Faith Formation: Micah - Justice, Kindness, humility

On that day, says the LORD, I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots; and I will cut off the cities of your land and destroy all your strongholds; and I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more soothsayers; and I will cut off your images and your pillars from among you, and you shall bow down no more to the work of your hands; and I will uproot your sacred poles from among you and destroy your towns. And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey. Micah 5:10-15

This sounds a bit more like the Micah of the first four chapters, but the style and vocabulary is so different as to preclude the same author. The poem expressed skepticism about some typical supports which compete with trust in the LORD. The placement of this poem in the scroll of Micah was based on the use of "cut off" that closed the preceding poem, and perhaps its parallel to the way this poem ends. The words "cut off" reverberate throughout this saying.

The issue was a concern of the First Commandment, "I am the LORD your God ... you shall have no other gods before me." Anything else that Israel trusted in place of, alongside, or in opposition to the LORD would be "cut off." These were typical supports relied on by cities and kings: Horses, chariots, fortified cities, strongholds, sorceries, soothsayers, images, pillars, the work of your hands, and sacred poles were ancient examples of things nations relied on. We might translate them into guns and defense budget, border security, AI and algorithms, monuments and flags. We rely on what we have accomplished and what we covertly worship, chiefly in our age wealth and success. These things are and always have been helpful, even at some level needed, but they often become sanctified while trust in God receives lip service.

"On that day, says the LORD, ..." The coming day of the LORD has often signaled "end times" speculation or eschatological ideas. It might also be heard as an expression of longing, yearning, hope for what is to be now in the midst of time.

Trust was placed in a secular realm by reliance on strength and might, horses, chariots and fortified cities. Isaiah and Micah firmly believed that these represented a false trust and violated the holy relationship between God and God's people. King Hezekiah hoped Egypt would rescue Israel when the Assyrians invaded and besieged the nation. Isaiah pronounced woe on this hope. "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and who rely on horses, who trust in chariots ... but do not look to the holy one of Israel." Is 31:1 Psalm 20:7 rejected reliance on military might as well. "Some take pride in chariots and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the LORD." Secular security, horses, chariots, fortified cities, tempt national trust. God provides other means to seek peace and trust between nations and peoples. These should be sought by according to the way of God.

Trust was also misplaced in the sacred realm where the temptation was to turn to other gods or other sources of guidance. Saul when he was worried about his future consulted a medium at Endor to bring the spirit of Samuel back. Prophets were seen by some as soothsayers who might give favorable readings of omens, casted lots, or the entrails of animals. Israel was often tempted to create images and idols like their, often, more powerful neighbors. Pillars and sacred poles were religious symbols of a deity, Asherah, a goddess of goodness and fortune, prosperity and wealth. The goddess or god who offered fertility, success, and wealth was attractive to the elite and to kings. The deception was in the idea that one could have both God and the gifts of the goddess, and somehow keep them as separate loyalties and trusts. Jesus identified the competition, "You cannot serve God and wealth." Matthew 6:24. In the stories of 1-2 Kings the prophets and faithful kings were continually chopping down the sacred poles which others set up. Psalm 8 reminds that the works of God's hands fills us with wonder, perhaps rather than the work of our own hands. Isaiah yearned for the day when trust in God would counter trust in these things. "On that day people will look to their Maker, with their eyes on the Holy One of Israel; they will not have regard for the altars, the work of their hands, and they will not look to what their own fingers have made, either sacred poles (Asherim) or the altars of incense." Isaiah 17:7-8

The poem ends like the previous one with an word of condemnation to the nations that did not obey. Two things to note. First, the majority of the poem indicts God's peoples about their misplaced trust with just a tag line about the guilt of the nations. While many are quick to accuse and blame outsiders or others, the prophets and witnesses of the Bible concentrated more on the people of God taking responsibility for their own failings. Second, the word "obey" is more often translated "listen." It has a different nuance. As much as we are called to obey, the deeper concern of God is that we listen, pay attention, and discern what is justice, kindness and humility.

Do Justice. Love Kindness. Walk humbly with God.

Pastor Tim Bauer