7
I'm suffering very much! I'm like someone who gathers summer fruit in a vineyard
after the good fruit has already been picked.
No grapes are left to eat.
None of the early figs I long for remain.
2 Faithful people have disappeared from the land.
Those who are honest are gone.
Everyone hides and waits
to spill the blood of others.
They use nets to try and trap one another.
3 They are very good at doing what is evil.
Rulers require gifts.
Judges accept money from people
who want special favours.
Those who are powerful
always get what they want.
All of them make evil plans together.
4 The best of these people are as harmful as thorns.
The most honest of them are even worse.
God has come to punish you.
The time your prophets warned you about has come.
Panic has taken hold of you.
5 Don't trust your neighbours.
Don't put your faith in your friends.
Be careful what you say
even to your own wife.
6 Sons don't honour their fathers.
Daughters refuse to obey their mothers.
Daughters-in-law are against their mothers-in-law.
A man's enemies are the members of his own family.
7 But I will look to the Lord.
I'll put my trust in God my Saviour.
He will hear me.
8 The people of Jerusalem say,
‘Don't laugh when we suffer,
you enemies of ours!
We have fallen.
But we'll get up.
Even though we sit in the dark,
the Lord will give us light.
9 We've sinned against the Lord.
So he is angry with us.
His anger will continue until he takes up our case.
Then he'll do what is right for us.
He'll bring us out into the light.
Then we'll see him save us.
10 Our enemies will see it too.
And they will be put to shame.
After all, they said to us,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
But we will see them destroyed.
Soon they will be trampled on
like mud in the streets.’
11 People of Jerusalem, the time will come
when your walls will be rebuilt.
Land will be added to your territory.
12 At that time your people will come back to you.
They'll return from Assyria
and the cities of Egypt.
They'll come from the countries
between Egypt and the River Euphrates.
They'll return from the lands
between the seas.
They'll come back from the countries
between the mountains.
13 But the rest of the earth will be deserted.
The people who live in it
have done many evil things.
14 Lord, be like a shepherd to your people.
Take good care of them.
They are your flock.
They live by themselves
in the safety of a forest.
Rich grasslands are all around them.
Let them eat grass in Bashan and Gilead
just as they did long ago.
15 The Lord says to his people,
‘I showed you my wonders
when you came out of Egypt long ago.
In the same way, I will show them to you again.’
16 When the nations see those wonders,
they will be put to shame.
All their power will be taken away from them.
They will be so amazed
that they won't be able to speak or hear.
17 They'll be forced to eat dust like a snake.
They'll be like creatures
that have to crawl on the ground.
They'll come out of their dens
trembling with fear.
They'll show respect for the Lord our God.
They will also have respect for his people.
18 Lord, who is a God like you?
You forgive sin.
You forgive your people
when they do what is wrong.
You don't stay angry for ever.
Instead, you take delight in showing
your faithful love to them.
19 Once again you will show loving concern for us.
You will completely wipe out
the evil things we've done.
You will throw all our sins
into the bottom of the sea.
20 You will be faithful to Jacob's people.
You will show your love
to Abraham's children.
You will do what you promised to do for our people.
You made that promise long ago.
6:1–7:20 In Deuteronomy 30:19 Moses had said that the heavens and earth were witnesses. They were witnesses for the Mount Sinai covenant. Psalm 50 describes a trial where the heavens and earth were witnesses. They were witnesses against God's people for breaking the covenant. In Micah's messages God spoke to his people as if they were in court. He called on the earth as a witness against his people. They were on trial for not being faithful to the Mount Sinai covenant. God explained that he hadn't done anything wrong to his people. God used examples from Israel's past to prove this. God brought charges against his people for many things. They lied, committed murder and followed the evil practices of the kings Omri and Ahab. They didn't understand God's covenant with them or follow it. This was clear from the way they talked about how to worship God. They didn't understand what sacrifices and offerings were for. They thought that sacrificing children would take away the problem of their sin. God made it clear that he cared about how his people treated others. He cared more about that than about what animals they sacrificed or food they offered. He wanted them to act with justice, to show mercy and to be humble. God also made it clear how the problem of sin would be taken away. It wouldn't be taken away because of anything the people did. God himself would wipe out the evil things they did. Only God is powerful enough to stop the power of evil and sin over people. Wiping out evil and throwing sins into the bottom of the sea are pictures. They are pictures of God forgiving sin. God's anger against his people because of their sin was very strong. Yet his anger doesn't last for ever. His faithful love does last for ever. God forgives sin because of his faithful love for people. Because of his love God remained faithful to his covenant with Abraham's family line.