Propheting: Getting the Basics
Micah 1:1-2, 2:1-3, 6:6-8
We come this
morning to our fifth Minor Prophet, Micah.=
Last week, we considered Obadiah, perhaps the “most minor̶=
1;
of them all, with only 21 verses--none of which we are likely to commit to
memory! Micah, on the other h=
and,
contains several powerful and well-known passages.
In chapter 4=
, we
find that familiar text about ‘swords beaten into plowshares and spea=
rs
into pruning hooks.’ In=
the
very next chapter, Micah foretells a child from
There is one=
verse
in Micah, however, that’s considered the high-water mark not only for
this book, but for the whole collection of Minor Prophets. This is where we’ll put our =
focus
today. To get there, we’ll begin with chapter 1 where we are introduc=
ed
to Micah’s theme of God putting His people on trial:
Micah 1:1-2--The
word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotha=
m,
Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of
Now to chapter 2, where we find a description of their crimes:
2
They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them.
They defraud a man of his home,
a fellowman of his inheritance.
3
Therefore, the LORD says:
"I am planning disaster against t=
his
people,
from which you cannot save yourselves.=
You will no longer walk proudly,
for it will be a time of calamity.
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?
8
He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?=
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
ANTHEM ANTHEM ANTHEM ANTHEM ANTHEM
“Prophe= ting in the New Year” should certainly include “Getting the Basics” right. And rarely have they been stated so clearly as in our text for today. The question: “…what does the LORD require of you?”= ; The answer: “To act justly, = and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
If you ever read the comics, you may be familiar with = the two pudgy little fellows named “Frank and Ernest.” Their names are actually a play on words. Both names mean to be candid, or honest. Often the = strip itself is a play on words (IMAGE--LIKE TH= IS), but sometimes it just takes a real honest, down to earth look at life.
Like the day in the funny papers when Frank is in a
courtroom, standing before the judge.
The judge is obviously losing his patience with Frank--when he tells
him: “‘It’s
guilty’ or ‘not guilty.’=
You can’t plead ‘I just gotta’ be me.’
I chuckled when I read that; but then stopped as I tho= ught about how often we do this kind of thing with the Ultimate Judge of our liv= es, God. Sometimes we claim to be= in right relationship with Him, and we say we want to live lives that are plea= sing to Him-- when in reality, frankly (= or earnestly), our lives are communicating the message, “I just gotta’ be ME.”
Well, something like this was going on big time in Micah’s day, and this is what the Lord sent His prophet to confront.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> God’s people claimed to belo= ng to Him, but they weren’t living like it. When it came to God’s requirements, they weren’t even getting the basics right.
Now earlier, as we read the introduction to Micah, I
mentioned that the prophet paints for us an image of God…putting His people on trial. He’s stating His case agains=
t them
to anyone who will listen: “=
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.̶=
1; (Micah 1:2)
Micah brings us right into the courtroom. We learn that all of
Now, this is not some prosecutor trying to make a name= for himself, hoping to be Governor some day, or whatever. The last thing in the world God wa= nts to be doing is this. Listen to w= hat He says next:
"My peop=
le, what
have I done to you? How have I
burdened you? Answer me. I brought you up out of
Do you hear the Divine hurt and disappointment in these words? This is not a vindicti= ve God, but a loving and faithful God, who is speaking here. Does this not sound like grieving parents speaking to a child who has broken their hearts? “What could we have possibly= done to cause you to behave this way?”
There’s no reply.
God has always supplied their needs. When they were helpless slaves in =
God never wanted this, He takes no pleasure in it; but= now He has to put His people on trial. Is there any evidence at all that they know Him, and belong to Him; = or are their lives not actually saying, “Forget God. I just gotta’ be me?”<= /p>
What are they saying?= Sure, we belong to you, God. Just look how religious we are.&nbs= p; Look at all the sacrifices we make.= We bring our burnt offerings, our finest year-old calves. Those who can afford it bring even more. What do you want from u= s, God, our children? Would that= make you happy?
You have to hand it to them. Micah says they went through their religious motions rather well. They had their rituals and traditions down pat.= How could God not be pleased with them!
But Micah has to break the news to them that God was n= ot pleased. Although they seemed= quite pious on one level, God saw that this was just a front, a cover-up for the unethical ways in which they were living.
Listen: no am=
ount of
good living will ever make up for a lack of faithfulness in our giving. (Malachi) But the issue here is just the
opposite. No amount of good g=
iving
will ever make up for a lack of faithfulness in our living.
So what was so wrong =
about
the way they were living? Mic=
ah
tells us in several places, like here in Micah
2:2—“They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take
them. They defraud a man of h=
is
home, a fellowman of his inheritance.”
And in chapter 3, verse 2, the people are called, “Haters of good and lovers of evil…” (Micah 3:2) So their whole value system has been turned upside down!
They were playing a game with God. On one hand, they were bringing Him offerings; while on the other hand, oppressing the poor, cheating people ou= t of their homes, and making a mockery of their Divine calling to be God’s light in a sin-darkened world.
God feels compelled to present His case against
Which raises a question: what kind of evidence is God = looking for? What are the basics that you= and I need to get? Listen for them: “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
Here we have it—the evidence God looks for in the lives of His people: justice, mercy, and faith, described here as a ‘humble walk with God.’
So how about = JUSTICE? God certainly expects us to do wha= t is right and fair. Most of US te= nd to think of justice as a person getting what they deserve when they’ve d= one something wrong. Do the crime, serve the time!—that kind of thing.&= nbsp; And we do find this in Scripture: crime and punishment.
When God speaks through His prophets about justice, ho=
wever,
He’s talking about something different. Justice
is about getting what you deserve when you haven’t done anythi=
ng
wrong, yet find yourself afflicted, oppressed, impoverished, persecuted, or
taken advantage of in some other way.
It goes back to caring for those who cannot care for t= hemselves, and protecting those for whom you serve as their only line of defense. The prophets keep insisting—we saw this in Joel just two weeks ago—they emphasize that a na= tion is judged by how it cares for its weakest, most vulnerable people.
Micah spoke out against leaders and judges who could be influenced and bribed, against business owners who used one set of weights = when buying and another set when selling, against people who were devout when it came to religious ritual, but unjust in their dealings with others, and uncaring in relation to the poor and helpless. Do justice, God says. DO JUSTICE.
Next comes ME= RCY, to “love mercy,” which is closely related to the concept of justice. “Mercy” is a translation of the Hebrew word, “chesed,” which also = means “steadfast love.”<= /b> It’s the kind of love God ha= s for His people. It’s love…put into action.
I rarely recommend movies, but if you haven’t se= en (IMAGE) Blindside, this is= a movie well worth watching. It’s based on a true story about a homeless kid that people ca= lled “Big Mike”--for obvious reasons.
Over the objections of some, this academically and soc= ially challenged young man is allowed entrance into Wingate Christian School, bec= ause a couple of people—one of them being the football coach—insiste= d it was the Christian thing to do.
Everyone knew Big Mike would fail—everyone, that= is, except the Touhy family, who after seeing Big Mike walking along the road o= n a cold, rainy night, wearing only shorts and a T-shirt, decided to take him in. (IMAGE) They end up giving him a home and a family and enough h= elp to get him through high school and into college.
Well, today, Big Mike is known as (IMAGE) Michael Oher, and he plays left offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL. = In that left tackle position, he protects the quarterback’s blindside—the place where the quarterback happens to be the most vulnerable.
You don’t have to like football to be touched by=
this
movie. It’s a beautiful
example of what Micah is commending when he speaks of justice and mercy.
One of the most memorable scenes in the movie, though, occurs when Mrs. Touhy is having to answer all the questions that her well-to-do friends have about what she and her family are doing for Big Mike. They obviously feel thi= s is risky and inappropriate, and they are convinced their friend has taken leav= e of her senses.
When she makes it clear that she’s had enough of= their interrogation, one of them tries to ease the tension of the moment by saying that she thinks what the Tougys are doing is just wonderful.
“Why, you are changing that boy’s life,= 221; she says. “Nope,”= says Mrs. Touhy, “he’s changing mine.” That sounds like the Gospel, doesn’t it?!?
Act justly, love mercy, and…WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD. Micah does an interesting thing.
It’s faith, defined here as ‘a humble walk= with God.’ When we meet this requirement, we are well on our way to finding the commitment and strength = and courage we need to also deal justly, and mercifully, with our fellowman.
A genuine walk with the Lord will always humble us, friends. This is so basic to = the Christian life because there’s a bit of the old Pharisee in us all—you know, “Lord, I thank you that I am not as other people are”—yeah, THAT old Pharisee.
Last week, Obadiah reminded us of what a tough challen= ge pride is for us. Today, Micah stresses the importance of humility.
When we come to Christ, it always involves being
humbled--sort of like the Publican who, as you recall, was also praying that
day in the
This need never changes, friends. Even after a lifetime of following Christ, and hopefully doing justice and loving mercy, we still need GodR= 17;s grace and forgiveness. We must never lose touch with the fact that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Walking humbly by faith means that we understand that = we won’t always do justice as we should, nor will we love mercy in every situation of life. We may do = well for awhile, and in certain situations; but then we fail miserably in others, and we must pray once again, “God, have mercy. I’m still a sinner.”
And God forgives us; by His grace, He puts more of the= mind of Christ in us, while removing some of that old “I’ve just got= to be ME” stuff. And we grow—so hopefully, people begin to see less of us= , and more of Christ—more evidence that we really do belong to Him—that we are, at least, getting the basics.
So, what if WE were on trial today? What would the evidence show—=
;in my
life and yours? What would the
verdict be?