Micah 6:13-15
13 Therefore, I have begun to destroy you,
to ruin you because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied;
your stomach will still be empty.
You will store up but save nothing,
because what you save I will give to the sword.
15 You will plant but not harvest;
you will press olives but not use the oil,
you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.
Yesterday, we pictured a court scene where the evidence clearly pointed to the people’s guilt. Today, we hear the judge begin to pass the sentence. We know from the earlier chapters that the judgment which the people are facing is going to involve the invasion of the land by an enemy nation, who will destroy their cities and take many of the people into exile. We’ve had some graphic descriptions of what that will be like, but the language here is different. It’s less bloody, but it’s equally chilling.
The people are going to experience frustration and futility. They will eat but still feel hungry. They will plant and tend their crops, but they won’t be around to enjoy the harvest. However hard they work they won’t have anything to show for it. However much they save, every time they check the bank account it will be empty. All their efforts will come to nothing. The punishment certainly seems to fit the crime - it’s only fair that the unjust rich should lose the wealth that they stole from their fellow-Israelites. But there’s something much more significant going on here. Back in Deuteronomy 28 God laid out two possible ways in which his people could live when they entered the land he was about to give them. “Remain faithful to me, and you will enjoy peace and prosperity. Turn away from me and you will face ruin.” One element of that ruin was this: “You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes.” The judgement that Micah’s generation faced is not something God just dreamed up. It’s the inevitable consequence of God’s people turning away from him and abandoning the covenant. And they have been warned.
The blessings and curses in Deuteronomy 28 are expressed in material terms because they are all tied to the Promised Land. For us as Christians, our blessings are the spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ. And the ultimate curse is the spiritual death, for which new life in Jesus is the only antidote. But the same principle is true: for those who turn away from the Lord there is only frustration and futility. So let’s pray today that God would keep us trusting him, so that we might enjoy the blessings that are ours through the faithfulness of Jesus.
