Who Is Like God?
Opening Prayer
“There is none like You, O Lord; You are great, and great is Your name in might” (Jer. 10:6).
Read Micah 7:1–20
What misery is mine!
I am like one who gathers summer fruit
at the gleaning of the vineyard;
there is no cluster of grapes to eat,
none of the early figs that I crave.
2 The faithful have been swept from the land;
not one upright person remains.
Everyone lies in wait to shed blood;
they hunt each other with nets.
3 Both hands are skilled in doing evil;
the ruler demands gifts,
the judge accepts bribes,
the powerful dictate what they desire—
they all conspire together.
4 The best of them is like a brier,
the most upright worse than a thorn hedge.
The day God visits you has come,
the day your watchmen sound the alarm.
Now is the time of your confusion.
5 Do not trust a neighbor;
put no confidence in a friend.
Even with the woman who lies in your embrace
guard the words of your lips.
6 For a son dishonors his father,
a daughter rises up against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.
7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear me.
Israel Will Rise
8 Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be my light.
9 Because I have sinned against him,
I will bear the Lord’s wrath,
until he pleads my case
and upholds my cause.
He will bring me out into the light;
I will see his righteousness.
10 Then my enemy will see it
and will be covered with shame,
she who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will see her downfall;
even now she will be trampled underfoot
like mire in the streets.
11 The day for building your walls will come,
the day for extending your boundaries.
12 In that day people will come to you
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates
and from sea to sea
and from mountain to mountain.
13 The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,
as the result of their deeds.
Prayer and Praise
14 Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
which lives by itself in a forest,
in fertile pasturelands.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
as in days long ago.
15 “As in the days when you came out of Egypt,
I will show them my wonders.”
16 Nations will see and be ashamed,
deprived of all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths
and their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick dust like a snake,
like creatures that crawl on the ground.
They will come trembling out of their dens;
they will turn in fear to the Lord our God
and will be afraid of you.
18 Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.
19 You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
20 You will be faithful to Jacob,
and show love to Abraham,
as you pledged on oath to our ancestors
in days long ago.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
When things go wrong, what do you do? Where do you turn? Do you turn to Jesus, or do you seek help elsewhere first?“Grey: the world is grey, Jack.” So ends one of my favorite scenes in Clear and Present Danger, as the hero Jack Ryan is told that he is part of a conspiracy that goes all the way to the White House.
But the world is not grey. God is holy, and the world is fallen. Jesus is perfect, and the rest of us fall short, no matter how hard we try.
Like all prophets, Micah is willing to wallow: “What misery is mine!” he says (1). He bemoans the sinfulness of God’s people: “not one upright person remains” (2). The people are ready to shed blood (2), the rulers to accept bribes (3), neighbors and friends—even family members—cannot be trusted (5,6). All Israel—Micah includes himself by saying “I”—has sinned against God and bears his wrath (9).
“I have sinned,” says Micah, but God “pleads my case and upholds my cause” (9). On his own Micah knows he is helpless, so he puts his hope in God (7). Why? Because he knows what God is like, and what he will do: he will forgive (18).
Apply
Read again verses 18–20, savor them and picture Jesus hurling your sin into the depths of the ocean.
Closing prayer
Take time to praise God for his forgiveness! Shout, sing, dance—choose a way to express your incredible gratefulness.
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