The LORD called on the hills and mountains to hear His charge against Israel, how he redeemed them from slavery to Egypt, gave them Moses, Aaron and Miriam to lead them, and brought them safely into the Promised Land (Micah 6:1-5). This is what God did for them, yet the people repaid Him by rebelling against Him and spurning His commands.

The prophet Micah, as the people's representative, responded with humility. He recognized that no offering, neither great quantity ("thousands") or precious quality ("my firstborn") could make atonement for the sins of the people (Micah 6:6-7). God was not looking for a great sacrifice but humble obedience:

He has shown you, O Mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8).

Micah called on the people to fear God and accept the discipline ("rod") of the LORD. God could not simply acquilt the guilty, who used dishonest scales and practiced violence, lies and deception. God would destroy them because of these sins, so that their food would not satisfy, what they stored up would be gone, and none of their efforts would yield a harvest for them to enjoy. They would end up in ruin and shame (Micah 6:9-16).

The prophet Micah, as the people's representative, responded with misery and humiliation just pronounced against the people. He acknowledged that there were no upright left and all were skilled only in evil all the time. Violence, extortion, bribery and conspiracy characterized the leaders, judges and the powerful. But now God's day of judgment had come upon them, and there was no one they could trust, neither neighbor, nor friend, nor spouse, nor anyone in their entire household (Micah 7:1-6). Here, Micah separated himself from the people, declaring, that he would trust in the LORD:

But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me (Micah 7:7).

Micah now turned his attention to his enemies, perhaps the enemies of Israel, who gloated over fall of Israel. Micah reminded them that even though they would experience the judgment of God on account of their sins, God would ensure that they rise again:

Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the LORD's wrath, until he pleads my case and upholds my cause. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness (Micah 7:9).

Instead of Israel's shame, the nations would be ashamed of questioning the faithfulness of the LORD God. In that future day, God would fortify Israel and extend her boundaries. Her ancient enemies, Assyria and Egypt, along with the peoples of the world, would "stream" to Israel (cf. Micah 4:1-2). But before then, God would judge the inhabitants of the world for their sins (Micah 7:13).

In the final section of Micah's prophecy, the prophet called on the LORD to shepherd His people again to a time of blessing. God declared that He would do so with wonders, as He did when He brought them out of Egypt. Micah declared that in that time the nations would be ashamed and come in humiliation before the LORD (Micah 7:14-17).

Finally, in praise of God's grace, Micah declared the greatness of God in the greatness of His forgiveness of the transgressions, iniquities and sins of His people in keeping with His great promises to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Micah 7:18-20):

Who is God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:18-19).

Justice, mercy, and humility before God are what Micah emphasizes. In His justice God punishes sin. In His mercy God forgives the sin of those who humble themselves and repent before God. Recall, these are what God requires of His people: "to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). What God is to us, we are to be toward one another. We should always act justly, and when we can, we should prefer mercy over judgment (cf. James 2:13), and guiding our attitude and actions should be our humble trust and obedience to God (cf. James 4:10).

It was a long and busy day, and so I fell asleep last night as I listened and read Micah, I was on the last chapter   I started over this after noon and finished.

The transgressors, especially the leaders, reap what they sow...

If we transgress, discipline is sure to come...  Yet the desire of God is for us to Love Him, know Him, obey Him. He truly disciplines those whom He loves, His purpose is to bring us to repentance, so that we may be redeemed.

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” ‭‭Micah‬ ‭6:8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Oh what amazing Love, and faithfulness, so thankful for His Grace and mercy, even His punishment, is for the purpose of our redemption.

In the midst of discipline, if the transgressors hear the Word of the Lord, and humble them selves and repent, they shall be restored.

“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.” Micah‬ ‭7:18-20‬ ‭ESV‬

For her (Samaria/Israel) wound is incurable,
For it has come to Judah;
It has reached the gate of my people,
Even to Jerusalem (Micah 1:9).

Harness the chariot to the team of horses,
O inhabitant of Lachish—
She was the beginning of sin
To the daughter of Zion—
Because in you were found
The rebellious acts of Israel (Micah 1:13).

Micah prophesies to Israel and Judah during the reigns of Hoshea, Ahaz and Hezekiah. This makes him a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea. He has a similar message to theirs. The greatest indictments are against the leaders, particularly the judges, priests and prophets, who have misled the people (cf. Micah 3:11-12). But this chain of influence is also geographcal. As the above cited verses show, wickedness originated in the northern kingdom of Israel and then came to Judah and Jerusalem by way of Lachish (see map).

Friends, just as a cancer spreads if unchecked, so also sin. In the New Testament we read this dictum:

Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character" (1 Corinthians 15:33).

There is an occasion when we need to separate ourselves from "bad company." So, a former alcoholic, who has become a Christian, separates himself from his fellow drinkers. One, who wants to be faithful to the Lord, separates herself from even Christian friends, who like to gossip and steep themselves in frivolous talk. 

There are times when we need to separate ourselves from misguided leadership as well. When my wife and I left our previous church, we saw the church leadership moving away from sound biblical teaching, geting more and more misguided, and leading the flock astray, and we felt we needed to separate ourselves and our child from them. Now, we are under new leadership, whose teachings are biblically sound. But our hearts still yearn for our friends and others, who still remain under that misguided leadership.

Friends, don't be like dumb sheep, following any leader and whatever wind of doctrine. Yes, we are God's sheep, with one Shepherd, who is Christ the Lord, but we are not to be mindless sheep following just any human leader. Be discerning and learn the Word of God for yourselves, so that you can rightly judge what is true from what is error. 

The people of Israel and then Judah mindlessly followed the false teaching of their leaders, who went astray from God's truth. I would love to say that God did not hold the people guilty because they were simply sheep without a good shepherd. But God DID hold them guilty, for regardless of what the leaders said or did, every believer was accountable for their own beliefs and their own deeds. They were judged, even if their leaders were judged more severely. Therefore, friends, I say again, learn the Word of God for yourselves and follow the Lord. Do not entrust your souls to another human being.

I will bear the indignation of the Lord, Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case And executes justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness. (Micah 7:9 NKJV)

This is a remarkable text because in this one Old Testament verse we find the message of salvation. This person (1) acknowledges their sin and deserving judgment ("I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him") and (2) recognizes that God will deliver them by both defending them and satisfying the demands of justice ("Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me"), triumphing over the darkness of sin ("He will bring me forth to the light"), and gaining access into God's holy kingdom ("I will see His righteousness").

The courtroom analogy would suggest that the sinner should be found guilty and judged with a capital punishment; however, the unusual nature of this trial is that the One offended is also the One who defends the criminal. So in what sense is "justice executed" for the criminal. Passages like Isaiah 53 makes clear that the One offended would also pay the price for the offense, so that God's justice would be satisfied. This is how the Messiah would both defend the sinner and satisfy the demands of justice. He would take the punishment for sin upon Himself. He would be the sinner's substitute.

Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:4-6, 11 NKJV)

How does God bring us into the light? How do we see His righteousness? God achieves this by making payment Himself for the sin of His people and by inaugurating a new covenant in His blood, that is, the blood of Christ, whereby we also gain His righteousness. Thus, the Bible says,

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV)

This is the Gospel of God's grace. Without diminishing our sin, nor God's justice in punishing sin, it reveals the faithfulness and power of God to keep His promises in saving forever those that He has chosen for His glory. It is an amazing plan, and we, who believe in Him, are the beneficiaries of it. Praise be to God!

'⁶ With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? ⁷ Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? ⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly^q]">[q] with your God."

 There's no more grain offerings, wave offerings, animal sacrifices and etc. for us to observe but we have now plenty of religious rituals that we think are important to observe. We go to Sunday worship service; we sing songs of praise; we pay monetary offerings; we participate communion. We can be best in being religious by carrying out those religious duties faithfully but it would be empty worship to God because God sees inner chamber of our hearts. Let us "act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God" without ignoring our religious duties.