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Micah, the Prophet of Unchanging Love, part 11

Having given instruction and admonishment to Israel in the court of law, God then proceeds with a second complaint. Micah 6:9 says,

⁹ The voice of the Lord will call to the city—and it is sound wisdom to fear Your name. “Hear, O tribe. Who has appointed its time?”

The Lord calls to the city of Jerusalem with advice giving “sound wisdom to fear Your name.” In other words, the people ought to recognize and respect God’s name by taking heed to His advice. The reason is that Jerusalem itself has not “appointed its time” for judgment. God Himself has determined the appointed time for judgment, and although the city experienced many times of judgment, there is a final judgment also appointed (Jeremiah 19:10, 11; Isaiah 29:1-6).

Micah 6:10 continues,

¹⁰ “Is there yet a man in the wicked house, along with treasures of wickedness and a short measure that is cursed?”

Jerusalem is called “the wicked house,” and the “treasures of wickedness” are ungodly gain. Considering this widespread economic fraud, does anyone expect to see “a short measure that is cursed?” This speaks of the measure of justice. Everyone acts as if this measure refers only to a quick time of judgment under the curse of the law.

Deceptive Weights

God asks in Micah 6:11,

¹¹ “Can I justify wicked scales and a bag of deceptive weights?”

The law says in Leviticus 19:35, 36,

³⁵ You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight or capacity. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin…

When buying and selling grain or other things by weight or capacity, it was important that the weights on the scales were accurate according to a national standard. Many poor people did not have a set of weights and had to accept the merchant scale. But there was sufficient fraud taking place that God chose to indict Jerusalem for this economic sin.

God demands equal justice (Numbers 15:16) with one law governing all people, whether they are Israelites or not. So also, when the law of equal weights and measures is violated, it creates a mindset that is in opposition to the will of God. It is no coincidence that the law of equal weights and measures is given at the conclusion of the command not to oppress foreigners. Leviticus 19:34 says,

³⁴ The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.

This is the origin of the second great commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. In Luke 10:29, a lawyer asked Jesus, “and who is my neighbor?” Jesus responded by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan. It appears that the main litmus test of loving one’s neighbor is his ability to treat foreigners in the same way he treats his own family and, indeed, even himself.

True justice is to apply the law equally to all men, regardless of ethnic origins. Lawful believers do not seek an advantage over others but seek to protect others from injustice. When men fail to do this, they do many unjust practices, as we read in Micah 6:12,

¹² “For the rich men of the city are full of violence, her residents speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.”

Sickness

God then renders His judgment upon Jerusalem in Micah 6:13,

¹³ “So also I will make you sick, striking you down, desolating you because of your sins.”

This judgment is based on the Law of Tribulation in Deuteronomy 28:21-28, which warns Israel of sickness, pestilence, and disease if they persist in disobedience.

Famine

Micah 6:14 continues,

¹⁴ “You will eat, but you will not be satisfied, and your vileness will be in your midst. You will try to remove for safekeeping, but you will not preserve anything, and what you do preserve I will give to the sword.”

The first part of verse 14 is from the Law of Tribulation in Leviticus 26:26,

²⁶ When I break your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread in rationed amounts, so that you will eat and not be satisfied.

When God breaks the “staff of bread,” the people go hungry, both physically and spiritually. The word of God is withheld from the people, or, if it is spoken, it runs into the wall of blindness and deafness so that the people do not recognize that it is good food.

Preservation of wealth will be difficult if not impossible. What a man manages to preserve is easily plundered—that is, it is given to the sword.

Micah 6:15 says,

¹⁵ “You will sow but you will not reap. You will tread the olive but will not anoint yourself with oil; and the grapes, you will not drink wine.”

This too is from the Law of Tribulation in Deuteronomy 28:38, 39,

³⁸ You shall bring out much seed to the field but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it. ³⁹ You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm will devour them. ⁴⁰ You shall have olive trees throughout your territory, but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off.

No doubt there was a shortage of food in Jerusalem during the Babylonian siege. However, the long-term judgment was to deprive them of spiritual food. God has many options as to how to impose divine judgment. In this case, we see that Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life, but He would not be born for another 700 years.

Secondarily, the gospel was entrusted to the disciples who were given the Great Commission. Unfortunately, as time passed, the church lost the gifts of the Spirit, along with some of the great truths of the Scriptures. The point is that God did not have to prevent good harvests to fulfill His judgment.

The Statutes of Omri

Micah 6:16 says,

¹⁶ “The statutes of Omri and all the works of the house of Ahab are observed, and in their devices you walk. Therefore I will give you up for destruction and your inhabitants for derision, and you will bear the reproach of My people.”

Omri was the king of Israel who built the city of Samaria, which became Israel’s capital (1 Kings 16:24). Ahab was his son. Omri reigned just 12 years, but from a political standpoint, he was one of Israel’s greatest kings. Unfortunately, he was also ungodly. Omri was the king who first made direct contact with the Assyrians. Hence, Assyria referred to Israel as the House of Omri (beth-Ghomri or Bit-Humria) on the Black Obelisk of Shalmanezer.

Apparently, Omri drew up his own laws for the people to follow instead of God’s laws. God condemns this as an affront to Him and His right to rule.