October 17, Micah 7
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. - Micah 7:18
It's hard to understand many Old Testament passages without remembering that God saw and addressed two groups of people in the old nation of Israel. The nation as a whole consistently forgot to honor, trust and obey God throughout its history. They lived without regard for God and were not very different from their pagan neighbors. Through the prophets, God warned them, called them to repentance and threatened to destroy them for their ungodly lives and idolatry.
But God also saw and addressed a much smaller group among the Israelites. They were called the remnant. They did believe God and trust his promises. They were not sinless, but they respected God's laws and listened to the prophets' warnings and encouragements. God promised to bless and sustain these faithful ones. He said he would keep his promises to Abraham and Jacob through this subgroup of their descendants.
Micah 7 makes that contrast between the two groups clear. The opening verses of the chapter are a first-person description of the bleak and hopeless state of the nation near the end of its existence. Harvest had passed, and gnawing hunger remained. The vast majority of the people were ungodly, violent predators who devoured one another with no regard for anyone but themselves. They themselves were not trustworthy, and they could not trust anyone — not their neighbors, their friends or even their spouses and families. They rejected God's will, followed their own desires and reaped a violent, hopeless society.
But the picture and narrative voice changes in verse 7: "But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me." Micah's first-person identification with the remnant overflows with hope and confident expectation. The remnant would go away with the rest of the nation into captivity. But imagine these captives taking these words of hope and encouragement with them to Babylon. They must endure the discipline as well, but these beautiful descriptions of God's mercy and the blessings he will bestow on the faithful would buoy their burdened spirits during the years of their captivity.
Micah exhibited a confidence that was grounded in God, not in himself. God was still "my God" to him. He trusted in the faithful and loving nature of God to restore his faithful ones. His confidence in God’s grace made it easier for him to accept the indignation of God because of their sins.
Micah exhibited the right response to God's grace with his broken boldness. He savored and trusted God's promises while he waited for God to do what he promised to do. God would not bring about the full extent of all these rich promises until Messiah came. But faithful Israelites who were Abraham's children by faith and not just by flesh waited with patience for the blessings to come.
Micah closed the prophecy with an embedded use of his own name as he extolled the glory of God, "Who is a God like you?" He went on to list some particulars of God's nature and actions. He was beyond comparison in pardoning iniquity and not holding onto anger. His steadfast love and compassion set him apart from all others. God would tread their iniquities underfoot and cast their sins into the depth of the sea. When he blessed the remnant and sent Messiah to them, the Lord would demonstrate to the utmost degree his faithfulness and steadfast love. God would keep the promises he made to the patriarchs Abraham and Jacob centuries before.
We should remember as we read Micah and the other prophets that there are two different groups in Israel, one contained within the other. There was the wicked idolatrous nation as a whole, and the remnant of faithful ones who still loved and served God. God would be righteous to the faithful and punish the disobedient. Those consequences affected not only their lives in this world, but also reached into eternity. If we can see that about these people, I trust that you and I should realize that we can make no greater decision than the choice to be among those who will celebrate the goodness and mercy of God both now and in eternity.
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—October 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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