Over the last few weeks we’ve been studying the last books of the Old Testament, the Minor Prophets. Today we continue that. Before we do, let’s recite their names together:
 
 

This week’s stop brings us to one of the more unusual characters - Micah.
        He had a strange way of getting his point across. Perhaps because that was part of who he was. Perhaps in part because his people were walking around in a spiritual daze, half asleep, and needed to be jolted back to reality.
        Open your bibles, please, to p.1049 - Micah chapter 1. Read v.8 - v.11.
        And ask yourself this while we do – if Council presented this sort of a person on nomination for preacher, would you vote for him?

8 ¶ Because of this I will weep and wail; I will go about barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl.
9 For her wound is incurable; it has come to Judah. It has reached the very gate of my people, even to Jerusalem itself.
10 Tell it not in Gath; weep not at all. In Beth Ophrah roll in the dust.
11 Pass on in nakedness and shame, you who live in Shaphir. Those who live in Zaanan will not come out. Beth Ezel is in mourning; its protection is taken from you.

Stewart Briscoe (Hearing God’s Voice Above The Noise) says that it would be like an American preacher on prime time TV saying, "Living in Pittsburg is the pits.... Los Angeles is no city of angels.....Wisconsin should only be pronounced Wiscon-SIN."
        That would sort of get attention, don’t you think?

Which was a tough thing to do.
Tough because the people only paid attention to their preachers when the message was to their liking. When it had the right mixture of warm fuzzies, positive affirmations, and soft strokes, they’d listen. Otherwise - if you’d come with tough talk, with challenging words, stuff that suggested all wasn’t happy in Mudville, well - they mentally changed channels and walked away.
        Which is SO easy to do.
        How many of us don’t come to the reading or preaching of God’s Word with some sort of filtering grid that we use to give thumbs up or down — he tells too many stories, she doesn’t refer to the Old Testament, the language is kind of rough and the grammar poor....... and before we know it we’ve tuned out and closed our ears to what may be an important word from the Holy Spirit through the preacher for us in that time.

        It’s easy to surf around the TV dial, or hop from church to church until you find one that’s pleasant and easy to put up with. But focus instead on truth -- Is God speaking? And are we listening?
        Chapter 2.6 – "Do not prophesy," their prophets say. Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us. Should it be said, O house of Jacob: "Is the Spirit of the Lord angry? Does He do such things?"

Preachers and churches that worry about making people happy at the expense of giving them clear direction from the Lord; or people that are only interested in what feels good, or what they happen to think sounds right to them......
        You know – the "but in my opinion....." thing
                Well, let’s read 3.5-7 for God’s judgement.

5 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.
6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions, and darkness, without divination. The sun will set for the prophets, and the day will go dark for them.
7 The seers will be ashamed and the diviners disgraced. They will all cover their faces because there is no answer from God."

God doesn’t leave a lot of room for "but in my opinion." Ultimately, the only opinion that matters is His. And if there is a difference between what He says, and what we feel or think – the change needs to come from our side.
        No saying, "Well that’s fine in theory, but when you live in the real world..."
        No, "But you don’t understand my situation...."
        No, "Ah, just this once. In the big picture it really doesn’t matter."

As a matter of fact, it DOES matter! Hear these prophetic words (1.3-7):

3 Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads the high places of the earth.
4 The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.
5 All this is because of Jacob's transgression, because of the sins of the house of Israel. What is Jacob's transgression? Is it not Samaria? What is Judah's high place? Is it not Jerusalem?
6 "Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble, a place for planting vineyards. I will pour her stones into the valley and lay bare her foundations.
7 All her idols will be broken to pieces; all her temple gifts will be burned with fire; I will destroy all her images. Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes, as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used."

God is not some benevolent, half-senile grandfather figure who can be gently stroked on the head once in while to keep him appeased. He is not some retailer in some cosmic religious supermarket; a retailer we can choose to shop from or walk past without it mattering very much.
        It DOES matter.
        Take Him or leave Him – but half-hearted, cheap, paper thin smiles without any content.......??
                The words of Revelation 3 come to mind:
                I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (3.15-16)

So.....What matters to God in Micah?
The prophet, like other of the Minor Prophets, moves back and forth between presenting the problem, challenging the people to change, announcing destruction and judgement, and providing a ray of hope - words of ultimate salvation.
That which irritates and infuriates Holy God, can be found peppered throughout the book: 2.1-2; 3.1-3; 6.1-8; 7.1-6

Hear this sound bite from 2.1-2:

1 ¶ Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning's light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it.
2 They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance.

1 ¶ Then I said, "Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Should you not know justice,
2 you who hate good and love evil; who tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones;
3 who eat my people's flesh, strip off their skin and break their bones in pieces; who chop them up like meat for the pan, like flesh for the pot?"

1 ¶ What misery is mine! I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster of grapes to eat, none of the early figs that I crave.
2 The godly have been swept from the land; not one upright man remains. All men lie in wait to shed blood; each hunts his brother with a net.
3 Both hands are skilled in doing evil; the ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire__ they all conspire together.
4 The best of them is like a brier, the most upright worse than a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen has come, the day God visits you. Now is the time of their confusion.
5 Do not trust a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend. Even with her who lies in your embrace be careful of your words.
6 For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises up against her mother, a daughter_in_law against her mother_in_law__ a man's enemies are the members of his own household.

        God had mandated a basic social safety net system that was relatively free of boondoggles. That, too, was tossed to the side. There was a growing gap between rich and poor.
        After all, that’s the dynamics of the marketplace. Besides – they should really go out and get a job.

The two issues were those of stewardship and social justice —

a.    The need to recognize that everything in our hands is really not ours to do with whatever we want. It’s all on loan from God. We remain fully accountable for it. Money, land, family, time, leisure.....

b.    We DON’T live in a world where individual rights are the highest social value...... never mind what the Canadian Charter says. God’s charter says that He places us in social community; He puts us living together. And in that community there is responsibility. That first. Not rights. And when we get all focused on ourselves and begin to forget about those around us..... especially those who are unable to stand up for themselves – God takes it very personally. He identifies in a personal way with the social fortunes of the weak. Hear Jesus speak – "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." (Mt 25.45).

Some sort of left-over socialistic ideology; overblown left-wing rhetoric?
        No - The Word of God!
The people that refuse to honour that basic pattern for creation can NOT expect the Lord to honour and bless their nation. And if things start to come apart at the seams, don’t be too terribly surprised!

All of which I find rather chilling and sobering when I compare what Micah preaches to the trends in Canadian society. Doesn’t it all sound terribly familiar? And I wonder how complacent we’ve become in Canadian churches? Have we just bought into the prevalent set of values of "Me first...; everyone for themselves...; rights, rights, rights....?
And if we say "No.... no, not me" may I ask how that difference shows itself? Can those around us see the difference? Or does it only exist in our head?

What if Jesus had that kind of attitude?
        Would He have humbled himself and become obedient, even to death on a cross? (Ph 2.8)
        Would He that knew no sin become sin for us? (2 Cor 5.21)
        Would He have sacrificed himself for those who had no interest in Him?
                (Rom 5.8)

Says Philippians 2.5: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."

Never mind the platitudes.
Never mind how good it all looks.
What are you doing about it?
That’s what the God of Micah wants to know.

For many years young girls have been brought through the girls club of our church with a very special theme verse. Well known. And of all the verses in Micah, it is right at the centre of the Lord’s message -
sin of my soul?
        6.8 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.

To act it - doing it. How does being a Christian make you behave differently from the neighbours on your street..... other than coming to church?
To love mercy - when you love something you will sacrifice for it. Have you made sacrifices in your life in the last 2 months in order to show care or compassion to someone in need?
To walk humbly with God - what in your behaviour have you changed in the last 6 months because you knew God would want it so?

Take time to answer those questions and you’ll be right at the heart of Micah.
 

The heart..... but not the whole story.
For God is not only a God of judgement and demands. He has profound mercy for those willing to bow before Him. Including Israel. Including us.
        2.12-13 gives the first hint of that divine mercy.
        Chapters 4 and 5 roll it out in greater glory and detail.

Let’s read 4.1-5:

1 ¶ 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.
2 Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 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.
4 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.
5 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.

1 ¶ Marshal your troops, O city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod.
2 "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 are from of old, from ancient times."
3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.
4 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.
5 And he will be their peace......

        There is the layer of Jewish restoration from slavery. Which began in 538BC when the first exiles returned to Jerusalem. Mt.Zion was repopulated. Worship happened again. The temple was rebuilt. The first layer.

        Beyond that, the next layer, is the fulfillment of 4.2: "The Law will go out from Zion, the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem."
        And for this we look to the One who was the perfect fulfillment of the Law.
Mt 5.17 - "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.")
        We have to look at the perfect ultimate Word of God to humanity, the Word become Flesh who dwelt among us (John 1).

        We read Micah 5.2, talking about someone being born in Bethlehem.
        We read Micah 5.4 speaking about one coming who will shepherd his flock and are drawn to Jesus, who spoke the words ...... "I am the Good Shepherd." (Jn 10.11).

        We hear of people being drawn to Mt.Zion, and recall words from Hebrews 12.22: "but you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousand upon thousand of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the first born, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant....."

Hebrews 9.26 says, "....He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself...."

Micah couldn’t see all that as he spoke his words. They were mountain peaks still hidden in the foggy distance, offering only vague shadowy outlines.

And hidden still further is the final mountain range of which Revelation speaks - the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God (Rev 21); the new Mt.Zion when all injustice, all evil, all rebellion, all false pretense and fake religion, cheap outer appearances.....
        ..... all of it – gone.

We’re living between the second and third mountain range now. We look back at Ancient Israel’s restoration - the first peak. We look back at the family of Israel being broadened into the whole community of Christ’s children - the second peak. We look forward to the great union when all will be made knew. Feeling that it’s coming closer. Longing for that day to come.
        But not sure at all of exactly when that will be.
        And until it comes...... Remember Micah’s first concern. Live it. Up front.

Full bore.
Total devotion to the Lord.
In a way that all can see.
For that, says Micah, is what the Lord requires.