The Book of Micah

Today we are, believe it or not, going to take a look at the whole book of Micah. But take my word for it, we’re going to move pretty quickly, in an attempt to grasp the big picture, the theological horizon, presented by this prophet’s message. So let’s get right to it….

Chapter one begins by answering four questions for us. First, who is this a message to? Verse two says, “Listen, all you nations! Pay attention, all inhabitants of earth!” (Micah 1:2, NET Bible here and following). The message is to everybody everywhere.

Secondly, who is the message from? “The sovereign LORD will testify…” (1:2). The message is from the one God and Lord of all creation.

Thirdly, who is the message about? “The sovereign LORD will testify against you…” (1:2). This is a testimony against the whole world. I grant, that sounds awful. After all, if the Creator Himself is testifying against the world, then who could possibly stand up for the world?

And, fourthly, where does His testimony sound from? “The LORD will accuse you from his majestic palace.” He presses charges against the world directly from His holy temple. Holiness defines the motif, the whole atmosphere and tone of this testimony. Micah’s prophecy is launched from holiness and is oriented towards holiness.

Let’s read the first part of the prophecy: (read Micah 1:3-16)

The prophecy is against places, against Jerusalem, Samaria, Shaphir, Beth Leapharah, Zaanan and others. In other words, the whole country is defiled with sin, in particular the sin of idolatry and the dissolution that always accompanies it. These two sins go together as a rule; they are two sides of the same coin. Man cannot serve an idol without falling into immorality, since, having distorted the image of the Creator, he inevitably distorts his own image.

In this dark period of Israelite history the Creator Himself grieves over the defiled nation, that there is no place in the whole country that will not finally have to taste the bitterness of its sin. To all these places God declares: “”Shave your heads bald as you mourn for the children you love; shave your foreheads as bald as an eagle, for they are taken from you into exile” (1:16).

In the second chapter the point of view switches from the general to the personal. God addresses those who, in the depth of their hearts, devise only evil: (read 2:1-5).

“Those who devise sinful plans are good as dead, those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, because they have the power to do so” (v.1).

That is the fruit of idolatry, since no idol anywhere will ever instruct anybody in magnanimity, mercy, kindness or grace. An idol's only power is to magnify the idolater's own cravings and passion to obtain the object of those cravings for himself, no matter the price. The symptoms and repercussions of idolatry, among any people, are injustice and corruption.

In this connection, starting at verse 6 the subject is false prophets, because false prophets personify the corruption of the truth as they make themselves out to be the transmitters of God's holy will, by that very act cutting off the last possibility for the nation's correction. If, after all, the presumed prophets of God approve the nation's dissolute ways, then who is going to fear God? Or if a true prophet does speak, the people will not tolerate it:

"'Don't preach with such impassioned rhetoric,' they say excitedly, 'These prophets should not preach such things; we will not be overtaken by humiliation.' Does the family of Jacob say, 'The LORD's patience can't be exhausted—he would never do such things'? To be sure, my commands bring a reward for those who obey them." (2:6-7)

Which is underlined by what Micah writes a little later: "This is what the LORD says: 'The prophets who mislead my people are as good as dead. If someone gives them enough to eat, they offer an oracle of peace. But if someone does not give them food, they are ready to declare war on him.'" (3:5-6)

Therefore God tells the people, and the false prophets: "But you are the ones who will be forced to leave! For this land is not secure! Sin will thoroughly destroy it!"

But here is something wonderful. Having told the people they must leave and that the land will be destroyed, God immediately adds:

"I will certainly gather all of you, O Jacob, I will certainly assemble those Israelites who remain. I will bring them together, like sheep in a fold, like a flock in the middle of a pasture; they will be so numerous that they will make a lot of noise. The one who can break through barriers will lead them out, they will break out, pass through the gate, and leave. Their king will advance before them, the LORD himself will lead them."

God has never quit loving, never quit striving for the achievement of His sacred, cherished aim, the aim that, no matter what, He will realize.

"I will gather." That's God's intention. In the same prophecy that so grievously resonates with condemnation, the light of divine promise must, all the same, gleam, because God is the God of hope.

"I will bring them together; they will…pass through the gate; …their king will advance before them, the LORD himself will lead them."

And this word "LORD" in the Hebrew is Yahweh—that is, the Self-Existent One, Eternal. The very Eternal One will advance before them, leading them. Who can this be but the Incarnation of the Living God, Jesus Christ Himself?

Isn't it amazing that in the context of such a negative prophecy there suddenly sounds such stunningly positive assurances? For God's remnant the sense of expectation never dies out, the expectation of God's victory.

It just so happens that this concept—the remnant—is the key concept of the next chapter. Almost the whole third chapter is an expose of the nation's sinfulness—their cruelty, hard-heartedness, hypocrisy, corruption and self-deception—yet right in the middle of this litany of offenses the prophet Micah abruptly asserts: "But I am full of the courage that the LORD's Spirit gives, and have a strong commitment to justice. This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion, and Israel with its sin."

The faithful prophet personifies God's faithful remnant. He represents the remnant's responsibility to do what's right, to demonstrate firmness and witness in the power of God's Spirit. Which reminds me of the words of Jesus Christ to His disciples: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

This decree of the Lord foreshadows, of course, His ultimate self-revelation, which will encompass "the farthest parts of the earth", towards which the disciples set out, spreading the good news throughout the world. This ultimate self-revelation of Christ is inseparable from the conclusive appearing of God's kingdom in all its eternal glory, at Jesus' appearing. And, it just so happens, the Old Testament prophet Micah begins, in the immediately following part, to depict this very appearing of Christ.

"In the future the LORD's Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; it will be more prominent than other hills. People will stream to it. Many nations will come, saying, 'Come on! Let's go up to the LORD's mountain, to the temple of Jacob's God, so he can teach us his commands and we can live by his laws.' For Zion will be the source of instruction; the LORD's teachings will proceed from Jerusalem. He will arbitrate between many peoples and settle disputes between many distant nations. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations will not use weapons against other nations, and they will no longer train for war. Each will sit under his own grapevine or under his own fig tree without any fear. The LORD who commands armies has decreed it. Though all the nations follow their respective gods, we will follow the LORD our God forever." (4:1-5)

 Look at the difference between how God deals with the unholy:

(1:4) "The mountains will disintegrate beneath him, and the valleys will be split as two. The mountains will melt like wax in a fire, the rocks will slide down like water cascading down a steep slope."

(2:10) "But you are the ones who are forced to leave! For this land is not secure! Sin will thoroughly destroy it!"

(3:4) "Someday these sinners will cry to the LORD for help, but he will not answer them. He will hide his face from them at that time, because they have done such wicked deeds."

...and the way God deals with those He has redeemed:

 (2:12-13) "I will certainly gather all of you, O Jacob.... I will bring them together like sheep in a fold…. The LORD himself will lead them."

(4:6-8) "'In that day,' says the LORD, 'I will gather the lame, and assemble the outcasts whom I injured. I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, and those far off into a mighty nation. The LORD will reign over them on Mount Zion, from that day forward and forevermore.' As for you, watchtower for flock, fortress of Daughter Zion – your former dominion will be restored, the sovereignty that belongs to Daughter Jerusalem."

And what does the apostle Paul say about this city, Jerusalem? He says that the Jerusalem from above is free, and is the mother of us all who are in Christ.

And the apostle John transmits to us the vision given to him:

"And I saw the holy city—the new Jerusalem—descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: "Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them." (Revelation 21:2-3)

The sense of hope and the expectation of that great day's arrival is never extinguished among God's remnant.

And it just so happens that the fifth chapter begins with a word of expectation. The prophet points to the town where the Ruler will arise, "one whose origins are in the distant past" (5:2). "He will assume his post and shepherd the people by the LORD's strength—"

"I am the good Shepherd," Jesus assures us.

"—by the sovereign authority of the LORD his God."

"I and the Father are one," Jesus assures us.

"They will live securely—"

"I will give then eternal life," Jesus assures us, "and they will never perish."

"—for at that time he will be honored even in the distant regions of the earth."

Therefore  Jesus Christ commanded, "You will be my witnesses, even to the ends of the earth."

"He will give us peace."

Therefore Jesus Christ says, "I have said these things, that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have grief, but take courage for I have overcome the world."

This is the pinnacle, the climax, of the book of Micah, an exultant foretaste of God's own glorious future which, no matter what, is racing towards us inexorably.

In the remainder of this book, God turns, through the mouth of the prophet, to the spiritual condition of the people at that time. We have gained a glimpse of a glorious future, but it's necessary to come back to earth and see to the rectification of one's character in light of that revelation.

In the second half of the fifth chapter God promises the defeat of His people's enemies, which again encourages us in God's faithfulness.

And then, in the sixth chapter, the judgment commences. And it is a fearsome judgment. To begin with, the judgment sounds as if God Himself is the defendant, since He asks, "My people, how have I wronged you? How have I wearied you?" In other words, what am I guilty of? And He asserts His innocence: "In fact, I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I delivered you from that place of slavery. I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you."

And having made that clear, the Lord gets to the heart of the matter: "With what should I enter the Lord's presence? With what should I bow before the sovereign God?"

And here's the answer: "He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord really wants from you: He wants you to promote justice, to be faithful, and to live obediently before your God."

But the people were living in any way but that. From the ninth verse of chapter six to the sixth verse of chapter seven a whole litany of the nation's sins, the consequences of their sins, the desolation of their sins, the ruin of their sins, is rolled out. It's a stunning depiction of the Israelite society of that time. It also happens to be a stunning depiction of the society of our day.

And, confronted with such a depiction, what should we do? How should we respond? Again: 

"He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord really wants from you: He wants you to promote justice, to be faithful, and to live obediently before your God." (6:8)

The apostle Peter asks likewise, how should we live? "…[T]he heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and every deed done on it will be laid bare. Since all these things are to melt away in this manner, what sort of people must we be, conducting our lives in holiness and godliness, while waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God?" (2 Peter 3:11)

What does Micah the prophet say after the frightful litany of Israel's sins? In the same spirit as the apostle, Micah testifies: "But I will keep watching for the Lord; I will wait for the God who delivers me. My God will hear my lament" (7:7).

And the very last part of chapter seven promises the defeat of the enemies of God and His people. Through the mouth of the prophet, the Lord foretells the day when all nations will see and be ashamed, when they will fear the living God.

At the start of the sermon I asked, "If God Himself testifies against His people, then who can stand up for them?" The concluding words of this prophetic book answer my question: "There is no other God like you! You forgive sin and pardon the rebellion of those who remain among your people. You do not remain angry forever, but delight in showing loyal love. You will once again have mercy on us; you will conquer our evil deeds; you will hurl our sins into the depths of the sea. You will be loyal to Jacob and extend your loyal love to Abraham, which you promised on oath to our ancestors in ancient times."

This is our God, our Redeemer, Who has manifested forgiveness to those who call upon Him through the Ruler born in Bethlehem, the one Whose origins are from the beginning. Thanks to the grace of Jesus Christ, our God and Maker no longer testifies against us but stands for us.

Let us, correspondingly, in thankfulness for eternal life, testify to the supremacy of the name of Jesus Christ, doing what is good, loving acts of mercy, and walking in humble obedience before our God.