Will The Lord Have Unrighteous Acts To Go Unpunished?

Is there hope for for the remnant that remain faithful to God in this sin driven world? Will the Lord continue to allow unrighteous acts to go unpunished? The prophet Micah delivered one of the most powerful messages in the bible. In this God’s nature is revealed. We are reminded that God is sovereign king, and he will smash that which humans exalts, and worships. The promise of judgment and hope for Israel and Jerusalem because of their rebellion is illustrated in a mighty way. All in all, as one reads Micah, they will see that God blesses those who love good and hate evil. As well as, the fact that God keeps his promises.

As Micah 1:1 tells us, Micah was a prophet from the city of Moresheth, in the southern region of Juda. His prophecies

God’s judgement is coming down to the land guided by the unholy, and the days of destruction are soon to come. This conviction of the israelites is due to the long 500+ years of rebellion against God. In the first chapter of Micah, the prophecy speaks of the Lord’s soon to come presence of judgement on earth, and the destruction of everything that man hath exalted that was not God. This destruction is referenced by Micah in a metaphor where God puts down, that which man uplifts. “Look! The Lord is coming! He leaves his throne in Heaven and tramples the heights of the earth.” (Micah 1:3) This destruction would come through the conquering of Israel, and ravaging of Jerusalem by the Assyrians. Afterward, Babylon would bring even greater destruction, as well as the reduction of the temple of Jerusalem to rubble. The prophet then goes on to deliver words of irony that could turn even the most hopeful of men, into the most disbelieving of people. Multiple cities and towns are named that have contributed to the overall rebellion from God. The irony comes in the way that the destinies for these cities, is the exact opposite what the meaning of their names are. For example, in Micah 1:11, the city of Shaphir is told they will leave naked, and ashamed. The hebrew meaning of “Shaphir”, is pleasant. Later in that verse, the people of Zaanan are told they will not dare to come out of their house.

Here we learn part of the nature of God is that he confronts all evil amongst his people. After all the help God had given the Israelites, they still had sinful nature and rebelled against God. In his judgement he shows humanity that he is a God who loves good and hates evil. In relationship to the first theme, the second theme is God gives hope. For God’s covenant love and premise is more powerful than human evil. God is all powerful, and such a characteristic means that He is able to produce good from that worst of situations. All in all, we see that God always keeps his promises! This is confirmed in the last few verses of the book, where Israel is symbolized as a defeated individual; living alone in shame, and sorrow. This is a metaphor of Israel’s exile and destruction; where it seems like there is no where left to turn. The individual is pleading for God’s mercy and forgiveness. This made me as a reader wonder why God should listen to such a person, that has abandoned Him. Micah answers this with God’s character, “Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his people?...” (Micah 7:18) He goes on to tell how, again, God keeps his promises. Saying, “You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love as you promised to