In God We Trust

Micah 7:8-13

Sin causes devastation. When someone rejoices over your wrongdoing, the result is humiliation. Humiliation can be a two-way street:

1. You can be humbled into asking God for forgiveness
2. You can get angry at God and run from Him
   

Those who gloat over your devastation don’t understand the grace of God. When we do wrong, God is the only way out. Darkness in verse 8 represents the hopelessness of our efforts. Only God can give us a reprieve from sin, and this is why His way of living is seen as the way of light. Those who fall into the darkness of sin (or who have not found their way out of sin’s clutches) can rise again, but only through the humbling process of asking God for forgiveness. Let the enemy gloat because in the end God will have the final word.

God punishes sin, and sin has consequences. There isn’t any other way to say it. The penalty for sin is death, which was paid for by Jesus. Only through Christ can we now approach God for forgiveness. God judges our hearts and knows if we are sincere. God’s forgiveness returns hope to us or as Micah says “bring me out into the light” – but God’s grace is solely the reason why!

Don’t forget that sin has consequences. God’s grace grants us forgiveness and the ability to get through the consequences. There are many people who feel that it is not fair to still have to face sin’s consequences after receiving God’s forgiveness. Let me ask this: was it fair that Jesus died to pay the penalty for sins or are you grateful that He did? Without the death of Christ we do not have access to God’s grace. Our own efforts keep us searching through a dark world while the light of Jesus is shining the way to hope.

Then my enemy will see it and will be covered with shame, she who said to me, "Where is the LORD your God?" My eyes will see her downfall; even now she will be trampled underfoot like mire in the streets. Micah 7:10 (NIV)

Israel was being fed a huge dose of humble pie. They were ridiculed by their enemy, and their enemy ridiculed God. Israel’s enemy would end up shamed when all was said and done. Their lack of respect for God’s grace would lead to their destruction. Their false gods gave them false hope. As we saw in chapter five of Micah, Israel was punished but God uses this punishment to share His salvation with the rest of the world.

Verses 11 and 12 proclaim the end of the seventy year exile facing Israel. A day would come when the walls of Jerusalem would be rebuilt (just read Nehemiah). A day would come when the boundaries would once again begin to extend (just look at the worldwide spread of Christianity). Israelites returned in droves back to their land (they are still doing that today).

Verse 13 baffles me. Is this a reference to the earth’s final judgment? Or is God referencing the way wicked cities end? Jerusalem becomes desolate. Babylon is erased off the earth. Numerous cities throughout time end up desolate as their wickedness catches up with them. Jerusalem, however, becomes the one city that represents the goodness of God as He brings Israel back into their land through His mercy. Wickedness chases people from cities. Who wants to live in the midst of gang violence, prostitution, drugs, or thieves?

Regardless, the earth, which cannot sin, suffers due to sinfulness. Desolation is the result of people allowing sin to be their lifestyle – desolation of their lives, families, and so much more. There is hope but it starts with humbly approaching God.

• How do you respond when God humbles you?
• What is your understanding of verse 13?