Faith Formation: Micah - Justice, Kindness, humility

The voice of the LORD cries to the city (and he shall save those who fear his name): Hear, O tribe and assembly of the city! Can I forget the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked and the despicable false measure? Can I tolerate wicked scales and a bag of dishonest weights? Your wealthy are full of violence; your inhabitants speak lies with tongues of deceit in their mouths. Therefore I have begun to strike you down, making you desolate because of your sins. You shall eat but not be satisfied, and there shall be a gnawing hunger within you; you shall put away but not save, and what you save, I will hand over to the sword. You shall sow but not reap; you shall tread olives but not anoint yourselves with oil; you shall tread grapes but not drink wine. For you have kept the statues of Omri and all the works of the house of Ahab, and you have followed their counsels. Therefore I will make you a desolation and your inhabitants an object of hissing so you shall bear the scorn of my people. Micah 6:9-16

The trial ended with the pronouncement of what God wanted: justice, particularly for the poor and vulnerable; loving kindness which means faithfulness, loyalty and mercy; and "Just a closer walk with thee," humility and modesty as we make our way through life with God, others and the world God made. One might expect some statement of absolution, forgiveness, or grace. But there was no simplistic, "Don't worry about it. It will be alright. All is forgiven." That would come eventually at the end of this prophets words, but not immediately. The reminder of evil and consequences of sin remained reiterated, and waiting for repentance.

"The voice of the LORD cries to the city... Hear, O tribe and assembly of the city." Parenthetically, the prophet offered a promise of salvation and hope to those with ears to hear. Parenthetically, the prophet seemed skeptical as to whether anyone would listen. The city was Jerusalem. The assembly of Jerusalem may refer to its leadership, king priests, and wealthy elite. Micah returned to themes of deceit and characters whose wickedness he had exposed all along the way. In the end "the city" did not listen or fear the LORD. The sins of the assembly of powers were brought down and sent into exile by Babylon, God's tool of destruction and judgment. "How lonely sits the city that once was full of people! How like a widow she has become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the provinces has become subject to forced labor." Lamentations 1:1

The sins of the assembly of power were economic manipulation to the benefit of the wealthy at the expense of the poor. They enriched themselves by dishonest or coercive trade, and undermined the well being of the rest of the community. False measures and wicked scales were tools of violence and deceit by those who controlled the marketplace. God remembered, did not forget or tolerate the violence of the wealthy or the power of their tongues to deceive. The peasants and producers who brought their goods to sell were not the ones who determined the price of value of their goods. They were at the mercy of those who bought and valued their own potential treasure. "Diverse weights and diverse measures are both alike an abomination to the LORD." Proverbs 20:10 "Hear this, you who trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, 'When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah smaller and the shekel heavier and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and selling the sweepings of the wheat." Amos 8:4-6 The sins of the marketplace turned the holy city into a den of thieves. Leslie Allen wrote, "God is no Olympian, remote from everyday living. He is Lord of the shopping center, whose claims over his people extend to the most mundane of life's duties."

"Therefore" a litany of punishments and consequences would occur. They are called "futility curses" invoked against the nation that broke its faith with God and its responsibility to God's people. Maybe the picture was of famine or a greed, a craving for more and more that could never satisfy. The poor hungered while the rich sought to be filled and filled again and again but are never sated. The reality was that when Assyria and Babylon besieged the land all that was saved of grain or wealth or sustenance or prosperity was lost. Sown fields were never reaped. Olives for anointing kings or soothing ills could not be accessed. Grapes on the vine, pressed into juice never made it to lips for joy. Deuteronomy 28 which begins with blessings for obedience moves to an expansive warning about forgetting the responsibilities of the covenant God made with the nation. "Cursed shall you be ... The LORD will send upon you disaster, panic and frustration in everything you attempt to do... The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies ... You shall plant a vineyard but not enjoy it. Your ox shall be butchered before your eyes, but you shall not eat it. Your donkey shall be stolen in front of you and shall not be restored to you." It goes one and on. Those who break covenant with God, who have the responsibility to guide and oversee the people, have been warned.

Finally the prophet reminded them of the stories they knew, maybe the "Sabbath School" stories they were told as kids. Remember Omri and Ahab. What they did is being followed again. What they did, recorded in 1 Kings 16-22 was compounded "evil in the sight of the LORD; ... more than all who were before him." Omri established Samaria and served idols. Ahab was worse. He married Jezebel, worshipped, sacrificed and served Baal, the chief rival god of Israel's neighbors. God sent Elijah, one of the great ancient prophets, to call him away from his evil ways. But of course Ahab only listened sort of when things got bad or went wrong. The ghosts or ways of Omri and Ahab lived on in the leaders of the city. Their legacy resulted in desolation, hissing, and scorn borne by one and all from the nations who laughed at their plight.

Do Justice. Love Kindness. Walk humbly with God.

Pastor Tim Bauer