Episode 2: Micah: Who is a God like you?

Season 12: Micah

27 Sep

Let’s go Micah! A minor prophet who asks, and answers big questions about God and his character. Come and join us for our online bible study as we dive into the poetry of prophecy, and consider justice, mercy and the nature of our God.

1. Take the time to read or listen to Micah. What pictures strike you in the book?
2. Divide the book into three sections, and notice the pattern of judgement and mercy
3. Even on a first read, what do you see of God's character in this book?
This episode is sponsored by Dwell Bible App.
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Sarah: 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. Over the course of this season, we're looking forward to sharing some resources with you that specifically help us to get into God's word for ourselves and with others. As ever, we choose our partnerships with sponsors very carefully and only choose to recommend resources that we ourselves are enjoying and benefiting from and hope that you will too.

Felicity: This episode is sponsored by Dwell. Around here, we’re always talking about getting into our Bibles, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Sometimes, though, the busyness of life takes over and it gets to the end of the day and I’ve struggled to sit down and soak up any of the Bible. The Dwell Bible app has been a game changer for me as it allows me to listen to God’s Word while I’m on the go. Whether it's doing the laundry in the car or just as I'm drifting off to sleep. I pick my Bible book, choose my favourite voice, I love David Suchet, and before I know it I've listened to the whole of Micah. You can even change the speed, the background music, and the voice. I love it and highly recommend it as a way of getting into your Bible at any time and in any place. They have also just added in a kids aspect to the app. Now the folks at Dwell are giving two sisters listeners a 25 % discount. Go to dwellbible.com/twosisters. That's dwellbible.com/two sisters for your 25 % discount on this outstanding resource.

Sarah: Welcome to Two Sisters and a Cup of Tea. My name is Sarah and I live in the UK and I'm with my sister Felicity who lives in the USA but who is currently sat right in front of me. For the first time in the history of our podcasting journey we are recording in the literal presence of one another and it is a joy.

Felicity: It's the best isn't it? This is you know real life conversation right here. We've even boiled a kettle and used water from the same kettle. On a very actually ordinary tea bag, a Yorkshire tea. To be honest, I'm still relishing the Yorkshire tea availability through being in England for this length of time. But it's a joy to actually be sipping a cup of tea in the same room with our Bibles open.

Sarah: Just doing this together in the same place. Amazing. We're very thankful, aren't we? Very thankful for the opportunity to take the time to record and be in Micah together. Felicity, are heading into Old Testament prophecy. Here's a Bible question for you as we get going. What is a genre or a genre?

Felicity: Interesting pronunciation. feel like pronunciation has been a little theme.

Sarah: What is a genre? Talk to us about different genres in the Bible.

Felicity: Okay, so genre would be a type of writing. So throughout the Bible, we have different types of writing. So the Bible is not just one universal sort, it's not just all narrative, it's not all poetry, but it has a mixture of lots of different things. And it means that as we open up the Bible, we want to make sure that we know what genre we're in, because that will change the way that we read it a bit. This is prophecy, and a part of prophecy will be poetry. So there's prophetic poetry that's going on in here. And poetry, by its very nature, has lots of imagery and metaphors and all these. For some of you, you're probably being taken back to your English lessons at school and thinking, oh no, but actually, this is a wonderful way in which God is speaking to us. And through prophetic poetry, we're gonna be wowed by God in ways that actually, through a narrative, it's different and just has a different impact. So it's really great to understand the genre in order to kind of get our heads around what we're going to be hearing.

Sarah: Super important isn't it? So last time we were in a letter that is very different type of writing to this prophecy. So we've kind of shifted gears as we've spent time over the summer kind of dwelling in this for ourselves haven't we?

Felicity: Yes.

Sarah: But it's also daunting. It does feel daunting. Like Micah is an unfamiliar prophet I think. I think he's not kind of one of those go to ones where you know much about him other than, what is that Bethlehem bit in

Felicity: Yeah I know I think he's the Christmas prophet in my mind.

Sarah: Yeah. I’m really excited about getting into this. So this episode is a kind of introduction to Micah. We're not going to be delving into the specifics of the text today. We're kind of trying to give a bit of an overview and trying to help ourselves and others to kind of get a feel for what Micah will be about and kind of anchor ourselves in this prophecy. So, Felicity, could you kick us off then with that? I've got four P's. Memorable ways to get into a book. Our first P is prophecy. Talk to us about Micah the prophet and the context that he's in at the time of writing.

Felicity: Yeah well actually I mean it's really helpful chapter one verse one actually gives us the most information we get about Micah in the whole book so if you have a look at that it's the word of the Lord that came to Micah of Morshef during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. So we know that Micah was living, probably not the whole expanse of three King's reigns, but around that time, he was speaking during those reigns and at this point in salvation history we have the superpower at the time is Assyria and they're basically knocking on the door of Judah which is the southern kingdom so in the kind of there's a kingdom aspect to what's been going on and it has God's people have all been in one kingdom and they've got split into the north and the south the northern kingdom have been carried off they've been taken down really by Assyria. Judah is still standing but actually Assyria, this pretty terrifying superpower of the time, are really champing at the bit to take them down as well. And Micah is speaking into that context, which means that the people he's speaking to are probably pretty scared actually. And we have kind of, I think, two different groups of people within Micah. We have the remnant who are those who are God's people who are listening to Micah, listening to God really. And they are in this context of a pretty sin-riddled, corrupt world. And we see leadership are just taking advantage of everyone. It's really ugly what we see here and so the remnant are kind of probably clinging on for dear life and wondering what's going to happen? Is Assyria going to take us down? Is God just giving up on our country? Like what on us? What's going on? So that's kind of where we're at I think contextually.

Sarah: Really really helpful. We've been really helped by a commentary by Dale Ralph Davies and I loved what he said as he was describing that context and thinking about that the fact that it's ultimately a comforting word to be found here, that God would even speak into these scary times. He doesn't cease to bring his word to his people, he is speaking into that scary times and for remnant for God's people who are listening it is such a comfort that he is speaking into that. That God isn't silent. Yeah I just think yeah to start for us to start to even see that because there's gonna be a lot in here that we don't understand and we've got a lot of questions and there's a lot of kind of harsh language in here isn't there but actually to start from the posture of this is a comfort that God speaks into these times for these people in that context.

Felicity: Yes, absolutely and we're gonna hear and it's not like this is all that Micah has said, is it? This is like a summary of 30 to 40 years worth of sermons and but this is what God wants us to hear. Wants them to hear, them then, but also us now and we're gonna be working out, okay well from where we're sitting now, we're not them then, but how does it work then to hear this voice?

Sarah: And a key to it which is, Yeah, I think it's just really helpful is Micah's name. So Micah's name means who is a God like you and pretty much that seems to be his message through the book doesn't it? The more that we travel through the prophecy the more that we travel through the book We're kind of been given glimpses of who is Yahweh who is this covenant Lord that Micah is speaking from? And I think that's gonna be a key question that we keep coming back to time and again as we go through this book. But Felicity, you can have traded it in our introduction somewhat but we've got to get into the poetry of I see that you're like beaming and grinning because she loves poetry, she's studied poetry and this is your happy space. So tell us about the importance and the value of poetry here and the picture language. Give us a ways in to enjoying the poetry.

Felicity: I love that Sarah, that is exactly it. Having been an English teacher, I know that sometimes when you stand up in front of a group of people and you say we're gonna study poetry, there's almost an audible sigh. But in this context, poetry is not a decorative extra. It's not just a kind of flourish that kind of goes, actually the poetry, and when I say poetry, really I mean the imagery, the picture language that Micah's using, is really gonna help us understand the message more. It's gonna hit us in different ways, from different angles. We're presented with images like, well even just in the first chapter, we get this wax rushing like water down, like this idea of judgment kind of rushing down like water, but then later on we're get walking up to the mountain of God. Actually those images we're going to see as we go on. The fact that we have them in the book help to pull the themes out, help us to understand what is really being said here. We'll put in our show notes a link to a talk by Kathleen Nielsen, which has just been really helpful for us both, hasn't it, on seeing how if you trace the metaphors, if you trace the pictures through, it really helps to pull together really what could be quite kind of disjointed things. We've got a lot of judgment here. We've got a lot of mercy. We've got a lot of shepherding. And how does it all fit together? And I think the poetry really helps with that so if you are someone who's feeling a bit daunted even by the mention of poetry take heart we're just gonna look at the pictures and see what they say really.

Sarah: Yeah, really helpful. And I don't love poetry. I generally do feel daunted by poetry. But I do like pictures. I am a visual learner and actually what's been really helpful for me is that I did kind take a bit of time to kind of, as you say, trace some of the images, the picture language through the book and that just really helped me. But I think what helps with poetry and why is it so powerful. It's one thing to say God judges, that's a statement isn't it? And it's another thing to say God melts the mountains with the force of His holy judgment and the kind of the kind of depth of image we get of this God and why he needs to judge because we've been given a picture or the pictures of how Micah is lamenting and he describes, know, make yourself as bald as a vulture like that, just the kind of that picture, that image is just super powerful for how you think about how you're lamenting.

Felicity: I know I think that's really helpful it goes beyond a proposition doesn't it so it's beyond a statement so you could just because this book could be summarized probably in five sentences but actually that's not how God has chosen to give it to us and through the depth of the pictures and the imagery and all of this language we understand it more clearly and it hits more deeply and yeah I think it's really valuable.

Sarah: That's the prayer isn't it? God at work helping us to understand, give us insight into why he's choosing this language so that it may hit our hearts all the more.

Felicity: Yeah. So, Sarah, you have, really enjoyed the pictures element of this. Also, you are actually very kind of quite pattern orientated, I think. You kind of like to order things. And I think, so can you help us understand the pattern that we have going on in

Sarah: So every Bible book has a structure. The author who writes the Bible book, they structure the material in a particular way. And it's pretty obvious actually in this book, which is wonderful. I love that when it's, there's clear markers. And in this particular prophecy, we're structuring it or Micah has structured it around three times where he says hear or listen So in one verse three no, sorry, in one verse two, he says, hear you peoples, all of you, listen, earth and all who live in it. So that's the kind of first time we hear it. And then three verse one, again, he says, then I said, listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel. And then again, in six verse one, it says, listen to what the Lord says, hear you mountains, the Lord's accusations. So those are kind of the kind of marker points of the three different prophecies and as commentators and helps us to kind of see that and I've literally just highlighted those difference and hear and listen things in my Bible so I know okay this is one chunk and this is another chunk and I think that's just a really helpful marker but it's also just a helpful encouragement to us as well isn't it actually he's calling us to hear he's calling us to listen and I I do actually need that reminder I need that reminder to cry out to the Lord to not be distracted but to help me to listen to what's here. But within those three sections we've then got a very clear structure of judgment and then mercy. So the Lord declares his judgment and then trailers mercy that comes through the judgment. That's really exciting. It's thrilling when we're going to start to kind of see that kind of brought forward to the cross and we see that unpacked. But that simple pattern and structure of judgment and then mercy in those three sections has helped me to kind of see it here.

Felicity: I think that's really helpful and probably just on a basic level we're not thinking linear. It's not like this happened and then this happened and this happened. Actually this is quite cyclical. We do have this pattern of judgment and then mercy and then we're going to have it again judgment and mercy. And that's just a helpful thing to actually have our expectations set. the judgment as we listen to it gonna feel a bit heavy for sure, but we are expectant of mercy. And I mean the fourth, are we on our fourth P?

Sarah: Yeah. Pardon the fourth P.

Felicity: So actually in those expectations, we are seeing the character of God, the revelation of the character of God and his desire to pardon sin. So we're hit by the judgment and through all the imagery is gonna feel heavy, but we are expectant of mercy because we know that God is a God who loves to pardon. And this book is a revelation of God's character. And the beauty in that is just his delight. In chapter seven, we get this phrase that he delights to show mercy. I think it's just a sweetness in the midst of it all.

Sarah: Yeah, it really is, it? think that the, yeah, so the end of the book really is the kind of, it shapes the rest of the book because actually this is the God that we're getting to know, the one who delights to show mercy. And so actually that means there's real safety in getting this open. And we've been talking a bit about the fact that because we're united in Christ, we're able to feel the challenge because we're wholly safe in God's everlasting arms. We're safe in him because we're in Christ. We're safe to dwell on our sin knowing that he delights to show mercy. And yeah, our prayer for our own hearts, but for anyone who's listening is that we would know the pardon and joy of our hearts being thrilled by that pardon all the more as we travel through this book.

Felicity: I know I think that's right isn't it and for the remnant so coming back to the original audience those who were hearing Micah for the remnant and they're looking all around them they're seeing just horrible horrible sin and they're crying out for justice they want justice and so to know that God is a God who does bring justice but also you see that sin and actually I don't think the remnant sin is really the primary view in this but you can't help but see and fear, like judgment surely is coming for me as well, but then to know then that God is merciful and that he will, through the refining judgment, he will bring his people through and we know that all the more through the cross and we're going to get into this in much more detail, aren't we, as we go through but that is maybe a heads up as we get into the book as a whole.

Sarah: Yeah big time. So very briefly then as we think about getting this open with someone in everyday life so on this podcast we are always encouraging our listeners to be thinking about who can they study this book with, who they can open the book of Micah with. What could that look like, Felicity? What will that look like to do that? Particularly coming to a book that we feel unfamiliar with and unsure and it feels kind of new territory for us.

Felicity: Like it's definitely not going to be a come and read Micah with me and I'll tell you what it's all about. It's going to be an invitation. It would be great if you did invite someone to do this with you. Invite someone in to wrestle through it with you. Like I'm not entirely sure you might say to your friend, I'm not entirely sure, but why don't we sit under God's word together and try and kind of work out what is being said here. It's a bit of a challenge, but also just the headline of we know that this book is about God's character. So any engagement with it, with someone else, you're both gonna be sitting there and engaging with who God is. And that's gotta be an edifying and an encouraging thing to do that together.

Sarah: Yeah and it’s that reality of its OK to come with really big questions isn't it? And actually meeting up with one or two others together and talking about these questions together under God's Word is a really healthy thing and a really beautiful thing to say to be formed and changed together as you seek to sit under God's Word and hopefully have some of our questions answered but there'll be other questions that won't be answered in the Book of Micah and that is good and right as well isn't it? Because this is just one of 66 books in the Bible. Yeah, it's a thrilling prospect to know that we're to be changed by this word together as we read it together and prayerfully as others take on that challenge as well. And it is just thrilling to be doing it with someone else and to be listening in to your insights and hopefully on that as an insight.

Felicity: I'm expecting insights. I think the Lord is going to speak to us and shape us and change us and we pray that that would be the case for anyone else who's listening to this. Shall I pray for that? Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. Thank you that you're a God who speaks. Thank you that you've spoken to us through Micah. And we pray that as we're getting into it, you would give us soft hearts who are eager to hear. And we pray that you would shape us and change us and make us more like Jesus. Please would you cause us to love you more as we encounter your character in this book. And we pray this for your glory. Amen. Amen.

Sarah: What a joy. I'm so excited to get into this together now. I was before, but I am even more now. On our website you will find discussion questions and show net questions to go with this episode that just help you to chat with a friend over what we've been thinking about today. And there's also on our website a guide to getting the Bible open with others. Why not download and have a think and pray about who you could ask to read the Bible with you. And we look forward to getting stuck into chapter one next Friday. We'll see you then.
Felicity: This episode is sponsored by the Dwell Bible app. For a 25 % discount, go to dwellbible.com/two sisters.