From Darkness Of Idictment To Light Of Salvation
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Introduction
Introduction
Sometimes when our situation has a bleak outlook we cannot see it changing and we feel trapped in it without any sense of hope. Even more so when that situation perhaps is one which we have made for ourselves. We are powerless to change it - sometimes those in judgment over are powerless to change it as “their hands are tied by the law”
Micah’s third message to Israel/Judah is a summary of what has been said before but is summed up as a case before a court. The court is the court of the LORD and the case is His against His nation and His people. Micah third message is the culmination of the theme - Who is Like Our God. He prophesies the judgement coming for their sins, but also proclaims the promise of the Lord for salvation. The desire is to invoke the people to endure what is to come trusting in the LORD still for “who is like our God to take us from darkness of indictment to light of salvation?!”
1 Now listen to what the Lord is saying: Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your complaint. 2 Listen to the Lord’s lawsuit, you mountains and enduring foundations of the earth, because the Lord has a case against his people, and he will argue it against Israel.
3 My people, what have I done to you, or how have I wearied you? Testify against me! 4 Indeed, I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from that place of slavery. I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam ahead of you.
5 My people, remember what King Balak of Moab proposed, what Balaam son of Beor answered him, and what happened from the Acacia Grove to Gilgal so that you may acknowledge the Lord’s righteous acts. 6 What should I bring before the Lord when I come to bow before God on high? Should I come before him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?
7 Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousand streams of oil? Should I give my firstborn for my transgression, the offspring of my body for my own sin? 8 Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.
9 The voice of the Lord calls out to the city (and it is wise to fear your name): “Pay attention to the rod and the one who ordained it. 10 Are there still the treasures of wickedness and the accursed short measure in the house of the wicked?
11 Can I excuse wicked scales or bags of deceptive weights? 12 For the wealthy of the city are full of violence, and its residents speak lies; the tongues in their mouths are deceitful. 13 “As a result, I have begun to strike you severely, bringing desolation because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied, for there will be hunger within you. What you acquire, you cannot save, and what you do save, I will give to the sword. 15 You will sow but not reap; you will press olives but not anoint yourself with oil; and you will tread grapes but not drink the wine.
16 The statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house have been observed; you have followed their policies. Therefore, I will make you a desolate place and the city’s residents an object of contempt; you will bear the scorn of my people.”
1 How sad for me! For I am like one who— when the summer fruit has been gathered after the gleaning of the grape harvest— finds no grape cluster to eat, no early fig, which I crave. 2 Faithful people have vanished from the land; there is no one upright among the people. All of them wait in ambush to shed blood; they hunt each other with a net.
3 Both hands are good at accomplishing evil: the official and the judge demand a bribe; when the powerful man communicates his evil desire, they plot it together. 4 The best of them is like a brier; the most upright is worse than a hedge of thorns. The day of your watchmen, the day of your punishment, is coming; at this time their panic is here.
5 Do not rely on a friend; don’t trust in a close companion. Seal your mouth from the woman who lies in your arms. 6 Surely a son considers his father a fool, a daughter opposes her mother, and a daughter-in-law is against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
7 But I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. 8 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will stand up; though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.
9 Because I have sinned against him, I must endure the Lord’s fury until he champions my cause and establishes justice for me. He will bring me into the light; I will see his salvation. 10 Then my enemy will see, and she will be covered with shame, the one who said to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will look at her in triumph; at that time she will be trampled like mud in the streets.
11 A day will come for rebuilding your walls; on that day your boundary will be extended. 12 On that day people will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates River and from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.
13 Then the earth will become a wasteland because of its inhabitants and as a result of their actions. 14 Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock that is your possession. They live alone in a woodland surrounded by pastures. Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in ancient times.
15 I will perform miracles for them as in the days of your exodus from the land of Egypt. 16 Nations will see and be ashamed of all their power. They will put their hands over their mouths, and their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick the dust like a snake; they will come trembling out of their hiding places like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will tremble in the presence of the Lord our God; they will stand in awe of you. 18 Who is a God like you, forgiving iniquity and passing over rebellion for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not hold on to his anger forever because he delights in faithful love.
19 He will again have compassion on us; he will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 20 You will show loyalty to Jacob and faithful love to Abraham, as you swore to our ancestors from days long ago.
God Brings An Indictment
God Brings An Indictment
The Case Against Judah
The Case Against Judah
1 Now listen to what the Lord is saying: Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your complaint. 2 Listen to the Lord’s lawsuit, you mountains and enduring foundations of the earth, because the Lord has a case against his people, and he will argue it against Israel.
3 My people, what have I done to you, or how have I wearied you? Testify against me! 4 Indeed, I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from that place of slavery. I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam ahead of you.
5 My people, remember what King Balak of Moab proposed, what Balaam son of Beor answered him, and what happened from the Acacia Grove to Gilgal so that you may acknowledge the Lord’s righteous acts.
Again the message from Micah starts with listen, and the call to listen to what the LORD is saying. It isnt Micah’s message it is the LORD’s. God is calling to the nation to rise up and plead their case. In this courtroom the witnesses or the jury box rather is the mountains and hills themselves. God is bringing a case against Israel and He will argue it before them. Most would argue their case before the city gates and the elders of the city, but the LORD is going to argue His before the mountains and the hills as the corruption of the city and its leaders have not affected the mountains and hills. Also the mountains and hills have been since they were formed and are adequate witnesses.
God begins asking My people what have I done to you? How have I wearied (burdened) you? He invites them to come and testify against Him. I have brought you up from Egypt. I have redeemed you from the place of slavery. I sent Moses, Aaron and Miriam ahead of you. Not only have i not done evil to you, but rather I have done nothing but good. I redeemed you and gave you godly leaders.
God then calls for His people to remember. God brings up the encounter with Balak and Balaam. King Balak wanted to curse Israel and hired Balaam to do it. Balaam couldnt curse Israel God wouldnt let Him, three times he tries but each time all he does is pronounce God’s blessing. Israel is cursed only when they disobey and rebel against God and they curse themselves.
The call to remember is a frequent one - it is found 14 times in the book of Deuteronomy and used frequently for the Jews to teach their children the miraculous deeds and mighty works of the LORD. It is good and necessary for God’s people to know the past and remember with gratitude what God has done for them. We don’t live in the past, but we must learn from and remember the past or we will repeat the same mistakes. Philosopher George Santayana wrote “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. Because Israel forgot God’s mercies they ignored His commandments and hardened their hearts rebelling against God’s will.
7 Our ancestors in Egypt did not grasp the significance of your wondrous works or remember your many acts of faithful love; instead, they rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea.
The Response of the People
The Response of the People
6 What should I bring before the Lord when I come to bow before God on high? Should I come before him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? 7 Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousand streams of oil? Should I give my firstborn for my transgression, the offspring of my body for my own sin?
8 Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.
Do they acknowledge the righteous acts of the LORD? No the response of the people is not acknowledging the righteous acts of the LORD but complaining that the LORD asks too much. This response of the people comes from a place of bitterness and resentment. It has the tone of asking “what do you want from me?”. Verse 6 “What should I bring before the LORD? What does God want? Burnt offerings? Year-old calves? Will He be pleased with thousands of rams? How about with 10,000 streams of oil? My first born? My body? What is God’s price so I can pay it and be done?!
It seems as if the answer to God is that He asks too much of them and that the accusation is nothing satisfies Him. The charge is that God is unreasonable. The rebellious heart looks to blame God for their sin because then they dont have to change God does. God doesnt bargain with sinners and no amount of sacrifice or any sacrifice they brought could cleanse their sin.
God has given the requirements; act justly, love faithfulness and walk humbly with your God. There it is Micah summed up the whole of the law and the prophets two these three things. God does not desire to simply know His people through rote ritual but inwardly through their heart. What the Lord requires is not burdensome, not difficult and was not a mystery; they just chose not to follow His requirement.
God Pronounces Judgment
God Pronounces Judgment
Nothing Has Changed
Nothing Has Changed
9 The voice of the Lord calls out to the city (and it is wise to fear your name): “Pay attention to the rod and the one who ordained it. 10 Are there still the treasures of wickedness and the accursed short measure in the house of the wicked?
11 Can I excuse wicked scales or bags of deceptive weights? 12 For the wealthy of the city are full of violence, and its residents speak lies; the tongues in their mouths are deceitful.
The voice of the LORD now calls out to the city. Pay attention to the rod or punishment and the one who ordained it or brought it. There are treasures (stored up) of wickedness and the accursed shoprt measure with which to cheat. God wont excuse wickedness or deception. The city is full of violence and lies - its totally seeped in deception. God may bring the rod and ordained the rod brought, but it is one’s own sin that brings their affliction from the rod upon themselves. It is not because of God’s own neglect or disregard but one’s sin.
It Has Already Begun
It Has Already Begun
13 “As a result, I have begun to strike you severely, bringing desolation because of your sins. 14 You will eat but not be satisfied, for there will be hunger within you. What you acquire, you cannot save, and what you do save, I will give to the sword. 15 You will sow but not reap; you will press olives but not anoint yourself with oil; and you will tread grapes but not drink the wine.
16 The statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house have been observed; you have followed their policies. Therefore, I will make you a desolate place and the city’s residents an object of contempt; you will bear the scorn of my people.”
As a result of the sin God has struck them severely already. They sought their sinful desires and used deception to achieve and accomplish their sin. God would prevent them from enjoying the fruits of their sins. They will eat without satisfaction, they will always be hungry and never satisfied. As they acquire they will lose and what they dont lose will be taken. They will sow for the harvest but not reap.
God says because they observe and follow the policies of the statues of Omri and Ahab they will be made desolate. Ahab was one of the most wicked kings of Israel. His wife was Jezebel and his father was wicked also and his name was Omri. Their statues were idols for the god Baal. The true prophets of God were murdered under Ahab’s reign. Because of the rampant idolatry and violence they would be the ridicule and scorn of other nations.
15 All who pass by scornfully clap their hands at you. They hiss and shake their heads at Daughter Jerusalem: Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth? 16 All your enemies open their mouths against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth, saying, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day we have waited for! We have lived to see it.”
God Promises Salvation
God Promises Salvation
It is not deserved
It is not deserved
1 How sad for me! For I am like one who— when the summer fruit has been gathered after the gleaning of the grape harvest— finds no grape cluster to eat, no early fig, which I crave. 2 Faithful people have vanished from the land; there is no one upright among the people. All of them wait in ambush to shed blood; they hunt each other with a net.
3 Both hands are good at accomplishing evil: the official and the judge demand a bribe; when the powerful man communicates his evil desire, they plot it together. 4 The best of them is like a brier; the most upright is worse than a hedge of thorns. The day of your watchmen, the day of your punishment, is coming; at this time their panic is here.
There is no redeeming amount of people found in the land. Micah describes the search for someone righteous and faithful to God as one who gleans and gathers but had nothing to eat. The faithful have vanished from the land. There is literally no good fruit in the land. There is no one upright among the people. All the people wait in ambush to shed blood. They hunt each other with a net.
The righteous are gone because evil has actually taken them away. So now only evil men are left.
They are great at committing evil. Most use their left or right hand but these people were exceptional in using both their hands for evil. The official and the judge both demand a bribe. The powerful man communicates his evil desire and they plot it out together. The best of them all is like a brier - hurts no matter how you approach them. The most upright is worse than a hedge of thorns.
Abraham plead for the righteous of Sodom - but there is no one righteous and no one righteous to plead for the people of Judah.
It comes from no one else
It comes from no one else
5 Do not rely on a friend; don’t trust in a close companion. Seal your mouth from the woman who lies in your arms. 6 Surely a son considers his father a fool, a daughter opposes her mother, and a daughter-in-law is against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
7 But I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
The day of punishment and panic is coming and is now here. Who can they rely on? If all the people are wicked - who can they rely on? Not a friend, not even a close companion. Not their lover and not even their family would save them let alone could save them. None of them can be trusted for they are all unrighteous. Micah says simply I will look to the LORD, I will wait for the God of my salvation.
5 I wait for the Lord; I wait and put my hope in his word.
9 On that day it will be said, “Look, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he has saved us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him. Let’s rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
Even when no one else can be counted on - you can always count on the LORD. Micah knew that God would hear him.
3 Know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself; the Lord will hear when I call to him.
Our enemies cannot stop it
Our enemies cannot stop it
8 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will stand up; though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. 9 Because I have sinned against him, I must endure the Lord’s fury until he champions my cause and establishes justice for me. He will bring me into the light; I will see his salvation.
10 Then my enemy will see, and she will be covered with shame, the one who said to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will look at her in triumph; at that time she will be trampled like mud in the streets.
Micah says for the enemies to not rejoice. It looks like they have fallen and he describes their situation as sitting in darkness. The darkness of the judgment coming from their indictment. The LORD will be His and our light. Though fallen they will stand.
They have indeed sinned and they must endure the LORD’s fury - it is a darkness that they must walk through however it will not last. It is only until He champions his cause and establishes justice.
The enemies might rejoice over our situation but they cant do anything about the LORD bringing us to the light once again. Micah says the LORD WILL bring them from the darkness into the light and he will see His salvation! The enemies will be silenced. Our enemies who thought our God unable to save will see that our God is unlike any other bringing us from darkness to light, from fallen to standing, from lost to salvation.
A Day is coming
A Day is coming
11 A day will come for rebuilding your walls; on that day your boundary will be extended. 12 On that day people will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates River and from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.
13 Then the earth will become a wasteland because of its inhabitants and as a result of their actions. 14 Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock that is your possession. They live alone in a woodland surrounded by pastures. Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in ancient times.
15 I will perform miracles for them as in the days of your exodus from the land of Egypt. 16 Nations will see and be ashamed of all their power. They will put their hands over their mouths, and their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick the dust like a snake; they will come trembling out of their hiding places like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will tremble in the presence of the Lord our God; they will stand in awe of you.
For Micah and for Israel the day for that to happen is yet coming. A day to rebuild their wall and extend their boundaries. Not only will they come out of Babylon but again in the last days on THAT DAY - the Day of the LORD they will come out of dark days of the tribulation into the light of God’s salvation as Jesus returns to rule and reign. The earth and its inhabitants will be a wasteland from the sin and rebellion. They will be wiped out for their sin and judged for their wickedness.
Messiah comes back to rule and reign and perform miracles nations will be ashamed despite their supposed great power. Trembling in the presence of the LORD our God. They will stand in awe of God
No One Is Like Our God
No One Is Like Our God
He Forgives Sin
He Forgives Sin
18 Who is a God like you, forgiving iniquity and passing over rebellion for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not hold on to his anger forever because he delights in faithful love.
Our God brings an indictment of sin and verdict of guilty to His people but also brings salvation forgiving iniquity and passing over rebellion. God forgives sin. He doesnt hold His anger forever and finds delight in faithful love (hesed) unfailing love.
He is Full of Compassion
He is Full of Compassion
19 He will again have compassion on us; he will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
He brings the judgment but also has compassion again. He vanquishes the iniquities - His compassion leads Him to do something about the sin. In fact God deals with the sin in such a way He casts it in the sea. Some of the oceans are deep enough that light cannot penetrate and vision is impossible. God casts ALL our sins where they can never be seen again!
Faithful in Love
Faithful in Love
20 You will show loyalty to Jacob and faithful love to Abraham, as you swore to our ancestors from days long ago.
God deals with the sins, but brings redemption and salvation because of His faithfulness and His own loyalty. It isnt owed to anyone - it is simply established because He made promises to Jacob and Abraham. God fulfills His word and is trustworthy.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Though God is longsuffering towards sin - God cannot and will not overlook sin it will be judged
When wickedness has surrounded and overtaken the only place to look is to the LORD. Only God can bring the change needed.
God will pardon those who come to him. God will show unfailing love because he delights in showing his faithfulness. He has vanquished our sins through His son Jesus when He died on the cross. He will show you compassion and throw your sins into the sea if you will come to him. Who is like the Lord who shows compassion and forgiveness to those who have sinned against him?
Trust Him for He has shown Himself to be trustworthy.