Micah's Timeless Message; Micah 2:7-10

Rev. George Miller
July 5, 2020
Micah 2:7-10

Let us come together to hear the story of a nation; a country established on the best of ideals.

A place perfect for cows, soil rich enough for wildflowers, and waters filled with delicious seafood.

This is the story about a land of plenty, where its citizens had traveled from a far-away place to get there.

A nation designed around the principals of freedom, where folk understood that the earth belonged to God, and each family was granted a parcel of land to till and to keep.

A society structured around basic principles- honor your elders, don’t covet, steal, or lie about your neighbor, work hard but always take a day to rest.

A government in which YHWH was the center; where God, and not money, things, or power was to be worshipped.

In this Promised Land, widows and orphans were to be cared for, and immigrants always welcomed.

But then something happened- the North and the South could not agree on basic issues; they began to fight.

Eventually the North split from the South, leaving the North vulnerable.

A foreign enemy came along and threatened the North. The North called upon their Southern kin for help.

But instead of helping, the South entered into an alliance with the enemy, and the Northern part of the nation fell.

10 miles across the border, the enemy sets up camp. Political refugees pour into the South seeking asylum.

The South thought they had done a wise thing, failing to realize that by scheming with the enemy, they’d become the next target.

To intimidate the South, the enemy sets up false idols everywhere.

Now, in order for the South to be safe, they must pay a tribute to the enemy.

The wealthy businessmen don’t want to pay the tribute, so they pass the cost on to the impoverished and working-class.

The real estate moguls think of ways to kick women out of their homes, take away their children, and gather more land so they can build upon it.

Add to this mix a bunch of religious leaders who are telling the masses “Don’t you worry, don’t you complain. Everything is fine. God is not upset.”

If another religious leader dares to say anything different, they are challenged, and told they are being unpatriotic.

This is the world of 8th Century BCE Judah, where Jerusalem is the capital city. This is the political environment that the prophet Micah is living in.

Micah is a spiritual, emotional soul who grew up 20 miles southeast of Jerusalem, which means he is a Good Ol’ Boy in every sense of the word.

He was raised to love his Momma, love the Lord, and always say “Yes ma’am”, “No ma’am.”

He comes from a community of old-time religion, with unlocked doors and stores in which you talk to everyone.

Micah moves to the big city and he is blown away by what he sees.

No one minds their manners. No one respects their elders or their neighbors.

Perhaps worse of all, people have lost their connection with God.

Sure, there are big flashy preachers in big flashy robes, but what they’re saying is more the Gospel of Self rather than the Gospel of God.

They tell the people “God will never desert you, so do anything you want ‘cause God will never go away.”

So, the people do anything they want, be it steal, covet, lie.

Micah sees the injustice.

The evicted widows; the children separated from their parents ; the moguls who want more more more.

Micah may not have the slickest of educations, but he knows enough to know that the ruler of the nation should not be buddy buddy with the enemy.

So Micah does something.

He uses his words. He channel’s God’s spirit. He does a difficult balancing act.

He reminds the people that God is a God of justice, kindness, and humility. He reminds people that God is one of grace who gathers the people.

But Micah lets them know that right now God is not happy with them. God is heartbroken; God is disappointed.

Micah dares to go against the popular preachers and he tells the people this- “You’ve taken advantage of God’s goodness and generosity for far too long, and now there are going to be natural consequences for your actions.”

Micah is a prophetic book with a timely message and a complex theology.

Micah presents a 3-dimensional God who is angry yet overflowing with pity.

God is both judge and savior, one who can issue a sentence yet also point to a hopeful future.

Micah speaks for God who has an special relationship with Israel yet also cares for the whole world.

Micah speaks for God who cares about compassion but also understands about consequences.

In parental terms, Micah is presenting God as the parent who has had it up to here and is about ready to
-use the belt
-take out the wooden spoon
-slip off the chancleta.

This is God the parent who will, for your own sake-

-Send you to your room
-Suspend your allowance
-Kick you out of the house if need be.

Not out of spite, or enjoyment.

But out of love; heartbroken love.

These are the issues in Micah we’ll be exploring all this month; the irony it balances.

The questions Micah raises about

-Who is God?
-Who are we?
-What does God really, really want from us?

As we wrap up today’s message, knowing it is more an intro that a stand-alone sermon, there is Good News-

When Micah shared his message with the King of Judah…the King listened.

The King heard Micah’s words. The King heard God’s hurt.

The King not only heard, but he responded, he changed his ways, and the king empowered the nation to reclaim some of what had been lost.

Micah spoke, the King listened, and both lives and the land were saved. A victory that lasted about a 100 years...

On this holiday weekend, amidst a pandemic and a civil rights movement, let us recall the work of Micah.

Let us recall the words of the Lord.

Let us remember that we are Ambassadors of the Good News.

As Citizens of Heaven we are called to speak words of grace, freedom, and hope.

As we have been saying for months, “When we hope, we are hoping with God.”

Amen.