We All, Like Sheep, Have Gone Astray

“I will certainly gather all of you, O Jacob, I will certainly assemble those Israelites who remain. I will bring them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in the middle of a pasture; they will be so numerous that they will make a lot of noise. The one who can break through barriers will lead them out; they will break out, pass through the gate, and leave. Their king will advance before them; the Lord himself will lead them.”  Micah 2:12-13

 “It’s not that bad,” you say to yourself. “So many people do things that are much worse.” “They deserve it after what they’ve done.” “I’m justified in my feelings because I’m on the side of right.”

 We tell ourselves a lot of things to make us feel better. But the truth is, we all have a sin-sickness, we are all infected. It’s called Total Depravity and I talk about it more in another post.  The Bible is entirely clear that the cost of sin is death and we are all deserving of that punishment. There are no “ifs,” “ands,” or “buts” about it!

 This week we are looking at the book of Micah. He preached during a pivotal time in Israel’s history. The country had split into two parts: Judah with its capital in Jerusalem and Israel with its capital in Samaria. Both parts of the country had fallen head over heels into sin, both with idol worship and personal sins like greed and pride. Micah came to tell them that their bill was coming due, and they would be punished for their sins.

 As you might not be surprised to hear, his message wasn’t met with the instant repentance that Nineveh showed last week. In fact, the people of Israel didn’t really believe him. They had been taught that they were God’s people, and they were, but it didn’t mean what they thought it meant. You see, they thought it meant that they were invulnerable, that God would protect them no matter what. That they were God’s people was irrefutable, but so is the fact that God loved them and because of that, He wanted the best for them. And the best for them was not to sit in their sin, festering and rotting in all of its ickiness. They needed a shakeup, something to open their eyes to what they were doing and how it was not ok. God knew what was best for them, and it wasn’t going to feel good. Just like getting a shot, or having to rebreak a bone that set wrong, sometimes the thing we need to do to get better isn’t going to be fun, but it’s necessary for us to heal.

 I can’t help but wonder if we are due for a shakeup ourselves. Here we are sitting in all our mighty, American glory. A “Christian Nation” that God has truly blessed. But in our country’s heart is rot - festering, icky rot. The rot of sin. What sin? Well, the list would be longer than anyone would be willing to read in a post, but I’ve discussed recently the blight of slavery and I would definitely say the way we’ve engaged with the world is not in line with biblical principles either. There’s so much more, but the point I’m trying to make is that we are not as spic and span, “Leave it to Beaver” as we’d like the world to think. We’re proud of our country, our democracy, our place in the world, but it cannot save us. Only God can.

 The thought of discipline is scary, as any child waiting in their room for their father to get home knows. But the hope is, "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts." (Hebrews 12:6). That God even takes the trouble to set us straight means that He cares about us, and if He cares about us, He will give us exactly what we need to come to Him and be with Him forever. I remember when our daughter first came home to us. She had come from such a dark background of abuse that I was hesitant to discipline her. It just seemed wrong. But what I learned before too long was that she felt like she wasn’t a part of our family because I didn’t punish her. How could I love her if I didn’t care what she did? If I didn’t stop her from doing wrong, did she even matter to me? So, with tears in my eyes, I put that little hellion in a corner. Not that it did a lot of good, she was very used to entertaining herself in boredom, but she saw that what she did mattered to me, that she mattered to me.

 Yes, God disciplined His people. It was painful, awful, devastating, but it broke their pride and brought them back to God. It served its purpose. And just as He had promised in our verse today, God brought them back. He broke down barriers and moved mountains to restore His people. As it is with many (all?) prophecies, this had a more immediate expression as the people returned to Jerusalem from Babylon, but there’s more to this promise. It also has a future aspect to the promise, a day when God will gather the remnant of His people, of those who love and worship Him, and bring them to His New Jerusalem. He will do the impossible, break through the unbreakable, pass through the gates that kept us apart, and bring us home to Him.

Here's the Thing: Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful. But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness for those trained by it (Hebrews 12:11). I can attest that some of the hard things I’ve walked through seemed painful at the time, not joyful, but later it did, in fact, produce the fruit of peace and righteousness in me. God loves us so much, and if He says we need it, then it will be worth it!