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Micah – The Supreme Court
Sunday, April 20, 2008
INTRODUCTION: Micah, like his contemporary Isaiah, also belongs to the critical period of Israel’s history in the latter half of the eighth century B.C. He prophesied from the time of Jotham (742-735 B.C.) to Hezekiah (715-686). So, during his lengthy ministry Micah saw the northern kingdom of Israel taken into captivity by the Assyrians, fulfilling one of his prophecies (1:6-7), and he saw his own southern kingdom of Judah threatened by the same army. Even though Judah would survive this threat, it was only a harbinger for a future reality (1:8-9). At this time Assyria was growing strong under a series of four power rulers, Tiglath-pileser, Shalmaneser, Sargon and Sennacherib. Uzziah, king of Judah, was succeeded to the throne by his son Jotham, who had been coregent with his father. Toward the close of his reign Judah was threatened with an invasion by the allied forces of Damascus and Israel because it would not join their coalition against the Assyrians. But the real crisis did not come until the reign of his son Ahaz. Threatened by invasion, Ahaz, against the protest of Isaiah, appealed to the Assyrian ruler Tiglath-pileser. “Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, ‘I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.’ And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria complied by attacking Damascus and capturing it” (2 Kings 16:7-9a). As a result of turning to the Assyrians for help, instead of turning to God, the northern kingdom of Israel was permanently weakened and lasted only ten more years, and the southern kingdom simply created more Assyrian involvement in the region.
During the early years of Hezekiah’s reign Judah continued to enjoy peace by paying yearly tribute to Assyria. It was during this time that Assyria invaded Samaria and carried off the northern kingdom into captivity in 722 B.C. when the Assyrian king Shalmaneser found out that Israel had sought an alliance with Egypt. Because the southern kingdom of Judah had appealed to Assyria for help it remained a vassal to this powerful nation. Judah periodically grew tired of Assyria’s control and revolted at various times. In 702 the Assyrian ruler Sennacherib marched westward and conquered the fortified cities of Judah. Hezekiah of Judah tried to buy off the Assyrians by giving them all the gold and silver that was found in the temple and by cleaning out the royal treasury. This only encouraged the Assyrians more and Jerusalem itself was threatened. Hezekiah and all Jerusalem was shut up, but through divine intervention the capital city was delivered by God’s direct intervention (2 Kings 18-19).
The moral and spiritual environment in Judah during Micah’s day was extremely impoverished. Religion was a matter of mere outward form with the belief that by practicing the rituals of the Mosaic Law that God’s favor would be granted on the nation. “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?” (6:6-7). The worship of other gods was widespread throughout the nation, foreign elements were introduced into the worship of Jehovah, the religious leaders, the priests and prophets, performed their religious functions for the payment of money. “This is what the Lord says: ‘As for the prophets who lead my people astray, if one feeds them, they proclaim ‘peace’; if he does not, they prepare to wage war against him’” (3:5). “Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the Lord and say, ‘Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us’” (3:11). The wealth abused the poor and judges accepted bribes. The hopelessness of the situation can be seen in the words of 7:5-6.
Micah of Moresheth is also mentioned in Jeremiah 26 in a book that was written a hundred years later. In the chapter Jeremiah was threatened with death because he prophesied that destruction was coming to Judah if the nation did not turn from its sin and acknowledge God. The religious leaders became angry with Jeremiah for bringing his negativity into the temple precincts and they argued that this treason was worthy of death. But “Some of the elders of the land stepped forward and said to the entire assembly of people, ‘Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: “‘Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.’ “Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did not Hezekiah fear the Lord and seek his favor? And did not the Lord relent, so that he did not bring the disaster he pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves!” (26:17-19).
STRUCTURE: The prophecy of Micah is easily outlined by the call to court, “Hear ye, hear ye” that appears three times in the book (1:2; 3:1; 6:1). In each section various groups of people are summoned to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the supreme judge of the universe. The prophecy of Micah is a series of three cycles that consists of messages of doom and hope. In the first summons the nations of the earth are called to court to hear God’s charges against his own people. The indictment centered on the cities of Samaria and Jerusalem, the capitals of the northern and southern kingdoms respectively for their role in leading the people away from God. During Micah’s day Israel had long since forsaken the Lord, while Judah was in the process of making the same tragic mistake. The immediate consequence of this unfaithfulness to God was the destruction of the northern kingdom which took place in 722 B.C. when the Assyrian army captured Samaria after a three-year siege (1:6-7). The specific charges in this opening indictment were the sins of covetous, theft by violence, fraud, and oppression (2:1-2). As a result, God would do to them as they had done to their fellow Israelite, he would remove them from their inheritance (2:3-5). The religious leaders complained of Micah’s negative message and said that God was not angry with them (2:6-11). By not telling the people to repent and return to the Lord, the prophets were neglecting the only thing that could save them. Although the future did not look bright, Micah concluded the opening message with a prediction of future restoration (2:12-13).
Before we turn to the main message of Micah I want to point out the key predictions of his prophecy. No prophet of the Old Testament exceeds Micah in the proportion of predictions respecting Israel’s future and the advent of the Messiah and his kingdom. Micah predicted:
Ø The fall of Samaria in 722 B.C. (1:6-7)
Ø Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah (1:9-16)
Ø The fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (3:12)
Ø The exile in Babylon (4:10)
Ø The return and future glory of Israel (4:1-8)
Ø The birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem (5:2)
APPLICATION: In the third cycle of oracles God uses the prophet Micah to lodge his complaints against the disobedient nation. Trying to get a response from the unresponsive nation, God asks the nation if it has any complaints to bring against him. He then gives a brief history lesson that begins with the Exodus from Egypt and ends with the entry into the Promised Land. Then, with a series of rhetorical questions, Micah asks the nation what one has to take before God in worship to gain his favor. By mentioning the elements of the sacrificial system, Micah was not downplaying its importance. It had been established to provide atonement for the people’s sin. Micah knew however, that the sacrifices were meant to be an outward expression of their inner commitment to God. Micah’s point is that true religion is not mere outward conformity to a prescribed ritual, or the mere bringing of sacrifices or the payment of tithes, but a life lived in accordance with the divine principles of righteousness. In today’s terminology true religion is not based on church attendance or committee work or financial giving. Today’s Christian is often guilty is giving God everything except what he wants, which is your heart, your love and obedience. Like an uninvolved parent who gives his children expensive gifts in exchange for his time and love, we can be guilty of trying to buy God off with expensive sacrifices.
When Micah writes, “He has showed you, O man, what is good” it indicates that we already know we cannot buy God off by exchanging our offerings for obedience. It sometimes works on a human level, but it never works with God. Sacrifices without a spiritual commitment to God is meaningless. God repeats the warning that he gave to king Saul, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king” (1 Samuel 15:22-23). We often act like some of my college students who don’t make the effort to meet the requirements of the class and then ask me for extra credit work to make up for their lack of effort. Let’s try to rewrite the rhetorical questions in today’s terminology. “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with hymns and praise music, with an occasional time of devotions? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of hours of church attendance, with ten thousand dollars in donations? Shall I offer to serve on a committee, some precious time from my busy schedule?
A healthy relationship with God involves three principles. First, to act justly. This is the first of two horizontal relationships that define how we treat others. We are to practice justice as defined by the commands found in Scripture. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are to fulfill our family and work obligations. We are to be fair in our business dealings. This describes how we handle things like money, time, emotions and our tongues. We are to put people before things and maintain pure motives. We are to be transparent in our conduct. When it comes to practicing justice, do you find yourself trying to justify your actions? Second, to love mercy. This is the second of our horizontal relationships. The word translated “mercy” is better defined as “steadfast or faithful love.” It describes our relationships with others, especially with people who are in a position of weakness. Do we have a forgiving spirit toward those who have offended us? Do we keep our promises even when it is not convenient? Do we maintain long-term relationships? Are we constantly seeking the lost? And third, to walk humbly (or wisely) with your God. This phrase describes our vertical relationship with God. It tells us to be careful to live the way God wants you to. It means to walk in step with God, heading in the same direction, talking as you’re walking. Are you giving God the best of your time? Are you giving him your best effort? Do you spend enough time in his Word and in prayer to know how you ought to walk? Do you accept the good circumstances and the bad as a part of his will? What kind of example is your walk setting for others? What kind of example is your walk setting for your children? Are you fulfilling God’s purpose for your life?
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