Order in the Court (Micah 6:1-5)

"Order in the court!"

Silence.

"All Rise! The Most Honorable Judge of the Universe, the Lord God Almighty presiding!"

Silence.

The people wait in hushed silence, but not reverently.  Having calloused hearts, brought on by the hardening effect of sin, many of the people cast furtive glances at each other.  One of them mouths, "Here we go again. You did this. I'm gonna do that. Blah. Blah. Blah. Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt."

Someone mouths, "Got the what?"

Someone else mouths, "Shhh.  It's just an expression."

"Oh." 

Listen to what the Lord says:

“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;
let the hills hear what you have to say.

“Hear, you mountains, the Lord’s accusation;
listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.
For the Lord has a case against his people;
he is lodging a charge against Israel." (6:1-2)

There is a rustling in the courtroom.  One whispers, 

We've heard this before. We know He's really ticked off with us. Yeah, we don't take the Law of Moses seriously, we'll give Him that, but we have prosperity--well, the rich do...the poor, too bad for them! The prophets are still speaking--Micah claims that too, but why are his words so different? He's the one out of step!  Yeah, the Assyrians are a scary bunch, but hey, they seem to be uninterested these days in us.  I just think that Micah likes the attention from us, ranting and raving and then getting angry when we don't listen.  His problem, I'd say, not ours.

Don't ya think it's weird He wants the mountains to be a part of this?

Well, they're kinda eternal, ya know?  Been standing there a long time, and He made them. Maybe because they are old, they've seen many things come and go, and He wants someone (thing?) to see the bigger picture of His sovereignty. Maybe because Moses was on that mountain when God showed up with the Law.  Oh, who knows? Now shut up.

Sorry.  

“My people, what have I done to you?
How have I burdened you? Answer me.
I brought you up out of Egypt
and redeemed you from the land of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you,
also Aaron and Miriam.
My people, remember
what Balak king of Moab plotted
and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.” (6:3-5)

Yeah, I learned that story when I was a kid. Forgot it now. It seems so childish all these stories. Baal delivers. Plain and simple. With green fields, happy cows and lots of produce, well, why listen to some stupid story?

Hmmm.  If I recall right...some paranoid king, seeing how many Israelites there were and what they did to the Amorites, calls up some seer to go out and curse all of them. Balaam's his name and he practices divination...yeah, like we do. He'd speak on behalf of any god. I like that. No favoring one god over another.  All get equal treatment. Anyway, Balak, the king, wants this Balaam to curse the Israelites, and then God shows up. 

Baal?

No, you idiot. Our God. I mean, the God of the Israelites, We've outgrown Him. He's not real relevant these days, but He was back in the day. Anyway, God tells Balaam not to curse them, because they are blessed.

We are? 

Well, once upon a time. Anyway, God gets in Balaam's way, and the donkey speaks to him, but it's really the angel of the Lord. Balaam admits he's sinned. Hmmm. Not so subtle, huh? Are we supposed to admit that? The king gets ticked off, but Balaam says he can only say what the Lord tells him to. I wonder if Micah thinks he's a modern more holy version f Balaam, saying only what God tells him to? But, Baal's prophets say that they speak for their gods. They practice divination, too. Big whoop.

I remember now.! Doesn't this Balaam say, “Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?” Is that what Micah would say if we asked him? Balaam is in front of an angry king, and Micah is in front of an angry people. Well, I am not angry; I just don't care. But you seem angry.

Yes, I am. This story is pointing right at us. In fact, God speaks through Balaam and reminds the king how He brought the people out of Egypt. Just like He's doing now. Well, despite the king getting more and more angry with Balaam--Balaam sticks to his guns and will say only what God will have him say.

Yup. Now the Israelites move on and I recall some goings-on when they pass through Moab. Lots of fun with the local girls who invite them to bow down to their gods, eat the sacrificial meals and do a dilly-dally. Sounds like us, huh?

Oh, shut up. Then some priest kills a guy and a local gal with a spear, and God is pleased with that, commending the zeal of the priest for honoring Him.

So, this story kinda hits home, doesn't it? God doesn't say much in the courtroom--He just mentions a story and then we unpack it, and whoa baby, it fits us now. God hasn't forgotten His covenant with us, but we have forgotten it with Him. We are in trouble, just like that guy getting frisky with that Moabite woman, and they get the sharp end of the deal.

OK, Mr. I-Get-It-And-You-Don't...Who's gonna wield that sword? Micah probably has trouble keeping his marshmallow on a skewer for his s'more! So, count him out. Who, you idiot?

The Assyrians.

Oh.

Morality in Freefall (Micah 5: 10-15)

We read Scripture and there's a kind of "God said it, then it happened" feel, as if the people do not even have time to repent and return back to the Lord and His ways. Like a Hollywood movie, where someone's life is compressed into a two hour film, the events in the prophetic books seem to allow for little reflection by the people the prophet is railing at. 

We are, in effect, listening to a conversation, way back in the past, and only from one side. We don't hear the responses of the king and the people to the warnings of the prophet. We hear only what the prophet says the king and people are saying, and we may feel it's a biased account. 

God appears in the narrative as an irate parent, acting in anger after a searing array of accusations. He acts quickly with very little tolerance for human frailty.  

Is this an accurate assessment of God, His prophets and His people?

When you start looking, you see that many of the prophets had long careers and their voices were heard for many decades. Some of the prophets had short careers, but many were in it for the long haul.

Here is a quick chart that outlines what drives prophesy:

"Outline/Major Themes. These books employed two forms of prophecy: 1) informing the audience of their current spiritual condition in the eyes of God ("forth-telling") and 2) making predictions for their future ("fore-telling"). These two forms were used to communicate five reoccurring themes found throughout many of the books:

Sin - Spiritual adultery in the form of idolatry and wickedness
Call to Repent - God's vengeance and pending judgment
God's Forgiveness - God's love and willingness to restore a relationship tainted by sin
Encouragement - to remain faithful and enjoy God's blessings
The coming Messiah - the promised King" [1]

In other words, there is a clear pattern to how God deals with His people, and why He acts the way He does. In our culture, we don't take rules seriously--they are for everyone else. 

I was a teacher for many years.  Many of the parents or my adult students thought that they should have exceptions to what the syllabus said.  Yes, life happens, but when it is very clear that if you do not do A, then B will result, parents and students would try to negotiate with me to work around the rule. Thankfully, my community college students were much better at accepting the consequences from what they failed to do.

Some of the parents of my high school students expected I would accommodate their requests regarding their son or daughter. They grew tense with me when I would not budge. They went to the administrators, who then undermined what I had said. 

Following rules isn't about blind obedience.  It is about building character: You know what is expected of you and you do it because it is the right thing to do. I was very clear in my expectations and the department's expectations. I spent time making sure students understood. But I also had administrators come in my classroom and ask me to be lenient, in so many words, with a student whose parents were upset. (I was told by other teachers that these parents would make it very unpleasant for the school.)    

And yes, I had to accommodate such parents and students. No character building there for all concerned.   

It is no surprise then that in one particular school, where I had battled the whole year with upholding standards, the seniors for their senior prank effectively vandalized the school.  It was so bad that when the first employees arrived, they called the police thinking someone had broken in.  When the parents and students later arrived for the start of school, I heard grumbling from parents that the school should not have called the police. 

The school had been trashed but, hey, that's OK!  They are just kids, right?  

(We teachers had been cleaning up for about an hour before they arrived. So, what the parents saw was not as bad as it had been. To this day, I believe we should have left it alone for the parents to see, and then have had the students clean it up.) I even had one teacher mad at me because I said I was disgusted by what happened.  I had been cleaning wet toilet paper off the carpet and was not in a very jovial mood. 

This is a kind of microcosm for the people of God.

The prophets made it very clear that the behavior and words of the people, their kings and prophets were not in line with the law given by Moses. 

So, looking again at our chart, the people knew what sin was, because they were told what it was.

They were told to stop and turn away from what they were doing. 

God was willing to forgive, but the people had to first admit they were in the wrong, and then stop their behavior. Anyone can say they are sorry.  That's the easy part.  The hard part is really changing.  

The consequences of turning and following Yahweh's ways would bring blessings. Not just a pat on the  head, but visible reminders of how God loved them and wanted the best for them: prosperity in the land, protection from enemies and shalom in the nation and in the home.  

A glorious future awaited when God would reign on earth and shalom would prevail as the Messiah would come and deliver His people from all that oppressed them!   

God is clear what He is angry against, by specifically listing what He will destroy: 

“In that day,” declares the Lord,

“I will destroy your horses from among you
   and demolish your chariots.
I will destroy the cities of your land
  and tear down all your strongholds.
I will destroy your witchcraft
  and you will no longer cast spells.
  I will destroy your idols
  and your sacred stones from among you;
  you will no longer bow down
  to the work of your hands.

I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles[e]
   when I demolish your cities.
I will take vengeance in anger and wrath
   on the nations that have not obeyed me.” (5:10-15)

This fits both Israel and the Assyrians.  All nations who engage in evil come under His wrath.  But equally true is that all nations who come to His Messiah and seek forgiveness for sin will be welcome in and will sit down at the table of fellowship. 

One final observation. I have noticed a shift in morality from the time I was a young person to now, some fifty years later.  When I was growing up, there was a right and wrong derived from the Bible and my parents upheld it, even though they were not professing Christians.  I think they saw themselves as such, however, because they obeyed basic biblical morality. 

Trust me:  This is not a "good old days" reminiscence. The 60's and 70's were full of problems and sin.  But if you broke the 11th Commandment--you got caught--then your transgression was weighed against biblical morality.  Yes, there were hypocrites a-plenty, but at least the culture could agree that some things were wrong and there had to be some kind of consequence for breaking the rules. 

So, in order to be called "immoral," you broke a law from this transcendent code. Not my code.  Not your code.  But a code that the culture agreed was important to uphold, even if you didn't personally have a relationship with Jesus. 

Lying. Stealing. Adultery. Cheating. Violence. Murder.

The society had little tolerance for such immoral behavior.

But, over time, "follow your bliss" became more important than following fusty dusty irrelevant rules.  Do your own thing.  Papa's got a brand new bag. Different strokes for different folks. 

So, the whole notion of a transcendent moral code, derived from the Bible was losing ground--eroded over time by a kind of "Let's break free of such antiquated notions!" Freedom over faithfulness.  Self over salvation.  Relevance over reverence.  

Today, I am seeing a harvest from those seeds sown long ago.  Something is no longer immoral--it's amoral.  

Consider this:  If you are being immoral, we point to the code.  But if there is no transcendent code, then you haven't really done anything wrong. It's only my opinion that you did. You agree to disagree and carry on. 

So, schools come up with their own codes to try to hold students responsible, but parents don't necessarily buy that and because it's a locally determined code, they locally decide to ignore it. There aren't really any consequences to ignoring it. If the school presses too hard, parents lawyer up. 

"Morality" is now determined by screeching on social media, whose definitions are fluid and unpredictable. Who is and who isn't in violation changes with the next post. 

I wonder if, in the time of the prophets, this same kind of transformation occurred, going from the Mosaic code to the pagan code, to resisting any kind of code.  

A nation, a people, without obeying a code given by their Creator and to Whom they are answerable, presage a future where anything goes.

Scary then.

Scary now.

[1] "Survey of the Prophets--Introduction," Bible Questions, https://www.biblequestions.org/bqar410.html 

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.