Delivered July 6, 2008
by Pastor Eric Henderson
The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
Hear, you peoples, all of you;
listen, O earth, and all that is in it;
and let the Lord God be a witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
For lo, the Lord is coming out of his place,
and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.
Then the mountains will melt under him
and the valleys will burst open,
like wax near the fire,
like waters poured down a steep place.
All this is for the transgression of Jacob
and for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the transgression of Jacob?
Is it not Samaria?
And what is the high place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country,
a place for planting vineyards.
I will pour down her stones into the valley,
and uncover her foundations.
All her images shall be beaten to pieces,
all her wages shall be burned with fire,
and all her idols I will lay waste;
for as the wages of a prostitute she gathered them,
and as the wages of a prostitute they shall again be used.
For this I will lament and wail;
I will go barefoot and naked;
I will make lamentation like the jackals,
and mourning like the ostriches.
For her wound is incurable.
It has come to Judah;
it has reached to the gate of my people,
to Jerusalem.
Tell it not in Gath,
weep not at all;
in Beth-leaphrah
roll yourselves in the dust.
Pass on your way,
inhabitants of Shaphir,
in nakedness and shame;
the inhabitants of Zaanan
do not come forth;
Beth-ezel is wailing
and shall remove its support from you.
For the inhabitants of Maroth wait anxiously for good,
yet disaster has come down from the Lord
to the gate of Jerusalem.
Harness the steeds to the chariots,
inhabitants of Lachish;
it was the beginning of sin
to daughter Zion,
for in you were found
the transgressions of Israel.
Therefore you shall give parting gifts
to Moresheth-gath;
the houses of Achzib shall be a deception
to the kings of Israel.
I will again bring a conqueror upon you,
inhabitants of Mareshah;
the glory of Israel
shall come to Adullam.
Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair
for your pampered children;
make yourselves as bald as the eagle,
for they have gone from you into exile.
Alas for those who devise wickedness
and evil deeds on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
because it is in their power.
They covet fields, and seize them;
houses, and take them away;
they oppress householder and house,
people and their inheritance.
Therefore, thus says the Lord:
Now, I am devising against this family an evil
from which you cannot remove your necks;
and you shall not walk haughtily,
for it will be an evil time.
On that day they shall take up a taunt-song against you,
and wail with bitter lamentation,
and say, 'We are utterly ruined;
the Lord alters the inheritance of my people;
how he removes it from me!
Among our captors he parcels out our fields.'
Therefore you will have no one to cast the line by lot
in the assembly of the Lord.
'Do not preach' - thus they preach -
'one should not preach of such things;
disgrace will not overtake us.'
Should this be said, O house of Jacob?
Is the Lord's patience exhausted?
Are these his doings?
Do not my words do good
to one who walks uprightly?
But you rise up against my people as an enemy;
you strip the robe from the peaceful,
from those who pass by trustingly
with no thought of war.
The women of my people you drive out
from their pleasant houses;
from their young children you take away
my glory for ever.
Arise and go;
for this is no place to rest,
because of uncleanness that destroys
with a grievous destruction.
If someone were to go about uttering empty falsehoods, saying, 'I will preach to you of wine and strong drink',
such a one would be the preacher for this people!
I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob,
I will gather the survivors of Israel;
I will set them together
like sheep in a fold,
like a flock in its pasture;
it will resound with people.
The one who breaks out will go up before them;
they will break through and pass the gate,
going out by it.
Their king will pass on before them,
the Lord at their head.
And I said:
Listen, you heads of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel!
Should you not know justice? -
you who hate the good and love the evil,
who tear the skin off my people,
and the flesh off their bones;
who eat the flesh of my people,
flay their skin off them,
break their bones in pieces,
and chop them up like meat in a kettle,
like flesh in a cauldron.
Then they will cry to the Lord,
but he will not answer them;
he will hide his face from them at that time,
because they have acted wickedly.
Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray,
who cry 'Peace'
when they have something to eat,
but declare war against those
who put nothing into their mouths.
Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,
and darkness to you, without revelation.
The sun shall go down upon the prophets,
and the day shall be black over them;
the seers shall be disgraced,
and the diviners put to shame;
they shall all cover their lips,
for there is no answer from God.
But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression
and to Israel his sin.
Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob
and chiefs of the house of Israel,
who abhor justice
and pervert all equity,
who build Zion with blood
and Jerusalem with wrong!
Its rulers give judgement for a bribe,
its priests teach for a price, its prophets give oracles for money;
yet they lean upon the Lord and say,
'Surely the Lord is with us!
No harm shall come upon us.'
Therefore because of you
Zion shall be ploughed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height
Going to a lake or the ocean is a regular summer activity for some people. Many different creatures live in the world of water. Some of these creatures can often be found when playing in the water or walking along the beach.
One is a clam that has two hard shells, no head, no eyes, no mouth. Clams feed by sucking in water and filtering out the stuff that helps them survive. Some people, not me, really like to eat the soft inner part of clams.
Another creature that makes its home in the water is the hermit crab. Instead of having their own shell, like the clam, the hermit crab is a little soft bodied creature that needs to use another creatures shell. Sometimes they use a shell that another creature leaves behind or steal the shell while the original owner still needs the shell. As the hermit crab grows it needs to find bigger and bigger shells. Living in a second-hand shell is how the creature got the name hermit crab. Sometimes hermit crabs fight with other hermit crabs for a limited number of shells. Hermit crabs can be good creatures to have in an aquarium because they're scavengers that clean up algae and other debris.
The Zebra Mussel is a small hard shelled creature that's anywhere from fingernail sized to 2 inches. Zebra Mussels originated in the temperate freshwaters of the Black and Caspian Seas of Russia and somehow was transported to the Great Lakes. From their first appearance in American waters in 1988, zebra mussels have spread to a large number of waterways, in the US and Canada disrupting the ecosystems, killing the local mussels, (primarily by out-competing native species for food) and damaging harbors, boats, and power plants. By removing most of the food for plankton and filter feeders, which in turn support larval and juvenile fishes and other animals, zebra mussels can effectively starve the native populations of infested lakes and rivers. Water treatment plants were initially hit hardest because the water intakes brought the microscopic free-swimming larvae directly into the facilities. The U.S. Coast Guard estimates that economic losses and control efforts cost the United States about $5 billion each year. (Wickipedia)
The clam, hermit crab, and zebra mussel have all figured out a way to live and survive in the world. Humans have also figured out ways to live in the world. Micah the prophet looked at the world around and decided to speak out about the way God wanted people to live in the world.
He saw the nation of Assyria, as well as the leaders of his own country and the rich being like the zebra mussels-moving in and taking over, starving out those already there. Rich people were coveting fields and houses of others and scheming and finding ways to take more and more fields and houses by kicking people out. The leaders, priests, and prophets were like the Hermit Crab, they wanted their own houses and purses of money to get bigger and bigger and would do whatever it took for that to happen.
Micah watched people at the places of worship and noticed something going on there that is also like hermit crabs. The buildings, the shells, where once only God was worshipped now were being used and occupied by images of other gods and people were worshiping other gods.
Micah looked at the world around and decided not to be clam like. Just the opposite. Instead of living silently, secluded in his own little world, Micah got out of his shell and started talking.
He shouted-woe to you or death and doom is coming to you. He warned people that if they continued worshiping other gods, if the leaders and rich continued greedily gobbling up land, homes and resources, God was going to punish them most severely. Death and doom were coming. He warned leaders that if they continued distorting the law, despising justice, and taking bribes their city would end up as a heap of rubble.
Micah was doing what I John teaches-test the spirits to see whether they are from God ( I Jn. 4.1). Micah was testing people, leaders, priests, prophets by the laws of God and discovered disobedience. Instead of worshiping one God, people were worshiping many gods. Instead of not stealing, not coveting, people were being robbed of inherited land and homes by those who coveted them.
Micah also came out of his shell to lament the sin of others. He wept, wailed, walked barefoot and naked, howled like a jackal and moaned like an owl. Micah looked at the way people were living and cried out loud in public because destruction was coming unless people started living God's way.
As followers of Jesus, we also need to figure out how to live in a world of plants, trees, animals, fish and many other humans. A world in which the News is littered with stories of wars, political instability, food shortages and famines, fuel shortages and increasing prices, environmental disasters, warnings, and calls for going green.
[Friday's top News stories were Freed hostages, Instability in Zimbabwe, Direct flights are now available between former foes China and Taiwan, conflicts between Hamaas and Israel, US and Iraq and Iran, Georgia and Russia, Requests for more aid by N. Korea, and the environment and food is an increasing concern of an increasing number of people as millions die of starvation and natural disasters occur on a regular basis. ]
As followers of Jesus, how shall we live?
Jesus commissioned us to be like zebra mussels who spread to another country-disciples of Jesus have been commissioned to go to all the nations and make disciples of Jesus. But instead of speaking good news and living in a way that makes people glad that we've come, sometimes Christians have invaded other nations and gobbled up food, shelter, and natural resources for their own benefit. We've often forced our culture and ways on others.
To some extent the practice continues, but many who go to another country are expected to live as others in that country.
Jesus called us to be like the hermit crab-to live in the world but seek first the kingdom of God. To live in this world, but with a full awareness that our permanent home is another kingdom. But instead of living uncomfortably in a temporary home, too often Christians have moved in and forced others out. The rich farmland and forests of PA were once home of Native Americans. Many Mennonites profited from the purchase of land for farming, and indirectly aided the removal of Native Americans.
Micah, Jesus and I John call us to obedience to God's way and to God's commands. Jesus called people to Kingdom of God living. I've asked Ryan, Kyle, and Marta to remind us of those that are blessed.
I John 4:1 calls us to be like clams who filter food from water. We're to test the spirits to see whether they are from God or the world. One of the primary tests is obedience to the command to love God and love ones neighbour. Micah and other prophets tested the spirits, tested the leaders, priests, and people of power, and the nation as a whole to see whether they were living as the God-given covenant called them to live.
Jesus tested the temple system of selling animals and birds for sacrifice. He decided that it was unjust and literally turned the tables upside down.
Jesus and I John uphold an ethic of love for God and love for neighbour as a primary test for ourselves and others.
Menno Simons, an early church leader wrote,
We are prepared with all our hearts to share our possessions, gold, and all that we have, however little it may be; to sweat and labour to meet the needs of the poor, as the Spirit and Word of the Lord and true brotherly love teach and imply.
I'm grateful to be part of a denomination that has practiced love for neighbour through long-term efforts to help people have clean water, adequate food, shelter, clothing, and the dignity of work with reasonable rewards.
Many women worked together to challenge Mennonites to live with Less, especially in their consumption of food, by creating the cookbook, More With Less in 1976. The book offers practical ways to eat responsibly.
I'm grateful to be part of a group of people finding ways to conserve and seek the welfare of others through the ministry of Ten Thousand Villages.
Artisans and apprentices in Haiti make a living from creating art out of recycled metal drums. "Even apprentices can make enough to go to school, or to care for their children if they are parents," he said. Currently Augustin's workshop supports some 50 families. Of himself Augustin said, "This is what God gave me to live; I support my family, I am building a house and I am providing work for others."
Augustin asks God to bless everyone involved in the trade with CAH. "Many people are living out of this," he explained. "It is a chain of blessing, from the artisans making the product, the product itself, and then to CAH and on to Ten Thousand Villages."
There are various ways to live in our world other than the kingdom way of compassion and love for others.
One way is to be like a clam and live in our own protective shell, never speaking, or grieving the results of greed and injustice, living in fear of being consumed by the chaos, or being stingy and miserly . Jesus often spent time alone, but spent time with the needy crowds. He called rich but short Zaccheus from his tree perch and spoke to him resulting in Zaccheaus returning the money that had been acquired unfairly depriving people of what they needed to live. Instead of clamming up and living in a protective shell, Jesus invites us to follow his example and call people to live justly.
Another way to live in the world is to be like zebra mussels who just do what all the other zebra mussels are doing. We may self-righteously compare our lifestyle with that of fellow Canadians or Americans who eat more, drive bigger trucks, throw garbage out the car window, build bigger houses, constantly buy more cloths, etc, etc. and feel pretty good about ourselves.
The Mennonite Church and this congregation have a history full of examples of living in love for others. Stories abound of serving rather than taking. But even service can be done self-righteously. Richard Foster helps us avoid self-righteous service pointing out the difference between self-righteous service and true service.
Self-righteous service relies on human effort true service flows out of relationship with God.
Self-righteous service is impressed with the big deal and requires external rewards, true service is contented with any size and hiddenness.
Self-righteous service is temporary, true service is ongoing. Self-righteous service fractures community, true service builds community. (Celebration of Discipline, p. 128-130)
A third danger when trying to figure out how to live in our world, is to become obsessed with recycling, reusing, reducing, global warming, going green, eating organic etc., so that God's spirit has no voice, no room, no impact.
Hermit Crabs, Clams, Zebra Mussels have figured out how to live. Each one has things to teach us. We are called to live in ways that are Christ-like and show love for others. The recent issues of Canadian Mennonite have many articles on living in our world as God's people. Read them, read all parts of the Bible, read other books and resources that call for living in a way that call us to live as God's people who show love for all neighbours. Then decide on at least one change that will help demonstrate that love. Perhaps it's giving away, or using less, or speaking out.
May we be able to say of ourselves, and have others say of us, what Micah claimed.
I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might. (3.8)
Petitcodiac Mennonite Church