THE LORD’S CONTROVERSY
#287 THE LORD’S CONTROVERSY
Scripture Micah 6:1-8, NIV
Orig. 9/3/1964
Passage: Listen to what the Lord says:
“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;
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.
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.”
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.”
Purpose: Continuing a series from the prophets, here addressing the message of Micah.
Keywords: Bible Study God, Controversy
Timeline: Sequential
Series: Micah
Introduction
Micah was contemporary with Hosea and Isaiah. Little is known about him that he, himself, does not tell us. There is a brief confirmation in the prophecy of Jeremiah of this time and circumstance.
Jeremiah 26:18, “Micah the Moreshite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.’”
Micah has considerately supplied answers to many of our questions. The opening verse runs the gamut of prophetic i.d. He gives us his authority, “The word of the Lord.” He tells us who he is, “Micah the Moresheth.” We know who his contemporaries were, “Jothan, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” He names the people who are his audience, “concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.” He makes it plain from this opening verse that his message is one of judgment.
I. The Controversy Stated. “Let the Lord be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.”
The central focus of the problem is in the religious chapters. V5, “Is it not Samaria? . . . Are they not Jerusalem?”
Three sins are noted in these opening chapters: Idolatry—1:7, graven images, idols; social injustice—2:3, devise iniquity in the night, covet field, take by violence, oppress weaker men; hypocrisy—3:11, judges, priests, prophets do what they do for what is in their own best interests.
That, for which there is no deliverance for Samaria, marches toward Jerusalem. V12, “Evil came down from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.” The Assyrians were then in power. The captivity of Israel was near at hand. Israel/Syria lay siege before Jerusalem, II Kings 16:5 (Ahaz). Ahaz sends for Assyria (Tiglath-Pileser) but it was a sell-out. Five years after Ahaz dies, Samaria falls (II Kings 17:6).
A day of contrasts:
· There is abject selfishness: (See Micah 2:1-3.) Compare Isaiah 5:8, “Woe to them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place.” Some of this very thing is happening is Palestine. Arabs are working at menial jobs providing services in Jewish towns not available in their own towns.
· There is injustice: False prophets. Micah 2:7, “O thou that art name the house of Jacob, is the Spirit of the Lord straitened? Are these His doings? Do not my words do good to Him that walketh uprightly?”
· God has already planned the restoration. Micah 2:12, “I will surely assemble O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel.”
II. The Controversy Must Next Be Substantiated. 3:1, “Hear, I pray you O head of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel.”
Micah has nothing to protect. No sin will go unexposed. The princes are charged with violence and oppression, 3:1f. The prophets are accused, 3:5f.
The message of truth is the message empowered by the Holy Spirit. Compare 2:7, “Is the Spirit straitened?” 3:8, “I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord.” To what degree do we heed the Holy Spirit? Restrict his influence?
III. The Controversy Must Be Secured.
Chapter four is the great “kingdom” chapter.
· 4:1 The future kingdom supreme
· v2 The future kingdom universal
· v3 The future kingdom peaceful
· vs 4-5 The future kingdom prosperous
· vs 6-8 Reigned over by Christ
· vs 9-13 Jewish and Gentile
The coming kingdom: Combined size of Judea/Israel no larger than Louisiana. Compare with Isaiah: Micah 4:1-3 with Isaiah 2:2-4. V9 questions, “Is there no king?” Isaiah 9:6, “Unto us a child is born.” V10 forecasts Babylon. (They are a full hundred years from ascendancy.)
What is a kingdom unless there is a king? Micah 5:2, Bethlehem—birthplace of the coming Messiah. Genesis 49:10, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah till Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” Shiloh/tranquil. Shalom/peace.
Micah shows us the kind of man he was. Back to the Bible (3:8), “to declare unto Jacob his transgression.” Back to Messianic hope (4:1-3), “in the last days.” Back to Bethlehem (5:2), “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratha”; the messianic hope takes on personality. Back to ethical righteousness (6:8), “He hath shown thee, O man. . . .”
IV. A Concluding Review.
The book is divided in the following way.
· Judgment 1-3
· Salvation 6-7
The book contains a deeply spiritual, and at the same time simple, message. It is of sin and corruption. It bleeds with the sighing and agony of people caught in the net of misrule of men in authority, 6:1. It insists upon return to God, 1:2, 3:1.
The final two chapters implore the divine character. The mountains (1,2) are called to be witness of the confrontation. God pleads (3-5) for remembrance. Micah 5:4 attests the redemption of the Lord; 5:5 declares the righteousness of the Lord.
The climactic Old Testament spiritual concept, 6:8. Some interpreters see v8 as the mountains (v1,2) answering in witness.
The final chapter concludes:
· Lament, vv1-6
· Intercession, vv7-10
· Promise, vv11-20
One final word on [Micah 6]: V4, Redemption; v5, righteousness; v8, revelation (“He hath shown thee”) and requirement (“What hath the Lord required of thee?”)