Who is Like the Lord?
Micah
Who is like the lord?
Micah
Main Idea: We are to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly because of the Lord’s gracious redemption.
I. The Lord’s Rebuttal (6:1-5)
Micah 6 describes a courtroom setting with the Lord as the plaintiff, Micah serving as the prosecuting attorney, Israel as the defendant, and the “mountains” called as witnesses (cf. Dt. 4:26, 30:19, 31:28).
The specific indictments against Israel have already been given in Micah:
Idolatry (1:7)
Oppressing the vulnerable (2:1-2)
Robbing refugees and taking advantage of widows (2:8-9)
Unjust & violent civil leaders who take bribes (3:1-3, 9-11)
False prophets driven by greed (3:5-7)
The rich dealing in deceit and violence (6:9-12)
Israel has accused the Lord of ‘wearying’ them (6:3). The Lord’s rebuts that rather than wearying them, he has provided:
Redemption in the Exodus (6:4a)
Leadership through Moses, Aaron, & Miriam (6:4b)
Blessing through Balak & Balaam (6:5a; cf. Num. 22-24)
Safe entry into the Promised Land (6:5b; cf. Josh. 2-4)
God had always found it easier to get his people out of Egypt than to get Egypt out of his people. The words I … ‘redeemed you’ (6:4) were wonderful, but it now looked as though they had become a memory, not a motivation… Remembering in the Bible is not merely a matter of calling to mind, but of actualizing the past into the present. That kind of remembering brings events so vividly into people’s experience that they take part in them afresh for themselves. Remembrance equals participation.
~ David Prior, The Message of Joel, Micah and Habakkuk: Listening to the Voice of God
II. The Lord’s Requirement (6:6-8)
Micah’s rhetorical question (“With what shall I come before the Lord”) reveals the concerning spiritual state of God’s people; they were willfully ignorant of what God had clearly communicated.
Micah presents an elaborate list of increasingly extravagant sacrifices. The people wrongly assumed that God’s presence among them assured his blessing and protection (3:11), and that they could “appease” God with their offerings for the “sin of their soul” (cf. Hos. 6:6; Amos 5:21-24, Mt. 23:23-24).
The Lord reminds his people what is “good” and what he has already told them:
1. Do justice (mishpat) (cf. Isa. 1:17). Justice has a number of categories and associations in the OT related to “neighbor love:”
Punitive / Retributive Justice (Lev. 24:19-20)
Structural / Commutative Justice (Lev. 19:15-18, 24:22)
Restorative Justice (Prov. 31:8-9; Deut. 10:18-19)
Generous Justice (Lev. 19:9-10; 25:8-17)
The righteous (just) are willing to disadvantage themselves to advantage the community; the wicked are willing to disadvantage the community to advantage themselves.
~ Bruce Waltke
2. Love kindness (hesed). This speaks not to the actions of justice, but a heart and an attitude that loves to treat others with mercy, kindness, and grace.
3. Walk humbly with your God. Humility (attentive, careful living) is necessary in order to “do justice” and “love mercy.” Humility is a life of remembering how God has generously acted toward us, the undeserving, as we walk with Christ.
In the mind of the OT prophets as well as the teaching of Jesus, an encounter with grace inevitably leads to a life of justice. [The prophets] all leveled the charge that, while the people attended worship, observed all religious regulations, and took pride in their biblical knowledge, nevertheless they took advantage of the weak and vulnerable. The prophets concluded, therefore, that their religious activity was not just insufficient: it was deeply offensive to God. The implications of this accusation are clear. Justice is not just one more thing that needs to be added to the people’s portfolio of religious behavior. A lack of justice is a sign that the worshippers’ hearts are not right with God at all, that their prayers and all their religious observance are just filled with self and pride… In Jesus’ view, this revealed that they did not know God or his grace at all.
~ Tim Keller, Generous Justice
III. The Lord’s Remnant (7:18-20)
As we humbly walk with God, we become more like him who has “righteousness and justice as the foundation of his throne” (Ps. 89:14) and who “delights in steadfast love (hesed)” (7:18). Rather than abusing or exploiting his power and authority, Jesus Christ comes in the incarnation to show us what the Lord “requires” and what is “good.”
Philippians 2:3–5: Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…
These wonderful promises of redemption are all given before the coming of Christ. These truths find their ultimate fulfillment in his finished work, as the “yes and amen” (2 Cor. 1:20) of all the promises of God sworn to Abraham and the fathers from the “days of old,” now given to the “remnant of his inheritance” (cf. 2:12, 4:7, 5:7-8).
The Humble Place
Micah 5:1-5a
The Humble Place
Micah 5:1-5a
Main Idea: Jesus is the promised King, born in humility, who will shepherd us into security and peace.
I. The Promise of A Ruler (5:1-2)
Micah’s prophetic ministry coincides with Isaiah, with the Assyrians having conquered the Northern Kingdom and now closing in on Jerusalem. Micah warns that things will be worse before they improve; they should “muster their troops” for warfare, as their city is on the brink of destruction and their “judge” (king) is publicly humiliated.
In contrast, God promises a ruler to come in verse 2. We learn 3 things about this promised king:
He is “from old, from ancient days”
He will serve God faithfully
He will be born in Bethlehem
1 Corinthians 1:27–29: But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
II. A Tale of Two Kings (5:3-4a, cf. Matt. 2:1-18)
This prophecy related to Bethlehem creates a collision in the NT between:
King Herod. The (self-proclaimed) “King of the Jews” channeled all the world’s power and strategies to promote his own glory, willing to use violence and any means necessary to make a name for himself.
King Jesus. Micah promises that Jesus will gather God’s people back together after a period of exile, and that he will rule as a “shepherd” over his flock in toughness and in tenderness, showcasing the strength of God over and against the strength of mankind.
“Christ then rules not in his Church as a dreaded tyrant, who distresses his subjects with fear; but he is a Shepherd who gently deals with his flock. Nothing therefore can exceed the kindness and gentleness of Christ towards the faithful, as he performs the office of a Shepherd.”
~ John Calvin
While Herod was willing to sacrifice others in order to benefit himself, Jesus sacrifices himself to benefit others (cf. Jn. 10:11, Mk. 10:45). Bethlehem is the perfect birthplace for Jesus, as it sets the trajectory for a life and ministry marked by humility. The cradle in Bethlehem ultimately leads to the cross of Christ.
III. The Results of His Reign (5:4b-5a)
While Christ is lowborn in obscurity and killed in scandal, he is the King who has been resurrected in glory and promises to return to make all things new, establishing his earthly throne forever. The promises here in Micah draw our attention beyond the first advent of Christ to his second coming.
There are two results for those in the Kingdom of Christ:
Security: Those in his flock will “dwell secure” as a result of his greatness that will extend to the ends of the earth. Those who take up the humble place before his greatness, embracing their own obscurity and smallness, will experience this promise (cf. Jn. 3:30, Ps. 131)
Peace: The peace that we all long for is not found in better circumstances or in the next best thing that the world has to offer, but only in Christ.
“Christ is always born in Bethlehem among the little ones. Big hearts never get Christ inside of them; Christ lives not in great hearts, but in little ones. Mighty and proud spirits never have Jesus Christ, for he comes in at low doors, but he will not come in at high ones. He who has a broken heart, and a low spirit, shall have the Savior, but none else… He is the Christ of the little ones.”
~ Charles Spurgeon
Justice & The Weightier Matters
Micah 6:6-8 & Matthew 23:23-26 | Christians are called to do justice as a reflection of God’s character & an expression of his grace.
Justice & The Weightier Matters
Micah 6:6-8 & Matthew 23:23-26
Main Idea: Christians are called to do justice as a reflection of God’s character & an expression of his grace.
I. Justice & God’s Character
“Justice” is central to God’s self-disclosure of himself in his Word to his people. A few examples:
Ps. 89:14: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; Steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.”
Deut. 32:4: “The Rock, his work is perfect, For all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, Just and upright is he.”
Ps. 146:7-9: [He] executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners;
He upholds the widow and the fatherless,
But the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
Deut. 10:17-18: For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.
“More than half of the books in the Old Testament speak of justice as an attribute of God & a responsibility of His people. We can’t know God without understanding His heart for justice… He is a just God. He is the source of all true justice… seeing God in this way helps define & root justice in the Lord. To ignore justice is to ignore God. Justice isn’t God (we don’t worship justice), but His justice is one of his key attributes.” ~ Eric Mason
II. Justice & God’s People
The people of Israel were to showcase this attribute of God by having a society that embraced a “holistic” justice. This included:
Punitive Justice: Punishing wrongdoers & protecting victims of wrongdoing (ex: Lev. 24:19-20)
Structural Justice: Treating others fairly in the context of right relationships; not showing partiality, creating just societal structures (ex: Lev. 19:15-18; 24:22)
Restorative Justice: Speaking up & advocating for the vulnerable, oppressed, overlooked (ex: Prov. 31:8-9)
“The righteous are willing to disadvantage themselves to advantage the community; the wicked are willing to disadvantage the community to advantage themselves.” ~ Bruce Waltke
Generous Justice: Practices such as “gleaning” (Lev. 19:9-10), Sabbath years (Deut. 15:1-18), & the Year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:8ff)
“If you are trying to lie a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice when we give all human beings their due as creations of God. Doing justice includes not only the righting of wrongs, but generosity and social concern, especially toward the poor & vulnerable. This kind of life reflects the character of God. It consists of a broad range of activities, from simple fair and honest dealings with people in daily life, to regular, radically generous giving of your time & resources, to activism that seeks to end particular forms of injustice, violence, and oppression.” ~ Tim Keller
This vision and expectation of “justice” from God helps us to appreciate why Jesus is so confrontational with the Pharisees in Matthew 23. They were “hypocrites” (actors with a mask) because they gave the impression they were righteous while neglecting the “weightier” matters of the law.
III. Justice & God’s Son
Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Because he has anointed me
To proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovering of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Any conversation about justice & mercy in the Bible has to find its center at the cross. At the cross, every form of biblical “justice” meets the mercy of God toward the undeserving.
“By becoming one of the poor who was deprived of his rights, by dying as one of those robbed of justice, God’s Son submitted to the utmost extremity of humiliation, entering into total solidarity with those who are without help… even more astonishingly, however, he underwent helplessness & humiliation not only for the victimized but also for the perpetrators… Who would have thought that the same God who passed judgment, calling down woe upon the religious establishment, would come under his own judgment and woe?... Perfect justice is wrought in the self-offering of the Son, who alone of all human beings was perfectly righteous.” ~ Fleming Rutledge
There is an intrinsic link between our “justification” at the cross of Christ & our call to “do justice.” When we begin to grasp the depth of God’s mercy toward us in Jesus Christ, we will keep him at the center of justice. Because we are changed we will want to do justice as we follow King Jesus.
The Ancient, Present, and Future King
Micah 5:1-5a
Jesus is the promised King whose peaceful reign is ancient, present, and future
Micah 5:1-5a
December 16th, 2018
In a very real sense, the Christian community lives in Advent all the time. It can well be called the Time Between, because the people of God live in the time between the first coming of Christ, incognito in the stable in Bethlehem, and his second coming, in glory, to judge the living and the dead… Advent contains within itself the crucial balance of the now and the not-yet that our faith requires…. The disappointment, brokenness, and pain that characterizes life in this present world is held in dynamic tension with the promise of future glory that is yet to come. In that Advent tension, the church lives its life. - Fleming Rutledge
Main Idea: Jesus is the promised King whose peaceful reign is ancient, present, and future
I. THE PROMISED ANCIENT KING (5:1-2)
Micah describes a scene where troops have surrounded Jerusalem and their King is being humiliated by the enemy. This ought to humble the people of Israel, but they continually ignore gracious warnings from God.
The King described in verse 2 stands in stark contrast to the weak & humiliated King of Israel. 3 things we learn about this coming Ruler & Messiah:
1. He will be born in Bethlehem
2. He will serve God faithfully
3. He is from “old, from ancient days”
Though this King is “born,” he is actually “ancient.” This is what we celebrate at Christmas: the incarnation of Christ is God himself coming in the flesh. Strikingly, he comes not in strength but in weakness, born as a baby, born in a small, meager town, and born into a poor family.
“Christ is always born in Bethlehem among the little ones. Big hearts never get Christ inside of them; Christ lives not in great hearts, but in little ones. Mighty and proud spirits never have Jesus Christ, for he comes in at low doors, but he will not come in at high ones. He who has a broken heart, and a low spirit, shall have the Savior, but none else
— Charles Spurgeon
The message of Christmas forces us to life our eyes from the cradle to the cross.
“There has never been a gift offered that makes you swallow your pride to the depths that the gift of Jesus Christ requires us to do. Christmas means that we are so lost, so unable to save ourselves, that nothing less than the death of the Son of God himself could save us. That means you are not somebody who can pull yourself together and live a moral and good life. To accept the true Christmas gift, you have to admit you’re a sinner. You need to be saved by grace. You need to give up control of your life
— Tim Keller
II. THE ALREADY & NOT YET KINGDOM (5:3-5A)
The reign and rule of this Messiah here can be difficult to locate temporally; some of the descriptions seem like past events, some present, and some in the future. This tension captures the “already” but “not yet” of the Kingdom of God.
Three aspects of the rule and reign of the Messiah are seen in these verses:
1.The Nature of His Rule (5:4a)
He will rule like a shepherd (cf. John 10:11), caring for his flock in toughness & tenderness.
2. The Extent of His Rule (5:4b)
He will be great “to the ends of the earth,” the vision that is realized fully at the end of the Scriptures (cf. Rev. 7:9ff)
3. The Results of His Rule (5:5a)
His people will “dwell secure” because “he shall be their peace.”
Are you at peace this Christmas season? Is your soul at rest? True peace will not be found in temporary things or in better circumstances; it can only be found in him. Christmas forces us to ask: Is Jesus your King? Is Jesus your peace?