What does the watching world witness?
Notes
Transcript
In the opening lines to their song “What if I stumble?”, the Christian hip hop group DC Talk quoted these words from Brennan Manning - an author and former Franciscan Priest:
“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians
Who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
And walk out the door
And deny him by their lifestyle
That is what an unbelieving world, simply finds unbelievable.”
There is a world around us that is watching. What do they see?
Today, as we return to our study in the book of Micah, we’re coming to the final of his three sermons. This one covers chapters 6-7. Today, we’re only going to consider a few of the verses.
Micah sets up this sermon like a courtroom scene.
The jury - the mountains - which seem to represent the watching world
The Plaintiff - God
The Defendants - God’s people
In some ways, this sermon even has some of the makings of a courtroom drama:
Opening Arguments -
Counter arguments -
Expectations
Judgments or discipline
Grace
In the section that we’re considering today, we are really only beginning to scratch the surface of the details of this case, and yet these opening salvos raise some interesting points for us, as God’s people in the 21st century, to consider.
First of all, we have to...
Recognize we have observers (1-2)
Recognize we have observers (1-2)
God calls the people of Israel to defend their case in front of creation - the mountains are their witness. And He calls the mountains to hear God’s indictment of His people.
Listen to what the Lord is saying:
“Stand up and state your case against me.
Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaints.
And now, O mountains,
listen to the Lord’s complaint!
He has a case against his people.
He will bring charges against Israel.
In the courtroom of creation, God is responding to the complaints of his people with his own complaint.
In many ways his indictment goes unspoken (Prior) - he has already spoken against the sins of the nation as we’ve seen in our previous studies of Micah:
wicked devising
coveting
thievery
listening to false teachers
corrupt leaders
loving evil
As God lays out this unspoken indictment, He does so, as I said, in front of creation, in front of the mountains. Obviously, the mountains and creation can’t testify - but people can. The watching world can see how God is acting. They may not understand it, but they can see. Even as God calls the people to remember how he acted in the past, he calls them also to remember how the watching world looked at what happened and feared.
The Brennan Manning quote that I referenced earlier is in itself a convicting indictment for God’s people. We preach about the goodness of God. We talk about His grace and mercy and love - and then often times we can be seen as judgmental and hate-filled. We can write off some of the accusations as a lack of understanding or political spin doctoring, but is there truth in how the watching world perceives us? Are there inconsistencies in between how God has called us to live and how we actually live?
Did you ever learn the children’s song “O be careful little eyes what you see”? The song begins:
O be careful little eyes what you see
O be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above
Is looking down in love
So, be careful little eyes what you see
It then proceeds to talk about various parts of our bodies - ears/hearing; tongues/speech; hands/actions; feet/destinations; heart/confidence; mind/thoughts.
All intended to remind us that our loving heavenly Father sees everything.
But Micah and Brennan Manning also remind us that the watching world, the mountains, creation sees as well. Now, we don’t need to live in the fear of other humans, but if we are honoring God with our ears, tongues, hands, feet, heart, minds - then the world will see that there is consistency between what we say we believe and how we live.
Paul reminds us in Philippians 2:15:
Philippians 2:15 (NLT)
Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.
For the people of Israel, there were inconsistencies - their actions did not support their faith. God’s actions were met with contempt and corruption. But rather than leaving an empty indictment, God presents an illustration of what He had done for them - calling them and us to...
Remember what God has done (3-5)
Remember what God has done (3-5)
As he lays out this illustration, He does so with an emotional plea - twice stating the phrase “o my people” - calling them to remember..
3 “O my people, what have I done to you?
How have I wearied you? Answer me!
4 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.
5 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 presents a four-fold illustration of how he has worked in their lives. I think that in looking at these, we can see some very clear parallels to our lives.
Rescue - God rescued the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt (4). We can read about that in the early chapters of the book of Exodus. The people of Israel had found themselves as slaves in a foreign land. God rescued them from the hands of their oppressors.
Redemption He didn’t simply steel them away from Egypt (4) - there was a payment, a purchase price - God battled against the false deities of Egypt and proved his supremacy and then he redeemed Israel with the first born children. In exchange for the first-born of Israelite children, the blood of a lamb was required as the redemption price.
In addition to providing a rescue and redemption, God provided...
Resources - Moses, Aaron, Miriam (4) - These siblings were given a special call/role in the lives of the people of Israel - to lead them, to guide them to the promised land, to intercede, to establish standards and expectations - guidance for how to live. The people were not left to fend for themselves in the wilderness - Moses, Aaron, and Miriam went as God’s representatives.
Refuge - from enemies - in other words he defended them. In verse 5 - Micah references several specific things that would take a long time for us to read and consider. As the people of Israel neared the promised land, God gave them victory over their enemies - and those victories invoked fear in Balak the King of Moab. He sought to purchase curses from Balaam - a mysterious prophet of the Lord. Balaam could not curse them, but provided blessings. So even though God provided this refuge, the people still managed to get themselves into trouble by prostituting themselves with foreign deities. And yet, in his faithfulness, God brought the people if Israel from Shittim on one side of the Jordan to Gilgal on the other side and re-established his covenant with them.
During this journey from one side to the other, the people were called to raise up a memorial to the Lord - sometimes these are referred to as “Ebenezers” or “Cairns” -
Ebenezer in Hebrew means “up to this point God has helped me.” (1 Sam. 7:12) It was intended to be a memorial so that whenever the people of Israel would pass by that point, they would be able to comment to their children and say - “here is what the Lord did at this place.”
Cairns - which I believe is a Gaelic term - are sort of way-finders for travelers. The idea is to help people navigate a path that might not otherwise be easy to see. We used these some in the Middle East to navigate from camp to climbing.
But let’s think about these four elements from our standpoint. In many ways, God has done the very same four things for us.
Rescued us from slavery of our sin - to the promised land of abundant and eternal life.
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Redeemed us from the guilt of our sin - instead of the blood of goats or the firstborn of Egypt - God redeemed us with the blood of His Son - Jesus Christ.
But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
Resources with His Word as our guide (Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”) Scripture reveals that He has also given us men and women who have gone before - showing the wisdom and value of God’s ways. He has gifted us with each other.
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
Elsewhere Paul talks about other resources that we have:
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
He then goes on to talk about the spiritual gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, and tongues.
Look around this room for a moment. Consider how each of us have been gifted with different abilities and spiritual gifts designed to build up the body of Christ. I know we all know each other in different capacities - but consider what you do know about the stories/spiritual journeys that God has allowed other people to face.
Imagine what a joy it might be to invite an older brother or sister in Christ over for a meal and just listen and learn.
In addition to being our rescue, redemption, and providing resources, God also is our...
Refuge (often in mysterious and un recognized ways) from the destructive intentions of our enemy. Think about this, the people of Israel were in the valley. Balak and Balaam were on the mountains overlooking that valley. Without much of their knowledge, God was shielding them from the evil intentions of Balak by preventing Balaam from cursing them. I think in much the same way, God provides confident reassurance that no matter what our circumstances, we can trust that He is at work. He is our refuge.
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
So in this global courtroom, God calls His people to remember what He has done.
In the next couple of verses we get to see Israel’s response - or at least Micah’s restatement of their response - but that urges us to...
Respond appropriately (6-8)
Respond appropriately (6-8)
When we carefully consider all that God has done as our rescue, redeemer, resource, and refuge - how will we respond? Will we be defensive? Will we be defiant? Will we look to him with contempt? Will we be humble, submissive?
Israel responded with insolence (6-7)
Israel responded with insolence (6-7)
Rather than responding with humility or gratitude or worship - they respond with religious defensiveness - it’s as though they are saying - “how many bulls do you want me to sacrifice? How much should I give?”
The Message paraphrases these verses in this way:
How can I stand up before God
and show proper respect to the high God?
Should I bring an armload of offerings
topped off with yearling calves?
Would God be impressed with thousands of rams,
with buckets and barrels of olive oil?
Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child,
my precious baby, to cancel my sin?
They want religious answers to relational problems. Let me live how I want to and atone for my sins.
It’s as though they want to put God in a sort of box. They want to serve him with their external actions, but not be transformed from within.
How often are we like that? We take our relationship with God for granted? Maybe we even treat God with contempt, thinking that his ways are antiquated or out of date with the ethics of today. Maybe we show up to church hoping that God will overlook my judgmental attitude or moral failings - all the while overlooking the fact that...
God’s people are called to respond with integrity
God’s people are called to respond with integrity
We will look at this more a bit next week, but Israel is called to respond not with religious legalism, but with relational justice, lovingkindness and humility.
No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.
The point is that our religious activity on Sunday should make a difference in our lives Monday through Saturday.
The world is watching. The world is observing. Sure, they have their impressions of what God is like - some of their impressions are true and some are false. Often our world wants a God of...
love and not a God of justice - all the while defining love conditionally
peace and not suffering - forgetting that it’s in suffering that we learn and grow
kindness and not judgment -
God is all of those things and more - loving, just, peaceful, willing to allow suffering, kind, and yet holy - which means there will be judgment.
As God’s people, we get to do our best to proclaim God that way with our mouths, but also to honor the one true God with our lives.
One of Micah’s contemporaries, Isaiah, called God’s people this way:
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.
Will we repent of our religious legalism? Will we turn away from evil? Will we seek justice, correct oppression, and stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves?
If you’re not yet a follower of Christ - if you’re just checking out all of this stuff, then let me encourage you to..
Respond with Inquiry
Respond with Inquiry
Seek to understand. Recognize your current state - as a slave to sin. Learn about what Jesus has done to free you from the bondage of your sin - by offering his life as the perfect sacrifice for you. Ask God to grant you faith to believe.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
It would be a pleasure to spend time with you this week to help you understand that more.
Closing Thoughts
Closing Thoughts
Beloved - there is a watching world. When they know that we are God’s people, will they see people that represent Him well (by His standards)? Or will they see something else. The mountains and the nations around Israel saw a faithful God and a faithless people. May our watchers see Jesus in us.
Let’s pray.
Communion
Communion
The Lord’s Supper has become our Ebenezer/Cairn. It’s our means of remembrance. It’s our way of looking back at the loving grace of Jesus.
Benediction
Benediction
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Question for reflection
Question for reflection
Are my lips and lifestyle honoring or denying God?
References:
Prior, David. The Bible Speaks Today: The Message of Joel, Micah & Habakkuk. Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 1998.
Um, Stephen. Micah for You. The Good Book Company, 2018.
Waltke, Bruce K. “Micah.” In New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, edited by D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, and G. J. Wenham, 822–833. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/micah/
https://bibleproject.com/explore/category/how-to-read-biblical-poetry/
ESV Study Bible