epcblog

Devotional thoughts (Monday through Thursday mornings) from the pastor of Exeter Presbyterian Church in Exeter, NH // Sunday Worship 10:30am // 73 Winter Street

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Micah 6

How well would any of us fare if we were on trial and the prophetic prosecuting attorney was making the case for Almighty God as our Accuser? Would we survive? Would our prospects be any better if we had the shelter of a larger array of co-conspirators as defendants with us? What if the Lord made His case against the nation to which we belong, or what if He brought forth His evidence against the church where we worship? None of these scenarios are particularly inviting. There is more than enough evidence to convict us of much sin. Even one violation of God’s holy Law deserves an infinite punishment since our offenses individually and as groups are against the eternal God before whom we must give an account. In Micah 6 the Lord again assembles the courtroom of creation and brings His indictment against His covenant people Israel.

What might be a reasonable defense for Israel in her violations of the Lord’s covenant stipulations? Has God simply wearied Israel with useless and meaningless laws? Was the Lord not a good Provider for His people when they called out to Him in the days of Moses? Did He abandon them to their adversaries in the wilderness as they travelled to the Promised Land? None of these charges against God will hold up. There is evidence in the Scriptures that show God’s blessed power toward His beloved people. When Balak of Moab wanted Balaam to curse Israel, the Lord turned it into blessing. With this one particular as just a small example, we see how God carried His people through the pathway of trouble into the open country of His divine provision.

God is guilty of no transgression against us. We cannot blame our unfaithfulness and disobedience against Him. Nor can we suppose to win our freedom through ceremonial offerings, as if He can be bought at such a small price. Any sacramental system must be based on a sure footing of true obedience to the Lord. We must not think that we can follow the example of desperate religionists who imagine that the Lord can be appeased through the blood of infants. Far from it, the religious sacrifice of children was itself a most horrendous offence against the Almighty. God requires the shedding of truly righteous blood, the willing sacrifice of His own Son, who alone has met the full requirements of the Law, and has given Himself for our atonement, receiving in His person the sanction of the eternal covenant reserved for us as lawbreakers.

This is not a new idea. The only hope for Israel has always been that the Lord would send the Seed of the woman, the One who became the second Adam. He obeyed the Law for us and died for us as our true Representative. The people of the Old Testament were saved by the Lord’s grace through the provision of a Substitute, just as surely as we are saved by that same provision. Their only hope was Jesus, and He remains our only plea. Now that we have proclaimed that message of grace and the benefits of Christ redemptive work, what is it that the God who loves His people requires of those who would follow Him? He tells us to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with Him. If we refuse this pathway of life, how can we make the case that we have been moved by the justice, kindness, and humility of our Savior?

What was the Lord to do about His beloved Israel? They would not listen to His Word. They would not serve others with the generous provision that the Lord had given them. They abused the weak. Their anger against their brothers yielded violence. They stole from their neighbors, and then they covered over all their iniquities with lies before one another and before God.

The case against them was very strong, and the sanctions against them were surely coming. They had followed in the way of the most wicked kings of the rebellious northern kingdom of Israel. God would not allow them to have peace or prosperity. There reward would be hunger, destitution, servitude, humiliation, and desolation.

This is what their sins truly deserved. The defeat of the nation by the Assyrians and Babylonians was not injustice. The Lord had a very strong and just case against them. They deserved a sanction that was actually much worse than they received.

What did they deserve? They deserved what the Lamb of God received in our place. We know that the Messiah died for our sins. What He received was the penalty that justly should have come to us. The eternal God/Man on the cross took the desolation that should have come eternally against us as His creatures. Christ faced this sanction of the covenant willingly, so that all who would believe in Him might have eternal life. If we understand this grace, it is certainly not too much for Him to ask that we would now move in the pathway that our Lord requires. It is our great privilege now to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with Him.

posted by Pastor Magee @ 12:00 AM

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