As you read through the prophetic books of the Bible, you realize that they are brutally honest and relentlessly just in their assessment of Israel’s sin. Take Micah, for example, where we read. . .
“Woe to those who scheme iniquity,
who work out evil on their beds!” (Micah 2:1)
“Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe,
Her priests instruct for a price
And her prophets divine for money. . .
Therefore on account of you
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins. . .” (Micah 3:11)
“‘It will be in that day,’ declares the Lord,
‘That I will cut off your horses from among you
And destroy your chariots.
I will cut off the cities of the land
And tear down your fortifications.” (Micah 5:10, 11)
Let’s face it, this does not make for good bed-time devotionals. These are not passages included in the illustrated Bibles for children! But as numerous as these warnings are (hundreds), the more dominant themes are of hope and mercy for those who repent and believe God.
Near the end, Micah speaks of the judgment coming on those who oppose God and reject His grace, but then looks beyond God’s discipline, leading to these words of praise:
“Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity
And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of his possession?
He does not retain His anger forever,
Because he delights in unchanging love.
He will again have compassion on us;
He will tread our iniquities under foot.
Yes, you will cast all their sins
Into the depth of the sea.” (Micah 7:18, 19)
God judges because He must, for He is just. But that is not His joy, as much as His duty. His true delight is in showing love and mercy. This is His bent and His delight. He loves to forgive and restore sinners.
That is the foundation of God’s requirement for us, too:
“He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)
Justice is something we do; kindness is what we love.This is why we are told to forgive as we have been forgiven, and in showing kindness, even to our enemies, we demonstrate our kinship in the family of God.
“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
Matthew 5:44–45