Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - REPLAY： Most Misused： Micah 6

00:00:00.000 hey guys welcome to relatable today we are doing a most misused if you don't know what that is

00:00:15.820 that's where we take a popular verse that is used a lot it's decontextualized and we look at what

00:00:20.620 it actually means so micah 6 8 says he has told you oh man what is good and what does the lord

00:00:27.820 require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your god we've

00:00:35.080 done a few of these in the past we've done jeremiah 29 11 plans to prosper you not to harm you

00:00:40.040 psalm 37 4 he will give you the desires of your heart matthew 7 1 don't judge i'll see you be judged

00:00:45.820 and so what we do is we take this popular verse that's typically placed on mugs or t-shirts or

00:00:50.940 used in social media captions and we dive into what it actually means based on the text and based on

00:00:57.320 the context because so often the most well-known verses are the most misused and abused verses

00:01:03.260 philippians 4 13 is another one like this i can do all things through christ who strengthens me it's a

00:01:08.500 wonderful verse but when it's decontextualized we actually lose a lot of the meaning but what we see

00:01:15.340 when we read these verses and we seek to understand them rather than just apply them in a feel-good way

00:01:21.660 in whatever context we want is that the true meaning of the text is so much better it's so much better

00:01:27.260 than the pithy applications they have when they're just decontextualized so today we are going to do

00:01:34.020 micah 6 8 because particularly in the past year this verse has been used by many who may identify as

00:01:41.320 let's say social justice focused christians to biblically support their pursuit uh in in the for

00:01:48.580 example the abolition of of what they might refer to as systemic racism in the united states uh this

00:01:54.780 verse was used a lot after the george floyd incident on social media as a way to say as christians we need

00:02:01.240 to be uh talking about marching about etc racialized police brutality we need to be doing the work of

00:02:08.460 anti-racism we need to be working toward so-called racial reconciliation and we've talked about all of

00:02:15.220 these topics and concepts many times thoroughly before the media narratives versus what the data

00:02:21.300 says about each and we won't get into all of that today because what i want to focus on uh is what

00:02:27.440 this particular verse that is used so pervasively actually means not what i want it to mean not what

00:02:32.640 you want it to mean but what it actually means according to scripture and the way that we do that is by

00:02:38.340 looking at the context so as christians we hold to the truth that the bible is the inerrant infallible

00:02:46.300 word of god inspired by the holy spirit and written by human hands that god has been faithful god has

00:02:53.120 been sovereign over the translation and the compilation of the bible and by his grace the text

00:03:00.080 that we have today is nearly identical to the message relayed in the original documents that we have

00:03:06.200 access to so first because of that we take his word as authoritative we submit our feelings our

00:03:12.660 preconceived notions to it not the other way around we seek to understand each verse in light of the

00:03:19.820 entirety of scripture we do our best to seek to understand each verse plainly while acknowledging

00:03:25.660 that we are finite and therefore we completely have the capacity to get it wrong but also we acknowledge

00:03:33.220 that god has given us and teachers and leaders who have come before us the wisdom and the insight

00:03:39.600 through his spirit to be able to diligently seek and understand as best as possible what he means

00:03:46.400 and what he is saying in the bible the various interpretations and the many translations of the bible

00:03:52.740 don't actually negate its integrity but rather speak to its miraculously enduring nature and the piercing

00:04:00.260 truth of the gospel of jesus christ which penetrates all of our disagreements in all of our confusion

00:04:06.140 so as we dig into this verse we have these things in mind understanding that our exposition of this verse

00:04:13.040 is fallible i mean my discussion of this verse will be fallible because i'm fallible but we also humbly

00:04:20.340 ask for god's wisdom and we trust him to give us that wisdom because he promises that in the book of james

00:04:28.180 that he has given us the tools by which we can seek that wisdom to understand what he is saying in scripture

00:04:34.280 so let's zoom out in our analysis first before we zoom in we have to understand the context which means

00:04:40.700 that we need to know what the book of micah is who wrote it to whom it was written when it was written

00:04:47.380 and why it was written i have a john mcarthur study bible that i enjoy i also have an esv study bible

00:04:53.140 that i highly recommend i love the esv study bible i also have a keyword study bible it allows me to

00:04:58.840 look at the original greek and hebrew and i will also reference other commentaries from biblical

00:05:03.680 scholars and if there's a big picture biblical concept that i need to better understand when

00:05:09.520 i'm studying scripture i typically consult systematic theology by wayne grudem another

00:05:14.180 recommendation that i have i have a whole list of recommended resources by the way on my website

00:05:19.340 allybethstucky.com that you can look at but these are just a few of them that i use when i'm studying

00:05:24.040 scripture another great and reliable resource i've talked about this but if you're new here maybe

00:05:29.760 you've never heard of it gotquestions.org i know it sounds cheesy and super generic but i actually find

00:05:37.380 their answers to questions to be very thorough and very biblical and so that's a really great resource if

00:05:42.780 you just want to type in at gotquestions.com like what does the bible say about the mark of the beast

00:05:48.640 or something like that then it typically has a really good responses for you to at least give

00:05:54.060 you some food for thought and some direction to go into as you're studying the subject in scripture

00:05:59.900 okay so and i'm when i'm looking at when i'm looking at the resources that i have what i find

00:06:06.740 is that the book of micah is named after the prophet micah this is hebrew uh this is a hebrew name

00:06:12.920 meaning who is like the lord in micah 7 18 at the end of the book we see micah use his own name as he

00:06:19.900 is proclaiming the love and the compassion of god when he says this who is a god like you pardoning

00:06:26.080 iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance he does not retain his

00:06:31.840 anger forever but he delights in steadfast love so we don't know too much about micah but his name

00:06:38.480 speaks to god's special sovereignty in preordaining his prophets that micah's name would represent a

00:06:45.040 rhetorical question pointing to god's glory who is like the lord is a rhetorical question because

00:06:50.800 we already know the answer god's people would have known the answer and the answer is no one

00:06:56.420 if we go to the words of another prophet isaiah we see god ask this question almost sarcastically

00:07:03.060 because the answer is so obvious he says this thus says the lord the king of israel and his redeemer

00:07:09.880 the lord of hosts i am the first and i am the last besides me there is no god who is like me let

00:07:17.280 him proclaim it let him declare and set it before me since i appointed an ancient people let them

00:07:23.060 declare what is to come and what will happen fear not nor be afraid have i not told you from of old

00:07:28.940 and declared it and you are my witnesses is there a god besides me there is no rock i know not any

00:07:36.580 that's isaiah 44 6 through 8 it's a great chapter i highly encourage you to go read uh the chapter in

00:07:43.240 its entirety but the lord highlights his preeminence his exclusive power uh compared to idols which can't

00:07:51.020 see can't hear can't act while he is acting and moving and ruling and perfect strength and justice and

00:07:57.820 wisdom and actually what is interesting is that isaiah and micah were prophesying around uh the

00:08:04.340 same time period in close proximity to each other so this is a theme that god communicates that god

00:08:10.340 clearly wants his people to know a reminder that hey the guidance and the deliverance that you were

00:08:15.760 looking for and the idols that you've now turned to will not come through for you am i not the god

00:08:21.560 who made you who set you apart and has done great things for you am i not better than all of these

00:08:27.020 false weak useless gods these inanimate objects that you've turned to what we see throughout

00:08:33.300 scripture is that god is unabashedly fixated on his own glory he is a jealous god who will again and

00:08:41.180 again remind us that he alone is worthy of our worship and that our worship of him is inextricably

00:08:47.760 intertwined with good and with peace for us and what he speaks through micah demonstrates exactly that

00:08:55.300 micah prophesied to the people of jerusalem during the reigns of of jotham of ahaz and hezekiah from

00:09:02.000 about 735 to 710 bc the book echoes many of the themes that we see in isaiah and hosea and hezekiah and

00:09:10.820 amos who were all prophesying to israel in different regions around the same time and they were all in

00:09:16.780 different ways prophesying to a people who had not just turned to idolatry but who had welcomed

00:09:22.120 injustice micah's focus was on the southern kingdom ruled by judean kings there was much conflict in

00:09:29.680 the region before god called micah to prophesy that eventually led to the prosperous reign of king

00:09:35.540 uzziah which led to the reign of jotham who was the first king under whom micah prophesied

00:09:40.460 jotham helped continue the prosperity that his father's policies had helped ensure but

00:09:46.780 his problem was that he failed to outlaw the idolatry that was running rampant among the people

00:09:53.420 john macarthur notes in my study bible quote worship of the canaanite fertility god baal was

00:09:58.940 increasingly integrated with the ot sacrificial system old testament sacrificial system reaching

00:10:05.180 epidemic proportions under the reign of ahaz second chronicles 28 1 through 4 tells us

00:10:11.440 king ahaz was another king under whose reign micah was prophesying refugees from nearby fallen samaria

00:10:18.880 had infiltrated judea bringing their own idolatrous religious practices which only added to the problem

00:10:25.420 the judean people hoard after other gods that's what scripture tells us which as we see

00:10:30.320 throughout the bible throughout history leads to the loss of morality both individually and societally

00:10:37.280 and therefore leads to corruption and the oppression of the most vulnerable and as we say often on this

00:10:43.960 podcast this is what we see in israel's history godlessness refusal to worship and acknowledge the one

00:10:50.580 true god makes hearts of stone and brains of mush it makes hard hearts and mushy minds and that's what was

00:10:57.560 happening to god's people here that's why micah is prophesying as well as to warn that this rebellion

00:11:06.320 will lead to judgment uh that babylon will conquer them a reality that at the time did not seem possible

00:11:12.300 because their biggest competition and threat was assyria so like other prophets micah's message was

00:11:18.300 probably hard to believe and definitely hard to hear for his audience at the time because again

00:11:23.020 they had those mushy minds and hard hearts micah presents his case like a prosecutor like some of

00:11:29.020 these prophets do laying out the evidence of guilt of the people my study bible says this

00:11:34.860 there are three oracles or cycles in the book of micah each beginning with the admonition to quote here

00:11:41.660 within each oracle he moves from doom to hope doom because they have broken god's law at sinai

00:11:48.400 hope because of god's unchanging covenant with their forefathers as 720 says so the message is

00:11:55.540 you've been faithless and because god is a just god who cares about his glory and cares about your

00:12:02.540 obedience and the consecration of his people you will be judged and punished but because god is

00:12:09.840 faithful he will also restore you he will protect those of you who turn to him who love him who obey him

00:12:16.120 because he is abundantly patient and abundantly gracious he will not destroy you in your entirety

00:12:22.580 as you deserve he will bring you in he will welcome you back he will bless you this is a cycle

00:12:29.340 that we see throughout the old testament that culminates in jesus christ who pays the ultimate

00:12:34.140 and eternal price for all of our sins satisfying the judgment that each of us deserve through his death

00:12:41.480 so even though we are not ancient israel even though we are living under a new covenant as christians

00:12:47.120 we read the prophets and we get an understanding of god's character his will his glory his intolerance of sin

00:12:53.460 and the amazing miracle of the gospel that saves believers from his just wrath so the first part of

00:13:00.400 this book is the first oracle uh outlining the people's disobedience the impending doom and the

00:13:06.820 promise of deliverance here are a few verses uh verses that speak to that for behold the lord is coming

00:13:14.040 out of his place and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth and the mountains will

00:13:19.220 melt under him and the valleys will split open like wax before the fire like waters pour down a steep place

00:13:25.920 all this is for the transgression of jacob and for the sins of the house of israel woe to those who devise

00:13:32.420 wickedness and work evil on their beds when the morning dawns they perform it because it is in the power of

00:13:38.660 their hand they covet fields and seize them and houses and take them away they oppress a man in his house

00:13:45.240 a man in his inheritance therefore thus says the lord behold against this family i am devising

00:13:51.820 disaster from which you cannot remove your necks and you shall not walk haughtily for it will be a

00:13:57.960 time of disaster i will surely assemble all of you oh jacob i will gather the remnant of israel i will set

00:14:05.520 them together like sheep in a fold like a flock in its pasture a noisy multitude of men so what we read

00:14:12.680 in this first oracle in this first cycle is that the people are guilty they have done wickedly god is

00:14:19.120 coming to punish them but he will save a remnant who is faithful to him and then we see the second

00:14:24.940 cycle or oracle that speaks to the leaders of the land specifically who are guilty who are oppressing the

00:14:30.700 vulnerable among them god promises to deliver those who have been oppressed under these leaders

00:14:36.400 here are you heads of jacob and rulers of the house of israel is it not for you to know justice

00:14:42.800 you who hate the good and love the evil who eat the flesh of my people and flay their skin from off

00:14:49.380 them then they will cry to the lord but he will not answer them he will hide his face from them at

00:14:55.040 that time because they have made their deeds evil hear this you heads of the house of jacob and rulers of

00:15:01.400 the house of israel who detest justice and make crooked all that is straight its heads give judgment

00:15:07.380 for a bribe its priests teach for a price its prophets practice divination for money yet they

00:15:14.540 lean on the lord and say is not the lord in the midst of us no disaster shall come upon us therefore

00:15:20.960 because of you zion shall be plowed as a field jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins and the mountain

00:15:26.860 of the house a wooded height so there was oppression there was political and religious corruption there

00:15:33.320 was bribery among judges deuteronomy 10 17 says this for the lord your god is god of gods and lord of lords

00:15:41.280 the great the mighty and the awesome god who is not partial and takes no bribe god hates bribery he hates

00:15:50.620 dishonesty he hates partiality we'll talk a little bit more about that later when we talk about what

00:15:56.560 justice really means psalm 15 5 says this who does not put out his money at interest and does not take

00:16:03.380 a bribe against the innocent he who does these things shall never be moved so again we see that

00:16:09.520 god hates bribes he hates corruption he hates people who look good on the outside but who underneath it

00:16:16.920 are dishonest and manipulative at the expense of the weak and the poor there were schemes for profit it

00:16:23.040 looks like uh under the guise of priesthood and prophecy that's what micah is talking about god

00:16:28.440 through micah is talking about in his prophecy uh which is another example of that kind of hypocrisy

00:16:34.680 that god hates so much that jesus also calls out in his ministry and condemnation of the pharisees

00:16:41.200 it was not the pharisees strict adherence to the law that jesus detested that's really important for us

00:16:46.380 to realize it was not their faithfulness that he didn't like but rather their their rule abiding

00:16:52.860 in order to be arrogant to oppress others and to cover up their inner and secret sinfulness and

00:16:59.440 corruption then god promises in this second cycle deliverance from uh the people's enemies and the

00:17:08.600 preservation of the remnant then the remnant of jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples like

00:17:13.720 dew from the lord like showers on the grass and so he promises that because of his faithfulness

00:17:19.940 he is going to protect a remnant of israel whom he will call to himself who will obey him and then in

00:17:27.220 the third oracle or cycle or cycle that we see in the book of micah is where we get to our key verse

00:17:33.160 today which is micah 6 8 um in this last segment of the book of prophecy micah offers rebuke and lament

00:17:39.760 and then he ends with that message of assurance of victory in the lord here you mountains the

00:17:46.040 indictment of the lord and you enduring fountains of the earth for the lord has an indictment against

00:17:51.100 his people and he will contend with israel oh my people what have i done to you how have i wearied

00:17:57.500 you answer me for i brought you up from the land of egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery

00:18:03.800 so he's saying have i honestly burdened you that you've gotten tired of me like how could that be

00:18:10.720 possible when it was i says god that released you from the burden of slavery was my faithfulness not

00:18:16.760 enough for you were my blessings not good enough for you this is what god seems to be asking in this

00:18:22.340 passage then micah asks what they could possibly do to make up for their sin to get right uh with the

00:18:29.860 lord then micah echoes what the people are probably asking uh when they're wondering what could they

00:18:38.220 possibly do then to make up for their sin to answer the indictments of the lord so they can get right

00:18:44.100 with the lord should i sacrifice thousands of rams 10 000 rivers of oil should i offer my firstborn

00:18:50.420 the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul these are hyperbolic questions used to make a rhetorical

00:18:57.100 point but then there's an answer to these questions when people are asking oh my gosh i have i'll do

00:19:03.140 anything i'll give anything up to make to make myself right with god but then the answer is in

00:19:09.080 micah 6 8 he has told you oh man what is good and what does the lord require of you but to do justice

00:19:17.440 and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your god so the answer is no god doesn't need you to

00:19:24.160 sacrifice your firstborn child he doesn't need a thousand rivers of oil he wants your obedience he

00:19:30.160 wants your heart he wants your faithfulness oh israel he wants you to do justice to love kindness

00:19:38.080 and to walk humbly with god the rest of chapter 6 talks about the destruction of the wicked the final

00:19:45.320 chapter chapter 7 in micah is to the faithful remnant this is still a part of that third cycle or or

00:19:51.480 oracle um he is instructing them to wait for god to trust in his steadfast love his faithfulness to

00:20:00.400 keep his covenant he reminds them of he promises to destroy his people's enemies and restore and

00:20:06.960 bless them so chapter 7 verses 18 through 20 say he does not retain his anger forever because he

00:20:14.460 delights in steadfast love he will again have compassion on us he will tread our iniquities underfoot

00:20:20.740 you will cast all of our sins into the depths of the sea you will show faithfulness to jacob and

00:20:26.580 steadfast love to abraham as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old so in light of all of

00:20:32.520 this what does our key verse that is very widely used today actually mean what does it mean first to

00:20:39.720 do justice to love mercy and to walk humbly with god um let's break the verse down and then we'll talk

00:20:46.880 about it again in light of the context of the entire book and of this prophecy so let's read the

00:20:53.140 verse micah 6 8 one more time he has told you oh man what is good and what does the lord require of

00:20:59.580 you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your god so let's break that down

00:21:06.740 first let's look at that word do because i think that's an interesting part of this verse we're not just

00:21:12.380 talking about admiring justice we're not just talking about liking it or aspiring to it or even

00:21:17.780 understanding it god is telling his people to do justice that hebrew word for do is asah and that's a

00:21:25.400 s a h asah so it means to do or to make to accomplish to achieve to acquire to act to complete to do

00:21:34.520 something certainly tangibly absolutely to cause or to commit to deal or to determine my keyword study

00:21:41.980 bible says this about this hebrew word this frequently used hebrew verb conveys the central

00:21:47.400 notion of performing an activity with a distinct purpose a moral obligation or a goal in view in

00:21:54.520 other contexts it's used to communicate the yielding of grain constructing something engaging in warfare

00:22:00.160 the completing of something so it is a forward moving action with a moral imperative attached to it

00:22:08.700 it's a word that seems to denote a project that's being executed that was handed down by a boss for

00:22:14.760 example progress being made under the responsibility of an assigned task work being done um it's very

00:22:22.300 tangible it's very concrete again it is attached to a moral imperative so what could it mean then to do

00:22:30.360 justice uh the word used here for justice is a mishpat that's m-i-s-h-p-a-t this type of justice used in

00:22:40.140 this context means a verdict that is pronounced uh judicially especially a sentence for a formal decree

00:22:47.420 which includes the act the the place the suit the crime and the penalty so this is the word that

00:22:53.300 describes the legal process carried out in a way that is proper and in this case that means proper

00:22:59.560 according to god we see this exact same hebrew word used in zephaniah 2 3 seek the lord all you

00:23:08.120 humble of the land who do his just commands seek righteousness seek humility perhaps you may be hidden

00:23:16.840 on the day of the anger of the lord which is very similar to what we're talking about in micah 6 8 so

00:23:23.400 do his just commands is a good way to understand this phrase do justice um it's a word this do um

00:23:33.280 and mishpat put together it's a term that's used to uh describe executing god's commands and in fact

00:23:39.620 we see consistently when it is uh used uh when it is used it always goes hand in hand with god's

00:23:46.880 commandments with god's ordained legal processes in god's definitions of fair treatment and just

00:23:54.020 punishment that means that when this word justice mishpat uh is uh is used here in micah 6 8 it is

00:24:03.300 talking about god's commands about what he says right and wrong looks like it means people totally

00:24:10.040 in submission to his law because remember the fundamental the foremost sin that he was indicting

00:24:16.680 the people for was idolatry so we can't talk about micah 6 8 without talking about the fact that knowing

00:24:24.400 justice and abiding by justice according to what god says justice is we first have to repent from

00:24:30.500 idolatry and obey the lord so that means when we say that we are going to do justice according to micah 6 8

00:24:37.440 what is meant is actually just obeying the lord what is meant is being holy as he is holy what is

00:24:43.720 meant is aligning our lives and our definitions of right and wrong with his good instruction in all

00:24:50.480 the biblical context that we see this word used we see that it means how things are supposed to be

00:24:56.400 done according to god's standards in other words right it means to do things right and that god alone

00:25:04.460 is the decider the determinant and the author of what is right so when we use this verse it doesn't

00:25:12.240 simply apply to that which we want it to apply it doesn't mean whatever we want it to mean it means

00:25:18.580 defining justice exactly how god defines it it is predicated on turning from idolatry and turning

00:25:26.900 toward the lord and walking in his commands and what i see so often today is people using this verse

00:25:33.000 or the word justice in general to mean whatever they want it to mean if it means abolishing the

00:25:37.900 police if it means looting if it means reparations if it means redistribution of wealth if it means

00:25:42.840 government subsidized health care whatever people apply this word justice in this verse micah 6 8 to

00:25:50.580 mean whatever political cause left or right that they want it to mean but the reality is as that this is

00:25:57.060 talking in this verse about procedural justice that is in complete alignment with what god commands

00:26:03.140 this is not talking about today's elusive intangible idea of secular social justice which almost always

00:26:10.000 simply means whatever whatever government programs or progressive talking points are proffered that claim

00:26:17.260 to fix problems it is talking about ensuring justice mishpat happens as god says it must happen

00:26:27.040 as we've talked about many times when it comes to the characteristics of god's justice

00:26:32.700 in society the handling of the guilty and the innocent the accused and the accuser we see four

00:26:40.100 main characteristics and they are you could probably recite them if you've been listening to this

00:26:44.720 podcast for any amount of time truthful impartial direct and proportional now there may be other

00:26:51.000 characteristics biblical characteristics of god's justice and there are different kinds of justice also

00:26:55.640 that we see in the bible but when it comes to this particular justice when it's talking about

00:27:00.760 procedural justice these are the main descriptors of god's justice that most prominently uh come to

00:27:08.220 mind and come to the surface when you read about his law giving to ancient israel in the old testament and

00:27:14.820 even though as we've said we are not ancient israel and we don't follow all of the laws that god gave to

00:27:20.740 his people then we also know that god doesn't change and therefore we understand that god still hates

00:27:26.280 that which he has always hated he loves that which he has always loved god's definitions of good and bad

00:27:31.880 of just and unjust have not changed so when we see these principles articulated in the old testament

00:27:38.140 we get to hold to them today when we are asking ourselves what does justice really mean and what does it even

00:27:46.280 mean for or to do justice in in society so here are some examples of these four characteristics of god's

00:27:55.340 justice truthful impartial direct and proportional we see in exodus 23 1 through 3 you shall not spread a

00:28:02.340 false report you shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness you shall not fall in

00:28:08.620 with the many to do evil nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit siding with the many so as to pervert

00:28:14.920 justice nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit so right there in his commands to israel

00:28:22.760 we see two major aspects of god's definition of what is just truthful and impartial truthful and

00:28:29.920 impartial leviticus 19 15 you shall do no injustice in court you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer

00:28:37.960 to the great but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor again we're seeing impartiality here

00:28:44.080 we also see the characteristic of directness you are judging your neighbor specifically for a crime

00:28:51.040 that he or she has done listen to deuteronomy 19 15 through 21 and god's concern with truth

00:28:57.440 with impartiality with proportionality and with directness a single witness shall not suffice against

00:29:04.260 a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed

00:29:08.800 only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established if a

00:29:15.220 malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing then both parties to the dispute shall

00:29:20.400 appear before the lord before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days the judges shall

00:29:26.460 inquire diligently and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely

00:29:31.040 then you shall do to him as he had meant to do for his brother so you shall purge the evil among your

00:29:38.160 midst and the rest shall hear and fear and shall never again commit any such evil among you your eye

00:29:44.080 shall not pity for it shall be life for life eye for eye tooth for tooth hand for hand foot for foot

00:29:51.960 now i want to say something about that last line because you may be thinking about when jesus says in

00:29:57.920 matthew 5 38 through 42 that instead of an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth uh you should uh you

00:30:05.340 shouldn't pay back people for what they've done so i wanted to reconcile these two things do we do away

00:30:12.220 with what is said in the old testament is jesus talking about legal procedures and i so i consulted my

00:30:18.920 study bible and this is what i found jesus shows that this principle which was meant to guide judges and

00:30:24.460 assessing damages was never intended as a rule for ordinary interpersonal relationships which the

00:30:30.300 faithful should seek to imitate god's own generosity so here and this is something that you can tell by

00:30:36.620 the context as well of matthew 5 is that jesus is not doing away with the legal principle of

00:30:42.300 proportionality as we see it in the old testament he is showing people he's showing the pharisees he's

00:30:47.840 showing the jewish people at the time how they had perverted this law in order to apply to their

00:30:54.000 interpersonal relationships in order to be hateful and oppressive in their friendships and in their

00:30:59.080 relationships with their neighbors and so when jesus is saying look don't seek revenge it's no longer

00:31:05.500 eye for an eye or tooth for tooth he is not trying to say that the justice penal system needed to be

00:31:13.120 changed to no matter match proportionality he is talking about interpersonal relationships where we

00:31:18.940 should emulate that kind of forgiveness and generosity that god through christ has shown us

00:31:23.460 so that means when it goes for justice in court god's principle still stands as good and right

00:31:28.680 proportional based on evidence and truth it is direct and specific to both a crime and a person

00:31:35.160 the new testament also makes clear that god's judgment and therefore his definition of justice is

00:31:40.320 impartial acts 10 34 peter is preaching the gospel to the gentiles so peter opened his mouth and said

00:31:46.640 truly i understand that god shows no partiality but in every nation anyone who fears him and does

00:31:53.660 what is right is acceptable to him james 2 8 through 9 says if you really fulfill the royal law according

00:32:00.340 to the scripture you shall love your neighbor as yourself you are doing well but if you show partiality

00:32:05.820 you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors so this means that god's

00:32:13.340 definition of mishpat of this kind of justice excludes slander hyperbole false narratives wrong

00:32:21.700 accusations made in the name of proving a point or pushing a political agenda or misleading manipulative

00:32:28.500 messages represented by hashtags by social media graphics deceptively edited videos or

00:32:35.340 inaccurate reporting it is absolutely rooted in objective truth not a subjective truth that is

00:32:41.620 determined by someone's lived experience or their feelings but in fact that is confirmed through

00:32:46.340 evidence god's justice cares about data because it correlates with reality it cares about proof it cares

00:32:52.600 about actuality about rationality about objectivity it means that god's justice favors neither black nor

00:33:01.220 white rich nor poor influential or obscure male nor female it is impartial because god is so concerned with

00:33:09.740 what is actually true he is not the least bit tolerant of deciding someone's guilt or innocence based on

00:33:17.340 their identity throughout scripture we read that god hates partiality that it's a sin that he sees it as

00:33:23.660 evil as wicked he's not for lesser or worse sentencing better or worse treatment of someone based on their

00:33:32.180 station their race their gender their prominence in the community or lack thereof it means that god's

00:33:39.820 justice deals with those who are involved it is direct you are not guilty for the sins of your ancestors

00:33:45.640 when god says in exodus 25 that he visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the

00:33:53.280 fourth generation of those who hate me he is talking about a specific people israel for a specific sin

00:33:59.520 idolatry and in context this actually means that these next generations were following the same sins of

00:34:07.160 their fathers god did not make the repentant and the faithful pay for the sins of their ancestors

00:34:13.320 furthermore uh you are not guilty for those uh you are not guilty for the sins of those who look like you

00:34:22.360 you are likewise not innocent based on those factors either god's justice is laser focused on those who are

00:34:33.760 involved with the matters at hand you cannot repent for the sins of other people when daniel asks

00:34:41.160 forgiveness for israel he is talking about sins that the entire people were actively committing

00:34:45.980 he is asking for mercy for god to draw people to himself to show his faithfulness even though they

00:34:52.320 don't deserve it this is not the kind of collectivist shame and and repentance that we see preached by many

00:34:59.380 social justice activists today punishing people who did nothing wrong in the name of justice is not

00:35:05.280 actually biblical justice we don't see a biblical precedent for that that's because god's justice is

00:35:10.860 rational it is sane is proportional it doles out punishments that fit the crime it is not cruel and

00:35:17.940 unusual it cares about the guilty party too the accused according to god even the accused proving guilty

00:35:25.420 still has rights in god's sight so that means those who have the authority to execute justice are to

00:35:32.780 honor those rights and only the exact punishment which is due to them in accordance with the crime

00:35:38.300 committed god is a god of process we see this throughout the bible that hardly anything that god does is just

00:35:46.420 done quickly and automatically he almost always has a process by which through which he is accomplishing

00:35:53.160 things he cares very much about definitions about procedures about the truth he is not arbitrary he's

00:36:00.780 not ambiguous he's not reckless everything he says demands and does is with care it's with intention

00:36:07.800 it's with purpose for his glory and the good of his people so when he says that his people should do

00:36:13.960 justice he means do it how god defines it which is a definition centered on both rationality and compassion

00:36:21.900 we should want our justice system though we are not in a theocracy we're not trying to build a

00:36:27.180 theocracy and even though america is not into israel to reflect the justice that uh we see defined by the

00:36:35.480 moral lawgiver because he created justice he is the source of justice justice in this verse refers to

00:36:42.380 legal procedural justice but the verse calls us to more than just that to love kindness and to walk humbly

00:36:50.620 with god now this hebrew word for love used here ahaba is often used to mean uh this intimate close

00:36:59.660 love a covenant love a love that is faithful that lasts that binds the word kindness uh kesed is most

00:37:07.920 often used to describe god's love his goodness uh the works he does on behalf of his people the gifts that

00:37:14.880 he gives them so we are being called to uh inextricably intertwine ourselves with the kind of kindness that

00:37:23.020 god shows us one that is generous uh that helps rather than oppresses the vulnerable one that forgives

00:37:29.200 one that is joyful um and steadfast then we are called to walk humbly with god which is uh what knowing

00:37:37.800 god's justice and emulating his kindness is predicated on again this turning from idolatry

00:37:43.420 that means that we would be humbly walking with god so if doing god's justice means defining and

00:37:49.720 doling out right and wrong according to his terms and loving kindness means imitating god's goodness

00:37:55.220 towards us in our own lives and in our relationships then in order to do that we must first walk in total

00:38:01.780 submission to god and his will which is only possible through his holy spirit given to those who have

00:38:07.060 believed in jesus's death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins and the conquering of death

00:38:12.420 micah 6 8 is not a command for everyone because it can't be people who are idolaters people who don't

00:38:20.660 obey god cannot understand cannot understand god's justice it's a command for god's people um the pursuit

00:38:29.500 of justice that christians um should be demonstrating should look so radically different than the

00:38:36.680 secular worlds because we are walking humbly with god is it is up to us to show how god's kindness

00:38:42.860 and truth focused justice are displayed in this world and again that looks different today than it did

00:38:49.180 for ancient israel because we're not living in a theocracy and we're not trying to build a theocracy

00:38:54.780 here but when we are talking about justice let's be very specific in defining our terms and let us remember

00:39:00.500 that anytime you talk of justice seeking justice loving kindness and walking humbly with god that

00:39:07.260 in context that is predicated on repenting from your sins and repenting from idolatry and submitting

00:39:13.640 wholeheartedly to the lord that is the only way that we can understand what justice what true compassion

00:39:19.740 what true love looks like it doesn't mean latching on to the latest social media progressive narrative about

00:39:25.960 what justice should feel like or what the world says justice is god is specific he's gracious to give

00:39:33.040 us an idea of what this kind of specific justice that micah 6 8 is talking about and we should look

00:39:40.980 to influence the spheres that we occupy with this kind of justice because again god hasn't changed

00:39:45.960 and so these principles haven't changed and if god is the ever living creator of justice the source of

00:39:53.920 justice then we would do well and those around us would do well for us to advocate for this kind of

00:40:00.520 justice too much of what people are talking about today when we they talk about justice is actually

00:40:05.460 partiality is actually favoring one race or one socioeconomic status or one kind of person

00:40:12.600 instead of another and they say this is the kind of social justice that god advocates for you're not

00:40:19.180 going to find a biblical precedent for it yes of course we meet needs in a different way we're not

00:40:24.740 going to give to the poor or we're not going to give to the rich in the same way that we give to the

00:40:28.480 poor there are different needs that different parts of society um have absolutely but when we're talking

00:40:35.360 about what this verse is talking about the kind of justice that we have to see uh involving both the

00:40:42.920 accused and the accuser we have to make sure that we are aligning our principles of justice with god's

00:40:49.000 principles of justice um and like i said he is so gracious to tell us what those are throughout his

00:40:54.520 word so i hope this at least gives you something to chew on there's so much more to talk about in the

00:40:58.860 book of micah and even in this verse alone but i hope that adds a little bit of clarity and maybe the

00:41:04.660 next time you see someone decontextualizing and throwing up this verse in order to justify

00:41:08.980 whatever stance they have whether it's in alignment with scripture or not you can use this to have some

00:41:14.320 kind of engaging conversation uh within that i hope is edifying and productive all right thank you guys

00:41:19.780 so much for listening we will be back here soon

Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - November 29, 2021

REPLAY： Most Misused： Micah 6_8

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