Micah's prophecies show us how much God cares about obedience.  These prophecies also show us how difficult obedience actually is.  From the time of the Exodus (ca. 1400 B.C.) to the time of the exile (ca. 590 B.C.), Israel had done almost nothing but test God's patience.  For nearly 1,000 years, God waited patiently as His people put other gods before Him, carved images of worship, took His name in vain by claiming to be His but actually were not, forgot His sabbath days, dishonored parents, murdered, committed adultery, stole, bore false witness, and coveted anything and everything that was their neighbors'.  In other words, God waited patiently while Israel broke covenant with God, broke every single one of His Ten Commandments in multiple ways every single day, thus committing adultery against God ... for nearly 1,000 years.  There were moments under leaders like David and Hezekiah where there was a brief reprieve from the idolatry and the unrighteousness, but the good leaders were few and far between, and none of them was good in the sense of God's perfection.  Therefore, God sent sword, famine, pestilence, and exile upon the children of Israel. 

In present-day America, the one who punishes is viewed as evil.  The villain in most stories or movies presented to us today is the one who punishes people.  The hero is the one who lets people have what they want.  Ah.  There is the key word: want.  What do you desire the most?  Is what you want good?  You might think that what you want is good, but that is simply your own thoughts and desires determining what is good and beneficial for you.  You see, most people think that they are basically good and that God will accept them into heaven on the basis of what they have done.  What does it take for God to accept you into his holy, favorable presence?  Absolute perfection.  Everything done with a desire to His glory.  Everything done out of supreme love for God and a strong love to do everything you can to extend yourself to your neighbor's good.  God requires absolute perfection to that standard in order to earn eternal life.  What's the problem?  No one can attain that level of perfection, save One: Jesus Christ.  All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  There is none who seeks God.  No, not even one.  God is holy, and because He is holy and just, He must punish all evil. 

That is quite the plight.  We need to be saved from God!  God is not the villain for punishing.  We are the villains for rebelling, and God waited patiently for Israel to turn from her wicked ways, repent, and believe God, and seek Him for their salvation, first individually and then collectively.

But that never happened.  Why?  Because that is the fallen human condition: we will never come to God.  If we have sinned against Him, and we sin almost by the second, then we deserve nothing but His fierce wrath.  How could God wait for nearly 1,000 years?  God is also kind and gracious and forgiving.  There is no god like our God.  There is no god who forgives iniquity and transgression and sin as God does.  In fact, He is the only One Who can forgive sins.  God is not the villain of Scripture for punishing sins.  That is simply God's doing what He is obligated to do by nature of His goodness and righteousness and by nature of the evil of the rebellion against Him and the created design He has for His image bearers.  God is the hero of Scripture BOTH for punishing evil AND for forgiving sins.

On what basis does He punish evil and on what basis does He forgive sins?  How does He choose which ones receive which judgment?  That is done according to the covenant that He has set up from all eternity.  And He remains just when He declares sinners righteous by gifting sinners with the righteousness of Christ and punishing that sin in Jesus' death on the cross.  His death pays the penalty for the sins of all who believe in Him.  Do you want forgiveness?  Submit to God through repentance and faith.  Acknowledge that you deserve His wrath.  Depend upon Christ's righteousness alone for your salvation.  Know that in you there dwells no good thing. 

God is able to be patient with Israel because He knew He was going to forgive the sins of many through the atoning death and vindicating resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  There is no greater exchange than believers' sins being placed upon Christ and Christ's righteousness being placed upon the believer, and all for the sake of the glory of God.  There is none like our God Who both punishes evil in the hearts of the impenitent and forgives the sins all believers. 

This is the message of Micah, and this is the mystery into which he and all the prophets longed to look, and this is the mystery revealed in the person and work of Christ as recorded for us from the pens of the apostles.  This is the unchanging message of God's great salvation.  Believe it, or not.  We pray you do!