Corrupt religion tried before a court of nations
Leader’s note: Another call to hear in v1 opens the third cycle of proclaimed judgment and restoration. In Mi 6, the conviction for their crime takes place in the setting of a court with the kingdoms of the nations (‘mountains’) serving as the jury.
Read Mi 6.
1) vv1-4 introduce the case of the ancient Israel as a legal case. Who is called upon as the jury?
- v1: What ‘mountains’ is the prophet talking about? cf Mi 4:1 [mountains are kingdoms; here the kingdoms of ungodly nations]
- v2: What role does God assume in this court in v2? [Prosecutor; ‘contending with Israel’ (NIV: Lodging a charge against)]
- vv3-4: What role in court does the Lord take on in vv3-4? [The offended party]
2) vv5-10: What offense of Israel is laid out before this jury of nations?
- v5: Why were they asked to remember the story of the prophet Balaam who advised Balaak, king of Moab, that to stop an Israelite conquest, Moabite women should seduce Israelite leaders to worship their fertility gods by fornication (Nb 25)?
- ‘…that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord’: What are those? Hint: How many died of a plague that day? [24’000: God’s righteous judgment of all unrighteousness]
- vv6-8: Who is speaking now and about what?
- v8: One who recalls the code of conduct that was offended: What does that code demand? And what does it not require? Why was it necessary to spell that out?
- v9: Could the accused plead ignorance or that the code of conduct was unreasonable? Why not?
3) vv10-12: What role did the Lord now assume in that court to portray the character of the defendant?
- v11 : ‘Shall I acquit Israel?’ i.e. God as the judge asking the jury of nations for their guilty/not guilty verdict
- vv10: Why did the judge recommend to the jury a guilty verdict?
- vv12: What aggravating circumstances are listed here? [lies and deceit of the common people: It was not only the fault of the leaders]
4) vv13-16: A guilty verdict by the jury is implied by the penalty imposed by the judge: Does anything surprise you about it?
- Does Micah prophecy any shortage of bread or olives or grapes?
- What punishment was pronounced instead?
- v14: What kind of hunger is this that remains even if the stomach is full? cf Ecc 6 [Spiritual starvation and death resulting from lack of grace]
- v15: If there was enough seed to sow, what was the pronounced punishment other than material poverty?
- What could it mean to tread olives but enjoy no ointment with oil?
- And what does wine signify?
5) Personal and application
- What do these metaphors identify as the root cause of fruitless, Spirit-less (oil) and joyless (wine) religiosity?
- What were the nations on the jury of this trial of Israel supposed to learn?
- What of this message remains relevant to this day and for whom?
- How can you help each other to communicate this?
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