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Faith Formation: Micah - Justice, Kindness, humility

  • trinitymilaca
  • Feb 27
  • 4 min read

Now many nations are assembled against you, saying, "Let her be profaned, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion." But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your horns iron and your hoof's bronze; you shall beat in pieces many peoples and shall devote their gain to the LORD, their wealth to the LORD of the whole earth. Micah 4:11-13

Honestly, I am skeptical as to whether this is a word of Micah. It sounds more like the bravado or a false prophet. It sounds in utter contrast to what Micah has already said about Jerusalem's fate. "Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the temple a wooded height." 3:12 Maybe one might point to miraculous rescue of Jerusalem in Isaiah 36-38, repeated in 2 Kings 18-19. Even so, it also stands in complete contrast to what has immediately gone before it, the failure of kingship, and the pain of Israel being exiled to Babylon. Israel never fully recovered from that loss. The imagery is again graphic and disturbing.

"Now many nations are assembled against you, ..." Israel was surrounded by many nations which harassed her throughout the story. Israel never really had times of peace. From the time of conquest, Joshua and Judges, to conflict with the Philistines throughout Saul and David's kingship, Solomon had enemies (1 Kings 11:14-25) and his successors endured civil war between Judah and Israel, to the rise of Assyria and Babylon, and beyond to the times of Greek and Roman dominance, Israel continually struggled against the nations. They hope and trusted in God's protection sang of such confidence. "Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? ... He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD has them in derision." Psalm 2. Still the nations gathered and Israel/Judah remained continually vulnerable, a lamb in need of a shepherd grazing in a world of wolves.

"... saying, 'Let her be profaned, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.'" The desire of the nations to profane and gaze upon Zion suggests humiliation and rape. An exploration of the word "profane" connects it to words like "pollute," "make dirty," or "desecrate." One possible rendition of the phrase reads, "Let her be stripped naked, that our eyes may take pleasure in Zion." While this imagery is offensive to us, it was not that uncommon in the Hebrew scriptures to describe the shame of defeat or the consequences of being unfaithful to God. It is still the case that in warfare soldiers literally commit these atrocities. Yet, who can know the mind of the LORD or the plans of God against the wickedness of Israel's adversaries.

The language of God's vengeance against Jerusalem's enemies is drawn from harvest, threshing imagery. Beating out the grain from the sheaves of wheat required much effort. Oxen were used to pull sledges studded with iron across the stalks to separate the wheat from the chaff before it could be winnowed. God empowers "daughter ... Zion" to be like a such an ox with iron horns and hoof's of bronze. The thing that makes me skeptical of this image and suspicious comes from its use in a story from the end of 1 Kings. The kings of Israel and Judah allied to battle an enemy, Aram. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, wanted assurance that the battle had God's blessing. The consultation of the prophets took place "at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria." Many prophets cheered on the success of the battle. One used this imagery to support his confidence. "Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron, and he said, 'Thus says the LORD: With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are destroyed." The king of Israel was skeptical of the bravado of these prophets but trusted Micaiah son of Imlah even though he was not known to speak favorably to the king. After fawning words to assure the kings of victory, the king of Israel called him on it and asked for the truth. Micaiah predicted failure. "I saw Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd, ..." 1 Kings 22

Coincidently the next oracle of Micah expressed the longing for a shepherd who "who shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD." The gold standard of Biblical prophets was whether they listened to God and read the times correctly. False prophets claimed to listen to God, but more often listened to the king who had other interests, and so often misread the world they lived in. Maybe this is a valid oracle of confidence and hope. It just does not sound like Micah to me.

Do Justice. Love Kindness. Walk humbly with God.

Pastor Tim Bauer

 
 
 

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