Micah Sermon

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I've had one verse running through my head for the past several days.  It was like a song that gets stuck and plays again and again. But when I needed an answer from God, that was it.  Because this verse would not leave me, I believe it is also an answer from someone here this morning.

We looking at the book of Micah this morning.  Micah is considered a minor prophet.  Not minor, because what he had to say was minor, but because his book was small in comparison to a major profit like Jeremiah or Isaiah.

The name Micah a means "Who is like the Lord?" And that should give you an indication of the theme of this book. Micah is known for his condemnation of the rich for their exploitation of the poor.  And when you consider that God gave us the prophecy that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem in the book of Micah.  It should come as no surprise that the Messiah would be born in the humblest places. 

The Prophet Micah served in his homeland of Judah during the reigns of the Kings: Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. He ministered for about 59 years between the years, 743 and 698 B.C.

The book of Micah consists of three sections; each begins with a rebuke and ends with the promise. 

·                 The nations of Judah and Israel were in a period of moral decline. 

·                 The Assyrians were growing in strength and Micah was sure that God would use Assyria to bring judgments against Judah and Israel. 

·                 If they didn't get their acts together and turn back to God.

Micah is also known as the champion of the oppressed. 

·                 He condemned wealthy land owners for taking advantage of the poor. 

·                 He attacked dishonest merchants for using false scales, bribing judges, and charging huge interest rates against people who borrowed from them. 

·                 Even the priests were caught up in this wave of greed and dishonesty.  In fact, the priests of the day felt that since the temple was situated in Jerusalem no evil could come near them.  If they simply did due diligence, and offered God is required sacrifices. 

·                 Micah warned them that there was no magic saving power in the temple or their rituals.

Micah reads like a legal thriller. 

·                 Judah and Israel are the accused. 

·                 God is the prosecuting attorney, the witness for the prosecution in the sentencing judge. 

·                 God also calls creation to be a witness against his people.  

The bottom line is, God is calling his people to be accountable for their behavior.  He insists that they keep their part of the covenant.  And yet even when He makes those demands, He reminds them of his grace and forgiveness.

Turn to Micah 1:

            2 Hear, O peoples, all of you,

listen, O earth and all who are in it,

that the Sovereign Lord may witness against you,

the Lord from his holy temple.

Micah is the court bailiff.  Here ye, hear ye, the Honorable Judge God Almighty, presiding.

3 Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling place;

he comes down and treads the high places of the earth. 



And the charges brought before this Court today are the sins of Israel.

Now it's the accused attorney who jumps forward, “I object Your Honor.”

5b What is Jacob’s transgression?

Is it not Samaria?

What is Judah’s high place?

Is it not Jerusalem?

In other words,”My client has not sinned.  Look, we have places to worship you.”

And attorney God responds, “Let me tell you about those places of worship…”

            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.”

 And the judgment for this sin:

15 I will bring a conqueror against you who live in Mareshah. [Micah’s home town in Judah].

He who is the glory of Israel will come to Adullam. [Adullam is the cave where David hid from Saul, here it refers to the place of safety and hiding. Judah thought they were safe from the judgment that had already come to Israel.]

16 Shave your heads in mourning for the children in whom you delight; make yourselves as bald as the vulture, for they will go from you into exile.

Peter talked about this last week. Priests were forbidden to shave their heads. It was a sign among the people of deep mourning.

More charges against them:

2 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.

And the punishment for these crimes:

3 Therefore, the Lord says: “I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves.

You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity. 4 In that day men will ridicule you;

they will taunt you with this mournful song: ‘We are utterly ruined; my people’s possession is divided up.

He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.’”

We will skip over the next few verses, in them the false prophets or the attorneys for the accused urge Micah to shut up, and the people to ignore him.

We would expect the attorneys to begin arguing with each other at this point. But we must remember that this is God’s court room. And despite the charges brought against them, and despite the judgment that followed that charge, Judge God is merciful. The Judge speaks:

            12 “I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob;

I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.

I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,

like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people.



Attorney God now singles I don't individuals in the group. 

3 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?”

Their conduct towards the poor was so bad, it was compared to the butchering of animals.

And the punishment for these crimes:

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.”

More charges:

            9 Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob,

you rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice

and distort all that is right; 10 who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness.

11 Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money.

And the punishment for these crimes:

12 Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,

the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.

 

Here is another instance of the Judge God speaking:

4 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.



6 “In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. 7 I will make the lame a remnant,

those driven away a strong nation. The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever.

8 As for you, O watchtower of the flock, O stronghold of the Daughter of Zion, the former dominion will be restored to you; kingship will come to the Daughter of Jerusalem.”



13 “Rise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion, for I will give you horns of iron; I will give you hoofs of bronze

and you will break to pieces many nations.”

You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,

their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

How serious was gone about keeping his promises of retaining a remnant?

5  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.

But until that day, judgment must be carried out, and while you are in exile…

10 “In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will destroy your horses from among you and demolish your chariots.

11 I will destroy the cities of your land and tear down all your strongholds. 12 I will destroy your witchcraft

and you will no longer cast spells.

13 I will destroy your carved images and your sacred stones from among you; you will no longer bow down to the work of your hands. 14 I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles and demolish your cities.

15 I will take vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that have not obeyed me.”

 

Now that Attorney God has presented his case, he calls creation as a witness against Judah.

6  2 Hear, O mountains, the Lord’s accusation;

listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.

For the Lord has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel.

In the next few verses God outlines what he has done for Israel

4 I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery.

I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam.

5 My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered.

And now the attorney for the accused jumps up “I object!”

6 With what shall I come before the Lord

and bow down before the exalted God?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

I object! What do you want from me? I come to church, I pay my tithes, I read my Bible. Will I ever pray long enough? Will I ever be able to quote enough Bible verses?  Do I have to go to some primitive island and become a missionary? Will I ever be good enough for God?

Do you ever feel that way? I know I have.

Judge God answers:

            8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

Here’s the answer: Here’s the verse that would not leave my head. Here it is.

What does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

God wants an honest relationship with us. God wants us to obey Him because we want to, because we have a desire to.  God will not force us to do anything.  We don't come to church because we have to.  We come to Sunday school because we want to learn more about God. We come to service because we want to worship God with other believers.  We come to prayer on Wednesday nights because we want to praise God and we want to seek his face on behalf of those we pray for. We open our doors as a revival Center, not because we like hearing what the prophets to say, but because we want other people to experience an encounter with God.

So what is required for a good relationship with God? Notice vs. 8 says:

He has showed you, O man, what is good

Good means beneficial and who benefits from a relationship with God? We do!!!

If you jump down to vs. 14 you will see what a life without benefits looks like:

14 You will eat but not be satisfied; your stomach will still be empty. You will store up but save nothing,

because what you save I will give to the sword.

15 You will plant but not harvest; you will press olives but not use the oil on yourselves, you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.



A good relationship with God involves three things on our part.

1.   act justly -- be fair in their dealings with others

2.   love mercy -- ḥeseḏ, ”loyal love” -- carry through on their commitments to meet others needs

3.   walk humbly with . . . God fellowship with Him honestly, without arrogance.

In the remainder of the book, Micah walks out these words. He recounts the sins of his brothers, reminds them that God is merciful by recounting his promises and then intercedes for them.

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