Covenant Curses Fulfilled

[Read Micah 6:9-16]

There’s an increasing awareness in our society that things are not working. All you have to do is listen to a few podcasts, or watch a few YouTube videos, or turn on the news and you will find a long list of strategies and tactics that will make your life better. In reality, that’s just a sign that most people feel like they need to make their life better—that things are not working. There’s a fog of discontentment that is hanging over our society. 

What’s sad is that all of the advice on YouTube and podcasts will actually make it worse. If you buy these things, your life will be better. Yet, once you buy those things, you realize there are more things that you would like to buy. If you eat this way and do these exercises, your life will be better. Yet, once you start eating that way or doing those exercises, you hear someone else with a different plan—a better one. If you simply invest in this company, or spend your money this way, your life will be better. All of these things promise you contentment and satisfaction and meaning and purpose, but the reality is they only leave you craving and desiring more. They leave you in a state of discontent, always looking for the next best thing. 

As I was writing that, I couldn’t help but draw the connection to addiction. We’re good at recognizing this pattern when it comes to things like drugs and alcohol—watching people pursue satisfaction in things that will not satisfy and will actually take more than they give. Yet, we’re not so good at recognizing this when it comes to our lifestyle choices. Doesn’t it seem like we live in a culture that is addicted to consuming, addicted to pleasure, addicted to various forms of outward/physical improvement? Doesn’t it seem like we live in a culture that is always seeking, but never finding what they seek?

That’s really at the core of this morning’s passage. If you remember last week’s sermon, God’s people had come to him with some complaints that he wasn’t doing enough for them and that he was laying a heavy burden on them. They asked God, “What do you want from us?” and God responded by saying, “I want you. All of you.” This week’s passage is connected to that passage. It’s actually the sad reality of the situation. God’s people were not willing to give themselves to God. They were willing to give him everything EXCEPT the very thing God asked of them. As a result, they have broken covenant with God and will end up receiving consequences as a result. 

Our passage begins with, “The voice of the LORD cries to the city…” (Micah 6:9, ESV). It is never explicitly stated, but based on the context, this is most likely talking about the city of Jerusalem. God is crying out to his people in the midst of the capital. To make sure you understand the gravity of this, it’s important to understand that this is most likely being done through Micah. And, to add to the tension of the situation, based on the context most commentators believe Micah is crying out to the city—on behalf of the LORD—in the middle of the marketplace, where everyone is gathered. So, picture this happening on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year, and Micah has positioned himself in Times Square to convey this message of the Lord. 

The first words out of God’s mouth are: “Hear of the rod and of him who appointed it!” (Micah 6:9, ESV). The rod is a symbol of punishment in this instance. Because God’s people have refused to give themselves to him, because they have broken covenant with him, they are going to be punished BY Him. And God makes that explicit. He tells them not only to pay attention to the punishment that is coming, but also to the one who has appointed the punishment—namely, God himself. God is the one punishing his people. 

This is also here to make sure that they don’t try to explain any of this away. God wants them to know that these things that are happening are happening because he’s punishing them. It’s not just that they are unlucky. It’s not that they aren’t trying hard enough. It’s not that God has fallen asleep. It’s because they have broken covenant with him and are receiving the punishment that comes with that breaking of covenant. 

From there God lays out his case against them, pointing out the variety of ways they have broken covenant with him: “Can I forget any longer the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is accursed? Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales and with a bag of deceitful weights? Your rich men are full of violence…” (Micah 6:10–12, ESV). Much of this shouldn’t surprise us because we’ve been talking about many of these things throughout the book of Micah. So, I won’t dwell here long. He’s pointing out that these people have been ruled by money and have done evil and wicked things for money. That had corrupted the judges, the politicians, and even the priests. When he talks about the “treasures of wickedness” you could call them fat bank accounts filled by wickedness. People were using unequal weights and measures in the marketplace to rob and cheat for more money. There was violence and injustice everywhere. And God rhetorically says, “Do you think I would forget all of this?” The answer is, NO. 

Yet, it’s important to notice that it’s not just the wicked and corrupt leaders. We read, “…your inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.” (Micah 6:12, ESV). This included everyone. The corruption amongst the wicked leaders had spread like bad leaven through the city down to every inhabitant to the point that their mouths were full of deceit and their lives were full of deceit. They had become a people you could no longer trust. 

Probably the most damning indictment against them comes toward the end of the passage: “For you have kept the statutes of Omri, and all the works of the house of Ahab; and you have walked in their counsels…” (Micah 6:16, ESV). Ahab and Omri were kings of the Northern Tribe—and they are known for being wicked kings. Many people have heard of Ahab because of his wife, Jezebel, and all of the wickedness they did. However, Ahab followed in the footsteps of his father, Omri. King Omri left a legacy in the Northern Kingdom. He made Samaria the capital of the Northern Kingdom. He also brought some unity to the Northern Kingdom and is known for bringing peace and prosperity—a flourishing economy—to the Northern Kingdom. He was so well known for this that the Assyrians called the entire Northern Kingdom “The House of Omri.” So, you can see why some people looking in from the outside would say, “WOW! What an amazing King who brought peace and prosperity to his people!” You can also see how the Southern Kingdom, as it became obsessed with money and deceit, would look to Omri and say, “We want that!” and follow in his footsteps. 

Yet, that is not how God describes him. We read, “Omri did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did more evil than all who were before him.” (1 Kings 16:25, ESV). Omri did more evil than all of the other kings combined. It didn’t matter how much peace he brought or how good the economy was. He was an evil, wicked King in the eyes of the Lord…and his son, Ahab, was even worse than him. So, it was not a good thing for God’s people to be looking to these two kings and following their strategies and tactics. 

Actually, here’s the most damning line in the passage: “…you have walked in their counsels…” (Micah 6:16, ESV). That’s in contrast to what God called them to last week: “…to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8, ESV). They had refused to walk humbly with their God and had chosen instead to walk in the counsels of wicked and corrupt and evil kings. Talk about a slap in the face toward the God who delivered you. Talk about a breaking of covenant with him. 

As a result God says, “Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins.” (Micah 6:13, ESV). That’s strong language—a grievous blow, makes them desolate. Yet, this  wouldn’t surprise them. God had warned them of all these things when he entered into covenant with them. If they continued in covenant with him, they would receive blessings. If they broke covenant with him, they would receive curses—the reversal of blessing. Listen this passage from Leviticus: “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, then I will do this to you…I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies…And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins, and I will break the pride of your power…” (Leviticus 26:14–29, ESV). Clearly, they had done all of these things. Now, they are facing the consequences. 

The consequences are what many have called Futility Curses. Listen to them: “You shall eat, but not be satisfied, and there shall be hunger within you; you shall put away, but not preserve, and what you preserve I will give to the sword. You shall sow, but not reap; you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil; you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.” (Micah 6:14–15, ESV). Life will become futile. It will seem like you’re running on a treadmill, never making any progress. You will eat and eat and eat but never be satisfied. You will try to save up for the future, but it will disappear. You will work the fields and plant seeds, but you will never reap a harvest. You will have to work hard with olives and grapes, but never enjoy the fruit of your labor. Life will become futile. You will never be satisfied, always searching, but never arriving.

Not only was there going to be a sense of futility in the hearts of the people, but there were also real, physical consequences as well. One commentator described it this way, “The economy was to grind to a halt. The fresh food displayed so lavishly on the market stalls among which Micah prophesied would soon be a mocking memory. Cornfields that yesterday had yielded the golden grain on sale today would tomorrow be spoiled and trampled by enemy boots, while casks of oil and wine like those heaped here and there would fall into enemy hands. Such was the doom that the vendors' deceitfulness was to unleash.” (Allen, 381). So, not only would they always be searching but never arriving, but also everything they had worked for—all of the wealth and the powerful economy—would be taken away, would disappear in a moment because they had built those things with evil and wickedness.

I also think it’s important to recognize they have brought this on themselves. As we read in Galatians, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7, ESV). As God pointed out in last week’s passage, he has clearly shown them what he requires of them and he has clearly shown them the consequences of their rebellion. They have chosen rebellion. Ironically, God’s people will reap what they have sown. They will not reap from the fields they have planted, but they will reap the consequences of their sin and rebellion. 

The passage ends on an ominous note: “…I may make you a desolation, and your inhabitants a hissing; so you shall bear the scorn of my people.” (Micah 6:16, ESV). The city will be punished dramatically and become a desolation to the point that people will be dumbfounded. The city will bear the scorn of God’s people. And as I read that last line, I can’t help but think about the book of Lamentations, and the desolation that was wrought on the city during its siege and ultimate destruction.

In the midst of all this, it’s easy to be a little shocked, taken back by the brutality of it all. People can find themselves pulling back and questioning God’s justice in this, wondering if this level of punishment was warranted, thinking that God is being harsh. The reality is, that’s not taking everything into account. About seven hundred years later, Jesus would look out over Jerusalem and say, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matthew 23:37–39, ESV). You see, the picture is not of God as some vindictive, angry dictator. Rather, as we see here in Jesus, he has been holding his arms open, desiring for them to repent and to return to him for protection and blessing. Yet, they have refused and chosen to be made desolate. This was the path they chose. They chose to walk in the counsel of Omri and Ahab, rather than walking humbly with their God.

Sadly, nothing had really changed seven hundred years later. As Jesus enters Jerusalem to the shouts and praises of its inhabitants, they are still looking for the wrong King. They are still looking for an Omri or an Ahab who will bring them peace and security, who will fix the economy and bring prosperity. They still think this is how they will be satisfied. They are wrong. 

The only way they will be truly and fully satisfied is through a Savior—a Messiah who would come not as a political or military leader, but as one who will bear the scorn that the city deserves. They will only be satisfied through the true King of Israel who would ultimately be struck with a grievous blow and who would ultimately be made desolate for his people. That King is looking out at his people—at you this morning—saying, “My people, who have done so many evil and wicked things, if you would repent and turn to me, I would take you under my wing and care for you and protect you and satisfy your deepest longings. Will you do that? Will you turn to me, trust me, and give your life to me?” 

Here’s the reality of the situation. Apart from Christ, you will continue to find yourself unsatisfied. You will constantly be looking, but never finding, always searching and never arriving. That’s because these external things actually mean nothing. They never bring satisfaction. Never. In order to find true satisfaction, true rest, something has to change inside you, and the only way things inside you can change is through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. When THAT happens, you can say along with the Apostle Paul, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11–13, ESV). You can say this because you’ve learned that contentment has nothing to do with what is around you—things that are constantly changing—but is based on what is inside you that will never change.