December 17 – Micah 6 and 7 from the Old Testament

Micah 6 and 7 – The Lord Demands Justice, not Ritual

6:1 Listen to what the Lord says:

“Get up! Defend yourself before the mountains!

Present your case before the hills!”

6:2 Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains,

you enduring foundations of the earth!

For the Lord has a case against his people;

he has a dispute with Israel!

6:3 “My people, how have I wronged you?

How have I wearied you? Answer me!

6:4 In fact, I brought you up from the land of Egypt,

I delivered you from that place of slavery.

I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you.

6:5 My people, recall how King Balak of Moab planned to harm you,

how Balaam son of Beor responded to him.

Recall how you journeyed from Shittim to Gilgal,

so you might acknowledge that the Lord has treated you fairly.”

 

6:6 With what should I enter the Lord’s presence?

With what should I bow before the sovereign God?

Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings,

with year-old calves?

6:7 Will the Lord accept a thousand rams,

or ten thousand streams of olive oil?

Should I give him my firstborn child as payment for my rebellion,

my offspring – my own flesh and blood – for my sin?

6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good,

and what the Lord really wants from you:

He wants you to promote justice, to be faithful,

and to live obediently before your God.

 

6:9 Listen! The Lord is calling to the city!

It is wise to respect your authority, O Lord!

Listen, O nation, and those assembled in the city!

 

6:10 “I will not overlook, O sinful house, the dishonest gain you have hoarded away,

or the smaller-than-standard measure I hate so much.

6:11 I do not condone the use of rigged scales,

or a bag of deceptive weights.

6:12 The city’s rich men think nothing of resorting to violence;

her inhabitants lie,

their tongues speak deceptive words.

6:13 I will strike you brutally

and destroy you because of your sin.

6:14 You will eat, but not be satisfied.

Even if you have the strength to overtake some prey,

you will not be able to carry it away;

if you do happen to carry away something,

I will deliver it over to the sword.

6:15 You will plant crops, but will not harvest them;

you will squeeze oil from the olives, but you will have no oil to rub on your bodies;

you will squeeze juice from the grapes, but you will have no wine to drink.

6:16 You implement the regulations of Omri,

and all the practices of Ahab’s dynasty;

you follow their policies.

Therefore I will make you an appalling sight,

the city’s inhabitants will be taunted derisively,

and nations will mock all of you.”

Micah Laments Judah’s Sin

7:1 I am depressed!

Indeed, it is as if the summer fruit has been gathered,

and the grapes have been harvested.

There is no grape cluster to eat,

no fresh figs that I crave so much.

7:2 Faithful men have disappeared from the land;

there are no godly men left.

They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood;

they hunt their own brother with a net.

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil;

government officials and judges take bribes,

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them.

7:4 The best of them is like a thorn;

the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes.

The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen –

your appointed time of punishment – is on the way,

and then you will experience confusion.

7:5 Do not rely on a friend;

do not trust a companion!

Don’t even share secrets with the one who lies in your arms!

7:6 For a son thinks his father is a fool,

a daughter challenges her mother,

and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law;

a man’s enemies are his own servants.

7:7 But I will keep watching for the Lord;

I will wait for the God who delivers me.

My God will hear my lament.

Jerusalem Will Be Vindicated

7:8 My enemies, do not gloat over me!

Though I have fallen, I will get up.

Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.

7:9 I must endure the Lord’s anger,

for I have sinned against him.

But then he will defend my cause,

and accomplish justice on my behalf.

He will lead me out into the light;

I will experience firsthand his deliverance.

7:10 When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame.

They say to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”

I will gloat over them.

Then they will be trampled down

like mud in the streets.

7:11 It will be a day for rebuilding your walls;

in that day your boundary will be extended.

A Closing Prayer

7:12 In that day people will come to you

from Assyria as far as Egypt,

from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River,

from the seacoasts and the mountains.

7:13 The earth will become desolate

because of what its inhabitants have done.

7:14 Shepherd your people with your shepherd’s rod,

the flock that belongs to you,

the one that lives alone in a thicket,

in the midst of a pastureland.

Allow them to graze in Bashan and Gilead,

as they did in the old days.

7:15 “As in the days when you departed from the land of Egypt,

I will show you miraculous deeds.”

7:16 Nations will see this and be disappointed by all their strength,

they will put their hands over their mouths,

and act as if they were deaf.

7:17 They will lick the dust like a snake,

like serpents crawling on the ground.

They will come trembling from their strongholds

to the Lord our God;

they will be terrified of you.

7:18 There is no other God like you!

You forgive sin

and pardon the rebellion

of those who remain among your people.

You do not remain angry forever,

but delight in showing loyal love.

7:19 You will once again have mercy on us;

you will conquer our evil deeds;

you will hurl our sins into the depths of the sea.

7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob

and extend your loyal love to Abraham,

which you promised on oath to our ancestors

in ancient times.