Please
look up Micah in the Bibles in the church.
what can
you tell me about this book? - it is written as poetry
As with last week’s reading, we are in
the time of the divided kingdom. Last week we heard of Elisha, a prophet from
the Northern Kingdom in about the 9th century before Jesus was born.
Today we heard from the prophet Micah,
who was in Judah, the southern kingdom, about 150 years after the time of
Elisha.
Micah was a from a small town,
Moresheth, about 25 miles from Jerusalem.
While some of the prophets spoke only against either Judah or Israel,
Micah spoke against both kingdoms. Micah spoke out about the injustice he saw.
The book of Micah gives a message of judgement against the oppressors, who were
the rich and powerful. He speaks of the punishment of God for both the Northern
and Southern Kingdoms. Some thought Jerusalem would never fall, that the
southern Kingdom would remain untouched by the turmoil that engulfed the
Northern kingdom. The Northern Kingdom was invaded in 735 BCE and the people
scattered in 721 BCE. Micah spoke of the judgement of God, even against the
temple practices which had become self-serving. Micah also speaks of the
salvation of a remnant of Israel.[i][i]
Let’s take a look at 3: 1- 3 [The
Message]
“Listen, leaders of Jacob, leaders of Israel:
Don’t you know anything of justice?
Haters of good, lovers of evil:
Isn’t justice in your job description?
But you skin my people alive.
You rip the meat off their bones.
You break up the bones, chop the meat,
and throw it in a pot for cannibal stew.”
Don’t you know anything of justice?
Haters of good, lovers of evil:
Isn’t justice in your job description?
But you skin my people alive.
You rip the meat off their bones.
You break up the bones, chop the meat,
and throw it in a pot for cannibal stew.”
- remember this is poetry, he isn’t referring
to physically eating people, but to the way on the leaders suck the life out of
people with their lifestyle.
and 3: 5-6 [The Message]
Here is God’s Message to the prophets,
the preachers who lie to my people:
“For as long as they’re well paid and well fed,
the prophets preach, ‘Isn’t life wonderful! Peace to all!’
But if you don’t pay up and jump on their bandwagon,
their ‘God bless you’ turns into ‘God damn you.’
the preachers who lie to my people:
“For as long as they’re well paid and well fed,
the prophets preach, ‘Isn’t life wonderful! Peace to all!’
But if you don’t pay up and jump on their bandwagon,
their ‘God bless you’ turns into ‘God damn you.’
in the rest of chapter 3, Micah
continues of speak of the evil of the leaders of Israel, and the punishment
that awaits the nation.
chapter 4 changes tune completely, and
there is an image of the restoration of God’s rule, a place where people learn
Gods ways, where there is no more war, where people who grow food get to
eat.
In chapter 5, we hear of a new ruler
who will come from Bethlehem, another country town of no importance, just like
the one that Micah lived in. At that time the powerful and the religious
leaders were based in Jerusalem, not some country outpost. A new ruler who will
be the one of peace. For the people who first heard these words, Bethlehem was
associated with David, the great King,
the one who was King when Israel was undivided, when Israel was in its golden
age. Bethlehem was also not part of the establishment in terms of the seat of
power. For the people who first heard
this, both points would be important, the new ruler will come from the house of
David, and the new ruler will not be part of the oppressive and corrupt regime
that ruled from Jerusalem.
Then we get to chapter 6.
Sections of this book are written as a
court case with God as the prosecutor and judge, with the creation as
witnesses, against the people. God is challenging the way the leaders are
treating the people. Here in chapter six, God is asking - what have I done to you? why do you treat me
and my people like this? then again we hear of Gods activity in the history of the
people, the foundational story of the exodus, and the saving action of God.
in verses 6-7, there is this cascading
of sacrifices. will God be pleased with a burnt offering of a yearling? – this
refers to the standard offering mentioned in Leviticus.
Or maybe to please God I need to be overly
and impossibly extravagant – 1,000 rams?
10,000 rivers of oil?
my fist born?
One commentator suggests that this is
sarcasm – God is having a go at people who are trying to outdo each other in
their sacrifices. another suggests that God is pained by the excess. Either
way, this is poetry and there is probably some poetic licence in here. The people Micah was relating to, would also
be aware of child sacrifice in nearby places – so these sacrifices or offerings
to God may be outrageous, but not all are impossible.
But God isn’t interested in wealth,
certainly not at the expense of the poor and the hungry, nor in child
sacrifice.
Looking around the world today we can
think of plenty of places where corruption flourishes, countries which require
a payment or bribe to get approval for a project; countries where people are
oppressed by a wealthy or powerful elite; places where life is cheap,
expendable, where people are bought and sold in the open.
Micah was saying that God sees, God
knows, God cares and God responds. Sometimes it is hard for us to see how God
is responding to some of the situations we see unfolding before us.
Yet many of us will be able to tell of
a time when we have felt a touch from God, when we have felt comfort in a
difficult time. God is not unmoved.
so the question becomes in what ways
does God generosity, God’s grace, God’s forgiveness, Gods salvation show in our
lives?
[the Message Micah 6: 8]
“But he’s already made it plain how to
live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously."
what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously."
