God’s people

Suffering

The prophet Micah was an ordinary man, an average citizen of the nation of Judah, that received a message from the LORD about God’s judgment against Samaria and Judah. Regarding the idolatry of Samaria, Micah was told, “And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces and all the hires thereof shall be burnt with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate” (Micah 1:7).

Micah was greatly affected by the message he received because his own home town was going to be overrun by the Syrians as they marched toward Jerusalem (Micah 1:14). What was going to happen to Judah was a reversal of what they had experienced during the reign of king Uzziah. Over the course of fifty plus years, Judah’s borders had been expanded. They had regained territory lost in various wars and were prospering financially.

One of the indictments Micah brought against the rich citizens was their abuse of the poor. Micah declared, “Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! When morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their own hand” (Micah 2:1). Basically, Micah was saying that people were dreaming up schemes to get rich and were acting without restraint. In particular, people were stealing each other’s land and were disrupting the social order of the nation (Micah 2:2).

When God’s people entered the Promised Land, every family was assigned a portion of land that was to be their inheritance throughout time. Even if a person sold his land, it was to be returned to him or a family member in the year of Jubile, which occurred every 50 years (Leviticus 25:50). The people of Israel and Judah were not following this law and the poor were being left homeless (Micah 2:9).

Like Isaiah and Amos, Micah’s message referred to a remnant that would be regathered to their homeland. An interesting aspect of Micah’s prediction was its depiction of sheep apparently being led to the slaughter. Speaking for the LORD, Micah said, “I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of man” (Micah 2:12).

Psalm 44:22 also depicts God’s people as sheep being led to the slaughter. This psalm may have been written during the reign of king Hezekiah, which coincided with Micah’s ministry. Isaiah also used this illustration in his portrayal of the Messiah (Isaiah 53:7). God’s people and their Messiah were most likely depicted sheep being slaughtered because of the brutality they experienced and the innocent who were killed along side the guilty who deserved to be punishment.

The transition

Amos’ message to the people of Israel indicated they were entering into a time of transition. Things would be different for them in the future in both good and bad ways. One thing that was going to change was the people of Israel would no longer live as a collective group in a single location. Captivity would not only remove the people from their land, but also permanently separate them from each other. Since the time when Jacob’s family went to live in Egypt, all his descendants had remained together, but that would no longer be the case.

It says in Amos 8:2, “The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.” The LORD used an illustration of a basket of summer fruit to describe what he would do to his people (Amos 8:1). He intended to remove them from their source of nourishment and distribute them to other locations. The LORD had been developing his people, tending to them as a farmer would his crop, and it was time for them to be harvested.

While fruit is on the tree, all of it receives the same nourishment, sunshine, rain, and fertilizer. During the harvesting process, the good fruit and the bad fruit are separated out. I believe the basket of summer fruit represented the good fruit the LORD intended to keep for himself. The bad fruit would be removed and destroyed. It says in Amos 8:3, “And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every  place, they shall cast them forth with silence.”

The arrangement God had with his people was that they would worship and serve him only (Deuteronomy 29:20). Even before the people entered the Promised Land, God knew they would forsake him (Deuteronomy 29:24-26). Captivity was a part of his plan from the beginning (Deuteronomy 30:3). I believe the reason God allowed the Israelites to practice idolatry for so many years was because of the effect it had on the surrounding nations. As wicked as the Ninevites were, even they believed, if they repented, God would forgive them (Jonah 3:9).

God was targeting a specific  segment of the population for destruction; those who refused to turn from their sin. The LORD declared, “All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us” (Amos 9:10). The people God had a problem with were the ones who thought they could get away with their sins; the ones who expected there to be no negative consequences for the bad things they were doing. God made it clear that Israel’s fortunes would be restored, but only those “which are called by my name” (Amos 9:12) would be there to enjoy it.