Micah 6:1-16. In yesterday’s reading we saw that God cares and has a plan to deal with our sins (disobedience and rebellion) but we have responsibility too, we have to want what God is offering and accept that we cannot fix the relationship on our own or by our own power.
Today’s reading starts with a kind of trial. God asks the mountains and hills to listen in on the trial. Both have been around since the beginning so they have seen it all. There is an old saying, “If these walls could talk imagine the stories they could tell.” Here God is asking the hills and mountains to lisen because they know all those stories. It’s a way of saying that what he is saying is true and everyone should know it. In this case the story is about how much he has cared for the Israelites. The original twelve sons had gone to Egypt during a famine begging for help. They became a large group while there, so large that the king or Pharaoh of Egypt eventually made them slaves. After 400 years in Egypt God brought them out of Egypt and eventually put them in the land he had promised to their ancestors.
In verse 4 God mentions that he also gave them leaders, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Although the idea for the Israelite government was that God would be their king in a way Moses served that function. He wasn’t the king but was the kings representative, maybe a president or prime minister. Aaron’s family was assigned the duties of priests in the honor and worship of God. Priest under the Law of Moses were “go betweens” between God and the people. Miriam was called a prophetess. A prophet was assigned the duty of helping the people remember God’s words and rules. Prophets also gave new information from God in those days when God wanted them to have some new information. This three part leadership made a full and complete way of caring for the people. Eventually God combined these three functions in the one person of Jesus.
In verse 5 God asks them to remember the story of Balaam and Barak. You might remember this story because Balaam’s donkey talked to him about an angel with a sword who was looking to kill him. Balaam was a prophet and Balak was a king of a group of people living near the land promised to the Israelites. Balak was afraid of the Israelites and though that they would destroy him and his kingdom so he asked Balaam to cures them. Instead Balaam repeatedly blessed them. The story would make the Israelites remember that he was going to take care of his people even thought the world hated and feared them.
Finally in verse 5 they are told to remember the journey from Shittim to Gilgal. Shittim is on the east bank of the Jordan River and Gilgal is on the west. Shittim is the last place the wandering Israelites camped before crossing the Jordan River, Gilgal is the first place they camped on the west side. Although the Israelites eventually controlled land on both sides of the Jordan River, crossing the river represented entering the land promised to them by God. The journey is a symbol of God fulfilling his promises to his people. Altogether the people are being asked to remember God’s love, care, and faithfulness to them. There is a Hebrew word for theses ideas, hesed. It is a very big word.
In verses 6-8 Micah asks the people how he should come to God. Should he bring some sort of physical offering, something he has made or owns? Micah’s answer is no! When we come to God we need to bring three things: a life filled whith doing the right thing toward other people (justice), to love kindness or mercy, and to walk with God without pride. The word translated kindness or mercy is that big Hebrew word “hesed” and I think Micah is telling them to hold on tight to what they are supposed to remember, they need to love what God has done for them. And then they are to live each day close to their faithful God. These three things remind me a lot of Jesus’ answer to the lawyer who asked him what the greatest commandment in the Law of Moses was. Jesus told him the greatest was to love God with all he is and has. Jesus then went on to tell him that the second most important commandment was to love his neighbor as much has he loved himself and that theses two commandments really told you all there was to know about making God happy.
Verses 9-16 get back to the trial. First we saw the witnesses the hills and mountains. Then we met the plaintiff, the person with the complaint, God. We saw that he had been a good and faithful God to his people. Then we were reminded of the rules that we need to use to see if the other side (the Israeilites) had failed. Now we will see the evidence against them. Verse 9 wars the people that they are about to be evaluated, tested, and they ought to show some respect (that is the idea behind the word fear). Verses 10-12 point out that the people have been unfair with each other, they have used measuring devices which cheated others. No justice here! Clearly they have broken the first rule and verses 13-15 describe the punishment they will be sick, hungry, conquered in battle, and not enjoy the things they have worked for.
Omri was a king in the history of the Northern Kingdom. He was wicked and encouraged worship of false gods. Ahab was his son who was even more wicked and brought in worship of Baal and even human sacrifice. The people followed in Ahab’s foorsteps. Instead of Loving God’s mercy (and being merciful too) and instead of walking with God they walked in their own pride with their former kings Omri and Ahab.
The verdict is clear, God is God and he has certain expectations, rightly so. We can either live the way he wants and be cared for or live by our own rules and suffer harsh consequences. God is very merciful, hesed is a big word, but he is also just. The choice and responsibility are ours we can either do things his way or suffer.
God thank you for caring enough to make a way out of my disobedience and rebellion. Thank you for your love and care and mercy. Thank you for your faithfulness to your promises. Thank you that as “many as truly put their eternal destiny in Jesus hands you will give the right to be your forever children”. Thank you for offering that to me. Help me treat others the way you would treat them, thank you for your mercy in my life, and help me walk each day along your path by your side.