"To Do Justice, To Love Kindness, To Walk Humbly:" The Character of God - Micah 7:14-20

The growth of a Christian is forged in the crucible of adversity. A tribe of native Americans had a unique practice for training their young braves. On the night of a boy’s thirteenth birthday, he was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until then he had never been away from the security of his family and tribe. But on this night he was blindfolded and taken miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of thick woods. By himself. All night long. Put yourself in the shoes of this thirteen year old boy. Every time a twig snapped, you imagine a wild animal ready to pounce. Every time an animal howled, it could be a wolf leaping out of the darkness. Every time the wind blew, he wondered what more sinister sound or figure it masked. No doubt it was a terrifying night. And little did he know, that a shadowy human figure was not far from away...

For nearly three months now, we’ve been looking at what Micah teaches the Judeans. Two weeks ago, our journey through Micah took a turn. Micah had been prophesying against corruption in their leadership, their oppression of the poor and downcast, and their straying away from the one true God. Micah goes from prophesying to the people of Judah to being reflective. In the final chapter, Micah laments what is going around him, as he awaits the fulfillment of his prophecy. As the young Native American brave felt isolated and lost in the wilderness, Micah is feeling alone. As people who claim to follow God have strayed away. Micah has poured out his heart to the Lord in lament, in a deep grief over what is going on around him. Today we see how his lament ends.

As he concludes today, we learn that the hope for Judea is found in the character of God. In a similar way, our hope, the hope of Middle Sandy, and the hope of all who call upon God, is found in the character of God. As one person has said, the answer is not philosophical, it’s not intellectual. Instead, it is relational. So how is God’s character displayed here? God plays three different roles in the end of chapter 7. As he does, we learn who he is, who we are, and who we must become.

Micah 7:14 ESV

Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land; let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old.

God is our Shepherd.

Dwelling along in the a forest, in the midst of a garden land. Judea is cut off, isolated, and starting to experience the effects of their straying from God. But even as they experience the consequences of their straying from God, God nonetheless cares for them. And his care for them reflects His character. So who is God? God is the one who Judea has routinely turned away from. The one whom they got complacent with, and they took for granted. And how does God respond? Micah says he responds as a shepherd. A shepherd whose staff is used to guide the flock. They may have strayed from God, but God has not departed from them.

Michael Hodkin also shares a story of direction. A story of trying to go one way and ending up somewhere very different. After a half day of climbing a range of mountains, a party of climbers realized that they were lost. They took turns studying the map, and each tried to figure out where they were. One of the climbers began to match the surrounding landmarks with the ones on the map. Then he confirmed his findings with his compass. After careful charting, he made a startling announcement to the others. “See that big mountain over there?” “Yes,” answered his fellow climbers eagerly. “According to the map, we’re standing on top of it.”

Micah is a book written for believers. But throughout, the believers are have strayed from the guidance and shepherding of God. Today most Christians will say they are being guided by God through prayer, scripture, and the Holy Spirit. But are we? Last week, we heard about how Middle Sandy is a Bible-centered church that loves and serves well. But a short time later, we learned that our weaknesses include lacking unity, focusing inward, lacking trust in leadership, and not being welcoming to new people.

But are you being guided by God, or books about God?

Micah 7:19 ESV

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.

God is our Atonement

The Judeans were in need of forgiveness as they reaped the consequences of their sin. Micah looked around and saw the people called out of the world to be God’s own. And what were they doing? Worshiping idols. Oppressing the poor and the marginalized.

Many Christians today can also fall into the same trap. One person has said it like this. He takes his sin to the Cross, then experiences forgiveness. But then in his restless thoughts, he goes back and picks up his sin again. essentially, we’ve been forgiven, yet we continue to carry around with us the weight of the sin that God has already forgiven. To add to that, wounded people wound people. As we cling to our wounds, it will damage the relationships that we have with others. So, if a weakness of ours is unity, then could it be that we fail to extend to others the same forgiveness that we have received from God? Micah doesn’t simply say that God forgives us. He says that God “he tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

Ron Prosise shares the story of Donald Cargill...When Donald Cargill was led to the scaffold in 1681 and approached the cord by which he was to be hanged, he declared that he went up the ladder with less fear and agitation of mind than ever he entered the pulpit to preach the Word of God to sinners. He proclaimed, “I am no more terrified at death, nor afraid of hell, because of sin, than if I had never had sin; for all my sins are freely pardoned and washed away, through the precious blood and intercession of Jesus Christ.”

When a person first confesses of their sin and professes their faith in Christ, they are forgiven of their sin. But, there’s a big difference between having been forgiven and feeling as though we have been forgiven. Which is why we must regularly proclaim the Gospel to ourselves.

Frankly, I recently experienced this same kind of forgiveness. Kim and I went out to eat for my birthday on Tuesday. On the way to the restaurant, I said one of those things you say that you wish you could take back. Have you been there? So, in her usual graceful and loving way, Kim called me out on my mistake. Unfortunately, I was driving at the time and it wasn’t the best time to have the conversation. So for 24 hours, the need to apologize weighed on me. The next night I apologized. And you know what she said, “I didn’t mean for it to be a big deal.” You know that you married the right person when you screw up, and she responds like that.

Micah 7:18 ESV

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.

God is Hessed.

As God continues to care for and love his people, he is showing to the Judeans and to Micah one of the most well known words in the Hebrew language. Hessed, which is translated as covenant faithfulness, love, or obligation to the community. How many times have we heard that God is love? Plenty, but what kind of love is it? Does God love us in the same way that I love fruity Mentos? Does God love with the emotional infatuation of two first loves? Or is God’s love like that of a spouse, a parent, or even a grandparent? Micah tells us that God is Hessed. It’s a love that endures. It’s a tough love. Throughout Micah, there has been a repeating theme that God loves his people too much to leave them stuck in their sin and comfort.

Charles Spurgeon once went to visit a friend who had built a new barn. On top of the barn was a weather vane with the words, “God is love.” Spurgeon asked his friend, “What do you mean by that? Do you mean that God’s love is as changeable as the wind?” His friend answered, “No, I believe that God is love whichever way the wind blows.”

Last week, we heard that Middle Sandy has become inwardly focused. We’ve become the church “up there,” and not just geographically. To be a church of Hessed, a church that loves and cares, we must be a church of forgiveness. We must be people who even forgive another person’s lack of forgiveness. We do this because Christ first modeled it for us. We must also be a church who is not afraid of those different from us. How do you do with people who are different from you politically, racially, or economically?

Scot McKnight puts it like this. “Grace is more than being lucky to be on God’s side. Grace is God’s goodness showered on people who have failed. Grace is God’s love on those who think they are unlovable. Grace is God knowing what we are designed to be. Grace is God believing in us when we have given up. Grace is someone at the end of their rope finding new strength. But there’s more to grace. Grace is both a place and a power. Grace is God unleashing his transforming power. Grace realigns and reroutes a life and a community. Grace is when you turn your worst enemy into your best friend. Grace takes people as they are and makes them what they can be. Grace ennobles; grace empowers. Grace forgives; grace frees. Grace transcends, and grace transforms.” Unquote. Scot uses the term grace, probably because only so many people would understand Hessed love. But this is transforming, radical, and life giving.

Conclusion

The growth of a Christian is forged in the crucible of adversity. Our hope is in the character of God, and who is God? He is our Shepherd. He is our atonement. Lastly, he is Hessed.

Some might ask, who would leave a thirteen year young brave in the wilderness by himself? Well, here’s the rest of the story. After what seemed like an eternity, the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest. Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of the path. Then, to his utter surprise, the shadowy figure of a man was standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrow. It was the boy’s father. standing guard over his son from a distance. He had been there all night long. That is also the character of God. A God who is there. A God who shepherds his flock. A God who forgives. And a God who is Hessed love.

“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?” Christ is the one Micah ultimately points to. Christ lived the life that the Judeans regularly failed to live. Today, we live like the life Micah called us because Christ first lived this way. And as we see others who stumble and fail to live as Christ lived, just as we stumble and fail, the hope of all who believe in Christ is found in the character of God. God our shepherd. Christ the one who died for the forgiveness of our sins. And Christ, the one who exemplified what Hessed love truly is. The hope of all who believe is Christ is found in the character of God.