Minor Prophets Major Lessons – Micah

It’s Not Personal, It’s Just Business

We had exactly 30 minutes to go through seven chapters of Micah, and the morning had other things in it, like children’s testimonies, baby dedications, and singing about heaven, which was well worth the time. So I preached half the message I had prepared. Micah is like the other prophets, with a lot of warning and judgment and then always hope at the end. His book has three sections, and each begins with doom and ends in hope. The people at that time were doing very well economically, and surprisingly were at peace, which was uncommon in their history. But spiritually they were struggling immensely. They worshiped other gods and idols, and Micah’s main concern was their business practices and how they treated others. The title I gave the message was a line you may have heard: it’s not personal, it’s just business. “It’s not personal it’s just business” means I am going to take advantage of someone because it is worth it to me. But it is always personal to the person on the other end, and it was personal to God.

Listen

Each of the three sections begins with a call to listen: “hear, you peoples,” “hear, you heads of Jacob,” and “hear what the Lord says.” On Father’s Day, I have four children, and there are two kinds of listening. They can hear me and then do the opposite two seconds later. God wants his people to stop and let what he says soak in. Jesus said to give them eyes to see and ears to hear. God’s word pierces through our sin, and through the facade of our lives. Why do we have hard conversations with our children or others we love? Because we love them. “Some of the most loving things people do to other people is telling them when they’re wrong.” God shows us where we are wrong because he loves us and wants our lives to be fulfilled.

God Takes Our Sin Seriously

If I could sum up this book in one sentence, that is it. Micah was born in the small town of Moresheth, probably among shepherds and farmers, and not people of wealth or renown. He was sent to speak to the capital cities of the two nations, Samaria and Jerusalem. He was the only prophet who spoke to both nations. Capitals were where business was done, and a lot of their wealth was gained in ways God was not pleased with.

Chapter 1 verse 2 says God comes out of his holy temple and treads on the high places of the earth, and the mountains melt under him like wax before the fire. In those days, a city on a high mountain was the most powerful and easy to defend, and high places were also where they worshiped false gods. God says, you think you are big because of your money and your gods, but I will make it all nothing. Samaria would be a heap in the open country, her idols laid waste. And he ends with an uncomfortable line: “from the fee of a prostitute she gathered them, and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.” How you earn your income matters. They gained it in a way that did not please God, and the Assyrians and Babylonians would take it by force.

Our Sin Is Worse Than We Think

Have you noticed that your own sin does not look as bad in you as in other people? We sand the edges. In chapter 2, God points out what they were doing. Verse 1: “woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds.” They planned it and devised strategies, and when morning dawned they carried them out because it was in their power. They coveted fields and seized them, and houses and took them, and oppressed a man and his inheritance, although the law said land had to be returned every seven years. Verses 8 and 9 say they strip the robe from those who pass by trustingly, and drive out women from their houses and young children. These were widows and orphans, whom God cares for as if they were Jesus himself. “How much we make is not nearly as important as how we make it.” Your wife or husband may not know how you make your money, but God does. God sees how you treat your clients and coworkers.

In verses 10 and 11, the people want a preacher of wine and strong drink, a fake preacher who says life is about enjoying yourself. But there is no rest in that. Sin always destroys. We hear that if we can make more money, have a nicer house, send our kids to the best colleges, then we’ll be content. Those things may not even be sinful, but if we believe they will ultimately satisfy, we are wrong.

The Hope

Doom to hope. Chapter 5 verse 2 speaks to Bethlehem, “too little to be among the clans of Judah,” and says, “from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel.” God promised in Genesis 3:15 that the offspring of the woman would crush the serpent. This Messiah would free his people from their sin. Verse 4 says he will shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, and he shall be their peace. Contrast that with the lie that sin will bring satisfaction. When we rest in Jesus, he brings peace and contentment now and for eternity, when our sin and its consequences are gone. Romans 5:6 says while we were still weak, Christ died for the ungodly. He was born in a small village, as a shepherd, not a king. He lived a perfect life, and we receive his righteousness by grace through faith. “The only solution to sin is his son Jesus Christ.”

Had I another twenty minutes, the other half of the message would be that God has a process for defeating sin in our lives, since how we live now matters to him. 1 John 1 says when we confess, he forgives.