Micah 7:1-20
Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit. 2 The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. 3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up. 4 The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity. 5 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. 6 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. 7 Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. 8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. 9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. 10 Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets. 11 In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed. 12 In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. 13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings. 14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. 15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things. 16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. 17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and shall fear because of thee. 18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. 20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

As obscure as the Minor Prophets may seem to us over 2500 years later, they serve to teach us much about what it means to live in covenant relationship with God. The seven chapters of Micah each serve to answer the question posed by the prophet’s name. Micah means “Who is like Yahweh?” Through the first six chapters of this book, we have learned that God is our Judge, our Holiness, our Truth, our Hope, our King, and our Father. The book is divided into three major sections. First are the oracles of judgment and the indictments against the people of Israel and Judah in chapters 1-3. Chapters 4-5 deal with the hope God’s people have of Him coming to them and leading them as a Good Shepherd and doing so through a Messiah-King that He would send them to remove their sin. Micah 6 puts the promises of judgment and hope in perspective, reminding Israel then and us today that God’s dealings with them were those of a loving Father disciplining and teaching His people to put their trust in Him. Finally, Micah 7 serves to remind us of the character of God in that He desires to save His people from sin. It teaches us that God is our Salvation. What does God do in His saving work of His people? Micah 7 teaches us four things about God our Salvation.

Firstly, we learn that as a Savior, God delivers His people. Verses 1-6 speak to the deplorable situation in Israel and Judah. They were so overrun by sin that even the closest of human relationships were untrustworthy. Despite how depraved the situation becomes, through it, Israel would learn to look to God. Verses 7-8 give us that glimmer of hope. Like the prodigal son of Luke 15 who “came to himself,” (Luke 15:17) we must come to the place where we recognize our sin for what it is and look to God for provision for that sin. The solution for sin is not in ourselves or our culture. It is not in secular humanism that teaches that man’s intelligence is the answer to all of our problems. Instead, it is found in humbling ourselves before God. He alone is powerful enough to deliver us from our sin. Just as God brought Israel out of Egypt with a remarkable demonstration of His power in the ten plagues and parting the Red Sea, so He is able and willing to deliver those who turn to Christ in faith. He delivers us from sin’s penalty (eternal death) (Hebrews 2:14-15) and its power over us. Believers become “more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Romans 8:37).

Next, we learn that God our salvation gathers His people. In verses 9-13 Israel tells her enemies not to rejoice in her temporary defeat for there is coming a time when Israel’s enemies’ lands will be left desolate in God’s judgment. Israel’s people who are scattered will be regathered and restored along with many others back in the land of Israel. While Hezekiah faced imminent defeat at the hands of the Assyrian siege of Sennacherib in 701 B.C., God sent an angel that destroyed the Assyrian army and delivered Israel from their enemies. In the same way, He promises to deliver and regather His scattered people in the future. Zechariah 8:20-22; 10:8-11; and Isaiah 19:23-25 all speak to a future regathering of Israel that would include many from the Gentile nations joining them. This speaks to the Gentiles becoming a part of the believing remnant of Israel in the Church which is made up of both Jew and Gentile (Ephesians 2:11-22). God takes those who place their faith in His coming Messiah (Micah 5:2) and makes them one people of God, His Church. God gathers His people into one body, the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). Are you gathered with God’s people? Are you a part of His family?

Have you been delivered from sin? Are you gathered with God’s people? Are you a part of His family? In His saving work, God delivers His people from sin and the kingdom of Satan to bring us into His kingdom and His family. We are called to faithfully represent Him as we walk with Him in this new relationship made available through the saving work of His Son, Jesus Christ. The way that you and I come to know God in relationship is through His salvation. Are you saved? Do you know God in this way?