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By David R. Sincerbox|Published Date: January 26, 2012
Micah 1:8–9:
8 For this I will lament and wail;
I will go stripped and naked;
I will make lamentation like the jackals,
and mourning like the ostriches.
9 For her wound is incurable,
and it has come to Judah;
it has reached to the gate of my people,
to Jerusalem.
The Story: Micah, God’s spokesperson, reflects the heart of God in this “lament and wail” (“wail” literally means “beat the breast”.) God is not capricious, but is, instead, gracious. He desires repentance and restoration, not calamity and destruction; it breaks God’s heart when humankind hard-heartedly follows the path of haughty rebellion, mindless pleasure and idolatrous self-centeredness. But God is also holy and righteous. He must, by His very character, put to right injustice and wickedness. Micah so identifies with the impending calamity of Samaria and Jerusalem, he walks “stripped and naked” as he wails through Jerusalem, assuming the role of a defeated captive being carried off into slavery in a foreign land. Travelers in the Near East comment on the mournful and painful sounds of jackals and ostriches, the latter who sound as if they are in the greatest agony. The “wound” is incurable. Even though Judah’s complete judgment will be postponed, the heart of the majority of her people remain recalcitrant and unrepentant as they persistently transgress and sin.
The Structure: The earliest record of God grieving over the sinfulness of humankind is recorded in Genesis 6:5-6: “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.” Jesus, too, grieved at the hard-heartedness of Jerusalem in Matthew 23:37-39; the Holy Spirit also grieves (Eph. 4:30), especially when corrupting talk proceeds from our lips. Grieving is therefore something that the whole Triune Godhead experiences.
The fact that we can elicit grief from the whole Godhead by rebellion and sin should serve as a prime motivator to seek that which will please God and edify our neighbor. Are there hidden harbors in your heart in which vessels of envy, anger, bitterness and impurity have cast their anchors? If there are, confess them and ask God to scuttle these ships.
For more insight to the prophet Micah, order the book, The Minor Prophets, Vol. 2: Micah-Malachi, by James Montgomery Boice, from our online store.
The Worldview Bible examines the teaching of Scripture according to the Story and Structure of Truth – the Framework of Christian Worldview – using only other Scriptures for illumination. Information about The Framework of Truth is available on this site. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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