MICAH: Hope in the Face of Hardship Guilt & Punishment and God s Mercy & Grace Micah chapters 6 & 7 Layne Lebo November 20, 2016 Your nation is in a difficult place. People have strayed far from God and many who do worship Him worship Him with words and with religious rituals, but not with their lives. Your leaders have failed you by not leading well. They ve neglected the poor and oppressed. They lead because it benefits them and makes them prosperous, not because they want to serve those they lead. As a consequence for the sins of your people and your leaders judgment is coming. But don t lose hope, God always has a remnant a small group of devout followers who embrace righteousness when all around them people are falling away. Eventually God will bring deliverance through his promised leader. Those words summarize the prophet Micah s message to Israel and Judah 2,700 years ago, but there is a lot of truth in those words that applies to the United States and to the church in the U.S. in 2016. This morning we re wrapping up our 3 week study of this small book called Micah that is tucked into the back of the Old Testament. I suspect that few of us are familiar with Micah and its message, but it s a powerful little book. In a commentary on Micah the authors Copass and Carlson say this about this book: Of all the Old Testament prophecies, Micah s is the most exquisitely ordered, the most compact. It has, in addition, eloquence and beauty of phrasing equal to the great Isaiah s, and at times ever more simplicity, even more spiritual fervor and power of message. Pp. 80 & 81 As we ve done throughout this sermon series I d like to give you an overview of chapters 6 & 7 of Micah by having you watch this video. Micah is filled with contrasts God s people aren t worshiping Him faithfully, but there is still a righteous remnant. Things are bad and they re going to get worse, but deliverance is coming. Their leaders had led poorly and behaved badly, but God s promised leader is coming. Chapters 6 & 7 continue with the contrasts, highlighting the punishment that is coming 1
to God s people as a consequence for their sin on one hand and God s mercy and grace on the other hand. I encourage you to follow along as I read verses 1-5 of Micah 6. As I read, note that Micah sums up God s complaints against his people as if he is bringing charges against them in a court of law. And He calls on them to plead their case. Stand up, plead your case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say. Hear, O mountains, the LORD s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel. My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD. Micah 6:1-5 Micah challenges God s people to consider all that God has done for them in the past. He reminds them that God was the one who brought them out of their slavery in Egypt and into the Promised Land. He tells them to remember the story of Balak king of Moab and the false prophet Balaam. Moab s King, Balak, wanted to stop the progress of the Israelites and so he hired a prophet, Balaam, to call down curses on God s people. God tried to stop Balaam from attempting to curse the people of God, but Balaam was so stubborn in refusing to listen that eventually God caused Balaam s donkey to speak words of warning to him. (It s a great story and you can read it in the Book of Numbers chapters 22-24.) And Micah closes this section with the words, Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord. I had to do some research on that statement, because I had no idea what this was referring to. Here s what I discovered Picture of the Jordan River Shittim was the last place God s people camped after 40 years in the desert, just before they crossed the Jordan River and went into the promised land where they first established camp at Gilgal. To cross the Jordan God empowered Joshua to perform a miracle by dividing the water, just as He had done for Moses at the Red Sea, and the people walked into the Promised Land on dry ground. Micah s words, From Shittim to Gilgal signified the fulfillment of God s promises. But even this high point in Israel s history was marred, because just before crossing into the Promised Land God s people engaged in worshiping pagan gods and goddesses. We learn later that even though God had turned the prophet Balaam s intended curses into words of blessing, God s people were influenced by Balaam to worship idols. God s 2
charge against his people is that even in the face of God s amazing blessings his people have continually failed to follow Him faithfully. But in spite of his people s faithlessness, God remains faithful. We read these words promising God s comfort Micah chapter 7 verses 14-20. Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasturelands let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago. As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show them my wonders. Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power. They will lay their hands on their mouths and their ears will become deaf. They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens; they will turn in fear to the LORD our God and will be afraid of you. Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago. Micah 7:14-20 God uses the image of a shepherd who will lead his people to their inheritance. And Micah also refers again to God s deliverance of his people from slavery in Egypt and says that God will show his mercy to his people just as He did when he led them out of Pharaoh s grasp. Just as God had promised Abraham and the Israelites throughout their history, people of all nations will be blessed through God s people and will turn to God as their God. I want to read the last words of this book again, because they provide us with a wonderful picture of God s character. Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago. Micah 7:18-20 Chapters 6 & 7 of Micah use different words and some new images from Israel s history, but the message is the same as the first 5 chapters: in the midst of hardship, there is hope. But Micah chapter 6 also provides us with something that we don t read elsewhere in this book God tells his people what He expects of them. As I mentioned, chapter 6 begins with God presenting his charge against his people, as if He is an attorney in a court of law. And in this scenario God s people are given a chance to respond. And in their question and in God s response we see what God s expectations of his people are in this interim period where they re waiting for the promised deliverer. Verses 6 & 7 of Micah chapter 6 are framed as God s people s response to his charge against them. 3
With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? Micah 6:6 & 7 Micah chapter 6 verse 8 contains God s response to his people s question. This verse is known as one of the greatest sayings in the Old Testament. The author Aldous Huxley calls this passage, the perfect ideal of religion. He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God. Those are simple, but profound words. These words speak to our relationship with others and especially to those who are poor and oppressed the ones God s people have been taking advantage of. And these words also address our relationship with God. They echo Jesus response when He was asked by the religious leader, What s the greatest commandment? And He responded, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength. And the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself. I d like to pull out a few thoughts from these verses for us. Justice is a theme that s emphasized throughout the Old Testament. God s people, the Israelites, were an oppressed people and God delivered them. He delivered them from Pharaoh and Egypt. And later He delivered them from enemies like the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Babylonians and the Assyrians. For most of their existence God s people were vulnerable. They were small and lacked the military weaponry that the nations surrounding them had. The middle-eastern culture of the Old Testament was very unforgiving. The climate was harsh and made life difficult. The strong survived and thrived, while the weak were pushed aside and left to fend for themselves. Against that backdrop, God made it clear that his people were to live differently. They were to care for the poor, for orphans and for widows. God frequently reminded his people that they had been poor and oppressed and God had delivered them and now He was asking them to care for the poor and oppressed. The word mercy is mentioned next. That word is often used in conjunction with justice and grace. I ve heard grace described as God s favor extended to us freely and unconditionally; 4
while mercy is what God grants us in place of the judgment or punishment that is due us. Mercy and forgiveness go hand in hand. It s mercy that we receive from our Heavenly Father that positions us to forgive others. And forgiveness, probably more than any other trait marks us as followers of Jesus, who was able to declare on the cross, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. And the final statement in God s challenge to his people is, Walk humbly with your God. Humility before God is essential. It s humility that allows us to worship God, recognizing that He is God and we re not. It s humility that allows us to position ourselves under God s wisdom and protection and sovereignty, trusting that He is with us, He cares for us and He will protect us. What does God expect of his people: To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Justice, mercy and humility are traits God wants to be in evidence in the lives of his people today as well. We are called to care for the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized justice and mercy aren t just responsibilities of our government; as God s people we re called to care for the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized. McBIC supports ministries like New Hope, Life Choices (formerly Capital Area Pregnancy Center) and Mission Central. But I m especially excited about individuals within McBIC who embody a concern for justice and mercy in ministries they have started and continue to support. Our missional communities: Peace Promise, At The Cross Recovery, Our Father s Hope and Family Promise all serve the needs of people who tend to be marginalized in our culture. These groups serve victims of sextrafficking, those in recovery from substance abuse, adoptive and foster families and the homeless. And in my experience, humility is a by-product of ministering to those in need. Walking with people who are struggling with poverty or addiction or who are hurting deeply humbles us. We recognize that while their life situation is different than ours, they re people like us with the same kinds of hopes, dreams, fears and concerns. And we also come to understand that many of the blessings in our lives came to us as gifts and many of the struggles others have weren t the product of choices they made. As we conclude our study of Micah I want to switch gears a bit. I began this series by telling you that one of the reasons I love preaching on the prophets during the days leading up 5
to ADVENT is because they point to the coming of the Messiah, God s deliverer. Over the past 6 weeks we ve talked a lot about issues in our nation surrounding the presidential campaign and the election, as well as what s happening in our world. Addressing these broader issues has been timely and I believe, necessary for us, but I never want to lose sight of the hardships every one of us encounters personally. There are people all over this room today who are walking through deep heart ache related to spiritual, emotional, physical and relational needs that they have or burdens they re carrying for others who are wrestling with difficulties. I never want us to lose sight of the fact that our Heavenly Father ministers to each of us personally. Jesus came for all humanity, and that includes you and me. I d like to conclude our study of Micah by reading the passages from this book which point to the coming of the Messiah. As I read, I encourage you to assume a posture of prayer and to receive these words as your Messiah s words to you I will surely gather all of you; I will surely bring together the remnant. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people. One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the LORD at their head. Micah 2:12 & 13 In the last days the mountain of the LORD s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths. He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken. All the nations may walk in the name of their gods; we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever. Micah 4:1-5 selected But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins from of old, from ancient times. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace. Micah 5:1-5 selected Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago. Micah 7:18-20 6