Micah 6:1

The Bible says in Micah 6:1-3, “Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.[2] Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD's controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.[3] O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.” Notice the words that God uses in these verses: “contend,” “controversy,” “plead,” “testify.” These are words that would be used in a court of law. These are words that would be used at a trial or judgment. Israel was being tried by God, just as we all are in a sense. Not counting the salvation of our souls, every day we are being tried. Every day we are doing things for which we will give an account to the Supreme Judge of the universe. God is saying: “Give your reasons for why you did not turn to Him and why you did not serve Him.” What has God done to have deserved such treatment from those whom He loved and helped and blessed?

God is talking to His people, and the same message is for Christians because we are His people too. The Bible says in Micah 6:4, “For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.” To redeem means to purchase with a price. Believers are redeemed. We have been purchased by the precious blood of Christ. Therefore, we belong to Him. The Israelites were redeemed “out of the land of Egypt.” Egypt was symbolic of the world with its false religion, its materialism, and its out-of-place priorities. The people who are not saved by faith in Christ are captured by the world around them. The only escape is through Jesus. It is better to be a slave to Jesus than a slave to the world. Make sure you stay separate from the world. Do not go back to Egypt once you have been delivered from it by the grace of God. The Israelites were slaves while they were in Egypt. God is reminding the Israelites that they owe Him their liberty. God is reminding them of how much He did for them. If you want to keep the faith and continue following the Lord no matter what happens in your life, you must remember what Jesus did for you on the cross and what He did for you when He called you to Himself.

The Bible says in Micah 6:5, “O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.” Balaam made a great mistake. God is telling the Israelites to remember what Balaam did, so they will not make the same mistake. Actually, they were making the same mistake, but God is giving them a chance to wake up and change their ways. Balaam is referred to three times in the New Testament. In Second Peter 2:15 it says, “Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;” It says in Jude 1:11, “Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.” One of the things that Jesus said to the church at Pergamus is found in Revelation 2:14, “But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” Balaam was supposed to be a prophet. Today we would have called him a preacher or a pastor. Peter and Jude mentioned greed as being the terrible error of Balaam. In Revelation the Apostle John mentioned the fact that Balaam was a false teacher whose teachings were not good for the children of Israel.

The story of Balaam is found in the book of Numbers. It is a very long story that covers several chapters which shows the importance that God gave to what Balaam did, why he did it, and what the effect was on the people of God. God wants His people to stay faithful to Him, to grow in Christ, and be good witnesses for Jesus in this world. Any influence that keeps us from doing that is a terrible influence. Deuteronomy 23:3-5 is a good summary of what happened with Balaam. It says, “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever:[4] Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.[5] Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee.”

One of the truths to notice about Balaam has to do with what he would have done if he could have. Balaam would have cursed the children of Israel if he could have. He did not end up cursing them, but that is only because God would not let him. This adds another aspect to sin because it goes to the core of where sin comes from. How sinful you are is not only based upon what you have done, but is also based upon what you would do if you could. This is a reminder also on how to prepare to not fall into temptation and sin. Just make sure that you prepare in your own mind ahead of time of what you will do if you find yourself in a tempting situation. One good example of this has to do with Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. Joseph worked in Potiphar’s home. One day Joseph was alone with Potiphar’s wife and she tried to put her hands on him to tempt him. But Joseph immediately fled from the house and escaped. Such a escape would be even more assured in such situations if you planned ahead of time what you will do if perchance you are in a similar situation. Of course, even better is to do everything possible to avoid such a situation or even the appearance of it by never being alone with the member of the opposite sex except for your spouse.

Another truth to notice about the incident with Balaam is what it says in Deuteronomy 23:5, “Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee.” The devices and deceits and plans of the wicked people have no effect on the godly people from the following standpoint: God loves His people and He has a plan for each one of His children. No human being will be able to change that plan. As a matter of fact God will intervene and use whatever the humans do so that the final result will be to accomplish God’s will. That is one of the benefits of being a Christian.

The Bible says in Micah 6:6-8, “Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?[7] Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?[8] He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” This is a great passage for understanding the limitations of the sacrifices of the Old Testament. God required sacrifices of innocent animals at the altar and this was associated with the forgiveness of sins. But make this vey clear: the sacrifice of innocent animals did not give the forgiveness of sins. The sacrifices only symbolized the one great sacrifice that would take place one day: the sacrifice of Jesus Himself on the cross of Calvary. It says in Hebrews 10:1-4, “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.[2] For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.[3] But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.[4] For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” If you lived in the days of the Old Testament and you went and sacrificed one bull or one calf, that would not be enough to take away your sins. God said in Micah 6:7, “Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?[” God gave an example of three things that you could try to sacrifice, and that would not be enough to gain you the forgiveness of you sins. If you sacrificed thousands of rams, that would not be enough. Think of the amount of time that it would take to sacrifice thousands of rams at the altar. Think of the tremendous amount of blood that would flow from thousands of rams: we could almost call it a river of blood. And then God said that you could sacrifice ten thousand rivers of oil, and that would not be enough to gain you the forgiveness of sins. We are not just talking ten thousand vials of oil, but ten thousand rivers of oil. You could sacrifice that which is dearest to your own heart, such as your firstborn child, your own innocent and beloved child, but that would not be enough to gain you the forgiveness of your sins. Are you getting a picture of how just how many and how terrible your sins are?

Let’s talk about the third of the three examples a little bit more. God said that even if the Israelites sacrificed their firstborn child, it would not be enough for the forgiveness of their sins. Surely the Father was thinking of the fact that He would give His only Son so that we could be forgiven of our sins. Jesus went to the cross of Calvary and sacrificed Himself as the one and only sacrifice that could take away sins on the last of all altars: the cross of Calvary. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, but His death does not automatically give the forgiveness of sins to every person. There is a statement in Micah 6:8 that describes what happens when a person receives the forgiveness of sins. What happens when a person It says, “what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” If a person really repents of their sins and turns to Jesus, that person will be saved, but to be saved in this way refers to more than just have a final destiny in heaven. To be saved results in a changed life. If you truly want to repent of your sins, then you truly want to stop doing whatever bad things you have been doing, and start serving God. If you do not have a desire to do the right thing and serve God, the only conclusion that can be drawn from a human standpoint is that you must not have repented. It says in Second Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

The Bible says in Micah 6:9, “The LORD's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.” Micah 6:9 is a verse with several important truths. It tells us what God does, and it tells us how man should respond to what God does. God speaks. God speaks through His creation, and God speaks through His Word. It says in verse 9, “The LORD's voice crieth unto the city.” God also speaks through His name. The very name of God speaks to us and teaches us about Him. Actually, God has many names. Among His many names, we have the meanings of “the Almighty,” “the Lord of hosts,” “Jealous,” and “the Most High.” Of course, the name Jehovah in the Old Testament which means “the I AM,” reveals God’s eternal existence as opposed to the idols that had a beginning when they were made by the hands of man. One of the great prophesies about the coming of the Messiah is found in Isaiah 9:6, and it lists some of His names. It says, “For unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Of course, the Messiah has many other names and all the names teach us. Just to name a few: The Son of God, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Good Shepherd, Master, Teacher, Lord, and of course, the name that the angel told Mary and Joseph to give to Him at His birth in Bethlehem: Jesus. “Jesus” means Savior.

God has spoken load and clear to all generations. The question for each person will always be, “How are you responding to God’s speaking and to what He is trying to teach you?” The Israelites were told at the end of Micah 6:9, “hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.” God was punishing Israel because of their sins, and because they refused to turn back to Him. The “rod” speaks of the judgments and punishments and chastisements that were coming Israel’s way because of their hard hearts. You can learn the easy way or the hard way, but just make sure you learn and turn to the Lord as soon as you can. Jesus told Paul, “It is hard to kick against the pricks.” Why not stop this rebellion and surrender to the Savior. It is by far a much better way.

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