Logic From the Pit of Hell: Micah 5:5-9

I have been reading Isaiah and I found a fascinating passage.  

Micah and Isaiah were contemporaries. Both speak to the upcoming judgement upon Israel.  

Look at what Micah is telling the people:

• God is going to judge the people for their evil ways and idol worship.
• The rich scheme and exploit the poor.
• The "prophets" say God will not punish the people because He doesn't "do such things." (2:5)
• God will deliver His people and He will lead them like a shepherd.
• The people do not practice justice.
• The prophets do not practice honesty.
• God will deliver Israel and one day all nations will gather at the mountain of the Lord and His peace will prevail.
• God will gather His exiles and give them victory over all the nations.
• God's Deliverer, the One who has always been, will come and rule over Israel as a shepherd and be their peace.
• Israel will be abandoned (for now) but one day will be restored under the Deliverer. 

This list covers chapter 1-5, up to verse 5.  

In Isaiah, we hear the king of Assyria's army commander make an argument that preys on the fears of the Hebrews; he has come with a mighty army under the aegis of a very powerful king. Who wouldn't be scared? That commander, as he is arrogantly shouting out his threats, he is a kind of Goliath, who dishonored the God of the Hebrews with his arrogance and defiance.  

Before you read this, I want you to consider what Ephesians 6:10-13 says about the true origin of threats made against God's people: 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Be strong.  Stand, knowing the true origin of the evil coming at you and how you are arrayed in God's armor  You will be standing when it hits and you will be standing when it's over.  

The words shouted at the Hebrews by this commander are coming from the very pit of hell. Evil is very clever; it hits you where you are vulnerable and makes you question what God has told you. Satan told our first parents, "Did God really say?" and he has never stopped that line of "reasoning."   

So, I am sure that Satan reminds them, in their hearts and in the shouts of the commander, of the impending judgement, but not why it is coming (judgment for their reprobate behavior).  

He reminds them of the God's harshness (but not His gentleness).  

He reminds them that destruction is coming (but not the restoration that is coming as well). 

He reminds them that this army is big and scary, and how God is abandoning them (but not about the Deliverer who would one day lead them and be their peace).

Nope.  Evil says: 

God fails you.  Every time. He shows up late.  Every time. He has no compassion. He abandons you.  He cannot be trusted.  His word? His prophets?  Unreliable and stupid.  

I want to contrast what the Assyrian army commander says with our next verses in Micah.

First, Mr. Bombast:  

This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: "On what are you basing this confidence of yours?  You say you have counsel and might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? Look, I know you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. But if you say to me, 'We are depending on the Lord our God'—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, 'You must worship before this altar'?

Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them! How then can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the Lord? The Lord himself told me to march against this country and destroy it. (Is. 36:4-10)

Wow.  The commander wants Hezekiah to surrender. God is giving Jerusalem to the king of Assyria anyway, so why not surrender? Yahweh was displeased with what Hezekiah did, because Hezekiah tore down Yahweh's altars, didn't he? 

Wow. This logic is from the pit of hell:

• Your allies are a joke.  Weak as water.
• Your king tore down your god's own alters. (Are you going to argue with the commander, telling him those altars weren't Yahweh's but they belonged to other gods?) 
• Depending on God? Don't think so. Your king blew it with your god, so he's not a fit king. 
• The Lord is on my side. Not yours. Can't blame him.
• Got an army?  Your weak ally won't be supplying you and even if he did, you can't find enough men to repulse our advances.
• So, who are you going to listen to?  Your idiot king or me, who has the power of life and death in my hands. 

Satan's logic is alluring, has "evidence" behind it and you can't argue without descending further and further into confusion.  Chaos and confusion are Satan's best weapons. Then when he lays that "Did God really say?" line on you, you are vulnerable enough to consider it. 

Paul tells us to stand.  Not argue. 

You stand and use the sword of His word.  Not arguments.  Not rebuttals.  His word alone is enough. Listen to Micah: 

And he will be our peace
when the Assyrians invade our land
and march through our fortresses.
We will raise against them seven shepherds,
even eight commanders,
who will rule the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod with drawn sword.
He will deliver us from the Assyrians
when they invade our land
and march across our borders. (5:5-6) 

Who is the "he"? The One whose "origins are from old," who has always been and who will deliver His people. He will be our peace--not because of an army with commanders and chariots--but a Ruler whose reign will restore His people.  The "seven shepherds and even eight commanders" is a Middle Eastern way of saying "many." [1]

The power of our Deliverer will vanquish the "Assyrians" of this world: those very powers and dominions that seek to steal, kill and destroy God's people, in every age, with the same, brutal logic:  Why bother to rely on God? He judges and destroys you, and abandons you when you need Him the most.  

But wait, there's more! 

The remnant of Jacob will be
in the midst of many peoples
like dew from the Lord,
like showers on the grass,
which do not wait for anyone
or depend on man.
The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which mauls and mangles as it goes,
and no one can rescue.
Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies,
and all your foes will be destroyed. (7-9) 

God preserves a remnant to go out and proclaim that God judges but does not annihilate; He is just but merciful; He remembers His covenant and the fragility of His people: 

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord. (Lamentations 3:22-26)

It is good to wait for the salvation of the Lord.

True then.

True now. 

[1] Kenneth Barker, ed. NIV Study Bible, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1985). 1376.