(This sermon is part of Dr. Manuel's sermon series: "What is Foremost?" Links to
each of the sermons in the series will be found here as they are posted.)
When people are caught doing something wrong, their initial response is often to make an excuse.
God's initial revelation of His will in Genesis was quite simple, consisting only of a few commands, easy for people to remember:1
XIV. The Foremost Compilation4
...which offers in a few broad strokes...
Moreover, if the gods have no morals, their worshipers can behave as they please with no concern for divine retribution. It is a belief that many in Israel have adopted and that God, through the prophet, condemns.5 Unlike the pagan deities, the Lord has moral standards and is not pleased when His people violate them.
Appeasing other gods generally entails offering a sacrifice. Burnt offerings are common in Ancient Near East worship, including the same kind of offerings for Israel's God, because they demonstrate a person's devotion. Destroying an animal that could otherwise be sold or used for food shows commitment to the deity. In Israel, though, such sacrifices are only appropriate for those already in right standing with the Lord. As David notes...
Furthermore, the Israelites cannot plead ignorance on the matter. Unlike the gods of their neighbors, the Lord has given extensive instruction to His people.8 As Micah states, the Lord has made abundantly clear what He expects: "He has showed you," and the contrast could not be more obvious: The stories about pagan gods have showed you what is bad; the story about the Lord "has showed you what is good," both in His behavior and in the expected behavior of His people. Therefore...
There is much more to divine revelation and expectation than these few commands, and Micah's purpose is not to reduce the whole of God's law to three sound bites. The prophet is looking at the corrupt state of Israelite society and saying that if people will obey these, there will be a marked improvement. In other words, the precepts on this list—while they are qualities God's people in all ages should strive to enact—they are the prophet's remedy especially for this people at this time, as he notes in the rest of the chapter.
It is not that God's other commandments are unimportant but, given the corruption in Judah, the prophet addresses the need for reform by presenting these broad strokes as what is foremost. Only then will those in Micah's audience who have strayed from God return to God.
Most Christians think the laws God gave Israel in the Old Testament do not apply to them and, for the most part, that is correct. Many of those regulations are specifically for His covenant people.13 Some of those laws He restates elsewhere in the Old Testament, though, in revelation to gentiles (Manuel 2007). Still, most Christians look to the New Testament for rules that apply to them. What they do not generally realize is that there are more laws for Christians in the New Testament than there are for Jews in the Old Testament, over 1000 by one author's count.14
Whether you are a Jew or a gentile, the Lord designed His law to direct people to Him and, given everything God has said, there are probably precepts that address whatever might be tempting or distracting or troubling you. They may not be the same as what relate to another's situation but, as the apostle Paul writes...
Having considered The Foremost Compilation, we will look next at The Foremost Commemoration, which will be during the party of God, in Matt 8:11.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
A police officer pulls over a speeding car and says to the driver, "I clocked you at 80 miles an hour." The driver replies, "Gee, officer I had the cruise control set at 60, perhaps your radar gun needs to be re-calibrated." Not looking up from her knitting, the wife says: "Don't be silly dear, you know this car doesn't have cruise control."
As the officer writes out the ticket, the husband looks over at his wife and asks, "Can't you please be quiet?" The wife smiles demurely and says, "You should be thankful your radar detector warned you when it did."
As the officer writes a second ticket for the illegal radar detector, the man glares at his wife and says through clenched teeth, "Must you comment on everything?" The officer frowns and says to the man, "I notice you're not wearing your seat belt. That's an automatic $75 fine." The driver objects, "Officer, I had it on but took it off when you pulled me over, so I could get my license out of my back pocket." At this point, the wife says, "Now, dear, you know very well that you didn't have your seat belt on. You never wear your seat belt when you're driving."
As the police officer is writing a third ticket, the driver turns to his wife and barks, "Woman, stop talking!" The officer looks at the wife and asks, "Ma'am, does your husband always speak to you this way?" to which she replies... "Only when he's been drinking."When people are caught doing something wrong, their initial response is often to make an excuse. That may have been how those in Judah responded when the prophet Micah criticized their disobedience of God's law, claiming that God's law is too lengthy and complicated to remember. The gods of the nations are easier to serve, because they make few if any demands. Micah will have none of it, though, saying they need to focus on The Foremost Compilation, a three-precept list that will direct them back to God.
God's initial revelation of His will in Genesis was quite simple, consisting only of a few commands, easy for people to remember:1
- Just one command to Adam,
- Just three commands to Noah,
- Just two commands to Abraham.
- God made a ten-command summary.
- Solomon made a seven-command summary.3
- Isaiah made a six-command summary.
XIV. The Foremost Compilation4
...which offers in a few broad strokes...
- The pattern of God (Mic 6:8)
Mic 6:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.The various gods of Canaan and the surrounding regions have stories written about them, but there is no instruction from them. If they have any expectations for their devotees, it is a well-kept secret. Those who serve Baal, for example, cannot be certain how to please him. They can follow the lead of the pagan priests, but the priests are no more informed than anyone else. In addition, the gods themselves are hardly good role models. In fact, when it comes to bad behavior, their stories depict them as no better than fallen man—jealous, covetous, malicious—not admirable traits for those who supposedly possess supernatural power.
Moreover, if the gods have no morals, their worshipers can behave as they please with no concern for divine retribution. It is a belief that many in Israel have adopted and that God, through the prophet, condemns.5 Unlike the pagan deities, the Lord has moral standards and is not pleased when His people violate them.
Appeasing other gods generally entails offering a sacrifice. Burnt offerings are common in Ancient Near East worship, including the same kind of offerings for Israel's God, because they demonstrate a person's devotion. Destroying an animal that could otherwise be sold or used for food shows commitment to the deity. In Israel, though, such sacrifices are only appropriate for those already in right standing with the Lord. As David notes...
Ps 51:16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.... 19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you....Many Jews in Micah's day are not in right standing with the Lord, so their sacrifices are not what God wants, as the prophet makes clear with the questions he says his listeners should be asking themselves in...
Mic 6:6 With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7a Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams...?The answer is "No." Such offerings are appropriate only from those already in right standing with the Lord,6 and that position requires obedience to Him.7
Furthermore, the Israelites cannot plead ignorance on the matter. Unlike the gods of their neighbors, the Lord has given extensive instruction to His people.8 As Micah states, the Lord has made abundantly clear what He expects: "He has showed you," and the contrast could not be more obvious: The stories about pagan gods have showed you what is bad; the story about the Lord "has showed you what is good," both in His behavior and in the expected behavior of His people. Therefore...
1. Your obedience must accord with His revelation....and this is not just a suggestion, something to do if a person feels like it. This is what the Lord requires and, as God's people...
2. Your obedience must accord with His expectation.You can imagine the objection from Micah's audience, as people try to justify their lack of obedience, including their following other gods, who have few if any requirements:
The Lord has so many commands, more than 600.9 How can anyone possibly keep them all? Where does one even begin to bring his life into conformity with God's standard? He has just made it too difficult, too complicated.Micah's response is, "Don't make this more difficult or complicated than it needs to be. Here is a summary of God's requirements for His people in three broad strokes:10
- Act justly,
- Love mercy,
- Walk humbly.
There is much more to divine revelation and expectation than these few commands, and Micah's purpose is not to reduce the whole of God's law to three sound bites. The prophet is looking at the corrupt state of Israelite society and saying that if people will obey these, there will be a marked improvement. In other words, the precepts on this list—while they are qualities God's people in all ages should strive to enact—they are the prophet's remedy especially for this people at this time, as he notes in the rest of the chapter.
- First, act justly, not like some of the merchants. God asks in v. 11...
Do not be like him, but act justly.Mic 6:11 Shall I acquit a man with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights?
- Second, love mercy, not like some of the wealthy. According to v. 12...
Do not be like them, but love mercy.Mic 6:12a [Judah's] rich men are violent....
- Third, walk humbly with your God, not like some of the rulers he names in v. 16, who worshipped idols.12
Do not be like them, but walk humbly with your God.Mic 6:16 You have observed the statutes of Omri [who used his position as king to promote idolatry] and all the practices of Ahab's house [who erected an altar for Baal worship], and you have followed their traditions.
It is not that God's other commandments are unimportant but, given the corruption in Judah, the prophet addresses the need for reform by presenting these broad strokes as what is foremost. Only then will those in Micah's audience who have strayed from God return to God.
Most Christians think the laws God gave Israel in the Old Testament do not apply to them and, for the most part, that is correct. Many of those regulations are specifically for His covenant people.13 Some of those laws He restates elsewhere in the Old Testament, though, in revelation to gentiles (Manuel 2007). Still, most Christians look to the New Testament for rules that apply to them. What they do not generally realize is that there are more laws for Christians in the New Testament than there are for Jews in the Old Testament, over 1000 by one author's count.14
Whether you are a Jew or a gentile, the Lord designed His law to direct people to Him and, given everything God has said, there are probably precepts that address whatever might be tempting or distracting or troubling you. They may not be the same as what relate to another's situation but, as the apostle Paul writes...
2 Tim 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.Look for those precepts that relate to whatever you are facing. Focus on them, and make them The Foremost Compilation for your situation, even as Micah's list was for his audience. You will then have something specific, something that derives from God and will draw you to Him, and of all the places you could be, close to Him is the most secure and the most satisfying.
Having considered The Foremost Compilation, we will look next at The Foremost Commemoration, which will be during the party of God, in Matt 8:11.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
(This sermon is part of Dr. Manuel's sermon series: "What is Foremost?" Links to each of the sermons in the series will be found here as they are posted)
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Jim Skaggs