The indictment - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Micah 1:5,

"All this is because of Jacob's transgression, because of the sins of the people of Israel. What is Jacob's  transgression? Is it not Samaria? What is Judah's high place? Is it not Jerusalem?"

The "All this" is a reference to God coming from his dwelling place to bring his judgment on Israel. It is instructive for us to look at the indictment the Lord brought against his people for us to understand what it is he finds important.

What if, in the church today, we focused on all the wrong things?

Here in Micah, the Lord  delivers his condemnation of his people for their displacement of him in their lives. Judah's transgression is Samaria, which had abandoned the Lord in favor of giving itself over to idolatry. The "high place" of Jerusalem is a reference to the idol worship of the people of Judah, as they abandoned the Lord. In short, the indictment of the Lord against the people of Israel was her abandoning him. It is my perspective that the particulars that follow are simply the proof, demonstrating Israel's abandonment of God.

In verse seven we read of Samaria enriching herself through the wages of prostitution. Those who walk with the Lord do no such thing. We read of the people of Israel "who plan iniquity". 2:1. Those who walk with the Lord do no such thing. Those who covet fields and take them, those who defraud people of their homes, robbing them of their inheritance, 2:2, are not those who walk with the Lord. These are the particulars that prove the indictment the Lord made that Israel had abandoned him.

I can't help but think that often the particulars, the "proof" is all that is seen and focused on in the church. If we don't indulge in prostitution, then we're OK. If we don't covet other people's stuff and cheat them out of it, then we are OK. You get the picture... cleaning up the manifestations of not walking with the Lord, and yet, somehow, still not walking with the Lord.

Embracing the Lord, walking with him, is much more than avoiding and eliminating evidence of doing otherwise. Loving the Lord and walking with him cannot be experienced and expressed without caring what he cares about, exchanging our agenda for his, imploring him for what he wants and then doing it, rather than begging him for what we want. These kinds of things. Living for the Lord rather than living for ourselves.

How can we not live for the Lord who loved us, who died a miserable death on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins? How can we not love the Lord who has given us eternal life, a place at his table? How can we not walk with the Lord who has promised us an inheritance for those who are his?

Cleaning up the evidence of not walking with God will not do. We are to be those people who cling tightly to our Lord, who love our Lord in all of that which we expend our lives for.

Something to think about today.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com