The whole book of Micah can be summed up in
the translation of his name. It means, “Who is like God?” How
we answer that question is the key to the way we relate to God’s
authority in our life. It is also important to point out that it
does not mean, “I am like God”. That attitude will cause people
to hear accusatory threats rather than compassionate warnings. Micah
prophesied about 700 years before the birth of Christ and 100 years
before the Babylonian captivity. He came from very humble beginnings
and preached about Salvation through Messiah. Micah 1 reminds me of
the old Wide World of Sports opening, contrasting the Thrill of
Victory, with the Agony of Defeat. The Agony is not always so
visible in others, as many suffer in silence. Through prophetic
close-ups, Micah will profile how the return of the Lord will bring
dread to the mighty and hope to the oppressed. Literally the
presence of God will change everything. The focus is on the tiny
region surrounding the Holy Land. “The
word of the Lord that came to Micah… the vision he saw concerning
Samaria and Jerusalem“. But
the message Micah gives is for all of us, “all
of you, listen, earth and all who live in it“.
With a dramatic theme song playing in the background, he adds, “the
Sovereign Lord may bear witness against you“.
God uses His man on the street to open the eyes of all those that
will listen.
Micah reports “Look!
The Lord is coming from His dwelling place“.
His first stop is, “His holy
temple” in Jerusalem. This
will not be a covert operation; it is a public event accompanied by
destruction, “The mountains
melt beneath Him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the
fire“. Here is a tragic
observation; no one noticed when the Spirit of the Lord departed, but
everyone will know when the Lord returns. Friend, have you been
living without His Spirit in your life?
What triggers this? “All
this is because
of Jacob’s transgression, because of the sins of the people of
Israel“. Micah asks the
question, “What is Jacob’s
transgression?” Rather than
give the short answer, the prophet instead describes the resulting
devastation. Very few people will make radical change until they
have a need. So Micah gives us a panoramic view of the region, not
as a reporter, but as a broken hearted participant on the field.
“Therefore I will make Samaria
a heap of rubble… she
gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes…
All her idols will be broken to pieces“.
This is the exact place where the studious replay the tape in
slow-motion. Most ridicule the idea of idolatry, but many today have
“other priorities”. People worship fitness, or finance, or
pleasure, or self. Micah continues, “Because
of this I will weep and wail… I will howl like a jackal… For
Samaria’s plague is incurable; it has spread to Judah. It has
reached the very gate of my people, even to Jerusalem itself“.
The chapter closes with a list of cities and their corresponding
issues, but we have a sense that the loudspeaker sounds the call to
repent into an empty stadium. Is it time for a radical change? How
do you answer the question; “Who is like God?” “Those
who disregard discipline despise themselves, but
the one who heeds correction gains understanding”
(Proverbs 15:32).