NBBC SS: Micah7

Introduction: Today marks both the last chapter of Micah and our last day of the Fall term. Next week, we’ll be shifting our attention to the New Testament and John’s Gospel. For now, let’s conclude our study of Micah.

Micah 7:1-6 “1 Woe is me! For I am Like the fruit pickers, like the grape gatherers. There is not a cluster of grapes to eat, Or a first-ripe fig which I crave.

What word is it that we’re immediately confronted with?

Woe; or “What misery is mine” (NIV)

What is “woe”?

It’s an abrupt statement that expresses one’s anguish over the misery that one is in.

The Hebrew word itself is almost like a groan, that is, it is onomatopoeic in nature where the sound of the word is similar to the noise that is intended to be communicated.

In other words, we are meant to hear Micah’s anguish as he utters these words.

This prompts us to inquire, what is it that Micah is so anguished over?

The message thus far but specifically related to Micah 6.

In Micah 6, the Lord set up a formal indictment against His people for their sins.

Thus, Micah is in anguish over the people’s sins and impending judgment.

If all sin deserves God’s judgment, what should be our response to any sin, even our own?

Anguish, for sin displeases the Lord.

Even for us who have believed in Jesus and have the confidence that we are forgiven, we anguish but not hopelessly.

Instead, we take our anguish over sin to the Lord, as we’ll be encouraged to do before the chapter concludes.

Let’s look at Micah’s next illustration to help us understand his anguish.

What is it that Micah compares himself to?

“fruit pick[ers]” and “grape gather[ers]”

These phrases do not normally go together.

Normally, these individuals would just go about their business collecting fruit.

However, what would prompt someone in this kind of work to anguish?

the lack of the substance related to their work.

These individuals livelihood is based on the expectation of finding the fruit associated with their labor.

Micah expresses anguish over the sins of his people in comparison to a fruit picker whose expectations of gathering fruit have been unmet.

The question then is, what kind of fruit was Micah expecting? (verse 2)

2 The godly person has perished from the land, And there is no upright person among men. All of them lie in wait for bloodshed; Each of them hunts the other with a net.

What did Micah expect to find but expressed anguish over?

The lack of godly and upright people in the land.

What does it mean to be godly?

Simply, like God

The term is related to the term that Pastor Chad talked about from Ps 136 “lovingkindness”

Or, loyal love

In other words, this is about the heart.

Similar in its use of the Lord in His devotion to His people, this term reflects the other direction.

The devotion of His people to Him

Such devotion to the Lord is characterized by:

Faithfulness in one’s dealings with others (Ps 12:1)

Kindness towards others, as the Lord is (Ps 18:25)

Seeking the Lord, regardless of the circumstance (Ps 32:6)

Serving the Lord (Ps 86:2)

Though employing the term “righteous”, does this scenario remind you of a similar one earlier in the OT?

How about Abraham attempting to intervene on behalf of his nephew Lot in the Lord’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah? (Gn 18:22-33)

If those loyal to the Lord have perished from the land, that is, they are no longer found in the land, should the people expect any less treatment than that of Sodom and Gomorrah?

What does it mean to be upright?

To do what is right

This term is most often employed Ex and Deuteronomy to refer to living according to God’s word

The Lord is demonstrating a connection between the people’s heart and their behavior

There’s still a connection between one’s heart and their behavior today.

Implicitly, then, the Lord is pointing to a need to have their heart changed.

What did Micah find and expressed anguish over?

Individuals who lie in wait for bloodshed and hunt others down to trap them in a net.

This is worse than just not find godly or upright people.

Going back to our fruit gatherer imagery, it’s like coming expecting to find good fruit to not only find no good fruit but also to find bad, spoiled fruit.

What does it mean to “lie in wait for bloodshed”?

To ambush someone

Does ambushing someone only have to be for the purpose of killing them?

No

One could ambush another in a number of different ways in order to attack another.

The emphasis being here on finding ways to attack another for the benefit of the individual doing the attacking.

Notice, they not only seek to ambush others and attack them but they also hunt down others, making people their prey

What is the point of a net?

To trap something so that it is completely under your control

To hunt something involves intentionality

In other words, these individuals are given careful thought to how they are going to commit violence against the people

This is how depraved their minds are - they are thinking about ways to hurt others

Instead of finding godly and upright people who are devoted to the Lord and seek to obey His Word, Micah finds the rottenness of individual who are seeking to attack and hurt others for their own benefit.

3 Concerning evil, both hands do it well. The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe, And a great man speaks the desire of his soul; So they weave it together.

When you think of the concept of both hands together, what is it that comes to mind?

Effort, great effort (NAC; Chisholm)

You usually use both hands when the task before you requires great effort

What’s really sad is that, in all of the OT, this is the only use of the phrase “both hands do it well”

In other words, there’s only this negative context related to describing the great effort that is put forward to commit evil.

Who is it that makes great effort at doing well in committing evil?

The people’s leadership: prince, judge, and great man (or man of authority and influence).

What is the evil that they’re so good at doing?

Asking for bribes

What’s a bribe?

Asking someone for a benefit if you use your authority to benefit them against someone else

Is this the just way to render decisions?

Absolutely not!

Hence, they’re being unjust to serve their own greed

What is it that controls the decision making of the man of influence here?

His desires.

If you’re making choices according to what it is that you want, what rules you?

Your desires

Can you trust your desires? No

Therefore, can you trust the decision making abilities of one who is controlled by their desires? No.

4 The best of them is like a briar, The most upright like a thorn hedge. The day when you post your watchmen, Your punishment will come. Then their confusion will occur.

What is it that these unjust and lustful leaders are compared to?

Briars and thorn hedges.

You see, Micah is carrying through the fruit picking imagery from before (Shank).

As leadership, your oversight and how you carry out responsibilities should be as refreshing to the people as newly picked, ripe fruit.

Instead, this leadership is known in their evil for their comparison to plants that “ensnare, wound, and tear,” anything but refreshing (NAC).

Whose watchmen are these that would be associated with punishment?

The Lord has been prophesying to His people through the prophets about the punishment that His people would face.

Thus, these individuals are none other than the prophets of the Lord

Taken together, what we have are individuals who, through their sin, have only solidified for themselves God’s judgment against them

Notice also here the reference to confusion.

Confusion can mean a variety of things from lack of understanding to frustrating one’s efforts at a task.

Interestingly, in Micah 2:1, these leaders where “schem[ing] iniquity.”

They had clarity on how it was they were going to undertake their sinful acts.

However, that will be no more.

This can only be attributed to the power of God

Complete confounding so that those who are the object of God’s punishment are utterly, hopelessly confounded.

None can resist the punishing power of God.

5 Do not trust in a neighbor; Do not have confidence in a friend. From her who lies in your bosom Guard your lips.

What three actions are described here?

Do not trust; Do not have confidence; and Guard your lips.

What three relationships are described here?

Neighbors; friends, and spouse.

Should not the reverse of these actions be true with these relationships?

Yes.

What is it that has compromised these relationships?

Can only be sin.

Just as the leaders are compromised by sin, so also these relationships external but close to others.

6 For son treats father contemptuously, Daughter rises up against her mother, Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.”

Notice the word “For” that begins v. 6.

This is a conjunction.

It connects what came before to what comes after.

In this case, what came before is the consequence of what is stated here.

The relationship problems external to a person referenced in v. 5 are related to the extended relationship problems referenced here.

What do all of these relationships have in common?

They’re family relationships

What we’re seeing is the total corruption of this society

You can’t trust anyone!

How is it that the son is described as treating his father?

Contemptuously

NIV “dishonor”

This is the only instance of the phrase son treats father contemptuously.

It’s a disgrace

This should never happen

What two types of relationships are described as “[rising] up against” another?

Daughters and daughters-in-law.

The phrase “rises up against” is employed in another famous passage.

Genesis 4:7.

Anyone want to take a guess as to what occurred in that passage?

Cain slew his brother Abel.

Hence, violence is implied in these actions.

How should sons and daughters treat their parents?

With honor.

Therefore, because the Scripture explicitly commands that a child honor their parents, this is outright disobedience to God’s Word, evidencing a heart problem.

How should a daughter-in-law treat her mother-in-law?

We have an excellent example in Ruth of compassionate respect.

Ironically, it is only in Ruth and here in Micah that the phrase “mother-in-law” is used.

I say ironically because Ruth was a Moabitess, not an Israelite.

Ruth demonstrated great faithfulness and was used by the Lord in David’s family tree.

However, those in view in this passage are Israelites who are acting unfaithfully in a way that Ruth’s example put them to shame.

What is the conclusion that Micah reaches?

“A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.” (lit. house)

There’s an interesting parallel passage in 2 Sam 7:1.

Herein, there’s a reference to enemies.

However, the striking difference between both passages is that the Lord gave rest to David’s house from his enemies.

Hence, there’s an implication of who the answer is for all this unrest in a man’s home where even his family is his enemy: seeking the Lord for only He can give rest.

Micah 7:7 “7 But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.

In the use of the word “But”, Micah is drawing a contrast between himself and the ungodly within Israel.

What actions characterize Micah?

“watch expectantly” and “I will wait”

Who is the object of these actions?

The Lord

The Covenant name for the the Lord

Micah is waiting for a real individual Who desires relationship with His people.

Notice, the phrase “watch expectantly”.

This phrase is in a tense that communicates the beginning of an action with ongoing activity.

That is Micah is only acting in the way that he is accustomed to.

How else does Micah refer to the Lord?

As the God of my salvation.

This phrase is used in several different Psalms to describe the Lord in a unique way.

In Psalm 18:46, this phrase is used to describe God as both living and comparing Him to a rock.

Thus, the Lord is the true God, as compared to the false gods that are no better than dead.

Additionally, the Lord as a rock implies His unchanging nature and therefore His faithfulness.

In Psalm 25:5, the Lord as the God of my salvation is described as being full of truth that He employs to both instruct and lead others faithfully.

In Psalm 27:9, the Lord is the One Who provides help that no other can.

Thus, as the God of my salvation, I believe that Micah intends to communicate that the Lord is the true God, faithful, trustworthy, and powerful to help.

Notice, how Micah concludes this statement.

“My God will hear me.”

What confidence Micah share here in the midst of his anguish over the condition of his people.

We’re prompted to inquire, what is it that the Lord will hear?

If the Lord hears us when we pray, then this fact implies something about the nature of Micah’s watching and waiting.

Micah’s watching and waiting is by no means passive.

Instead, Micah’s watching and waiting are active through Micah’s prayer life in seeking the Lord.

Herein, we have a great example of what it looks like to seek the Lord.

It looks like watching with expectation in the Lord with whom one has a relationship by faith.

It looks like waiting patiently in the Lord Who is the true God, faithful, trustworthy, and powerful to help.

It demonstrates itself in great confidence in the Lord through an active prayer life.

Micah 7:8-13 “8 Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; Though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me.

Is there a verse in Proverbs that might sound familiar to this verse?

Proverbs 24:16 “16 For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.”

Micah’s statement here has both an actual and moral element to it.

The actual element took place with the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon in 586 BC.

The moral element is introduced in the next verse.

Micah’s confidence again comes through loud and clear here.

However, Micah’s confidence is not in himself.

Who does Micah place His confidence in?

The Lord.

In these dark moments prompted by sin, only the Lord can lead through and transform one’s darkness into light

Though the circumstances may be dark, we trust in the One Who is able to dispel the darkness and bring in His glorious light

9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will see His righteousness.

What is “the indignation of the Lord”?

it’s something that is associated with sin

it’s associated with the fall of the people

it’s punishment, God’s wrath against sin

Herein, we see Micah and, by implication, the people taking responsibility for their sin.

They even cite the reason that they deserve to be punished: their sin.

What we see in this verse is genuine repentance that acknowledges personal responsibility and confesses sin while relying on the Lord as their only hope Who has chosen to defend them.

This sounds just like Jesus.

For Jesus represents all who have believed in Him for salvation before God.

10 Then my enemy will see, And shame will cover her who said to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will look on her; At that time she will be trampled down Like mire of the streets.

What is the problem with the question referenced?

It suggests that the Lord is incapable of acting.

Why does a question like this result in shame?

Because the Lord is capable of acting

Why would there be an emphasis on looking upon the one who was shamed on account of their question that challenged God’s power?

Because the people will see the vindication of the Lord’s ability

We trust not in vanity, if you are trusting in the Lord

We are trusting in the One Who shamed His enemies on the cross and will ultimately shame them in His restoration of His people

This sounds so harsh, does it not?

We must remember, this is the enemy of the Lord and His people.

The Lord will crush all of His enemies

Think about what this means about all of God’s enemies

The best that they can muster is words against the Lord.

However, He does more than speak

He acts righteously against all His enemies

Why would we trust in any other?!

11 It will be a day for building your walls. On that day will your boundary be extended.

What is the significance of building walls?

The Lord has already told His people that their cities will be demolished!

That time has past!

If you’re able to build your walls, your defenses, either one of two things are true

You’re in a hurry to fortify yourself

Or you’re in peace because all your enemies have been defeated

Plus, this implies both the materials and labor available to build - hence abundance!

Only the Lord can bring peace

Only the Lord can provide for what is needed for His people

Notice also the reference to the extended boundary.

What’s implied is the restoration of the people to the land that the Lord has promised.

Hence, the faithfulness of the Lord to His promises comes to the forefront.

This is a God Who is worthy of our trust.

12 It will be a day when they will come to you From Assyria and the cities of Egypt, From Egypt even to the Euphrates, Even from sea to sea and mountain to mountain. 13 And the earth will become desolate because of her inhabitants, On account of the fruit of their deeds.”

Israel has learned a hard lesson: sin leaves desolate.

Now the rest of the world will learn the same and, by implication, seek the same recourse as Israel in a future day by turning to the Lord from sin

Israel’s restoration has further reaching implications than just for themselves.

For us now, we do not have to wait for future desolation to seek the Lord

We see how sin destroys so let us seek Him now for Jesus alone saves

Micah 7:14-20 “14 Shepherd Your people with Your scepter, The flock of Your possession Which dwells by itself in the woodland, In the midst of a fruitful field. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead As in the days of old.

It’s important to note that Micah turns his attention to what he has alluded to before: prayer before the Lord (NAC).

What does it mean to shepherd?

to feed and protect

Whose people is this?

The Lord

Hence, the Lord is taking responsibility for His people’s care even while in exile

Why would anyone shepherd another with a scepter?

What is a scepter?

An item that represents the authority of a king

This is about the Lord’s rule; shepherding them out of His authority

What does this shepherding nature imply about His authority?

It’s very good

He will always use His authority to do what is best for His people’s needs

What’s fascinating is the implication that the Lord is providing for His people even in captivity.

This prayer is hopefully anticipating when the Lord would restore His people to the land He gave them so that they can rest in a familiar place known for abundance.

15 “As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt, I will show you miracles.”

What kind of miracles did the people see in the Exodus?

Numerous

What was the point of these miracles?

To demonstrate that the Lord was the true God worth trusting in who would deliver His people

Hence, what is the Lord doing here?

Demonstrating that He is worthy of trust and will deliver His people

Our God is able!

As the Lord faithfully led His people through the Exodus, the Lord is promising that He will faithfully lead His people through the Exile.

What’s incredible is that the Exile was of the people’s doing through their sin.

Hence, the Lord is promising to lead them through a difficult circumstance that is the result of their sin.

Because someone has sinned and there are consequences related to that sin, it does not stop God’s leading in anyone’s life.

16 Nations will see and be ashamed Of all their might. They will put their hand on their mouth, Their ears will be deaf.

Why would anyone be ashamed of their might?

If someone with greater might came along (illustration: vortex football [John Elway], told I had a good arm, then someone better came along).

The Lord’s might puts all other demonstrations of might to shame as He is greater.

Why does anyone put their hand over their mouth?

When their speechless.

In this circumstance, the Lord’s awesome power leaves the people speechless.

Look at the final reference to the deafness of their ears.

Normally, we think of deafness in terms of physical impairment related to hearing.

Here, the actions of seeing and being speechless lead to a hardened heart.

That is, they intentionally turn a deaf ear to the Lord, choosing to not believe what they’ve heard.

Thus, in spite of the wonder associated with God’s deeds, they refuse to submit to His authority.

17 They will lick the dust like a serpent, Like reptiles of the earth. They will come trembling out of their fortresses; To the Lord our God they will come in dread And they will be afraid before You.

when we think of the serpent, generally, what comes to mind?

a creature that crawls on its belly

The term “reptiles” is translated elsewhere in Dt 32:24 as “crawling things”

Both ideas combine together to describe the lowness of something.

Something that is very low to the earth and thus inferior in nature.

Hence, what is in view is the inferiority of God’s enemies to Himself.

More specifically, how God makes His enemies low on account of their rebellion against Him and refusal to submit to His authority.

18 Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love.

What’s the answer to this?

No one!

There is no god like the Lord who pardons iniquity or passes over the rebellion of His people

What does it mean to pass over?

To forgive

This is the Lord’s forgiveness

There is no one who forgives like God does

This reference to “unchanging love” is the same term translated “lovingkindness” that refers to the Lord’s choice to love His people with utter devotion.

19 He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea.

Notice the emphasis on the Lord taking the responsibility to resolve the sin of His people.

By implication, the people are totally incapable of resolving it on their own - to which their actions demonstrate.

Instead, only the Lord can resolve sin.

20 You will give truth to Jacob And unchanging love to Abraham, Which You swore to our forefathers From the days of old.”

The term translated “truth” here is translated in the ESV as “faithfulness” and in the NIV as “be faithful”.

This is not a matter of the Lord returning to being faithful

No, this is about the Lord’s unchanging faithfulness

He is demonstrating faithfulness to His people as He always has and always will.

The Lord is devoted to His people

The Lord is proving His trustworthiness in His unrelenting faithfulness and devoted love to His people that He promised long ago.

Hence, the Lord keeps His promises that He makes to all.

Conclusion: What a hopeful note to conclude our study on - emphasizing the Lord’s unchanging faithfulness and love towards His people.