Introduction to Micah
We live in a world riddled with injustice. Rulers gain office through rigged elections. Elected authorities line their own pockets at the nation’s expense. The poor are denied legal protections the rich enjoy. Court systems treat people differently because of their religious convictions or the color of their skin. Children are abandoned by their parents. Countries grab land through brutal wars. The list goes on and on.
But injustice isn’t limited to what’s around us. It’s also found within us. We harbor bitterness. We lash out in silent (or not so silent) anger. We hoard our possessions instead of practicing generosity. We show favoritism. We restrict our love to those who love us. We refuse to submit to the authorities God establishes. In countless ways, we fail to treat our neighbor in keeping with God’s moral standard.
It's ultimately not a Russian problem, a white problem, or a rich people problem. It’s a human problem which means it’s also not a new problem. The book of Micah was written in the second half of the 8th century BC. It’s part of a collection of books in the Bible known as the minor prophets. That doesn’t mean the words they contain are of lesser importance or were spoken by people under 18. It simply means they are shorter books compared to the major (and significantly longer) books of prophecy like Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel.
Like many of the prophets, Micah addresses the issue of injustice. However, he doesn’t focus on injustice among the pagan nations surrounding Israel. He focuses on injustice within Israel, on the ways God’s people failed to uphold the covenant requirements of his law. And he takes great pains to emphasize that all the problems in their human relationships are rooted in a far greater problem in their relationship with God. Yahweh, the Lord GOD, is ultimately the one with whom they have to do.
He is a God of justice. He is also a God of mercy. The structure of the books reflects both aspects of his holy character. Micah is divided into three sections, chapters 1-2, chapters 3-5, and chapters 6-7. Every section begins with the plural imperative for Israel to “hear” or pay attention to something. They also start with a word of judgment and end with a word of mercy. By the end of the book, the central message is clear. God must do for Israel what she repeatedly failed to do for herself. Our story is no different. Like Israel, we need Jesus to make us just, to cleanse us from sin and empower us to walk in righteousness. The message of Micah is the message of the gospel.
Turn on the news and what will you hear? There is great injustice in the world, and we should do something about it! On one level, that’s exactly right. God is glorified when his image-bearers practice justice and contend for justice. But open the book of Micah and what do you find? Injustice is problem only God himself can solve! He does it by graciously restoring our relationship with him, that we might love one another as he has loved us. In a world of injustice, we need the clear-eyed assessment and gospel-centered hope found in Micah.