Micah 7 - Victory

by Lance Ponder⁽⁹¹⁾
http://fkiprofessor.xanga.com

Oracle of Perseverance

The mere survival of the Jewish people in any form was itself miraculous. This oracle describes Israel’s slide from prominence to despair. It concludes with Micah’s stand. While the world collapses around him, Micah chooses to remain faithful. He will persevere, standing on the solid foundation of his faith in God, confident in the faithfulness of the Lord for ultimate salvation.

Mic 7:1 Woe is me! For I have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the grapes have been gleaned: there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig that my soul desires. Jesus said it rains on the just and unjust alike (Mt 5:45). Micah understood the essence of this truth. As a Hebrew, he felt the anguish of his people’s suffering. The images drawn in this verse illustrate the house of Jacob being used up. All that is good has been taken. The best days are gone. We often look at the past and reminisce about the “good old days,” but in this case Micah saw clearly the truth of these sentiments. Perhaps another aspect of this is Micah’s personal situation. By the writing of these last several oracles he was probably advancing in age. The introduction indicates Micah preached over the course of several decades through some of the worst suffering of his people before the fall of Jerusalem itself. Micah would have been past his own prime as well as seeing his culture declining rapidly before his eyes.

Mic 7:2 The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net. In an age of moral decay and corruption of public civil and religious institutions it would not be much of an exaggeration to say there were no good people left. Solomon despaired that mankind was unrighteous (Eccl 7:20). Perhaps Micah’s thoughts were along the same lines, but in his case it seems like more of an indictment of society’s moral decay. When people forget to serve God they will instead serve themselves. Since a man is not naturally good, the human way to make yourself feel better is reduce others. Taken to extremes this may literally mean murder. Commonly it is the impetus taking advantage of others in any form from dishonest commerce to war. If you want something you don’t have and you can’t get it honestly, just take it. The result is more wealth for you and less for the loser. Such thinking is the foolishness of humanistic thinking. Sadly it represented the thinking of Israel in Micah’s day. Israel had the rule of law, but with the law as an architecture for society the people enjoyed a great deal of personal freedom. Personal freedom is treasured and held as the greatest American virtue. Personal freedom without personal conviction to do what is right and just is a formula for decadence and moral decay. As wealth and prosperity increase, interdependence on the brotherhood of the community is overcome by independence from brotherhood and community. Without personal accountability our personal freedoms cease to make us free. Instead, they make us slaves to the sin nature which seeks to corrupt and destroy our integrity. Once integrity is gone, no sin is too great.

Mic 7:3 Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together. Without accountability or integrity, the savory taste of sin motivates schemes to refine and improve our skills of deception. It is said that absolute power corrupts absolutely. While this may not be a biblical saying, it certainly seems to prove true of sinful man. As ill-gotten wealth increases, greed increases. The heart is hardened and shame is forgotten when what you have is never enough. The “easy route” is a downhill slope, easy to stay with and hard to turn from, but ending in a certain disaster cleverly disguised as “enough.”

Mic 7:4 The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come; now their confusion is at hand. With even the best of society’s elite corrupt, God decided the time had come to act. Sin is the fruit of the wicked heart. God hates the wicked who live in unrepentant sin (Ps 11:5) and he will destroy such people (Ps 5:4-6). God in his unfathomable kindness takes no delight in the destruction of the wicked and for the hope some will hear and heed the call to repent He withholds the day of destruction until His sovereign timing is complete. God is the ultimate watchman over us. As ultimate judge He executes righteous judgment in His good time. He declares His intent through His prophets, but when repentance does not come, He says the beginning of the end for Israel is internal confusion.

Mic 7:5-6 Put no trust in a neighbor; have no confidence in a friend; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms; for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house. Micah warns that when the going gets tough, people will begin to turn on each other. Friends, lovers, even close family will turn against each other. This passage reminds me of the crime statistics in America in recent years. Most crime is committed by someone closely connected to the victim. In our schools children are encouraged to tell on parents. Women entice men, then take advantage of them for support or make false claims when they don’t get what they want. Adults are treated with contempt by their children and parents ignore or try to pacify children so they can blissfully ignore them and continue doing their own things. This problem is by no means limited to 8 th century Israel or 21 st century America. Trends in the destruction of family and moral integrity are global. Whether Micah was speaking to ancient Israel only is not completely certain, but the indictment certainly looks like it fits today much as then.

Mic 7:7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Joshua issued a challenge to Israel and declared he and his family would follow YHWH whether the rest of the nation did or not (Josh 24:15). Paul warned us to stand (Eph 6:11). James says we need to persevere (Jas 1:25). Speaking of the last day, Jesus provides a vivid description in Mk 13:32-36 of what it means to persevere. Speaking to Timothy, Paul said to persist in devotion to God, righteous living, and care to keep his teaching true. Salvation is the theme of all scripture. Salvation is glimpsed from the curse in the garden, articulated many times and in many ways in the Psalms and prophets, realized in the Gospel accounts, and glorified in its ultimate fulfillment at the marriage feast of the Lamb in the closing verses of John’s Revelation.

Oracle of Victory

The application of Micah’s prophecies to our world today and end times in general becomes even more obvious in this passage. Sin reigns, God sees, judgment is proclaimed, the faithful persevere in the midst of the tribulation of the wicked, and righteousness is ultimately victorious. Our hope is in our champion, Jesus, who reigns victorious over our enemy, death. Some in Micah’s time may have taken this oracle to mean Israel would be restored to earthly glory after some impending judgments were completed. This oracle of victory was one reason the people of Jesus’ time were expecting a great and powerful king to rise up victorious over Roman oppressors. He did, of course, but not in the natural sense.

Mic 7:8 Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. There are several possible ways of reading this verse. “Me” may indicate Micah personally, Jesus, the nation of Israel, or believers generally. If Micah spoke of himself, this statement indicates his understanding of personal spiritual redemption leading to eternal life. By extension it implies the same hope applies to all who seek God and persevere in their faith. The fall and rise accompanied by God’s light appearing from darkness was fulfilled completely in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Certainly this verse fits perfectly with Christ. The idea “me” in this verse refers to Israel is the least likely, though to his contemporaries it was probably the most likely. At least in some sense the rejoicing of Israel’s enemies would be checked when the Jews returned to Jerusalem in 515 BC (and yet again in 1948). When Jerusalem was restored the Lord’s hand could be seen at work in the lives of its leaders. While darkness came to rule the lives of the rulers of Israel and Judah before exile, post-exile leaders like Ezra and Nehemiah restored the worship of YHWH and rebuilt the Temple. The representation of Christ makes more sense as a fulfillment, however, because so few Jews actually returned and Israel was never restored as a significant political power. The priesthood and political leadership was relatively pure in its service to God for a while, but the rise of the nation can hardly be compared to the rise of Jesus in Glory and the impact he had on believers lives. God is a very personal God. He cares about individuals. Nations are merely structures designed to serve the welfare of the individual. The use of “me” and “I” in this verse are strong indicators of the deeply personal nature of this ultimate victory.

Mic 7:9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication. Jesus died as the substitute for us, bearing our sin and suffering judgment on our behalf, but Jesus did not sin. This may be that the “I” of this passage indicates Micah personally. Either way, the speaker of these words is accepting responsibility for sin and is ready to accept God’s judgment for the sin. The “until” is important because it implies God’s indignation will be ended. The phrase “he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me” presents a picture of someone stepping in to represent Micah before YHWH’s throne of judgment. This “he” is stepping in on Micah’s behalf take the judgment for him. The only “he” this could mean is Jesus Christ. Jesus took our punishment for us and was raised victorious, brought out of the grave to the light of resurrection. Micah could only see vaguely the picture of the hope we see revealed in Jesus, but his understanding of propitiation, justification and redemption through a suffering savior was clearer then than it is to some church going people today. The hope of the redeemed is to be brought into light and to be vindicated. Light represents the presence of God, revelation, and perfect goodness. Vindication is another way of saying justification. God’s justification is declared by God as the judgment on Christ and all on whom God’s grace falls through faith in Christ. The hope of Micah is the same as the hope of all believers in Jesus Christ.

Mic 7:10 Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will look upon her; now she will be trampled down like the mire of the streets. Who is this enemy? Ultimately it is Satan, but with him are found all wicked sinners destined for judgment. The feminine pronoun is very interesting. In my own mind it conjures a mental picture of the whore of Babylon from John’s vision. Cult prostitution was certainly a major problem in Micah’s time and the brothels would certainly have mocked God’s prophets because their prophecies took years to be fulfilled. Looking forward the Jews of Jesus’ day were waiting for a savior from Roman persecution. In John’s old age mockers laughingly asked when or if the Christian’s Christ would return. Those who mock Christianity have asked the same questions of the faithful ever since. People like Huxley, Dawkins, Asimov, Hawkings and others scoff at ancient prophecies and revelations, tauntingly asking when this elusive Christ is returning. Such people, like the ancient whores, seek the pleasure and comfort of their own superiority. God has vindicated His own name countless times in history, yet the greatest vindication of all is yet to come. On that final day the scoffers will face God and they will know His wrath.

Mic 7:11 A day for the building of your walls! In that day the boundary shall be far extended. As with previous verses, this description has what appears to be an obvious literal and spiritual fulfillment. Literally speaking, the walls were rebuilt in the 5 th century when Jews returned to the area of Jerusalem. The boundary of the city expanded as more Jews returned in the second and third waves. Context suggests this verse also has a significant spiritual fulfillment. Previously in the book of Micah we saw that “Mount Zion” is a reference to Christ. Mount Zion is often presented in the Old Testament as the high place where the Lord dwells. In this oracle of Micah we see resurrection to a judgment of mercy to justified believers or wrath to unrepentant sinners. In that context, then, the building of walls and an extended boundary suggest the establishment of the Kingdom of God or Heaven (both terms are used in the Gospels). The Kingdom, described vividly by Old Testament prophets as well as Jesus in the Gospel accounts and in John’s Revelation, is pictured as a large territory encompassing God’s Temple, the river and trees of life, the presence of God and the Lamb, and the resurrected souls who receive God’s mercy and everlasting life. When Jesus rose from the grave this Kingdom was established. Its walls were put in place to divide sin eternally from its inhabitants. Its boundaries extend as Jew and Gentile believers alike are brought into the Kingdom through their common faith.

Mic 7:12 In that day they will come to you, from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt to the River, from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain. In the literal sense Jews returned from all these places to post-exile Jerusalem. Spiritually, the range of Assyria to Egypt and sea to sea and mountain to mountain are metaphors for the width and breadth of all humanity. From every society and every walk of life, in that period when the Kingdom is established, people will come to Jesus to and will believe and be saved.

Mic 7:13 But the earth will be desolate because of its inhabitants, for the fruit of their deeds. In the literal sense Jerusalem had fallen into ruin in the decades of Babylonian exile. Their exile being the fruit of their deeds. Within the spiritual, however, it implies the world’s system will be desolate. It seems to imply moral bankruptcy, social injustice, and all manner of spiritual emptiness among those who choose to refuse Christ.

Mic 7:14 Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land [Hebrew: of Carmel]; let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. As a literary form, this verse shifts from a declaration from God to a prayer to God. As a point of reference the town of Carmel is in the Judean countryside about 30 miles south of Jerusalem, but Mt Carmel lies on the sea coast in Northern Israel. Bashan lies in the plains North of Galilee. Gilead, a town best known for its medical skill, lies in the rugged hills East of the Sea of Galilee. Bashan and Gilead were both in areas better suited to raising animals than crops, both very beautiful in their own ways. The “flock of your inheritance” does not have a literal equivalent. This passage then can only be fully understood from a spiritual perspective. The “flock of your inheritance” implies sheep who belong to the Lord. Jesus often referred to his faithful followers as sheep. He instructed Peter to feed his sheep. Earlier in Micah we saw the prophecy of spiritual leaders who would lead according to the Lord’s direction. They would follow after and support the Great Shepherd. Micah is praying for Jesus and the church leaders to lead the people to the best of what the Lord has to give them. Ultimately it looks forward to the restoration of the perfect garden, like Eden, where resurrected believers would be among the trees of life as in the dawn of creation.

Mic 7:15 As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them marvelous things. This phrase supplements the previous verse. In 7:16 we glimpsed a place like Eden where Christ followers would be secure and content. In this verse we see a more personal aspect of our Lord’s Kingdom. During Israel’s departure from captivity the Lord performed numerous great miracles before the whole of Israel. There were plagues, there was escape at the end and final wrath against Pharaoh’s army, and finally God brought Israel to the promised land. The people obeyed and persevered. God remained faithful and met all their needs. God here is promising to show His awesome and marvelous power to His children when they come into this Kingdom. No miracles on the scale of those done in Moses’ time were seen until Jesus began his ministry. The image of the exodus itself, however, is more descriptive of the “last day” when Jesus appears, the dead are raised, and believers are taken from this oppressive world to into the glory of the next which God has prepared for us.

Mic 7:16-17 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 the dust like a serpent, like the crawling things of the earth; they shall come trembling out of their strongholds; they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God, and they shall be in fear of you. Isaiah prophesied that every knee would bow and confess YHWH is God (Is 45:23). Paul quotes Isaiah (Ro 14:11) in the context of saying we will be brought before the Lord for personal judgment to give an account for ourselves. In another place Paul again refers to Isaiah’s prophetic words (Phil 2:10). There Paul speaks of the deity of Christ saying all knees would bow and confess Jesus is the Lord. At some point every human being will have a personal encounter with our glorified Lord and we will all acknowledge he is Lord. In his presence the only response will be humility. The previous verses indicate the saved will enjoy grace and the personal gift of God’s eternal presence. This verse, however, addresses the many who rejected our Lord up until that last day. In their judgment they will be called to account, but will not have the benefit of Jesus’ advocacy. The word-picture of Mic 7:17 indicates this group will be pulled (come trembling out) into God’s presence for judgment from the grave (strongholds) whether they want to or not. They will see their error and know judgment is a thing to fear. The wording of this last part of 7:17 indicates the word “fear” really does mean fright in this case.

Oracle of Love

Micah’s final oracle returns attention to God’s unmerited favor on those whom He loves. The very nature of grace is the gift of unmerited favor. It is the grace of God that imputes justification and sanctifies. This is not a necessary act, but an act of love. God’s love is so great that He forgives and turns away His wrath from those whom he elects.

Mic 7:18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. The character of God is something theologians spend their lives trying to articulate. The whole of scripture is dedicated to revealing God. If any characteristic of God should be obvious it is the uniqueness of the person of God. No human approaches God in wisdom, might, or righteousness. None are holy or perfect apart from God’s grace. No man can save his soul or even extend his life beyond what the Lord has allotted. We can forgive others for hurting us, but only God can pardon sin. Our capacity to forgive is one way we are in the likeness of God. God goes beyond forgiveness when He pardons sin. He sovereignly chooses his spiritual heirs who will inherit the privilege of citizenship in His Kingdom. We deserve not only His judgment, but His divine anger. Because God loves His children so much, God will put aside His anger when He pardons. Demonstrating His love delights the Lord. Such love as this, as demonstrated on the cross, and as experienced personally by those who are born again is what bring joy to our Lord.

Mic 7:19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. There is no possible way to adequately show our thanks for the depths of compassion the Lord pours out on us when he sets aside our judgment and instead pardon’s us.

Mic 7:20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old. The Jews believed their genetic lineage assured the steadfast love of God. Jesus explained that the promises made to Abraham and his children were spiritual promises. God blessed the patriarchs with children who became a nation and that nation was chosen by God for a purpose. Paul explained that the true children of Abraham were not merely of Jacob’s genetic family. The true children of Abraham are those who have faith like Abraham (Ro 4:3-12). Micah prophesies of God’s faithfulness to honor His promises to Abraham and Jacob. Although we see God honoring His promises on earth as a sign of His faithfulness, God is spirit and His promise is spiritual. The true children, those people who put their faith in God and who obey as the result of their trust will be counted as genuine heirs of God’s covenant with Abraham whether they are genetically related or not. God is faithful (1 Thess 5:24). Count on it.

Majoring in the Minors

Micah Chapters:

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7

Article submitted Monday, July 19, 2010 & read 91 times.

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