Faith Formation: Micah - Justice, Kindness, humility

Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock that belongs to you, which lives alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, show us marvelous things. The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hands on their mouths; their ears shall be deaf; they shall lick dust like a snake, like the crawling things of the earth; they shall come trembling out of their fortresses; they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God, and they shall stand in fear. Micah 7:14-17

How do we refer to those who lead us? We use titles of honor and respect: President, Governor, Mayor, or Dr., Professor, Pastor. When I was a child we always referred to our friends parents as Mr. or Mrs., never using the familiarity of their first names. Even well into adulthood it was Mr. Bale or Mrs. Bale, not George or Sonia. The Hebrew scriptures use the titles King, priest and prophet, titles of significance. Even though prophets were often troublesome to kings and priests, they were respected. They said, "Thus says the LORD...".

In this prayer the prophet called on God, pleaded with God, in humble terms rather than lofty ones like "Almighty," "Holy," or "Hallelujah" (Praise the LORD.) God, "Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock that belongs to you..." "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want." Psalm 23 When Samuel anointed Saul to become Israel's first King the only indication of his qualifications were that he was tall, dark and handsome. "There was not a man among the Israelites more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else." Indeed when Samuel announced Saul as King to the people Saul was nowhere to be found. They inquired to the LORD, "'Did the man come here?' And the LORD said, 'See, he has hidden himself among the baggage.'" 1 Samuel 9-11 David also was "ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome." David however, like Abraham, Moses, Israel's ancestral leaders, was a shepherd. In spite of the description of David, the story said, "the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16 The imagery of shepherd conveyed humility, closeness and care for the vulnerable, along with guidance and protection for those under the shepherds care. Good Shepherd became the most endearing image of Jesus. The only use of the title "pastors" in the New Testament is in Ephesians 4:11. The term is usually translated "shepherds." The prophet referred to God, or a future expected leader, as shepherd earlier. "I will surely gather all of you, ... like a flock in its pasture..." 2:12; "And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, ..." 5:4.

The prayer fits with the time of the exiles return from Babylon. It contrasts with the early oracle of rebuilding the city, "A day for building of your walls!" Here the picture is of the people returning to the fields and pastures of Bashan and Gilead, returning to the rural areas that were first beset by the invading armies of Assyria and Babylon. Bashan and Gilead were lands east of the Jordan with good grazing land where the tribal people of Manasseh and Gad settled. The rest of the people feared that when those tribes settled there they would forget their ties to Israel. It seems to have been a prosperous land, but true to the fears, one that forgot the way of the LORD. "Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on Mount Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to their husbands, 'Bring something to drink.'" Amos 4:1 Amos said the pampered women of Bashan would be led away into exile like fish on hooks. The memory recalled her was of lush lands where sheep may safely graze. It would be as in the days when the land was first settled after the Exodus, "As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, ..."

The last part of proclaimed a vision of the nations looking on in awe at the "marvelous things" God would do returning the people to the land. All the evil the nations had done, even as tools of God's judgment, would bring them shame and dismay. They would have nothing to say. They would not believe their ears. They would be humbled to the ground. They would abandon the cities and the land they had stolen from the rightful people of God, turning instead in fear and trembling. Perhaps as more positive and hopeful reading of the ending of this saying might hearken back to Micah 4. The vision and hope of Israel was that, "Peoples shall stream to (the mountain of the LORD's temple), and many nations shall come and say: 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, ... that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.'" Return ever to the word of God, to learn, be instructed and walk in the "right paths" where the Shepherd leads. Go in fear and trembling, in repentance and wonderment.

Do Justice. Love Kindness. Walk humbly with God.

Pastor Tim Bauer