seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Micah 6:1 Listen to what the Lord says:
“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;
let the hills hear what you have to say.
let the hills hear what you have to say.
2 “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.
listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.
For the Lord has a case against his people;
he is lodging a charge against Israel.
3 “My people, what have I done to you?
How have I burdened you? Answer me.
4 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.
5 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.”
How have I burdened you? Answer me.
4 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.
5 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 With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly[a] with your God.
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly[a] with your God.
9 Listen! The Lord is calling to the city—
and to fear your name is wisdom—
“Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.[b]
10 Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house,
and the short ephah,[c] which is accursed?
11 Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales,
with a bag of false weights?
12 Your rich people are violent;
your inhabitants are liars
and their tongues speak deceitfully.
13 Therefore, I have begun to destroy you,
to ruin[d] you because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied;
your stomach will still be empty.[e]
You will store up but save nothing,
because what you save[f] I will give to the sword.
15 You will plant but not harvest;
you will press olives but not use the oil,
you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.
16 You have observed the statutes of Omri
and all the practices of Ahab’s house;
you have followed their traditions.
Therefore I will give you over to ruin
and your people to derision;
you will bear the scorn of the nations.[g]”
and to fear your name is wisdom—
“Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.[b]
10 Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house,
and the short ephah,[c] which is accursed?
11 Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales,
with a bag of false weights?
12 Your rich people are violent;
your inhabitants are liars
and their tongues speak deceitfully.
13 Therefore, I have begun to destroy you,
to ruin[d] you because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied;
your stomach will still be empty.[e]
You will store up but save nothing,
because what you save[f] I will give to the sword.
15 You will plant but not harvest;
you will press olives but not use the oil,
you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.
16 You have observed the statutes of Omri
and all the practices of Ahab’s house;
you have followed their traditions.
Therefore I will give you over to ruin
and your people to derision;
you will bear the scorn of the nations.[g]”
a. Micah 6:8 Or prudently
b. Micah 6:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
c. Micah 6:10 An ephah was a dry measure.
d. Micah 6:13 Or Therefore, I will make you ill and destroy you; / I will ruin
e. Micah 6:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
f. Micah 6:14 Or You will press toward birth but not give birth, / and what you bring to birth
g. Micah 6:16 Septuagint; Hebrew scorn due my people
I can see a trial going on. God [through Micah] says...."I've been good to you..... and all you stupid humans do is complain that I'm too harsh on you. I never asked you stupid humans to give up your first born for me [like molech]. You stupid humans aren't even being truthful with your sacrifices. You stupid humans won't even share without cheating. So I'll give you all the rope you stupid humans need to hang yourselves."
Enduringword.com had this to offer this morning.
Arise, plead your case: Micah pictured a court of law, with Israel on trial before the LORD. In the presence of unshakable witnesses (the mountains and the hills and the strong foundations of the earth), the court comes to order.
The LORD has a complaint against His people, and He will contend with Israel: In His court, God will bring His case – His complaint against Israel.
Testify against Me: As Israel stepped to the witness stand, God asked them, “What have I done to you?” He had done nothing but good to Israel, and had been repaid with rejection and rebellion.
I redeemed you from the house of bondage: Not only did God not do evil to Israel, He also did them an enormous amount of good. He redeemed them and gave them godly leaders. God’s case against Israel was strong and Israel was guilty in the prophet’s court.
Remember now what Balak king of Moab counseled: Numbers 22-24 tells the story of Balakand Balaam. After meeting with King Balak of Moab, Balaam prophesied over Israel four times. As he spoke forth God’s word, he did not curse Israel – but he blessed them each time. When he was unsuccessful in cursing Israel, Balaam answered Balak on how to bring Israel under a curse. Instead of trying to have a prophet curse them, the Moabites would lead them into fornication and idolatry, and thus God would curse idolatrous and disobedient Israel. Balak did just that, sending his young women into the camp of Israel to lead Israel into sexual immorality and idolatry. Because of their sin, God did curse Israel – He brought a plague of judgment upon Israel that killed 24,000.
With what shall I come before the LORD: This was a question asked out of bitterness and resentment. In Micah’s imagined courtroom, Israel called out to God from the witness stand, and said: “Just what do You want from me?”
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil: We can almost hear Israel shouting at God from the witness stand. “You ask too much, God. Nothing will satisfy You. If we brought thousands of rams or rivers of oil or even my own firstborn it would not be enough to please You. You are unreasonable.”
He has shown you: In Micah the prophet’s imagined courtroom God stopped the shouting of the angry defendant from the witness box. God essentially said, “You act as if it is some mystery what I require of you. In point of fact it is no mystery at all. I have shown you clearly what is good and what I require of you.”
To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God: The LORD answered the contentious witness in open court. “What I require of you isn’t complicated. Simply do three things.”
- Do justly: “Act in a just, fair way towards others. Treat them as you would want to be treated.”
- Love mercy: “Don’t just show mercy, but love to show it. Give others the same measure of mercy you want to receive from the Me.”
- Walk humbly with your God: “Remember who I am – your God. If you keep that in mind, you will walk humbly before Me.”
The short measure that is an abomination… wicked scales… deceitful weights: God was angry with Israel for cheating in their business dealings. They lied and stole and cheated one another, all for the sake of making some money off each other.
Her rich men are full of violence: The sin of Israel went further than just cheating others in business and commerce; they also made themselves rich through plain violence. They could expect the judgment of God for such sin.
“No society is ever entirely upright or godly; there are always evil people in it. But in a well-functioning society the evil are suppressed and those of good character are prominent and rule the land. In times of moral breakdown this is inverted.” (Boice)
It looks like the descendants of Jacob [Israel] who were living in the area they called Israel.... were beginning to believe that God wanted too much from them. It's like those stupid humans were saying "all you ever want is more more more sacrifice". I bet that really made God step back.... I'm pretty sure God figure all stupid humans want is more more more of everything they could think of.
This is an outtake from the easy English site.
God has shown to the people what goodness is. He has shown to them how he wants people to behave. But the people have refused to do what God wants. This sad message about judgement consists of these subjects:
- God is severely warning the people in Jerusalem city (verse 9)
- To use false measures is a crime (verses 10-11)
- To lie is a crime (verse 12)
- The people would suffer greatly (verse 13)
- The people would be hungry (verse 14)
- Other people will steal the crops (verse 15)
- God again accuses the people and he speaks about punishment (verse 16).
Micah begins with this sentence. ‘The LORD shouts aloud to the city.’ God’s words are urgent. God orders the people to listen.
Two things are going through my mind.... the story of the talking donkey..... and a song. The talking donkey is in the Bible.... it's at Numbers 22:21-41. I'd encourage anyone to read it.... it's fun. God sent an Angel of the Lord to do some damage to this lying prophet. The donkey could see the Angel but his rider couldn't. Every time the donkey would do something to save the rider from death... the rider would beat him. Finally the donkey had enough and he spoke out loud to the owner "why do you keep beating me?" So in this morning's Bible verses.... it seems like God is saying.... "stupid humans.... why won't you listen?"
The second thing on my mind this morning is a song..... "more more more.... how do you like it"...... those stupid humans would have sung that song all day long. Here's the song.....
