Micah 1:10-12
10 Tell it not in Gath; weep not at all.
In Beth Ophrah roll in the dust.
11 Pass by naked and in shame, you who live in Shaphir.
Those who live in Zaanan will not come out.
Beth Ezel is in mourning; it no longer protects you.
12 Those who live in Maroth writhe in pain, waiting for relief,
because disaster has come from the Lord, even to the gate of Jerusalem.
So far in Micah, we’ve had some big surprises: God speaks to ordinary people, his coming is terrifying, Jerusalem is no better than a pagan place of worship. Here in v.12 we get another shock.
At the time when Micah was speaking, the nation of Assyria posed a significant threat to Israel. Israel was a pretty small country. Assyria was a great superpower, advancing towards them, ready to conquer the land and take the people captive. The threat was very real. So perhaps the message that ‘disaster is coming’ wouldn’t have been a massive surprise to Micah’s audience. But here’s the shock: he doesn’t say ‘disaster has come from Assyria’, as we might have expected. No. The message is ‘disaster has come from the Lord’. How can that possibly be right? Aren’t these God’s people? Isn’t he supposed to look after them?
God has a long history of exercising his mighty power to rescue his people and destroy their enemies. Just think about the Exodus, when God brought them out of slavery to Pharaoh in Egypt, wiping out every firstborn Egyptian son and the entire chariot section of the Egyptian army. It’s not news that God is able to bring disaster and destruction. But we expect it to fall on Israel’s enemies rather than on Israel itself. Has God forgotten his promises to his people? No! But they have forgotten their loyalty to him. Who needs to fear God’s judgement? God’s enemies do. And the people of Israel, in worshipping other gods, have chosen to put themselves on the side of God’s enemies. The nation lost the benefits of being ‘God’s people’ when they stopped worshipping God as ‘their God’. And so disaster is coming not simply from Assyria, but from God himself, using Assyria as his instrument.
So, let’s never skip over the parts of the Bible that speak about God’s judgement, pretending that ‘our God would never do anything like that.’ Yes, he would. He has judged his enemies in the past. And yes, he will. He will send disaster on his enemies on the last day. But he has also poured out his judgement on Jesus, who went to his death representing all God’s chosen people. Our confidence doesn’t come from imagining that God never sends disaster. It comes from knowing that the ultimate disaster we deserve has already fallen on Jesus, so that it will never fall on us. Let’s give thanks for that today.
