What do we do with Micah’s poetry?

Poetry. 

I’m aware that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. It can seem like it’s more of an acquired taste. One that is enjoyed by high school English teachers and literary enthusiasts. 

But poetic language is more everyday than we might think.  The Bible writers used it time and again in order to help us understand complex spiritual realities through concrete, grounded images. Just as that comforting cuppa can anchor profound conversation in normal life, so metaphors, similes and alliteration can speak to our hearts, and reach into our lived-out lives. 

As we open up Micah in our current season of Bible study, we are confronted with vivid, powerful metaphors. As we see God treading on the heights of the earth with mountains melting beneath, we tremble at the thought of his deserved wrath. Wrath that we know about but, through Micah’s poetry, moves from being simply information to a felt reality. Judgement is real. As we read on, we thank God for the shepherding picture of the Lord himself, who leads his flock out through the breach. We rest more wholeheartedly in peace, security and hope than if we were just told that God will save us. 

School was likely a long time ago, and metaphors and similes sound complicated. But we’re not talking about the complexities of making that perfectly timed, loose-leaf tea. These are straight-forward images that help us understand what God is like, and what he wants us to understand. 

Stick the kettle on, grab your Bible and a pen, give Micah a read and jot down what you see. Enjoy dwelling on mountains, shepherds and kings as you begin to see Jesus, and the hope we have, more clearly through this poetry.