Episode 8: A God who shows what is good (chapter 6)

Season 12: Micah

8 Nov

As we approach the final chapters in our online bible study, we read a much quoted verse in context and consider what it is to listen, obey and wait on God.

1. What is God's charge against his people in this chapter?
2. How does God respond?
3. In what ways does this chapter challenge our own view and worship of God?
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Felicity: You're listening to the Two Sisters and a Cup of Tea podcast, the Bible Study podcast for everyday life. We're here for a 20 minute burst of Bible chat over a cup of tea and an English style biscuit as we make our way through a Bible book over the course of the season and drive it to our hearts. And this season, we're in Micah. Whether you've been listening for a while or have just found us, we're so pleased you're here.
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Sarah: Welcome to Two Sisters and a cup of tea. My name is Sarah and I live in the UK. I'm with my sister Felicity who normally lives in the US but is currently here with me. And we are making our way through Micah and we are at Chapter 6 today which feels kind of unbelievable. It's gone very quickly, our journey in Micah. But before we get to Chapter 6, Felicity, we have been enjoying some of the poetry through Micah. I've been enjoying the images, I've been enjoying the way that this truth has been communicated to us but here's my question for you what's the most poetic biscuit in your opinion?
Felicity: Can I just say, I'm glad, I like the positive ways in which you're talking about poetry there. Yeah, I'm glad that it's, you know, floating your boat. What constitutes a poetic biscuit? Are we talking about the name of the biscuit or the nature of the biscuit?
Sarah: I think both.
Felicity: Okay. Well, I mean, if you're just thinking about the substance of the biscuit, I would go for a Viennese Whirl. Maybe just for the actual swirl that you have on there.
Sarah: So you're talking about the decoration rather than the substance.
Felicity: The general appearance of it, yeah. But if I was to go for the name of a biscuit, I would probably go, I mean we're just going to confuse our American listeners here, I'd go for the Garibaldi, just because it's kind of quite grandiose and it suggests some sort of majestic, I know it is otherwise known as the squashed fly biscuit, but that has its own little ring to it, so yeah. What about you, have you got a secret poetic biscuit up your sleeve?
Sarah: I'd go for a Florentine, both in name and content. I think that surpasses both of your choices.
Felicity: Interesting. I'm trying to recall exactly what a Florentine is. Is it the chocolatey kind of squashed thing?
Sarah: There's a chocolate element to it. There's a kind of, yeah I think it is definitely a biscuit because I was just doubting myself there for a moment but it has some nuts and it has some biscuit kind of content in it.
Felicity: Yeah, rarely found in a biscuit tin but maybe poetic biscuits don't belong in a biscuit tin. Maybe we should leave it there.
Sarah: We should leave it there!
Felicity: Well Sarah, let's we've been in Micah for a little while now and whatever book we're in and this is true I think of being in the Bible all together then it does begin to shape the way we pray. How has studying Micah been shaping the way you pray at the moment?
Sarah: It’s a good question. I think it’s been teaching me to desire what God desires, and so I’m seeing that reflected in how I pray. So we've been seeing clearly, haven't we, how God desires for wrongs to be rebuked through the book. We've been seeing how his desire is for the remnant to be restored. His mercy is rich towards the remnant and his desire is for his character to be known. I think I'm just seeing the way that my prayers are being changed to reflect those desires. I'm definitely seeing the way that I'm praying more in line with that. But I think it's been really challenging me on how narrow my prayer life has been recently. And how dulled my heart can be to injustice and what's around us and actually Micah really challenges me on his laments and how he pours his heart out in grief to the world around him and what he sees and I find that very challenging in how I pray and how I deliberately and intentionally seek to lament more about what’s around me. What about you?
Felicity: I mean that's profound isn't it? It's like a lifetime of prayer right there.
Sarah: But in that, I think it’s encouraging me to lean into God’s mercy all the more, as I see more of his character, I’m enjoying being able to rehearse who he is back to him in prayer and I’m really enjoying that as well.
Felicity: I think that that's been a big thing for me as I've seen more of who God is and then being able to praise him for the specifics of that and in that then praying that I would be able to trust him more and as I recognize our world in the injustices that I see in Micah to be able to bring those injustices to him because he's the same God who is just and who is in action and to pray that his mercy would be more evidently taking root around me, I think. I think that's been a big thing. And I think like we were talking about last week, that just my view of Jesus would be right. Lord, please give me eyes to see Jesus as he really is, rather than as I maybe have distorted him in my head and heart. Yeah, so lots to fuel the prayers. Sarah, are you going to read for us?
Sarah: I think you are.
Felicity: Okay, I'll read. Chapter six. Let's go.
Listen to what the Lord says. Stand up, plead my case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say. Hear you mountains, the Lord’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the Lord has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel. My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. My people, remember what Balak, king of Moab, plotted? What Balaam, son of Beor, answered? Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord. With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with the calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Listen, the Lord is calling to the city and to fear your name as wisdom, heed the rod and the one who appointed it. Am I still to forget your ill -gotten treasures, you wicked house and the short ephah which is accursed? Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales with a bag of false weights? Your rich people are violent, your inhabitants are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully. Therefore, I have begun to destroy you, to ruin you because of your sins. You will eat but not be satisfied, your stomach will still be empty, you will store up but save nothing, because what you save I will give to the sword. You will plant but not harvest, you will press olives but not use the oil, you will crush grapes but not drink the wine. You have observed the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab's house, you have followed their traditions. Therefore, I will give you over to ruin and your people to derision, you will bear the scorn of the nations.
Sarah: Thank you, Felicity. Well, as we come to the beginning of chapter six, we are at the beginning of our third section in the book. We have this encouragement to listen and hear again in verses one and two, don't we? And so as we remember that and know that and know that we're coming to the final section that will start with judgment and lead on through to mercy. And I find it really interesting here that the judgment that the Lord is gonna proclaim on his people here starts by him sharing who he is and why, again, he is worthy of worship, doesn't he? It starts with his righteous acts, with his saving acts, and questions them, accuses them at the start of this.
Felicity: I know it's quite a courtroom kind of scene isn't it that we've got going on here. He's lodging a charge against Israel and this idea that the people are thinking that he is a burden and he and his law are a burden isn't it. I think that's the charge. So are you weary of living my way? Are you weary of being my people essentially because you can't be God's people without following his law and these original readers would be very familiar with Deuteronomy and what it is to live out this life as the redeemed people of God. So in that, it's interesting that his answer, as you say, is to present himself, his character, and what we have is just this direct reference back to Exodus, isn’t? And the rescue, that just hugely significant rescue for God's people as they're taken from Egypt out. And even, I think, the mention in verse four, I said, Moses to lead you, but also Aaron and Miriam. Exodus chapter 15 we have Miriam singing a song which is actually all about the character of God. So there's just kind of big fat reminders all the way through. Remember who I am. Am I really wearisome because actually I am the God who revealed himself to you and rescued you. And actually in this kind of little mini Bible overview chapter five it takes us through numbers, through that journey. God has carried them through just the desert, the wilderness, they weren’t doing it on their own. Am I burdensome to you? Remember who I am, and remember who I because of all that I have done for you as my people.
Sarah: And do you know all that because you've just studied Exodus? Give us a little insight because I'm sitting here going, I don't know that.
Felicity: You’re right. I have spent a number of months in Exodus and Numbers at the same time, so I do have it more to hand but it was actually, I read a commentary that helped me see the Exodus linked more clearly. So I agree, it's not just kind of encyclopaedic knowledge.
Sarah: That’s helpful because it deepens our understanding of what is being said. But at the same time, I don’t have that knowledge in my head but it’s helpful.
Felicity: And I think the more that we're in the Bible, the more these things are at our fingertips. Yeah, so I think that's good.
Sarah: What strikes me most is 6:8, it’s a very famous verse, one that we often see on posters calendars and all the rest. And the more I see this in the context of chapter 6 and the rest of the Micah the more I think ooh are we taking that out of context and not quite reading it rightly? Because what it seems, the flow of the text seems to be, can you see who I am and what I've done for you? And can you see how you're not living in the way that I've asked you to live in response to being rescued?
Felicity: Yeah, I think that's right, isn't it? I think verses six and seven here describe possibly what the people, and I don't think we're really talking about the remnant at this point. I think we're talking about the wider kind of God's people. So they are thinking, okay, well what is it to be God's people? Well it's to just present pretty extravagant worship. I mean quite extreme, like really, to the extent that you would even offer your firstborn, which actually is a bit of an echo of what's going on around them. That's part of the idolatry. I think that's part of the ways of Omri and the kind of Asherah, all these kind of other ways. So I think what's going on is the people are saying, well, yeah, this God, yeah, we just need to worship him. We just need to do the stuff. Like do the churchy stuff basically. It doesn't really matter how we live. And the big point here, as you say, is this is what I've demanded of you. This command is familiar. This echo is a lot of what's been described in Deuteronomy. And you're not doing it. So it's not that we've been getting it entirely wrong on the calendars because this is what we're supposed to be doing.
Sarah: God shows us what is good.
Felicity: Yeah. But its function here is to highlight how the people are getting it wrong. Yeah. And the answer is not a thousand more rams. The answer is actually to come back to the God who is being described, this God who is a God like you.
Sarah: And so that, I think that then makes more sense of the kind of verses 9 to 13 where essentially he's kind of exposing how they're not living that way. He's exposing why again, he is right to judge them for their transgressions, for their dishonesty, for their violence, for their lies, for their deceitfulness. Therefore, I have begun to destroy you, to ruin you because of your sins, because it's so blatantly obvious that they're not living in a way that images him, their God, who has shown them what is good in his very character, in his very nature, but also, yeah, and revealed in his law.
Felicity: Yes, it just doesn't fit, it? The way that they've been living doesn't fit. So if you come back to the charge that's being made, that is being explained in verse three, it seems that the charges are just so wearying to be God's people. Well, interestingly you say that because you're not actually reflecting what it is to be God’s people, you’re not actually reflecting my character so let me show you what it is and if you continue down this route your going to get your exact justice which we’ve seen all the way through Micah because it’s a picture here of futility and emptiness, there’s no fruit.
Sarah: From verse 14 onwards it's very very stark isn't it? You’ll eat but not be satisfied, stomach will be empty, you’ll store up but save nothing, you’ll plant but not harvest you’ll press the olives but not use the oil. Crush the grapes but not drink the wine. The ruin in verse 16 that comes is futility pictured in poetic language that really helps us to see the impact and to see the natural consequences of choosing to forsake the true and living God for the ways, in beginning of verse 16, the statutes of Omri, the practices of Ahab's house. So those were idolatrous kings of Israel who Judah, the southern kingdom, are imaging to such an extent that he can't tell the difference. The heinous sinful ways are so embedded in this nation that it's the same as saying you're following the ways of these just awful, awful kings. Like some of the worst.
Felicity: Which I wonder is a little bit like going back to Egypt. You know, we've had the Exodus references here. I wonder whether actually that the way in which the people are living is more reminiscent of being in Egypt than it is being in the promised land and that's quite stark isn't it? Going back to Egypt, that was slavery, was imprisonment, that's all of those things. I think what's, I've just been kind of mulling on a bit as I've been in this chapter is, so that's the charge, the people are clearly saying it's burdensome to be God's people, I'm just a bit tired, I'm just bit wearying. The antidote that God gives is himself. And so if I, and like I don't know, let's wrestle this through. Is it right for us to draw the line to us and say, if we feel sometimes that it's burdensome to follow Jesus, to be a Christian? Is then the antidote for us the same thing? The more I see of who God is, the less burdensome this will feel? Have you thought about that a bit?
Sarah: Yeah, that's interesting. I think you can do that, can't you? I think it's okay to go along those lines because actually, why am feeling burdened to follow the ways of the Lord because I have most likely because I've lost sight of how good his ways are and his ways directly reflect his character of love and goodness and gentleness and self-control and peace and patience and the fruit of the spirit. Like what am I finding burdensome about the very character of God that he's asking us to reflect?
Felicity: And maybe actually forgetting the grace that has rescued us, the grace that has played out in our lives. So here, for the people here, it's to remember Exodus. And for us, it's to remember Exodus, which points us to Jesus and the cross. So have we forgotten who God is as evidenced in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus?
Sarah: Yeah, because ultimately, as we come back to that same question, Micah's name of who is a God like you? This is a God who chooses to offer his firstborn for my transgression. So the people were doing these crazy sacrifices to try and appease God in some way or to kind of get their worship done. And here is a God who loves mercy so much, who decides to act so justly that he would actually forsake his own firstborn son for our transgressions, the fruit of his body for the sins of our souls. If that doesn't warm our hearts to the very character of God, we pray, we pray Lord please help me to see and to therefore love your mercy towards me and therefore desire to walk in your ways because your ways are good.
Felicity: Yeah, I think that's right isn't it? The more we understand that, the more we know God. Which is a challenge I think when we look at our world and there's a lot of religiosity and actually if you think that is the way to follow God, religious action, it does look pretty wearisome. So I think it's having a right view isn't it of like what is it to follow Jesus? It’s a heart level response it's not just action
Sarah: Yes, which doesn’t deter you from seeking to serve wholeheartedly but it overflows from the heart yeah. And the key there is walking humbly with your God, isn't it? At the end of verse eight, actually, that's a relational walking with God and asking him to help you to walk in his ways because they are glorious as they reflect him. As we saw in chapter 5 we seek to be a blessing and seek to be a refreshment to those around us.
Felicity: Yeah it's good isn't it heart level stuff which we should pray about. Sarah you want to pray for us in that?
Sarah: I’d love to. Our Father we just thank you so much for the challenge and the comfort that keeps on coming from the book of Micah. We thank you so much Lord that we are able to delight in you and your character in your righteous acts in your mercy in your judgments because ultimately we know that they are fulfilled in the Lord Jesus and he reveals you to us. We praise you so much Lord for this growing view of you and Lord we pray please would you help us to desire to live and walk humbly with you. Lord we long to walk in your ways because they are the best ways. Lord please help us to confess where we are not and help us to strive to serve you in newness of life remembering that we walk with Christ our shepherd king taking us on day by day. In your name we pray. Amen
Felicity: Good stuff, Sarah. This is a joy, isn't it? Like, we would love it if more people got into the podcast. Actually we’d love it if people got into the Bible and we're praying that we would be a means of that happening. So, and one way of that happening is if you rate and review the podcast. If you've been enjoying it, then why not, wherever you listen to your podcast, give a review, give a rating. It really helps to spread the word about it. So we'd appreciate you doing that. And we're looking forward to the final chapter.
Sarah: The final chapter, not the final episode, but the final chapter indeed. Chapter seven, next.
Friday. We'll see you then. Bye bye.
Felicity: See you then. Bye bye.
This episode is sponsored by the ESV Bible app.