When is the last time you read the small prophetic book of Micah? That question is kind of like the old “Wolf Brand Chili” commercial, huh? Do you remember how it went? “Neighbor, when was the last time you had a good bowl of chili?” And without waiting for an answer, the immediate response was, “Well, that’s too long!” The book is only seven chapters long, and without knowing the history behind his writings, it might be kind of hard to understand. But there are some notable passages in the book. One such verse comes at the start of the fourth chapter when Micah addresses events that will happen in the last days of time. It speaks of God establishing his holy temple on top of a certain mountain, and all the people of the world will be drawn to it. The one thing in particular that the nations will do in the last days is spoken about in verse three; “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nations shall not lift up swords against nations, neither shall they learn war any more.” Won’t that be a day to look forward to? No more wars, no more selfish greed, just peace between the peoples of the world. It will be a day of praise, will it not?
Another familiar verse is found in the second verse of chapter five. It concerns the birthplace of Jesus Christ, a verse that was spoken some almost seven hundred years before the place of his birth actually came to pass. Here is what it says, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto Me, he that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” In other words, the eternal, everlasting Lord Jesus Christ who existed even before time as we know it even existed, his place of birth was announced, a small, obscure place, called Bethlehem. Luke records for us that when the evil king, Herod, found out that a little baby was born who would one day become king, called forth his scribes to find out where that place would be. His scribes told him that Jesus’ birthplace would be “in Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, and thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.”
Thus there are two examples of promises that would take place long after Micah’s time, but as with the case of all of the Old as well as the New Testament prophets, their first concern was for the people to whom the words were written, that is, to the people of their own time. Micah ends his writing with the following verses, “Where is another God like you, who pardons the sins of the survivors among his people? You cannot stay angry with your people, for you love to be merciful. Once again you will have compassion on us. You will tread our sins beneath your feet and you will throw them into the depths of the ocean.” Now, don’t get this prophet wrong. God hates sin and will always punish sin and many times the sinner, but His compassion far outweighs His anger. Then in the sixth chapter, verse eight, Micah says, “He has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to be fair and just and merciful, and to walk humbly with your God.”
When Nansen the explorer tried to measure the depth of the ocean in the far North, he used a long measuring line. When he discovered that it was not long enough to touch the bottom, he wrote in his book, “Deeper than that.” The next day he tried a longer line, and still he could not reach the bottom. Again he wrote, “Deeper than that.” He tried several times but each time he could never reach the bottom, and so his last record was like the first, “Deeper than that.” He left without knowing the depth of the ocean. And like the ocean, the only conclusion that you and I can come to in measuring the love of God, is, “Deeper than that.” Yes, His judgment of sin is great and it is true, but even greater than His judgment is the depth of His love. I’ll ask the question that Micah asked. Where can we find a God like that, who pardons the sins of his people? Have you experienced His great forgiveness?
