Micah 7:8-9
8 Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be my light.
9 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.
I’m not a massive TV watcher but I do love a good legal drama! I’m not sure how realistic they are. But in high-drama TV world, cases are often won or lost as a result of someone manipulating the evidence. If one side discovers something that goes against their argument, they’ll do whatever they can to keep that evidence out of the courtroom. The prosecution doesn’t want the defence to know that someone disturbed the crime scene before the forensics team got there. The defence doesn’t want the prosecution to find out that the defendant’s blood-stained clothes are hidden in his neighbour’s garage. I’d like to think that it isn’t what actually happens in real life!
Fortunately, there’s no risk of this kind of manipulation in God’s courtroom. Partly because God himself is perfectly just and honest, there is no deceit in him and so his verdicts will always be faultless. But also because, in this court, the prosecutor and the defence are one and the same person. Remember how back in Chapter 6, the Lord was presenting his case against the people. But here we see that this same Lord is pleading their case. He is arguing for their release. Not because he’s missed a crucial piece of evidence. Not because he’s been swayed by an emotional appeal from the one in the dock. The accused knows he is guilty as we see in v9 - ‘I have sinned against him’. The just God can plead our case and uphold our cause because the verdict has already fallen on Jesus at the cross. He has swapped places with us, so that we can move from darkness to light. From condemnation to freedom. There’s no dodgy dealings or manipulation of the facts. Justice has been done. God’s righteousness is satisfied. The only one with any right to condemn declares that we are free to leave the court. Isn’t that wonderful? Let’s praise him for that today.
