Read
Israel Is Corrupt
1I feel so empty inside—
like someone starving
for grapes or figs,
after the vines and trees
have all been picked clean.
2No one is loyal to God;
no one does right.
Everyone is brutal
and eager to deceive
everyone else.
3People cooperate to commit crime.
Judges and leaders demand bribes,
and rulers cheat in court.
4The most honest of them
is worse than a thorn patch.
Your doom has come!
Lookouts sound the warning,
and everyone panics.
5Don't trust anyone,
not even your best friend,
and be careful what you say
to the one you love.
6 Sons refuse to respect
their own fathers,
daughters rebel against
their own mothers,
and daughters-in-law despise
their mothers-in-law.
Your family is now your enemy.
7But I trust the Lord God
to save me,
and I will wait for him
to answer my prayer.
The Nation Turns to God
8My enemies, don't be glad
because of my troubles!
I may have fallen,
but I will get up;
I may be sitting in the dark,
but the Lord is my light.
9I have sinned against the Lord.
And so I must endure his anger,
until he comes to my defense.
But I know that I will see him
making things right for me
and leading me to the light.
10You, my enemies, said,
“The Lord God is helpless.”
Now each of you
will be disgraced
and put to shame.
I will see you trampled
like mud in the street.
A Bright Future
11Towns of Judah, the day is coming
when your walls will be rebuilt,
and your boundaries enlarged.
12People will flock to you
from Assyria and Egypt,
from Babylonia
and everywhere else.
13Those nations will suffer disaster
because of what they did.
Micah's Prayer and
14Lead your people, Lord!
Come and be our shepherd.
Grasslands surround us,
but we live in a forest.
So lead us to Bashan and Gilead,
and let us find pasture
as we did long ago.
15I, the Lord, will work miracles
just as I did when I led you
out of Egypt.
16Nations will see this
and be ashamed because
of their helpless armies.
They will be in shock,
unable to speak or hear,
17because of their fear of me,
your Lord and God.
Then they will come trembling,
crawling out of their fortresses
like insects or snakes,
lapping up the dust.
No One Is Like God
The people said:
18Our God, no one is like you.
We are all that is left
of your chosen people,
and you freely forgive
our sin and guilt.
You don't stay angry forever;
you're glad to have pity
19and pleased to be merciful.
You will trample on our sins
and throw them in the sea.
20You will keep your word
and be faithful to Jacob
and to Abraham,
as you promised our ancestors
many years ago.
Reflect
The tragedy of the second half of Micah 6 (guilty as charged!), leads to lament (7:1-6). “I feel so empty inside!” (v. 1) says the author. No harvest, no godly persons; only murderers, corruption and collusion, family discord – all utter despair.
“But I trust the Lord”, he says, “I will wait for him” (v. 7), and the tone of the final section of the second court case draws to a similar conclusion as in chapter 5. The chapter slowly arrives at God’s final vindication, and once again we see that God’s closing word is one of grace and pardon. There is no other God like Israel’s God. He forgives sin and transgression. He alone does not stay angry at sin, but shows infinite mercy and compassion, just as He promised from the start.
Micah takes the listeners back to the fact that God is steadfast and loyal to his covenant. The echoes of Genesis 12:2-3 and 22:17-18 come out in the final three verses of the book. The court case is adjourned – God has been vindicated.
Respond
LORD God, you truly are the God of mercy and pardon. I want to affirm that you are the King and I want you to rule over every area of my life. Amen.
Glenn Smith
Dr. Glenn Smith is married to Sandra and together they have three daughters, Jenna, Julia and Christa and two granddaughters They are the pastors of a missional community network in their church in Montréal – a multi-site congregation in five locations. Glenn did his graduate studies at the Université d’Ottawa and his doctoral thesis at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Chicago. He was the Executive Director of Christian Direction in Montreal 1983 – 2018. He is the Dean of the Faculty of Practical Theology at Presbyterian College at McGill University and the the Institut de théologie pour la francophonie, accredited by Université Laval. He also teaches in Haïti. Publications: co-author of Espoir pour la ville; Dieu dans la cité (Hope for the city, God in the city); Following Jesus: God invites us to transformative discipleship. His forth-coming book is entitled, City Air Makes You Free.