Micah 7: Near the Sinners

Woe is me! For I have become
    as when the summer fruit has been gathered,
    as when the grapes have been gleaned:
there is no cluster to eat,
    no first-ripe fig that my soul desires. (Micah 7:1)

Micah has written, "Woe" to many a person throughout his short book. "Woe to the oppressors..." "Woe to those who devise iniquity..." "Woe is me," is a decidedly new angle.

Micah is the voice of reason amidst voices of chaos, the voice of God in a land that has put its hands over its ears and turned its eyes away from heaven.

This barren vineyard is a picture of how spiritually dead Israel has become. It's like everything that was good about Israel is in the past, it's been harvested, and all that's left is a shrivelling vine. Micah makes this picture personal, using it in reference to himself. 

It reminds me of the way we sometimes pray for our country. "Lord, forgive us..." "God, we have sinned..." "We are sorry Father, for turning away from You." We take on the faults of those around us, knowing that a nation is made up of people; and as a part of it, we have, if not a hand in the problem by neglect, at least a responsibility to change it.

He goes on to say that there is "no one upright among mankind." The corruption, he reiterates, is about as bad as it gets.

Put no trust in a neighbor;
    have no confidence in a friend;
guard the doors of your mouth
    from her who lies in your arms;
6 for the son treats the father with contempt,
    the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
    a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
    I will wait for the God of my salvation;
    my God will hear me. (Micah 7:5-7)

I love this. Micah's words go into the homes of the people he's talking to, the people he just identified with. They show how rejection of God breeds the distrust they experience on a regular basis... and then declare that God is still trust-worthy.

While this vicious cycle of corrupted relationships goes round and round, one corrupted relationship is eager to be restored.

Micah started by identifying himself with these people, taking on the responsibility of their sins. When he speaks of broken relationships, these are relationships that he's in the midst of, that he's been burned by like everyone else. When he says that he will wait for the God of his salvation, and states with confidence that God will hear him, he is not far off from the people, and so neither is his God.

Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
    when I fall, I shall rise;
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 cause
    and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
    I shall look upon his vindication.
10 Then my enemy will see,
    and shame will cover her who said to me,
    “Where is the Lord your God?” (Micah 7:8-10a)

Here again, Micah declares with humble confidence that though he is deserving of God's judgment, he knows that his attitude of submission will be honoured by God, and He will save him from being treated unjustly.

For fear of repeating myself, I almost don't want to clearly outline my conclusion, but...for fear of not getting the point across, I will.

Because Micah started the chapter off in humility, taking the sins of Israel on himself, every confident statement he makes concerning God's willingness to work on his behalf and not against him, is an invitation to everyone else.

Now, I have a concern.

When I set out to learn more about the book of Micah and the prophet by that name, I first read through the whole book quickly. My impression was that it was all very confusing, boring at best, depressing at worst.

I was keenly aware though, that there was LOTS to be discovered under this surface. In writing this series, I wanted to point out to you a few themes that I "unearthed."

My first concern was that in reading the book of Micah, one might completely miss the implicit themes of grace and character amidst the more explicit themes of sin, wrath, and judgment. My second concern is that in reading my series, one might completely miss the contextual and historical themes (the explicit ones) amidst my musings over God's ever-faithful love for His people. (the implicit ones)

Both are very important in understanding this book, so I don't want to overpower one in an attempt to show the importance of the other. I hope, as you've been following along, that you have been reading the book for yourself.

That being said, I am jumping over a few verses now. (Which you will notice if you are reading Micah 7.)

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
    and passing over transgression
    for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
    because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
    he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
    into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob
    and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
    from the days of old. (Micah 7:18-20)

"Who is a God like you?"

Just think about that for a moment.

Remember the wickedness of Israel. Remember the stubbornness of Israel. Remember how God said that He wailed and lamented over their sin. No one else is a God like Him, Who never changes. Yesterday, today, forever, remember?

Now imagine Jesus, experiencing unimaginable pain, hanging by nails on a cross. Remember that next to Him hung a man who had earned that place? Remember what the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Holy One of Israel, Who visits the iniquities of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generations, said to him?

"Today you will be with Me in paradise."

To everyone who avoided associating with sinners because they were trying to be holy, that God would hang next to one, sharing in his suffering, and "pass over his transgression," was shocking.

But didn't Micah tell them? Jesus came and showed them what God was like, but they could have known before Him, if they had only bothered to understand what Micah and the prophets were saying when they said things like, "He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot."

I asked the girls in my bible study to recite John 3:16, a verse most of us know very well.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

"Do you think you understand what that verse means?" I asked.

All of the sweet and brilliant girls in my class nodded their heads, while one of their teachers, sitting in the back listening, shook her head.

I had to laugh. I'm pretty sure as a Christian, you inevitably reach points in your faith where you think you know everything, and then a little while later realize you know nothing. The very things you thought you understood end up meaning more and more, until you realize just how little your mind is able to comprehend.

"For God so loved the world," Stop.

How can God love the world? We just went through a brief, 7 chapter summary of how evil humanity can be.

They covet fields and seize them,
    and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
    a man and his inheritance. (Micah 2:2)

But lately my people have risen up as an enemy;
you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly
    with no thought of war. (Micah 2:8)

If a man should go about and utter wind and lies,
    saying, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,”
    he would be the preacher for this people! (Micah 2:11)

you who hate the good and love the evil,
who tear the skin from off my people
    and their flesh from off their bones,
3 who eat the flesh of my people,
    and flay their skin from off them,
and break their bones in pieces
    and chop them up like meat in a pot,
    like flesh in a cauldron. (Micah 3:2-3)

Its heads give judgment for a bribe;
    its priests teach for a price;
    its prophets practice divination for money;
yet they lean on the Lord and say,
    “Is not the Lord in the midst of us?
    No disaster shall come upon us.” (Micah 3:11)

Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well;
    the prince and the judge ask for a bribe,
and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;
    thus they weave it together.
4 The best of them is like a brier,
    the most upright of them a thorn hedge. (Micah 7:3-4a)

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son," Stop.

Because God had been wronged, He decided to be the one to endure the pain of loss.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. (Hebrews 2:10)

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life." ....Stop.

Throughout the summary of the wickedness of humanity, we have also seen a summary of the constant longing that God has to be in relationship with His people. The same longing that caused Him endless grief over sin, caused Him to go so far as to create a way for us to simply come to Him.

His way to come to us was not simple, nor was it easy. But He did it "that whosoever believeth..." Can you hear the emphasis on the word that? Somehow, that had to be accomplished. 

Can you imagine the joy that God has when someone decides they will be like Micah, the lone voice in chaos, simply trusting in God? When He has worked so hard, the least we can do is what He calls us to, trust.

"Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)

'For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. (Luke 15:24)

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)


I hope you enjoyed this series, thanks for reading!

What is Truth?

My church's Young Adults Group has just started doing the Truth Project.

I'm not going to talk about the series, as we are only one video in, but I want to talk about something that was brought up last week, which has been on my heart for a while.

What has happened to simplicity?

I know that God is vast and beyond our comprehension. He is intelligent and creative and thus, there are endless opportunities for the mind to explore in His creation, and even just in His character.

I love this. I am the kind of person who likes mysteries and enjoys puzzles. I have grown up listening to my dad talk theology, and learning how to debate.

But one thing that my mother has modeled for me over the years is how simple faith really is.

Looking at her and the family she grew up in sometimes makes me wish for a simpler faith. One that prays for income, works, and thanks God for the increase. 

Again, I love the complex side of God, but I have started to think that just maybe, in our day and age, we have overcomplicated things.

The reason I bring this up is because our pastor's wife asked at the meeting last week, "What is truth?"

The question was to get us to think, and that it did, but I confess my first thought and feeling was to be very frustrated that we must ask that question at all.

The theory of relativism, of "Your truth, my truth, his truth," is an idea that is very widely accepted in the secular world.

I did GAP last year, (the Genocide Awareness Project, a week of pro life activism) and talked to a TON of university students who held this worldview.

What concerned me the most was when some of them identified themselves as Christians.

I can understand unbelievers holding that. The argument doesn't hold up well, but I understand why they can think that.

Christians CANNOT.

Here we go again, overcomplicating things. As a Christian, you must believe what the bible says. What does the bible say about truth?

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. (John 17:17)

For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. (II Corinthians 13:8)

God's word is truth. What He has said, what He has made, what He has put into order. That's not up for debate. We can't even do anything against truth, because if we do something, it becomes a part of what God has already set in place. You tripped? You laughed? That's true. Nothing you say or do will ever change that truth.

Truth is simple. We do ourselves a disservice if we make it anything but.

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

Where is the freedom in relative truth? You can never know, you can never be sure. The very ground you stand on may dissolve beneath you because you can't trust the truth that it will last.

Truth is a gift, and we get to have it.

Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge, That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you? (Proverbs 22:20, 21)

If there was no truth, you could never learn it, it would be like a bird constantly flying just out of your reach.

Truth is lasting. Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life." What does this even mean if the truth is negotiable?

For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. (Psalms 100:5)

To answer the question....truth is what we thought it was before we started talking about relativity.

These days, I think a five year old child would be better at answering that question than a 25 year old.

We urge children to "tell the truth," yet that can be argued in university.

Why do we argue? Why did we lose the simplicity in the first place? I think because we know if we must conform to the truth, we must change the way we are.

We have turned "every one to his own way." We are not creatures of truth, we sin, and we know that if we face the One who knows the truth, He will see the lies we have told others and ourselves to justify the breaking of His law.

But somehow, God intended to keep us WITHOUT ignoring the truth about us.

This verse expresses it beautifully.

Show us Your mercy, Lord, And grant us Your salvation. I will hear what God the Lord will speak, For He will speak peace To His people and to His saints; But let them not turn back to folly. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed. (Psalms 85:7-10)