God's Accusation (Micah 6:1-8)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:04.120 If you're able to remain standing, please do and let's turn our attention to 2 00:00:04.280 --> 00:00:29.579 Micah, chapter six, verses one through eight. Here the Lord brings his 3 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:35.729 accusation against his people, and he does it through the Prophet Micah, who's 4 00:00:35.810 --> 00:00:45.090 functioning as a lawyer, prosecuting the case of Israel's breaking God's covenant. Witnesses 5 00:00:45.170 --> 00:00:52.479 are called forth, the accused are named and God, as the plaintiff, 6 00:00:53.479 --> 00:00:58.079 his case is made known. Let's give our attention to God's word now in 7 00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:06.230 Micah six, verses one through eight. Here what the Lord Says Arise, 8 00:01:06.430 --> 00:01:11.829 plead your case before the mountains and let the hills hear your voice. Here, 9 00:01:11.989 --> 00:01:15.790 you mountains, the indictment of the Lord and you enduring foundations of the 10 00:01:15.870 --> 00:01:22.299 earth, for the Lord has an indictment against his people and he will contend 11 00:01:22.420 --> 00:01:27.140 with Israel. Oh my people, what have I done to you? How 12 00:01:27.420 --> 00:01:30.900 have I wearied you? Answer me, for I brought you up from the 13 00:01:30.939 --> 00:01:34.890 land of Egypt and redeemed you from the House of slavery. I sent you 14 00:01:34.930 --> 00:01:42.209 before Moses Aaron, or I sent before you Moses Aaron and Miriam. Oh 15 00:01:42.409 --> 00:01:47.400 my people, remember Bialik, King of mob deser devised, or what Bailik 16 00:01:47.480 --> 00:01:51.159 King of Moab, devised, and what Balem, the son of Baor answered 17 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:56.599 him, and what happened from Shittem to go Gaul, that you may know 18 00:01:57.079 --> 00:02:00.790 the righteous acts of the Lord. With what shall I come before the Lord 19 00:02:00.870 --> 00:02:05.709 and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt 20 00:02:05.790 --> 00:02:08.669 offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased? With 21 00:02:09.030 --> 00:02:14.789 thousands of Rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give 22 00:02:14.870 --> 00:02:19.219 my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body, for the sin 23 00:02:19.300 --> 00:02:23.539 of my soul? He has told you, Oh man, what is good 24 00:02:23.139 --> 00:02:29.139 and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love 25 00:02:29.340 --> 00:02:57.599 kindness and to walk humbly with your God, Amn may be seated. As 26 00:02:57.639 --> 00:03:04.310 I mentioned, is we began here is God's indictment, his accusation against Israel. 27 00:03:06.030 --> 00:03:12.830 This is established upon a relationship that God has made. God's not just 28 00:03:13.020 --> 00:03:16.780 coming out of the blue and accusing them of various things. No, God 29 00:03:16.900 --> 00:03:23.139 has a relationship, a special relationship, with these people, a relationship that 30 00:03:23.219 --> 00:03:28.169 he established on Mount Sinai. He established as he brought his people out of 31 00:03:28.210 --> 00:03:32.770 the land of Egypt and he gave them loss, he told them what to 32 00:03:32.849 --> 00:03:37.250 do, and he said if you follow these things, if you do these 33 00:03:37.370 --> 00:03:42.120 things, then you will live securely in the land that I am giving you, 34 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:46.159 but if you fail to do these things, that all the curses that 35 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:49.840 have come upon the Canaanites, who are now being kicked out of the land, 36 00:03:50.520 --> 00:04:00.550 these curses will come upon you. Well, Israel failed not just once 37 00:04:00.750 --> 00:04:05.590 but many, many times. By the time we get to the Prophet Mica 38 00:04:05.750 --> 00:04:13.139 speaking these words, there have been so many stories and so many accounts of 39 00:04:13.379 --> 00:04:18.259 Israel's Faithlessness, but God's faithfulness that it's it would take all lie, all 40 00:04:18.259 --> 00:04:23.540 night and longer to to simply go through them all and explain them all. 41 00:04:23.579 --> 00:04:27.610 In fact, much of the Old Testament up to this point is is about 42 00:04:27.769 --> 00:04:38.009 that. God has serious cause against against his people, and Mica is functioning 43 00:04:38.209 --> 00:04:45.879 as a prosecutor, as a covenant lawyer. God tells him, arise and 44 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:50.639 plead your case before the mountains. It's not Mica's case and that Mica was 45 00:04:50.759 --> 00:04:54.790 the one who was offended first. It was, of course, the Lord, 46 00:04:55.189 --> 00:05:00.230 but the Lord has given this case to mica to prosecute plead the case. 47 00:05:00.870 --> 00:05:04.670 God commands him, he authorizes him to go and to speak on his 48 00:05:04.870 --> 00:05:11.579 behalf and amazingly, he does what only God can do. He calls the 49 00:05:11.779 --> 00:05:16.019 mountains as his witness. Right. If any of any of the rest of 50 00:05:16.060 --> 00:05:21.329 us did this, this would be ridiculous. But God it comes as a 51 00:05:21.730 --> 00:05:30.329 powerful statement to both the the fact that Israel and all the world. The 52 00:05:30.449 --> 00:05:38.920 mountains themselves know of Israel's sins. You might ask, well, how could 53 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:44.079 the mountains speak? How could the mountains witness? Well, later will consider 54 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:49.910 a donkey. I'm witnessing to the word and the works of the Lord. 55 00:05:51.230 --> 00:05:56.029 The Mountains are point pointed at. In other places of scripture, it's the 56 00:05:56.149 --> 00:06:00.509 stars or the moon or the Sun. God looks at creation and says, 57 00:06:00.629 --> 00:06:04.579 you were there when I made these promises, when I commanded these laws. 58 00:06:05.339 --> 00:06:10.220 Indeed, God was on a mountain, Mount Sinai, when he gave the 59 00:06:10.259 --> 00:06:15.459 law. The people were on two hills when they took on the covenant, 60 00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:24.009 Promises Back and forth before they entered into the land, these enduring foundations of 61 00:06:24.089 --> 00:06:27.529 the earth. They are ready to hear, or they are they have seen 62 00:06:28.170 --> 00:06:30.970 what is gone on. The point here is that Israel sins are not done 63 00:06:31.370 --> 00:06:35.000 in a corner. They are not EG that we they cannot say well, 64 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:43.120 we didn't know. They knew and they knew very well. So this is 65 00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:46.870 this takes us into verse to kind of continuing through the rest of this passage. 66 00:06:47.509 --> 00:06:51.829 Then, in verses three through five, God lays out the beginnings of 67 00:06:51.910 --> 00:06:56.870 his defense. He says, what have I done to you? In other 68 00:06:56.910 --> 00:07:01.100 words, how have I broken the Covenant? Have I done anything to deserve 69 00:07:01.420 --> 00:07:10.420 this treatment, to deserve your not fulfilling my law even and the aunt? 70 00:07:10.459 --> 00:07:14.939 While I'll say the answer is no. We'll come back to that. But 71 00:07:15.100 --> 00:07:18.850 to continue on with just an overview of this passage. Then comes versus six 72 00:07:19.009 --> 00:07:24.689 and seven, and versus six and seven, we have this sort of rhetorical 73 00:07:24.769 --> 00:07:30.600 statement in which the people of God are are saying back to him. There's 74 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:34.120 this kind of bargaining that happens and they say, well, okay, so 75 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:36.199 we've sinned. What do you like, sort of like, what do you 76 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:42.000 expect us to do? This is the attitude. Shall we bow ourselves before 77 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:46.949 you got on high? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams, 78 00:07:46.470 --> 00:07:51.790 ten thousands rivers of oils, rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn 79 00:07:51.949 --> 00:07:56.670 for my transgression, the fruit of my body? It's the sort of like 80 00:07:56.790 --> 00:08:00.339 what are you? What do you mean? Why are you prosecuting this against 81 00:08:00.420 --> 00:08:09.620 me? All of their protests, they are this, all of this exalted 82 00:08:09.660 --> 00:08:16.370 language which God is anticipating. The perhaps is even heard them say. He 83 00:08:16.490 --> 00:08:20.730 answers with verse eight. Has He not told you, Oh man, what 84 00:08:20.889 --> 00:08:24.850 is good? What do you mean? Why are you asking me about rip 85 00:08:24.930 --> 00:08:31.879 thousands of thousands of Rams and ten thousands of rivers of oil? What's all 86 00:08:31.960 --> 00:08:39.639 this? I've told you what I want. I told you what I require 87 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:45.950 of you. Do Justice, love, kindness, walk humbly before your God. 88 00:08:46.269 --> 00:08:50.110 They throw the people are throwing this, this our argument against him, 89 00:08:50.190 --> 00:08:58.220 like he's so unreasonable or that perhaps they could somehow fix this relationship with these 90 00:08:58.259 --> 00:09:03.419 things and God's says. The requirement is simple. It's been with you from 91 00:09:03.419 --> 00:09:05.899 the beginning, and this is not the only way. That only place we 92 00:09:05.980 --> 00:09:11.330 find this kind of expression in the Old Testament. So this is the beginning 93 00:09:11.370 --> 00:09:16.210 of God's accusation against them, the reasons why Senecareb in the Assyrians are going 94 00:09:16.330 --> 00:09:24.200 to come down and execute God's curse upon his people. I want to go 95 00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:28.679 back now with that overview and think a little bit about what we what we 96 00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:35.799 learn of God and well, to say it that way. What we learn 97 00:09:35.879 --> 00:09:41.470 of God in this passage, because he gives this not only God doesn't need 98 00:09:41.590 --> 00:09:46.350 to defend himself right. God can simply act and he would be just in 99 00:09:46.549 --> 00:09:50.470 doing it. So why do we have this here? Well, it's in 100 00:09:50.710 --> 00:09:54.659 part a warning. It's in part a way to explain to them and to 101 00:09:54.779 --> 00:09:58.659 explain to us of the Justice and the fairness and the mercy of God, 102 00:09:58.779 --> 00:10:01.620 the faithfulness of God, and in some of the things that he calls US 103 00:10:01.620 --> 00:10:07.889 specifically to remember, we are reminded that he is merciful and that he is 104 00:10:07.289 --> 00:10:11.769 his promises to save us are sure, and that we should rely on them. 105 00:10:11.850 --> 00:10:18.970 Let's consider that now. So the first thing to note here is the 106 00:10:18.009 --> 00:10:22.480 way that God proclaims his faithfulness. As I said, he's not the one 107 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:28.559 who's at fault here. He's not the one why the Covenant has broken and 108 00:10:28.679 --> 00:10:33.039 we're going to spend most of our time here. What does he say? 109 00:10:33.480 --> 00:10:37.710 First, he says, I brought you up from the land of Egypt, 110 00:10:37.110 --> 00:10:43.309 I redeemed you from the House of slavery. You. What he's referencing here 111 00:10:43.549 --> 00:10:48.029 is, of course, when Israel God made his promise to Abraham and hit 112 00:10:48.149 --> 00:10:54.299 to his children. This promise passed down, but eventually this people that were 113 00:10:54.379 --> 00:10:58.580 promised this land ended up in a land that wasn't theirs, it wasn't the 114 00:10:58.740 --> 00:11:03.620 promised land. Instead, it was a dark place, a terror or became 115 00:11:03.659 --> 00:11:09.690 a terrible place because they became slaves. They became slaves of Pharaoh and were 116 00:11:09.009 --> 00:11:16.769 in Egypt hundreds of years. I'm struggling under oppression. Do you remember, 117 00:11:16.809 --> 00:11:20.720 of course, how God brought them out of Egypt, as the scriptures say, 118 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:26.440 with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Ten plagues came down upon 119 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:31.399 Egypt and her gods, Pharaoh, who thought he was so strong, was 120 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:37.470 utterly defeated, him and his country and his chariots and armies, and eventually 121 00:11:37.509 --> 00:11:45.470 he lost even his own son and his life. God brought them out of 122 00:11:45.590 --> 00:11:50.539 the land of e gypt. They plundered Egypt and had these great leaders, 123 00:11:50.700 --> 00:11:56.860 Moses and Aaron and Miriam Murn, singing that great song upon their rescue. 124 00:11:58.460 --> 00:12:03.169 God didn't stop there. He didn't simply release them out of bondage and Sattle. 125 00:12:03.250 --> 00:12:07.169 Best of luck to you all. He had made a promise to them 126 00:12:07.210 --> 00:12:11.169 and he loved them and he was going to shepherd his flock to the promised 127 00:12:11.169 --> 00:12:16.240 land, and that's exactly what he did. His care for them, his 128 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:20.240 tender care for them, is described in many different ways, as a shepherd 129 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:24.360 with a sheep, as a child caring or a sorry, as a father 130 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:30.190 carrying his child, many different ways. Here, in Verse Five, God 131 00:12:30.309 --> 00:12:37.029 calls us to remember what Baylock, King of Moab, devised and what Balem, 132 00:12:37.149 --> 00:12:43.990 the son of beor answered him. So do you remember right? God 133 00:12:43.070 --> 00:12:48.340 calls us to remember this, to pay attention to this on because this is 134 00:12:48.500 --> 00:12:56.899 one of the grounds on which he establishes his faithfulness to the people. So 135 00:12:56.100 --> 00:13:03.289 this is perhaps a less familiar story than God's Rescue and redemption of his people 136 00:13:03.289 --> 00:13:07.409 from Egypt, but a very important one. It gets three chapters in the 137 00:13:07.450 --> 00:13:16.919 book of numbers and and his reference to numerous other times since scripture. I 138 00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:20.480 will tell it to you now. I won't read all three chapters to you, 139 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:28.590 but I'll summarize it. As Israel was going into the promised land, 140 00:13:30.429 --> 00:13:33.549 they would counted a number of enemies along the way, and one of them 141 00:13:33.710 --> 00:13:37.870 was Bailick, king a Moob. He had heard what God had done to 142 00:13:39.029 --> 00:13:43.259 the Amorites, he had seen he sort of got a sense what for, 143 00:13:43.419 --> 00:13:48.659 what was coming. And here's this army, a very numerous people, that 144 00:13:48.940 --> 00:13:54.419 was going through the land. I believe he describes it as like like animals. 145 00:13:54.460 --> 00:13:58.049 I think was oxen there just eating everything up as they move, these 146 00:13:58.049 --> 00:14:05.090 all these people moving in toward his country. And he's he's afraid this. 147 00:14:05.929 --> 00:14:11.360 And so what does he do? Well, he decides to go to Bale 148 00:14:11.399 --> 00:14:20.600 Them. Now, balem was this midianite spiritual magician, prophet guy that evidently 149 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:26.789 had some amount of power. They are and Bailik felt like here is a 150 00:14:26.870 --> 00:14:31.350 way that we can win this. In a similar way, Pharaoh had his 151 00:14:31.029 --> 00:14:37.789 court magicians do things to test and show his power against God. And bailik 152 00:14:37.990 --> 00:14:43.620 goes to Baalim, the Prophet, and says and and and hires him basically 153 00:14:43.659 --> 00:14:48.139 a little freelance work for Balim. He says to Balim, Hey, I 154 00:14:48.179 --> 00:14:50.659 will, I'll give you some money. What do you want me to do? 155 00:14:50.980 --> 00:14:54.730 And Baalim said Bailik says to Balim, I want you to curse this 156 00:14:56.009 --> 00:14:58.850 people. Now this is not just say a few words, but the idea 157 00:14:58.929 --> 00:15:07.090 here is that bail expected of the Balim's curse to be effective, that God 158 00:15:07.129 --> 00:15:13.080 would the Balim would curse this people and therefore stop the threat. All right, 159 00:15:13.080 --> 00:15:20.909 so he goes to Balim and Balim goes, has goes in a dream, 160 00:15:22.190 --> 00:15:26.110 I believe it is, and God speaks to him and says you won't 161 00:15:26.149 --> 00:15:31.710 be able to do this, you're not going to be able to curse this 162 00:15:31.950 --> 00:15:39.659 people, you'll only be able to bless them. Now that's quite an astonishing 163 00:15:39.700 --> 00:15:46.620 thing, right. Here is this pagan diviner prophet that has now been conscripted 164 00:15:46.940 --> 00:15:52.490 into the service of the Lord when he was supposed to be doing this freelance 165 00:15:52.570 --> 00:16:00.690 work, for mercenary work, in this case for Bailik. So Balim goes 166 00:16:00.730 --> 00:16:04.679 to Bailik and he says it's not going to work, but I was like, 167 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:10.440 how about more money? And so the then there's another dream and in 168 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:15.159 this dream God and the way, he kind of gives him a permission to 169 00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:18.070 go, even kind of calls him to go, and so it leaves a 170 00:16:18.110 --> 00:16:22.309 sort of question of it. Well, what's going to happen? Well, 171 00:16:22.149 --> 00:16:26.590 so bail and goes and as he's on his way he has yet a third 172 00:16:26.750 --> 00:16:30.950 encounter from the Lord, except he doesn't realize it at first. He's on 173 00:16:32.149 --> 00:16:37.019 his donkey, on his way to go out to meet BAILIC. I should 174 00:16:37.019 --> 00:16:41.820 have said at the beginning that it was envoys that we're sent, not BAILAK 175 00:16:41.899 --> 00:16:45.700 himself. So he's going now to go to bailk and to meet and figure 176 00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:51.009 out how they're going to do this. And he's riding his donkey and then 177 00:16:51.090 --> 00:16:56.169 his donkey just starts acting really weird. It won't move, it's not acting 178 00:16:56.289 --> 00:17:03.000 right. Bailik starts beating his donkey, I kind of an extreme way. 179 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:07.359 Still the donkey won't move. This happens a number of times in the reason 180 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:12.119 we find out is is that the donkey sees before it the angel of the 181 00:17:12.240 --> 00:17:18.789 Lord, this mighty powerful vision. This donkey has this like I'm not going 182 00:17:19.710 --> 00:17:26.910 he sees. The donkey sees the danger that this prophet is unable to see. 183 00:17:26.869 --> 00:17:33.420 It's very sort it's remarkable. And and then and and bailix wailing on 184 00:17:33.539 --> 00:17:40.940 his donkey and and then God allows the donkey to speak. Seek to Balim 185 00:17:42.220 --> 00:17:47.130 and the donkey says, why are you hitting me like this? What have 186 00:17:47.289 --> 00:17:51.730 I ever done anything to you? And they like, of course it's take 187 00:17:51.769 --> 00:17:53.250 it back. And what doesn't know? What you know? He starts talking 188 00:17:53.289 --> 00:17:56.569 to the donkey and he says, what are you doing? And Anyway, 189 00:17:56.650 --> 00:18:03.039 they he sees the angel of the Lord and and and they move on and 190 00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:11.000 the angel tells him things that make the successfulness of this trip seem all the 191 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:17.230 more doubtful. Very clearly, God is on the side of Israel I. 192 00:18:17.309 --> 00:18:21.109 Meanwhile, it's good helpful note remember, just for our lives. Is the 193 00:18:21.150 --> 00:18:23.589 real doesn't know any of this at this point. All right, all these 194 00:18:23.670 --> 00:18:27.420 plans of Bailik and Bailim in the anvils and envoys in the donkey and the 195 00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:32.980 angel is the real isn't know any of this at this point. But what 196 00:18:33.180 --> 00:18:36.299 is God doing? Caring for his people, taking care of his people, 197 00:18:36.299 --> 00:18:41.849 working things out perfectly, amazingly according to his promise to care for them and 198 00:18:42.089 --> 00:18:48.529 take them into this promised land. Balim and Bailik are not going to stand 199 00:18:48.690 --> 00:18:55.130 in his way anymore than Pharaoh did. So what happens next? Balim goes, 200 00:18:55.210 --> 00:19:00.279 he meets Bailik, bail bailik takes him out and and he says he 201 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:03.519 shows him the people. He says there they are. Go ahead and curse 202 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:08.920 him and he's unable to do it. And steady blesses the people and they 203 00:19:10.390 --> 00:19:15.710 look turn some what am I paying for? I called you here to curse 204 00:19:15.789 --> 00:19:19.230 these people, he says, I can only do what God allows me to 205 00:19:19.269 --> 00:19:29.339 do and what God says. I don't understand this part, but bailick keeps 206 00:19:29.460 --> 00:19:33.819 trying. So he blesses the people and he takes him to another place, 207 00:19:33.900 --> 00:19:37.059 and I think it's a hill, and he tells him, okay, curse 208 00:19:37.099 --> 00:19:41.089 the people and he blesses the people again, and then happens again. Curse 209 00:19:41.170 --> 00:19:44.089 the people, he blesses them again, and this is keeps going and then 210 00:19:44.170 --> 00:19:47.250 at the end of it all, the blessings just keep getting greater and greater 211 00:19:47.410 --> 00:19:49.529 and more and more wonderful. And then at the end of it all, 212 00:19:49.569 --> 00:19:56.599 then God, or Bailic ends up, our Balem ends up cursing other peoples 213 00:19:56.759 --> 00:20:02.359 around Israel. So on top of blessing them and sort of totally defeating the 214 00:20:02.519 --> 00:20:07.470 purposes of the King of Moab, God goes on to curse and bring curses 215 00:20:07.549 --> 00:20:12.309 upon other people's that would do them harm. Is a great warning to all 216 00:20:12.829 --> 00:20:21.190 do not stand in the way of the Lord, and a reminder to Israel 217 00:20:21.900 --> 00:20:30.579 to wait on him, to trust. So here's Mica, here's Mica and 218 00:20:30.819 --> 00:20:37.890 God's people doing the exact kind of things that they look was doing. The 219 00:20:37.009 --> 00:20:44.170 people were sacrificing their children, two idols. They had set up poles to 220 00:20:44.690 --> 00:20:49.039 the Ashra, they were worshiping bales on the high places. They were living 221 00:20:49.079 --> 00:20:56.119 in all kinds of injustice and cruelty. I'm serving other gods. They were 222 00:20:56.240 --> 00:21:03.759 living not as God's people. And so God says to them. On my 223 00:21:03.960 --> 00:21:10.109 people, remember what Bailic, the King of Moab, devised, what Balem, 224 00:21:10.190 --> 00:21:12.710 the son of Beor, answered him. What happened? It should to 225 00:21:12.789 --> 00:21:18.859 eat to Gilgall. That you may know the righteous acts of the Lord. 226 00:21:18.900 --> 00:21:22.299 You know what happened at Guildhall. That's where they crossed into the Promised Land, 227 00:21:22.460 --> 00:21:27.779 just as they crossed through the Red Sea, out of Egypt and into 228 00:21:29.779 --> 00:21:33.769 the Wilderness. Then they would cross the Jordan River again there at Gilgall and 229 00:21:34.009 --> 00:21:38.890 into the promised land. The waters would separate, they would move through a 230 00:21:40.089 --> 00:21:45.289 justice happen, just as it happened before. This is what God has done, 231 00:21:45.569 --> 00:21:51.240 that he remember these things, that you may know, the righteous acts 232 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:56.759 of the Lord. The Lord has not only cared for them and acted justly, 233 00:21:56.960 --> 00:22:03.990 he has carried them and cared in the deepest and most powerful and amazing 234 00:22:03.109 --> 00:22:07.470 ways, oh, over and over again. And if God can take care 235 00:22:07.549 --> 00:22:12.470 of Pharaoh and if God can take care of Bailik, do you think he 236 00:22:12.589 --> 00:22:18.660 can take care of SNECORB? Of course he can. This is Syrian king 237 00:22:18.859 --> 00:22:26.380 who was coming on the war path. Israel's problem as not this danger, 238 00:22:26.619 --> 00:22:33.210 this external danger they face. Israel's problem is their sin. Israel's problem is 239 00:22:33.329 --> 00:22:37.250 that they are turning away from the very God who loves them and who has 240 00:22:37.369 --> 00:22:45.480 promised to save them. And that's why these questions in verses six and seven 241 00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:53.680 are so ridiculous and sinful. Shall I bow myself before the God on high? 242 00:22:55.480 --> 00:22:57.710 Shall I come before him with burnt offerings and the calves of year old? 243 00:22:59.029 --> 00:23:00.750 Well, the Lord be pleased, with thousands of Rams, with ten 244 00:23:00.869 --> 00:23:06.710 thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the 245 00:23:06.829 --> 00:23:11.670 fruit of my soul, for the sin of my soul? Even that would 246 00:23:11.670 --> 00:23:17.980 not cover it. And yet they are saying these things as though it was 247 00:23:17.980 --> 00:23:22.380 a bargaining chip with God, as though he's being so unreasonable. This is 248 00:23:22.420 --> 00:23:30.170 how stuck they are in themselves, how blinded and prideful they are. God's 249 00:23:30.210 --> 00:23:40.609 requirements are simple. To do. What is good. What is obviously good. 250 00:23:40.650 --> 00:23:48.240 Let's start with that. To love and do justice, to love and 251 00:23:48.759 --> 00:23:56.069 do mercy, to walk humbly with God, with your God. Of course 252 00:23:56.069 --> 00:24:00.269 you remember. That's not what they were doing at all. Just to read 253 00:24:00.390 --> 00:24:04.509 one passage. We can go back to chapter two. We're God says, 254 00:24:04.630 --> 00:24:11.339 woe to those who devise wickedness, who work evil on their beds when the 255 00:24:11.460 --> 00:24:14.859 morning dawns, or when the morning dawns, they perform it because it is 256 00:24:14.940 --> 00:24:18.500 in their power, of their hand. They covet fields and sees them, 257 00:24:18.539 --> 00:24:22.220 and houses and take them away. They oppress a man in his house, 258 00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:27.009 a man and in his inheritance. God speaks particularly, for to the rulers 259 00:24:27.210 --> 00:24:33.690 of Israel in chapter three. You remember this here, that verse one. 260 00:24:33.089 --> 00:24:37.890 You heads of Jacob and rulers of the House of Israel, is it not 261 00:24:37.130 --> 00:24:44.079 for you to know justice, you who hate the good and love the evil, 262 00:24:44.119 --> 00:24:48.599 who tear the skin off from my people and their flesh off their bones? 263 00:24:51.880 --> 00:24:53.630 But as we come to chapter six, we realize that the problem is 264 00:24:53.789 --> 00:25:03.349 not just with Israel's leadership, it's with the whole country. As he says, 265 00:25:03.390 --> 00:25:06.390 he speaks to them in verses three, in verses five, and he 266 00:25:06.470 --> 00:25:10.619 says, Oh, my people, not just the heads, not just the 267 00:25:10.660 --> 00:25:14.539 leaders, but all the people. My people, what have I done to 268 00:25:14.700 --> 00:25:18.059 you? My people, remember Bailik. And then he says, in Verse 269 00:25:18.099 --> 00:25:22.609 Eight, He has told you, Oh man, what is good. And 270 00:25:25.210 --> 00:25:30.089 here we remember that the righteous requirement of the law that was given to Israel 271 00:25:30.250 --> 00:25:36.400 is given to all of us. The basic moral law which grounded all the 272 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:41.960 laws in the Old Testament is the same law that applies to all men everywhere. 273 00:25:41.000 --> 00:25:47.319 It's why bailick was opposed, it's why the king of Jericho was opposed, 274 00:25:47.400 --> 00:25:52.109 it's why the Assyrians and the Babylonians. They we are all Israel, 275 00:25:52.430 --> 00:25:57.990 Israelite and gentile alike, all under the rule of God, and he requires 276 00:25:59.069 --> 00:26:03.700 of us what what is good? What is good? He has given us 277 00:26:03.700 --> 00:26:07.140 this command, he has made it clear, he's put it on our very 278 00:26:07.299 --> 00:26:12.140 image in such a the way that when people offend us in this way, 279 00:26:12.259 --> 00:26:19.170 we say things like that's not fair, how could you do that? Everybody 280 00:26:19.250 --> 00:26:30.289 knows that we expect justice, we expect kindness. God expects these things and 281 00:26:30.450 --> 00:26:37.920 us to put ourselves under him, to walk humbly before him. We are 282 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:42.960 called to live with God's will, at the center of our lives, not 283 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:49.950 our was will, not our will. God's will is like the the captain 284 00:26:49.990 --> 00:26:56.190 of a ship at the at the wheel, turning and moving us where he 285 00:26:56.390 --> 00:27:03.380 will. So what is Israel to do? What are we to do when 286 00:27:03.460 --> 00:27:08.500 we come under the condemnation, that righteous condemnation, of God? What do 287 00:27:08.579 --> 00:27:12.779 we do when we realize that the most holy, most good, most faithful 288 00:27:12.900 --> 00:27:21.410 God has a true accusation against us? We have not done what is good, 289 00:27:22.450 --> 00:27:32.160 we have not done what the Lord requires us. One thing that's kind 290 00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:40.000 of ironic is that these impious words and verse seven, shall I give my 291 00:27:40.160 --> 00:27:45.509 firstborn for my transgression, as exactly a reminder of what God has done, 292 00:27:45.349 --> 00:27:52.589 but not for his transgression for ours? We cannot even give our firstborn for 293 00:27:52.670 --> 00:27:56.789 our transgression and have it cover our sin. But what a God do? 294 00:27:57.859 --> 00:28:07.500 He gave his son, His only begotten Son, not for God's transgression, 295 00:28:07.539 --> 00:28:11.059 of which there is none, as we've seen and heard, but for ours. 296 00:28:12.009 --> 00:28:19.970 And when he does that, our sins are forgiven, because he forgives 297 00:28:21.049 --> 00:28:29.400 them by doing justice, by atoning for the sins that we have committed, 298 00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:34.640 by acting in this merciful and kind way, in giving us this thing that 299 00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:41.119 we did not deserve and, of course, walking in his will and according 300 00:28:41.160 --> 00:28:44.789 to his way, and all that is good. God does not walk humbly 301 00:28:44.910 --> 00:28:52.269 before himself, but he does walk according to his will. In all this, 302 00:28:52.549 --> 00:28:59.259 what we see in Jesus is that God has fulfilled the requirements of the 303 00:28:59.339 --> 00:29:03.900 law and he's done it in such a way that we can be forgiven of 304 00:29:03.980 --> 00:29:15.329 our sins. God Is Truly Gracious, then, and this is how we 305 00:29:15.529 --> 00:29:19.769 ultimately ought to remember the things that God calls us to remember, when we 306 00:29:21.170 --> 00:29:27.119 look back on the history of the world and remember these events, like Balec 307 00:29:27.240 --> 00:29:36.519 and Balem, like Egypt and the Promised Land, weary these stories. They 308 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:41.190 teach us about God's righteous requirements, but they also teach us about his promise, 309 00:29:42.109 --> 00:29:45.869 they teach us about his salvation, about, as it says here, 310 00:29:45.029 --> 00:29:51.910 his redemption, and they teach us that ultimately, a king and a priest, 311 00:29:52.980 --> 00:29:56.099 a king and a prophet, would come who is one and the same, 312 00:29:56.700 --> 00:30:02.859 Jesus, who doesn't require us to bargain it out for good with God, 313 00:30:03.500 --> 00:30:08.210 to try and get some sort of compromise with him, but comes to 314 00:30:10.049 --> 00:30:15.970 save us from our sin, to redeem us from all in righteousness, so 315 00:30:15.089 --> 00:30:22.359 that we can move forward and confidence into the Promised Land. And so, 316 00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:26.920 when you hear the righteous requirements of the Lord, when you remember his great 317 00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:33.599 strength and promises to his people, see them fulfilled. In Jesus, put 318 00:30:33.720 --> 00:30:38.670 your trust there, hope in him for all things, and God will lead 319 00:30:38.710 --> 00:30:45.549 you forward over any powers and strengths of this world, be they spiritual or 320 00:30:45.630 --> 00:30:53.099 physical. God is God and overcomes all for his people. Let us pray