On November 1st, Lauren Murtidjaja spoke to Micah 3:5-12.
It’s Nov 1st, and many of us are are distracted, exhausted, anxious, hopeful, emotional. We’re invested — not only in the election, but maybe even more so in it’s aftermath. So how do we hear God today?
Today’s lectionary has led us to Micah 3:5-12 — a passage that Lauren otherwise might not have chosen. Let’s enter into the story — suspend the impulse to immediately apply today’s context. Micah is a strange world of prophecy, and prophesy can be tricky. It can be used in problematic ways. So first we need to hear this passage as a story to a specific group of people in a specific time and place.
Micah was a mouthpiece for God during a time of turbulence and political unrest. On a national scale, the people of God were divided: Israel in the north, and Judah in the south, two kingdoms and two rulers. But they were still the one people who had made a promise of devotion to God — promised in the time of Moses and David. They were supposed to have each others’ back.
But the empire of Assyria expanded onto the scene, taking possession of everything in it’s path. They were brutal. The king of Judah was afraid: he betrayed the northern kingdom of Israel by making a deal with the Assyrians. He was promised safety and other minor benefits in exchange for allegiance. Meanwhile, the wealthy got wealthier, and the religious leaders entrusted to lead Israel started making allegiances with political leaders.
This was an Israel with extreme social and economic injustices. From Micah chapter 2, “They defraud men and women of their homes, and people of their land.” Women and children, the most vulnerable in society, were ruthlessly evicted from their homes. In chapter 3, political leaders are described as cannibals, and the courts are infected with bribery. And the religious leaders declare peace only because they somehow benefit. They object to Micah’s judgement, and instead declare a theology of God’s perpetual blessing to the people of Israel.
And God says, “No more.”
But let’s be careful, because Micah was neither a Republican nor a Democrat. And everyone is susceptible to selling out.
Hear more on video as Lauren calls us to account, reminding us that we too must face judgement. We don’t know what will happen in the coming weeks. But it won’t be the world made right. And so what is our hope?
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Hear audio only:
Pasadena Mennonite Church 