I really enjoyed this section in Micah. I often have trouble getting into the "Minor Prophets", the books with crazy names like Zephaniah, Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi. But, fellow readers, fear not our cultural (or temporal) differences, because these guys who lived millenia ago were full of the Spirit and full of things to say. So let's look at Micah, chapters six and seven.
Beautiful words here in Micah and some challenging words from God. This is an important part of reading scripture: often times we'll run into things that challenge our beliefs. It's important to ask why this is and not to run from the Bible. I believe God uses these times of struggle and questioning to draw us closer to Him and to refresh our minds - minds that have been warped by sin and need constant refreshing. I need to continue to re-evaluate all my beliefs in the light of scripture and let Christ tell me the truth. As Paul writes:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
The first thing that challenged me in Micah was the harsh words against people. It's easy to criticize some groups of people - we can dismiss them as poor or lazy or whatever (and we all do this), but we still believe that humanity (as a whole) is not all rotten. There are intelligent, hard working people all around - surely they are not “sinners” or in need of a total heart change by God?
Micah writes:
Even the best and most honest of them are as worthless as weeds. (Micah 7:4 TEV)
I use to look up to people who were “religious authorities” – surely they wouldn’t need to do things like repent before God? No! Without a fear of the Lord they are as worthless as weeds.
I looked up to artists, musicians, filmmakers – yet they are nothing compared to Jesus. They die, and their glory fades along with them. Some are remembered longer, but are not around to enjoy their glory! Jesus died, rose again, and is reigning in glory forever.
The Lord asks us to “live in humble fellowship with our God” (Micah 6:8 TEV). Humility! We need to repent when we sin, not roll it away with silly platitudes like “We all make mistakes”. Our sin before God is not rolled away by us saying, “Let’s forget about it.” No, God says:
Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales
and with a bag of deceitful weights? (Micah 6:11 ESV)
Should God simply forget our sins? The answer from God that reveals Him to be all-loving and all-wise and a God of justice is “No”.
We have a very limited view of how damaging our sin is. If we sin against God, who is eternal, then we have sinned eternally. God is outside of time, and unlike humans He doesn’t forget. We have another funny platitude, “Time heals all wounds”. It doesn’t, we just hope it will and we hide behind that.
God is eternal and good and just and for our sins He demands blood:
Therefore I strike you with a grievous
blow,
making you desolate because of your
sins. (Micah 6:13)
In addition to God’s just punishment, we get the punishment of sinning itself:
You shall eat, but not be satisfied,
and there shall be hunger within you;
you shall put away, but not preserve,
and what you preserve I will give to the sword. (6:14)
Even if we start to do good things and we do them apart from God (Because of the sin that separates us) they will add up to nothing:
You shall sow, but not reap;
you shall tread olives, but not anoint
yourselves with oil;
you shall tread grapes, but not drink
wine. (6:15)
See, we are made by God to know and love and rejoice in Him. He surrounds us with gifts and gives us the joy of working (Genesis 2:15) and purpose. Then we sin, and rather than being humble and apologizing we run from God. Separated from God, our great joy, our life, is gone, so we try to fill it by living as we did before, turning to the gifts rather than the Giver and expecting happiness. But no, God says that that will amount to nothing! Olives will not make olive oil and grapes will not make wine.
But how then will we be saved from our sin, which is an eternal stain upon our soul, the thing that takes us – who are meant for eternity – into eternal death. So if our present state is so horrible, so empty, so destructive, what can we do? This is the fundamental question when it comes to sin. What can we do about it?
“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 first born for my
transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my
soul?” (Micah 6:6-7)
We can’t do any of that. Even if we gave our own firstborn:
Truly no man can ransom another,
or give to God the price of his life (Psalm 49:7)
But God can. God can be the ransom, the price for our lives. He can pay the price and save us from death. He alone in Jesus has the power to completely destroy our sin. I love this verse, which echoes of Genesis 3:15:
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. (Micah 7:19)
God has completely trampled our sin, completely crushed it on the cross. He has not simply annulled it or cast it aside, He has absorbed all of our sins in Jesus Christ on the cross and crushed them.
The answer to “What can we do?” is “Nothing”, God has done everything through Christ, and our role is to turn to Him. We do not need to walk in shame and wallow in sorrow for being sinful, because we have a mighty Savior who is always at work and open to us at any time. We just need to lay aside our pride and admit our inability to do nothing.
But as for me, I will look to the LORD;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me. (Micah 7:7)
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