Who Is Like God? Micah 7:18-20

Introduction

A few weeks ago, Josiah, my two year old, and I were home alone together. He was in the den playing, and I went into the kitchen to pour myself a cup a coffee. While I was in there, I leaned up against the island and stared out the window as I drank my coffee. It wasn’t long before Josiah had made his way in there. He had his little toy coffee cup, and he examined how I was standing with my legs crossed and leaned up against the counter. So, he crossed his legs, leaned up against the counter, sipped his pretend coffee, and said, “Ahhhh, that’s good!”

One of the inescapable laws of life is that we become like those whom we admire, isn’t it? In fact, because the Bible places all of life within the context of our relationship with God, it teaches that it’s not just that we become like whom we admire, but we become like whom or what we worship. Psalm 115:8 “Those who make them (that is, the idols) become like them; so do all who trust in them.” It’s simple: if you worship Jesus, you will become like Jesus. If you worship something or someone else, you’ll become like whatever that or they are. So, if you want to know whom or what you worship, don’t start with what you say. Start with who you are, and then reverse engineer it so that you can see who or what you’re like.

God’s Word

At the center of Micah’s message is this question: “Who is like God?” He closes his book with it in 7:18. In fact, Micah’s very name is translated as: “Who is like YHWH?” Micah is a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah in the southern kingdom of Judah. Assyria has already taken the northern kingdom into captivity, and they’re an ever present threat to Judah. And so, Micah (successfully) pleads with Judah to turn back to YHWH to avoid a similar fate. And, he does it by showing Three Different Answers to the Same Question (headline):

Who is like God? “Not us!”

Micah 1 reads like a eulogy. Micah plagiarizes what David says upon the occasion of the deaths of Saul and Jonathon. “Tell it not in Gath,” he says. He goes on to describe the surrounding cities of Judah with intricate word play, “Tell-town won’t tell anything. Dust-town will be rolled in the dust. Beauty-town will never be beautiful again.” Micah is telling them they’re heading toward death, and they don’t even yet realize it. They have cancer, but it’s undetected. They appear to be prospering, they’re actually dying. You see, they were deceived. They thought they were like God because they were doing well, but they were actually becoming more and more like the dead idols they’d begun to worship.

Because you become like what you worship, there are two questions you can ask to reverse engineer your values to find their source.

How do you “treat” others?

Micah 2:1-3 “Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. Therefore thus says the Lord: behold, against this family I am devising disaster, from which you cannot remove your necks, and you shall not walk haughtily, for it will be a time of disaster.”

It’s interesting how often the minor prophets speak of the treatment of others, isn’t it? It’s shown up in Amos, Obadiah, and now again in Micah. And, it’s because your treatment of others tells you a lot about who you’re like. God is compassionate, merciful, and generous. Idols, on the other hand, are abusers. You walk on eggshells around them, unsure of what will set them off or please them. They promise, but don’t deliver. They demand your loyalty without offering any loyalty in return. People are merely the pawns they use to get what they want.

So, you see, we see here again how the two great commandments intersect. How you treat others shows who you’re like. Are you like the God who is compassionate, or are you like the abusers? Judah had become like the latter. They schemed all night, and then left out early to make an extra buck at the expense of their neighbor. They found ways to swindle people out of their land, which was an inheritance from the Lord. The treated others shrewdly and harshly, not kindly and mercifully. They’ve become like their new gods.

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why you might treat someone unjustly? We hardly entertain the thought that we would, but all the time we treat others with less dignity than they deserve. And, that’s injustice. It could be because your favorite politician or pundit has convinced you that they’re the problem. It could be that your desire to achieve and acquire is greater than your desire to love. It could be that your desire for greater personal freedom makes them an obstacle to a worry-free life. Untold parents have been heartbroken, spouses abandoned, and babies aborted in the name of freedom. In every case, you can trace back the reason to the source of your values, an idol.

There’s a second diagnostic question:

Why do you “follow” others?

Micah 3:1-7 “And I said: Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice?— you who hate the good and love the evil, who tear the skin from off my people and their flesh from off their bones, 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. Then they will cry to the Lord, but he will not answer them; he will hide his face from them at that time, because they have made their deeds evil. Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths. Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without divination. The sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be black over them; the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover their lips, for there is no ans…”

Who we follow and who we listen to reveals our values. It is among the leaders where you find the excesses of any society. It’s the leaders that take societal values and carry them out to their greatest extent. So, you can learn a great deal about what you treasure and who or what you worship by evaluating why it is that you follow whom you follow and listen to whom you listen.

Judah had leaders who would give them more and prophets who would tell them what they wanted to hear. Their rulers have backward values — hating good and loving evil. They created a system where the rich could acquire all the land of the poor, making the rich richer and the poor poorer. God says it’s akin to them eating the flesh of their neighbor. They had one standard for a ruler: Will he make me richer? Will he give me more? And, for their prophets, they didn’t want men who would tell them the truth. They wanted men who would say to them, “Peace!” Men who would tell them what they wanted to hear and who would reinforce their preexisting indulgences. So, they found themselves prophets who were up for sale. Prophets who water down the message so long as it was paid for with good wine. And, God says that He’ll just give them what they want. Their love for false prophets revealed their lack of love for God; so, God would just be quiet. He’d let them have their false prophets. They don’t love the truth. They love themselves.

Micah 2:7 “Should this be said, O house of Jacob? Has the Lord grown impatient? Are these his deeds? Do not my words do good to him who walks uprightly?”

Here’s Micah’s overall point: None of this sounds anything like God! Who is like God? It certainly isn’t his people. And, the question that confronts us is similar: Do we look and sound anything like Jesus? Or, do we look and sound more like our favorite political candidates? Do we look and sounds more like the coworkers and classmates we envy? Would Jesus look at us and say, “Are these (my) deeds?”

Who is like God? “No one!”

When I was a kid, I collected baseball cards. One day, my grandmother took me to the baseball card shop, and let me choose any card I wanted. I chose a Ken Griffey, Jr. rookie card that was sealed in a plaque. Well, a few months later, a friend came over with his baseball card collection. He had something I had always wanted — a Babe Ruth card. It was the holy grail. I would have given him anything he wanted, and I traded him my Ken Griffey rookie card for it. I was so thrilled until I realized that it was a replica that had been recreated and was worthless. Ken Griffey, Jr. rookie cards like mine are now selling for around $15,000. And, this is a picture of what the people of God famously do. We keep trading the real thing for a cheap replica. We know the true God, but we keep chasing after the knock-offs.

But, these other gods, these other pursuits, these other dreams that we’re chasing can’t compare to him.

No one is more “proven” than him.

Micah 6:3-5 ““O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me! For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.””

God shares three quick history lessons with his people. And, the intent is for them to compare who He has always been in light of who these new gods claim to be. “Remember Egypt,” He says. God isn’t the one who burdens his people. God is the one who sets them free. “Remember Balak and Balaam,” He says. Balak offered money to buy out the prophets just like what was happening now. But, God put an angel in the way and used a donkey as his messenger. God isn’t the one who harms his people. He’s the one who saves and protects his people. “Remember Gilgal,” He says. That’s where he divided the Jordan river so that his people could camp for the first time in the Promised Land. God doesn’t keep them from good things. He gives them good things.

That is, God has proven that He is about the freedom, security, and joy of his people. He’s proven it time and again over the course of thousands of years. And, these are the exact same three grounds that God is constantly attacked and doubted still today. Today, the god of personal freedom says, “God wants to hold you back. God wants to keep you old-fashioned. God wants to burden you with antiquated rules and draconian rituals.” The god of false security says: “God wants to keep you from taking care of yourself. He wants to keep you from becoming too confident in yourself. He wants to keep you from your full potential.” The god of unchecked pleasure says, “God wants to keep you from what you want. He doesn’t want you to be happy. He wants to deprive you of the good things life offers.”

But, like cigarette ads with cowboys and cartoons, these false gods are just putting a friendly face on cancer. They offer long-term slavery shaped like short-term freedom. They offer long-term peril shaped like short-term security. They offer long-term misery shaped like short-term pleasure. God is has proven himself true. You can trust him! The others are cheap knockoffs!

No one is more “holy” than him.

Micah 6:6-8 ““With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

We’re tempted to settle for gods that aren’t holy. They’re more approachable to us, and less daunting. They’re more like us. Throw them a few good deeds, and they’re pacified. Throw them a couple of dollars, and they’ll leave you alone. But, what does that show you about them? It shows you that they’re not dependable. They’re up for sale. They’ll turn on you for a higher bidder in a second. Their concern is their coffers and their desires, not your good. They’ll replace you for a better employee. They’ll bench you for a better player. They’ll leave you for a prettier woman.

But, not God. He isn’t up for sale. He won’t trade you in for someone better or richer or more attractive. If He says He loves you, you can trust He always will. He’s holy. If He says He will provide and protect, you don’t need a plan B. He’s holy. The reason that we can trust the laws of gravity and the dependability of the water cycle and the offer of forgiveness and the punishment of sin is all for the very same reason --- our God, our Creator, our Maker is holy.

The requirements of God (Micah 6:8) flow from the holy essence of God. He is a God who does justice and loves kindness and lowers himself to live in the midst of his people because because of who He is, not because of who you are or what you do for him. “Thousands of rams” and “ten thousand rivers of oil” won’t change him. He’s unflinchingly, unchangingly holy. And, the point is that’s how you’ll recognize those who know him. They’ll live similarly. God’s holiness enables their holiness. They live justly because they don’t have to take advantage of others. Why? God supplies their every need. They love to show kindness toward others. Why? Because they’ve received such kindness to God. They walk humbly. Why? Because they’re the ones that God stooped to love.

Who does your life say your worshipping? Don’t trade your life for a cheap knock-off who you can’t trust. Lean into One who is holy.

Who is like God? “Jesus!”

God sees his people loving other gods. He sees them living in a way that it totally contrary to him. He sees them doubting how good He is and what He’s worth. And, how does He respond to them? Well, He responds as a God who does justice, loves kindly, and walks humbly. He says, “I’ll send my Son to you so that you will know how my sons should look.” You see, all of this questioning who is like God leaves us longing for One who actually is — Jesus.

He “embodied” what God “requires.”

Micah 5:2-6 “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men; they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances; and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land and treads within our border.”

When I hear what God requires, I immediately think, on one hand, about how good that is. This is who I want God to be. But, I, just as immediately think on the other hand, that’s not who I am. But, this is exactly who Jesus is. God put on human flesh and was born as a man to embody the very Law that God flows from God’s essential holiness. He was born in a tiny hole-in-the-wall city called Bethlehem. He walked humbly from birth. He is not like the corrupt rulers of Judah. He was a ruler “coming forth from…ancient of days.” That is, He’s a good ruler, a faithful ruler, like David who does justice. He’s a ruler that will rule his people as God would. He will care for the people the way that a good shepherd cares for his flock. He’ll protect them so that they’re secure. He’ll be “their peace” forever. That is, He’ll be shown as one who loves kindness.

So, He’ll embody what God requires as an example for me, and He’ll embody what God requires as a substitute for me. Because he both does justice and loves kindness, Jesus will walk humbly to the cross. Because God is holy. His law can’t be compromised. He’ll punish the One who embodied his requirements perfectly. And, in this way, Jesus..

He “justified” what God “offers.”

Micah 7:18-20 “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. 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. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.”

God’s steadfast love will win when his holy wrath is poured over his perfect Son. He will show us compassion, and He will “cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” Every year, on the Jewish New Year — Rosh Hashanah, orthodox Jews go to a stream or a river and empty their pockets. It symbolizes God washing their sins downstream and sinking them to the bottom of the ocean. This morning, will you come and empty your pockets?