts. God is faulting them. But what do they come back with? They are arrogant enough to suggest that the fault is not theirs, but God's! Tell us what we have not done, they say. We are far more ready to serve You than you are to tell us Your requirements. That is the gist of their attitude.
God answers quietly that He is not asking for anything new. He is not laying down further religious ordinances. All He asked is what He has asked from the beginning and it is not ritual routine. It is the reality, not the form. It is to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. In Matthew 23:23, Jesus calls the Pharisees hypocrites for neglecting the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith.
So, the first requirement is to act justly. It is most important because it does not mean merely to talk about justice. We hear so much about social justice today. They have even redefined what it is and what it means. It sounds good. Social justice. Everybody wants social justice, do they not? But that is not what that means. It actually means socialism, communism. It is just a code word for that. It is a very dangerous phrase.
Social justice means to do the just thing yourself. There is one more thing about acting justly. It is not only something we must do, it is also something we must do over a considerable period of time, meaning we must be persistent. Each of us is only one person. With the blessing of God another person may join us so that there will then be two or five or ten. That is a good thing. It does not take many people to produce change. But it does take time.
God is saying by each individual changing and applying these things in our lives, that your witness will have an effect. It may not seem like a big one, but it will have an effect. But we have to live these things as a witness to the rest of the world. I do not mean to go out and stand on the street corners. I just mean live your life the way God says to live it and you will be a blessing to your family, your community, and nation. We must hang in there. Even when things are frustrating and no change seems to come. God takes a long view and our responsibility is to work and act justly however long it takes. Of course, we should pray for the leaders of our nation, our nation itself.
The second requirement is that we love mercy. This does not mean simply that we should act in a merciful way here and there or from time to time. It means that we are to love mercy consistently. We are to love it in others. We are to love it as God develops that characteristic in ourselves.
Luke 6:32-36 "But if you love those who love you, what credit is it that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those for whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."
The third requirement is to walk humbly with God. Have you known Christians who are anything but humble in the way they go about business? Such people think they have all the answers and they rightly bring the world's scorn upon themselves. We do not have all the answers. No human does. At best we are part of the solution and we may even be part of the problem at times. How can we who are the weak of the world be anything but humble? How can we not desire above all things to walk humbly with God? This is our claim of what we do. We have to live it, we have to make a great amount of effort to be successful with God's help.
Enoch's walk is described in Genesis 5:21-24. He began to walk with God when he was 65 years old and he was still walking with God when he was at the age of 365. God allowed him to die eventually and he had a three hundred year walk. I cannot even imagine that, a three hundred year walk with God. And that is what God calls us to do and be—walk our entire lives with God. We are to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God as long as we live—24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In His two controversies with His people, God calls them into court and presents an unanswerable case against them. The people have spurned God's grace, choosing instead to revel in wickedness. Micah concludes with an inspiring series of promises that the Lord will pardon their inequity and renew their nation in accordance with His covenant, if they repent and overcome their sins. Covenant faithfulness consists not merely in ritual, but in the proper expression of the primary forms of love, justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
Verse 18 is the most important verse in Micah 7, which asks, "Who is a God like you?" There is a certain amount of awe in that expression, that thought, and what is going through Michael's mind.
Micah 7:18 Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?
It is a theme verse and it is a play on Micah's name. Micah means "who is like Yahweh?" It is fitting that the book that bears his name should end by answering the question posed by his name, saying in effect, there is no one like Yahweh, there is no God like the God of Israel.
This question is not uncommon in the Old Testament. It is asked in Exodus 15:11. This chapter contains the song of Moses in which God is praised following His deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. The song delights in the defeat of Israel's enemies. It describes how God hurled both the horse and its rider into the sea, drowning Pharaoh's soldiers and officers. It describes how He caused the waters to pile up while the people of Israel passed through and then caused them to descend again on the pursuing enemy. It then asks, "Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" The point is that no one can match the acts of Israel's God, no one can match our God's majesty, power, and glory.
Psalm 71:19 asks the same question. "O God, who is like You?" The psalm answers the question in personal terms, describing how God delivered the author from his enemies and accusers, from ruin shame, and confusion. Confusion certainly is a banner of this nation and this world at this time. God is not the author of confusion. Who is the opposite of that? Obviously this is Satan's world and he loves confusion.
Certainly, it is almost always like that. There is no one like God because there is none that can do the mighty acts that Israel's God, that our God does. Yet in Micah we have something different. Micah rehearses the ways in which the true God is unlike all others, deliverance by mighty acts is among those ways. Yet his emphasis is on God's willingness to forgive sin and show mercy, which he concludes is the supreme measure of God's surpassing excellence.
The last chapter of Micah suggests four ways in which God is unsurpassed. The first way is judgment. It is the emphasis of Micah 7 and the first seven verses. The matter of God's judgment is not a new theme at this point in the book and yet Micah handles it in a new way. Until now God's judgment has been thought of mainly as the impending military overthrow of the city, which was definitely the end to which God brought it. Jerusalem did fall to the armies of Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BC. However, in the verses immediately preceding chapter 7, Micah quoted God as saying that He was even then beginning to destroy the people because of their sins. This was described in Micah 6:14-15 as a time in which the people would eat but not be satisfied, store up, but save nothing, plant, but not harvest, press olives, but not use the oil, crush grapes, but not drink the wine.
In chapter 7, Micah seems to pick up on this imagery saying that although the city had not fallen judgment had nevertheless come. In gleaning the fields of the summer harvest, one expects to find leftovers. Micah's search yields no remainder. That is, no godly remnant, only sadness and futility. He laments the loss of the godliness.
Micah 7:1 [the caption in my Bible says "Sorrow for Israel's Sins"] Woe is me! For I am like those who gather summer fruits, like those who glean vintage grapes; there is no cluster to eat of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires.
What he means by this is soon made clear. Micah means that the fruit of righteousness, which God had every right to expect from His people, was not present. In fact, the opposite was the case. Instead of righteousness there was a striking increase of evil. Micah is describing a colossal breakdown of society.
The first area of breakdown is in morality. No society is ever entirely upright or godly and there are always evil people in it. But in a dominantly moral society, the evil people are suppressed and those of good character are predominant and rule the land. Even this nation has had moments or times where that was the case, even long times and periods where that was the case. In times of moral breakdown, this is inverted. The evil people triumph and the good are driven out.
Micah 7:2 The faithful man has perished from the earth and there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; every man hurts his brother with a net.
It has been reported that about one million people have moved out of New York City, the Big Apple as it is called, in the last two years. They are fleeing from it for various reasons, but one of which is it is so dangerous there and it is so oppressive. In December 15, 2021, Daily Mail headline says, "The Rotten Apple: the latest New York city crime statistics show shootings are still double what they were two years ago with murders up 50%." Crime statistics published by the New York Police Department show shootings, murders, and auto grand larceny have all nearly doubled, while murder is up 50% in the city compared to 2019. And this statistic was from December 5, 2021. There have been 1,470 shootings, 443 murders, and 9,595 cases of auto grand larceny according to the latest data for 2021 in New York City alone. Also, 13 cities across the U.S. have shattered their annual murder records in 2021.
The second area of breakdown in the nation is the nation's leadership. This is an old theme for Micah but it makes sense that it is brought back as the book draws to a close. As in chapter 3, Micah accuses the rulers and judges of taking bribes and conspiring together with their own advancement at the expense of the poor.
Micah 7:3-4 That they may successfully do evil with both hands—the prince asks for gifts, the judge seeks a bribe, and the great man utters his evil desire; so they scheme together. The best of them is like a brier; the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge; the day of your watchman and your punishment comes; now shall be their perplexity.
Is that not what this nation is in right now, perplexity? Not understanding what is going on. At least those who are more conservative, I will put it that way.
These great evil men no longer only take bribes secretly under the table. They are openly and greedily requiring it with open hands. These men are like briers and thorny hedges because they are very painful to work with, caustic. The asking and uttering of the political leaders and the judges highlight the unrelenting demands of corrupt leadership. As the lookout on the city wall warned of approaching danger, so the religious leader announced the approaching judgment there in Micah's day in Israel and Judah.
We do not need to look farther to see this in this nation. On August 27, 2015, Watchdog Report found that almost half of Americans polled believe that the U.S. justice system is corrupt. Altogether, research indicated that some 2.5 million bribes are paid each year within the U.S. justice system according to Pew Research, Yale Law School, and other sources. The United States criminal justice system is broken. As of December 2020, we had less than 5% of the world's population but nearly 25% of its prisoners. Mass incarceration has crushing consequences racially, socially, and economically, ruining personal lives, families, and communities. Their perplexity, their confusion mentioned in verse 4 is illuminated by examples that follow in verses 5 and 6.
The third area of breakdown is the family. Micah sees that human relationships are failing. As a result a time has come when one cannot trust even people close to him. Children dishonor and rebel against their parents.
Micah 7:5-6 Do not trust a friend; do not put your confidence in a companion; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your bosom. [In some cases, even a man's wife could not be trusted. Of course, we do not have that in God's church, I hope.] For son dishonors father, daughter rises against her mother, daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own household.
That is a total breakdown of family that Micah is explaining. And sadly it is most of the families in the United States, many, if not most. Both social and familial relationships have disintegrated in a city under siege because of sin in Micah's time and apparently our time. Micah's definitive statement in verse 6, "A man's enemies are the enemies of his own household" shows the total breakdown of the family. They are families full of narcissists, people with excessive preoccupation with, or admiration of themselves. Self-centeredness, selfishness.
Externally, people appear successful and happy. They have good jobs. They have good relationships with their friends. They have no real enemies, but often there is something gnawing away inside and that inner agony is often a case of heartbreak or even hatred at home. We are experiencing the same kind of decline in our own time as occurred in Micah's time. Morality, leadership, and family are crumbling, but notice this. It is not just a meaningless decline. It is part of God's judgment because God has decreed that whenever a society departs from Him, the effects of that departure will be seen in every aspect of the life of that society.
Paul talks about that in Romans 1:18-32, where he says that once men and women give up on God, neither glorifying Him nor giving Him thanks, God also gives them up to various sins and perversions and to depraved minds. God is a moral God and He is faithful in doing this. There is no one like God in such judgments. He is the only one who can make these judgments on people. He is the Creator.
Next, the faithful Micah contrasts himself with the unfaithful leaders described earlier.
Micah 7:7 Therefore I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.
Notice the words look, wait, and hear. That guarantees, he says three times there, that it will happen, that his God will do this and his God will reciprocate. When Micah says, "I will look," he identifies himself with the watchman of Micah 7:4. Look and watchmen are forms of the same Hebrew word "I will wait. . . and my God will hear me." This section, which began with the cry of mourning, ends with the quiet confidence that God will act.
In the next section of the chapter, Micah praises God for His great acts of deliverance and concludes that there is no one like God in this way either. So, the second way in which God is unsurpassed is in His wonderful acts of deliverance. Zion's humiliation is affirmed to be both God's judgment and His gracious liberation as the roles with the enemy are reversed. The speakers are not identified but are probably the personified cities of Samaria and Jerusalem, representing Israelitish cities.
Micah 7:8-9 [my Bible's caption here is "Israel's Confession and Comfort"] Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness.
The city recognizes that it suffers the Lord's judgment because of its sin and now sees the Lord as its advocate in a court case. The rightness and justice of the Lord's action are seen in the freeing of the prisoner and the shaming of the enemy. Both sides will see it.
Micah 7:10 Then she who is my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who [I will add, mockingly] said to me, "Where is the Lord your God?" My eyes will see her; now she will be trampled down like mud in the streets.
These are images and they are cities and also armies in the sense. Even though Israel or Judah will be embarrassed and shamed by the calls of the other nations, they will be ashamed of what they have said or accused her of eventually. A reversal of roles takes place. Those nations that earlier desired to see Zion defiled are now open to public scorn. This taunting question, "Where is the Lord Your God?" disputes not God's existence, but His ability to save His people from distress.
This section of Micah is most like those of other passages of the Bible that exalt God, with which we began. The difference here is that Micah is looking forward rather than back. And true, he does this in reference to the past, as he does later in verse 15, "As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show them My wonders." But his praise is not so much for the past redemption as it is for an anticipated future deliverance. Micah is looking to the future. God has inspired him to write and the future is bright and hopeful for the Israelites.
In other words, this chapter is fully in line with the earlier message of the book. The prophet Micah has been writing about judgment to come. He is not retracting that now—judgment will come. The people will be carried off to Babylon but as the book draws to a close, he looks beyond the deportation to another deliverance and regathering into the Promised Land for them. In that day, the enemies of the people will be defeated, Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and the borders of the nation will be extended as they were previously.
Micah 7:11-13 In the day when your walls are to be built, in that day the decree shall go far and wide. In that day they shall come to you from Assyria and the fortified cities, from the fortress to the River, from sea to sea, and mountain to mountain. Yet the land shall be desolate because of those who dwell on it, and for the fruit of their deeds [or for their sins].
In this summary expression of the picture of the future, safety is found only within Jerusalem's wide and secure borders. Outside there is only a wasteland. The Lord will be the focus of worship. The nations will no longer flow to false gods but to Zion to learn of the true God and to live in peace.
God's role in delivering Israel from her captivities is not necessarily parallel in our case, but all who have truly believed and been baptized and received God's Holy Spirit have experienced an even greater and spiritual deliverance than this physical one Micah is describing. Micah speaks of having been plunged into darkness and then brought out into the light and that is true spiritually of us as well. Now, we have been lost in sin's darkness but have been brought into the glorious light of Christ.
Micah speaks of being subjected to the enemy, but of being raised up again. We have been cursed by sin but have been raised to newness of life in Christ. There is no one like God in His ability to deliver us from sin and restore us to usefulness. So there is no God like God physically in His blessings, and there is no God like God in His spiritual blessings.
Now, the third area in which God is unsurpassed is pastoral care. He is the supreme Shepherd and the theme reappears here for the third time in Micah. It has appeared every time the hope of better days has broken through the darkness of impending judgment. This section begins with a prayer that in shepherding His flock, the Lord will silence the nations.
Micah 7:14-15 ["God Will Forgive Israel"] Shepherd your people with Your staff, the flock of Your heritage, who dwells solitarily in a woodland, in the midst of Carmel; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. "As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them wonders."
The Lord has acted in the past and He will do so again ("when you came out"). The people of God in all ages are included in the deliverance from Egypt, that is, the world.
Micah 7:16-17 The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; and they shall put their hand over their mouth; and their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust like a serpent; they shall crawl from their holes like snakes of the earth. They shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and shall fear because of You.
They will be humiliated and humbled to the point of being face down in the dust. In verse 16, sight and shame describe what the nations experience when they observe God's power. God's people are fed and the nations fear.
Now, certainly there is no shepherd like the good Shepherd/King of Israel and under the care of this Shepherd, the contented sheep will lack nothing. David knew that and expressed this in Psalm 23, which everyone is very familiar with. David compares himself to a sheep and he begins with a statement in Psalm 23,
Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
And then he lists what he will not lack. So first, he will not lack rest. In verse 2 and the first part of verse 3 says,
Psalm 23:2-3 "He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul."
In A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Philip Keller tells how difficult it is to get a sheep to lie down. Sheep do not easily lie down. And he says, in fact,
It is almost impossible for them to be made to lie down unless four requirements are met. Owing to their timidity they refuse to lie down unless they are free from all fear. Because of the social behavior within the flock, sheep will not lie down unless they are free from friction with others of their kind. If tormented by flies or parasites, sheep will not lie down. Lastly, sheep will not lie down as long as they feel in need of finding food. They must be free of hunger.
So to rest, a sheep must be free from fear, tension, aggravation, and hunger.
The psalm begins with a picture of a sheep who has found its shepherd to be a good shepherd, able to meet his physical needs and provide release from anxiety. Second, he does not lack guidance.
Psalm 23:3 . . . He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Sheep are among the stupidest animals on earth. For one thing, they stray very easily. Their shepherd may lead them to good grazing land with an abundant water supply, but they still will wander away to barren fields with undrinkable water. Or again, they are creatures of habit. Their shepherds may find them good grazing land, but having found it, they will continue to graze upon it until every blade of grass and even every root is eaten and the field is ruined. It has happened to sheep lands in many parts of the world: Spain, Greece, Mesopotamia, North Africa, parts of the western United States, and New Zealand.
No other class of livestock requires more careful handling and more detailed directions than do sheep. Therefore, a shepherd who is able to give good guidance is essential for their welfare.
Third, the sheep in this psalm do not lack safety even in the presence of great danger,
Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
This verse has been used quite appropriately to comfort the dying, but it primarily speaks of the shepherd's ability to protect the sheep in danger. It is a reference to the passage from the lowlands where sheep spend the winter, through the valleys to the high pastures where they go in summer. The valleys are the places of richest pasture and of abundant water, but they are also places of danger. Wild animals lurk in the broken canyon walls to either side, sudden storms sweep down the valleys, there may be floods. The sun does not shine as well into the valleys, so there really is shadow that at any moment might become a death shadow. God leads us in safety through such experience.
And fourth, the psalm speaks of the shepherd's provisions for the physical need of each sheep. The sheep does not lack its sustenance, those things that maintain cleanliness and health.
Psalm 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.
Now, Keller thinks that preparing a table refers to the shepherd's advanced preparation of the high table lands or mesas where the sheep graze in summer. If so, it implies the elimination of hazards, the destruction of poisonous plants, and driving away the predators—all before the sheep arrived. Alternately, it may refer to God's provision of peace and pasture, even when enemies lurked nearby. David says in such a time, "God anoints him with oil and fills his cup of wine to overflowing."
In biblical imagery, oil and wine speak of joy and prosperity, but the growing of olives and grapes and their transformation into oil and wine took time and gentle care. In times of domestic turmoil or war these tasks are forgotten or unable to be accomplished.
Also, oil and wine well suited the inhabitants of a dry, barren land, and were therefore highly valued. In Palestine, where the sun shines fiercely most of the year, and temperatures continually soar well above 100 degrees, the skin quickly becomes cracked and broken, and throats become dusty and parched. Oil soothes the skin, particularly the face, and wine clears the throat. Therefore, when a guest arrived at the home of a friend in Palestine, in ancient days, hospitality demanded that oil and wine be provided.
David alludes to this in Psalm 31:16, when he prays, "Make Your face shine upon Your servant; save me for Your mercy's sake." A shining face was the face of a friend. In Psalm 104:15, David thanks God for wine and oil. He says, "And wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread which strengthens man's heart."
So, David knew that his Good Shepherd provided for him abundantly and his face shone and his heart was merry because of it.
Fifth, and finally, having spoken of these provisions, David adds with great joy that he does not lack for a heavenly home, or home from heaven being prepared by God.
Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy [or lovingkindness] will follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house [or presence] of the Lord forever.
This is a great promise. It causes us to look forward with joy to that day when we will stand before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His Temple. Using biblical imagery, Jesus' revelation to the apostle John pictures life in God's Kingdom as Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God shepherding the saints.
Revelation 7:16-17 "They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
The final words of Micah's prophecy focus on the Lord's faithfulness and compassion, especially in the restoration of the covenant relationship. Great as our God is in each of these three unsurpassed characteristics—supreme in judgment, deliverance, and guidance—He is greatest in the characteristic Micah mentions fourth and last, and that is forgiveness. Certainly, it is in reference to this characteristic specifically that he asks his greatest question: Who is a God like you?
Micah 7:18-20 Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which you have sworn to our fathers from days of old.
Who is a God like you? That question underscores the incomparable nature of the God who defends and pardons His people. Because He delights in steadfast love this provides the basis for why God forgives and relents His anger. The divine and prophetic confrontation as a result of Israel's sin yields to the feeding and forgiving of His inheritance. So, Micah says, "You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." As God casts Pharaoh's armies into the sea, so He will deal decisively with the sins of His people.
The people who joined Micah in praising God for His forgiveness here are quite different from the arrogant, self-righteous people who have appeared throughout the book. Earlier on these people could not imagine how they had offended God and blamed Him for their failures, claiming that they had not been told clearly enough what to do. The people who speak here have been humbled under God's hand and are now quite willing to acknowledge their sins. True repentance is theirs. Also, it is precisely because they know themselves to be sinners, that they are so aware of God's mercy. Because they know Him as a God of mercy they are anxious to avoid sinning again.
The book of Micah closes on a note of hope. The same God who executes judgment also delights to extend mercy. Forgiveness is grounded in God's faithfulness of His promises. God promised His faithfulness and steadfast love and the book of Micah rightly concludes by summarizing the foundational attributes and actions of the covenant-keeping Lord. God's character, that is, His steadfast love, moves Him to keep His word, that is, His faithfulness, and therefore, the promises of our fathers Abraham and Jacob still stand to this day. We have that assurance and that guarantee.
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