Case no. 618: God vs. The People of God

(I chose to post this sermon first because it is based on one of my favorite texts: Micah 6:1-8 ).


Let me take a kind of informal survey: have any of you ever had an unplanned interruption? You know what I’m talking about. Something always pops up when we’re at our busiest….Well I had one of those not long ago. I had other things to do. But I couldn’t say “No.” Not to these people. See, I had been “selected” for jury duty. You know, I didn’t really feel like going. I didn’t have the time. It was an inconvenience, and I didn’t care too much for taking time off work, so I told my boss I’d be out a day and went to court.

There were about 40 or so of us in there. We sat through the videotapes and the jury training and filled out the necessary paperwork. I guess a good many of you have been of juries before…well, by 10:30 we were heading into the courtroom. We waited patiently in the gallery as one-by-one jurors and an alternate were selected for the first case of the day. Those of us not selected had to wait for the second trial. We took a break for lunch but we had to come back. We were led back into the courtroom for another jury selection. The selection was going quickly and I was getting hopeful. Just maybe…I had a bunch of things I needed to do. One potential juror recognized the defendant and was excused. Four names to go…then three…Did I mention I had things to do? Then two names ...“Mr. Hawes?” ...wouldn’t you just know it? They called my name. They called another final name and the jury was completed. Those not selected were excused. They got to go home.

We the jury listened intently as arguments were made from both sides. We had been given the responsibility of discerning from the arguments whether the defendant was guilty or not. We were teachers, a doctor, a couple of mechanics, a housewife, one man between jobs and me: ordinary people with someone else’s life in our hands.

There was another jury selected, this one made up of mountains and hills. Creation will wait in the jury box to listen, to deliberate the evidence. “The LORD has a case against his people, and he is now filing a charge against Israel.” These very mountains, which God had crafted with his hands , had witnessed Israel’s deliverance by God into the Promised Land. These mountains were there when God gave Moses the Law and now they are here again, as we see what happens when that Law is broken. Israel had not been a faithful covenant people and so now God takes them to court.

We live in a day and age of lawsuits. Traffic injuries. Corporate indiscretions. If you look at someone funny, they’ll sue you. The funniest one to me is still the one when the woman sues McDonald’s because the coffee is hot. It’s coffee! It’s supposed to be hot! Seems people are looking to make a quick buck and some lawyers are more than willing to help them. But sometimes a lawsuit is necessary. Physician malpractice. Discrimination. Negligence. The crime is too serious.

God is filing suit against God's people Israel. God is bringing the chosen people up on charges. And the mountains will weigh the evidence.

But what has Israel done? Israel is seated in the defendant’s chair. God, the plaintiff, rises to make the opening arguments…

“Oh my people…what have I done to you?”

“Done to you??”

Now wait a minute, God. That doesn’t sound right. I thought you were the one bringing the charges.

What does God think God is doing? It sounds more like God's defending Godself.

Verses 4 -6 “For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses and Aaron and Miriam. Oh my people, remember now what king Balak of Moab devised, what Balaam son of Beor answered him and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal…that you may know the saving acts of the LORD.”

God had redeemed Israel, delivered them from the hand of Pharaoh. Sent plagues and parted the Sea… You know the story. God raised up Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead the people out of bondage. They had been slaves for over 400 years. God heard their cries and rescued them.

And again, king Balak sees Israel on the horizon coming toward his city. He calls for Balaam to place a curse on God’s chosen. As he travels to the king, Balaam’s donkey sees the Angel of the LORD and stops. Balaam strikes the donkey and God opens the mouth of the donkey. The donkey tells Balaam that it stopped because they are in the presence of the Angel of the LORD. “I surely would have killed you had not the donkey stopped.” Balaam is unable to curse Israel. Instead he blesses her.

And at the end of their 40 years in the wilderness, the Israelites passed through Shittim (on one side of the Jordan river) and emerged from the River in Gilgal, in the Promised Land. God had faithfully fulfilled his promise to Abraham.

That’s what God had done.

What has Israel done?

She’s forgotten whose she is. She has forgotten what God has done for her. And she’s living as if none of it ever happened.

Israel responds from the witness stand, “With what shall I come and bow down? What’s my acceptable response? You told us to offer sacrifices. We do that. Are they not enough? Should we come with more? Would a hundred do? How about a thousand rams? What about the oil? How many rivers do you want? Tell me. Want more could you want? My oldest son just turned two. I’ll sacrifice him: My offspring for my sin. Then we’d be even, right? Would that be ‘good enough’?”

Good enough?

God has already told you what is good.

It’s that “Wizard of Oz” moment at the end of the film when Glenda tells Dorothy that she has had the power to go home all-along. You’ve had it the whole time. It’s been right there, right under your nose.

God told you long ago. “What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

Justice

To do justice. How we like to throw that word around. We hear it often in response to heinous crimes and acts of terror. The images from 9/11 and the bombings in London are still fresh on our minds. “We want JUSTICE!,” we cry. …Except that by justice we really mean “revenge.” We want those who have wronged us, who have hurt us, to feel the pain, to experience the loss, to suffer as we have. We want to pay them back. And we cannot rest until they have been brought to “justice.”1

Revenge is not justice. Rather, Biblical Justice is more akin to “judgment” or “verdict.” It was God who exercised justice on behalf of the oppressed. God executed justice against those for whom justice has been denied: the defenseless.

Earlier in his book, Micah lists some examples of the injustices committed:

“Alas, for those who devise wickedness and evil deeds while they are sleeping and when they awake, perform it, because it is in their power. They covet fields and seize them, houses and take them away2 (That sounds eerily familiar)…Should you not know justice? – you who hate the good and love the evil? 3 …and concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry ‘peace’ when people can offer payment to the prophet but cry ‘war’ to those who cannot afford to pay any money.”4

“Take care of the poor, the oppressed, the orphans and widows, and the foreigners in your land,” God said.

God’s justice, at its root, is a deep compassion for those labeled “unworthy” in the eyes of the world.

Hesed

To love mercy. Or kindness. Loyalty. Devotion. Or Loving-kindness. Each of these is used to translate the Hebrew word “Hesed.” And each fails to fully convey the richness of the word. So much so, that my Old Testament Divinity School professor refused to translate it. Whenever he came across it, he read “Hesed.”

“And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in Hesed and truth; keeping Hesed for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” Exodus 34:6-7

“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul and forget not all his benefits; Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, Who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with Hesed and tender mercies…” Psalm 103:1-4

“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope: it is of the Lord’s great Hesed for us we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:21-23

God’s love for God's people is Hesed. David’s love for Jonathan is as well. God’s goodness and mercy are Hesed.

A good image today of Hesed can be seen in the response of the entire world to those affected by the tsunamis. Several countries and a multitude of relief agencies joined together to help. Or the response ot Katrina. Or to the bombings in London. People care enough that they help. God loves each of God's children, deeply. Including the ones who do not acknowledge him.

Walk Humbly

“Walking humbly” is not the third point in a three-point sermon. Rather, “walking humbly” is a summary of the other two.

How is Israel to walk humbly? By doing Justice. Israel walks humbly with God by loving Hesed. Israel walks humbly with God by showing compassion to the strangers. By not taking advantage of the widows and orphans.

That’s good for Israel. But we’re not the ones on trial here. We don’t have to make sacrifices like they did. There’s no Assyria or Babylon waiting in the wings to take us into captivity. There is no other super-power in the world. God doesn’t have a case against us.

Or does God?

What has God done? God redeemed Israel from Egypt and led them into the Promised Land. Israel responds with sacrifices and offerings. God offered God's son Jesus as our atoning sacrifice.

“Come let us worship and bow down… let us kneel before the LORD our God, our maker.” “With what shall we come and bow down? What’s my acceptable response? You told us to bring our tithes into the storehouse. We do that. Are they not enough? Should we come with more? Would fifteen percent do? How about 25 percent? Off the top, before taxes, even. What about worship? We come Sunday morning and night and Wednesday night. How about five days a week? Or seven? What more could you want? I have a family. We could sell everything and move to another country. Leave our friends and jobs behind. I’ll sacrifice my family. One of these days we might even have children…My offspring for my sin. Then we’d be even, right? Would that be ‘good enough’?

God doesn’t want our things. What God requires cannot be purchased, but has to come from within.

The question is not what we bring before God, but who. That is all. Yet that is everything.

I grew up in Richmond, Virginia and came down to Gardner-Webb for college, having felt the call of God to enter the Ministry. I was traveling home for fall break. In a hurry to get home, I would typically limit my stops to a couple of minutes, a gas-and-go. I wasn’t too far from home when I stopped to refuel both my car and my stomach. I pulled off the interstate and into a gas station, quickly filling my car with gas. Next-door was a Burger King. I made my way through the drive-through and ordered a couple of Whoppers and a drink. I downed one burger pretty quickly and set the other on the seat beside me as I made my way out of the parking lot. I made a right hand turn to get onto the main street and found my way to the interstate.

As I waited for the light to turn green, I took a moment to look around. There were pedestrians crossing traffic, drivers honking for others to move faster. To my right across two lanes of traffic was a man standing on the concrete dividing island. He wore an old army jacket and his hair, peppered with gray, was a mess. He wore tattered jeans and an old shoddy t-shirt. He walked about holding a sign, “Will Work for Food. God Bless You.” I glanced at him, and we made eye contact. I looked away and down to my burger. Thankfully, my light turned green and I made my way back onto the interstate and was safely home within two hours.

What did this incident say about me? Some might suggest that I was just being careful. There were several lanes I would have had to cross. I would have had to go on to the interstate only to have to exit it and return. How would I know he would still be there? What if he were dangerous? I know of some instances where people have played on sympathy only to take advantage of charity. Was it safe for me to stop and help? Surely someone else will help him.

There I was, a college student preparing for ministry, with my Bible and my other “Religious” books on the seat beside me, passing a friend in need. I arrived safely home, yet I was a different person. I had passed up an opportunity to help. My disobedience nagged me for the remainder of the trip. I had hoped that the vision of the man and the sign “God Bless You” would disappear from my memory and I’d be able to forget about him.

I had been found guilty. I had failed to do justice. Failed to show the Hesed, the love and mercy of God. I was not walking humbly with my God. Guilty as charged.

The jury is still out for the rest of us…

1 Paraphrase of NIB Pastor’s Bible Study, vol.1, 78.
2 Micah 2:1-2
3 Micah 3:1
4 Micah 3:5

Purpose

I got the idea to host a blog of sermons and reflections after reading some of the sermons of a gifted female preacher. She was a classmate of mine at the Divinity School at Gardner-Webb in North Carolina.

(Please follow this link to her original blog and this link to her sermon site).

(Perhaps at a later date we can reflect on what it means to be a bearer of the Gospel, something men and women are equally gifted and called to do).

The intention is for folks to reflect on God and God's work in the world. This will be a forum for bloggers to not only read and respond to my own narrow sighted reflections but to contribute their thoughts for others to consume.

There are gifted communicators of God's Gospel whose words deserve a larger audience than those who sit within earshot on Sunday mornings...

Blessings,

Dave