Who is like God?
Micah 7.1-20
You will be faithful to Jacob, and show love to Abraham.
Prepare
When things go wrong, what do you do? Where do you turn? Be honest – we all know the correct answer is ‘Jesus’ – but reality doesn’t always match our best intentions.
Read
Explore
‘Grey: the world is grey, Jack.’ So ends one of my favourite scenes in Clear and Present Danger, as the hero Jack Ryan is told he is part of a conspiracy that goes all the way to the White House.
But the world is not grey. God is holy, and the world is fallen. Jesus is perfect, and the rest of us fall short, no matter how hard we try.
Like all prophets, Micah is willing to wallow: ‘What misery is mine!’ he says (v 1). He bemoans the sinfulness of God’s people: ‘not one upright person remains’ (v 2). The people are ready to shed blood (v 2), the rulers to accept bribes (v 3), neighbours and friends – even family members – cannot be trusted (vs 5-6). All Israel – Micah includes himself by saying ‘I’ – has sinned against God and bears his wrath (v 9).
‘I have sinned,’ says Micah, but God ‘pleads my case and upholds my cause’ (v 9). On his own Micah knows he is helpless, so he puts his hope in God (v 7). Why? Because he knows what God is like, and what he will do: he will forgive (v 18).
Respond
If you forget everything we’ve looked at together in Micah, remember the words of verses 18-20. Read them again, savour them, and picture Jesus hurling your sin into the depths of the ocean.