“Listen, you mountains, to the indictment of the Lord,
And you enduring foundations of the earth,
Because the Lord has a case against His people;
Even with Israel He will dispute,” (6:2).

Micah 6 brings us to a passage that many of us may be familiar with.

He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God? (6:8).

And we sometimes hear this quoted as though it were a compassionate plea to fulfill God’s requirements. But the context lies within a dispute the Lord is having with His rebellious people. And rather than Micah 6:8 being the helpful advice of a kind counselor, these are the words of a prosecuting attorney who is laying out His Case.

God’s Case would remind His people that they were called to be His People, but not in name only. Being God’s people meant they were to be identified as His People who walked in His Ways, His Word, and His Will. But they had reduced His call to nothing more than tally marks, tabulating the exterior acts they believed would make them acceptable by performing their religious duties, rather than walking in humility and faith that would transform their hearts and lives to resemble the God they claimed to follow.

It’s an astounding scene, as though court were being called into session. And this courtroom extends across the entire land, calling His creation to hear His indictment, and calling His People to the witness stand to plead their case, as if they could plead anything but guilty.

Hear now what the Lord is saying,
“Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
And let the hills hear your voice.
² “Listen, you mountains, to the indictment of the Lord,
And you enduring foundations of the earth,
Because the Lord has a case against His people;
Even with Israel He will dispute, (6:1-2).

You’d think that would be enough to send the people to their knees and beg for mercy. But there’s more. A piercing question that should have absolutely broken their hearts. And before He lays out His Case Against His People, a Case with evidence that is indisputable, He reveals His heart as He asks His People to explain why.

 “My people, what have I done to you,
And how have I wearied you? Answer Me,” (6:3).

His questions stopped me in my tracks. And I know they are rhetorical, but nevertheless, hearing Him ask why they had rejected Him grieved my heart; for the Lord had done nothing but good to them. And how on earth could they grow weary of His mercy and lovingkindness? And surely they were dumbstruck, finding themselves unable to answer, and utterly incapable of challenging His Case Against His People.

Consider His Case Against His People

• His Case Against His People: they forgot how He had ransomed them out of slavery.
  • “Indeed, I brought you up from the land of Egypt
    And ransomed you from the house of slavery,
    And I sent before you Moses, Aaron and Miriam,” (6:4).

• His Case Against His People: they forgot His righteous acts.
  • “My people, remember now
    What Balak king of Moab counseled
    And what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
    And from Shittim to Gilgal,
    So that you might know the righteous acts of the Lord,” (6:5).

• His Case Against His People: their worship was futile and empty rather than offered in devotion, love, and surrender.
  • With what shall I come to the Lord
    And bow myself before the God on high?
    Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings,
    With yearling calves?
    ⁷ Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams,
    In ten thousand rivers of oil?
    Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts,
    The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? (6:6-7).

• His Case Against His People: they came to be characterized as corrupt and dishonest in business.
  • “Can I justify wicked scales
    And a bag of deceptive weights?” (6:11).

• His Case Against His People: they were marked by violence, deceit and lies.
  • “For the rich men of the city are full of violence,
    Her residents speak lies,
    And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth, (6:12).

• His Case Against His People: they followed those who did evil in the sight of the Lord rather than pursuing righteousness.
  • “The statutes of Omri
    And all the works of the house of Ahab are observed;
    And in their devices you walk…” (6:16).

• And His Case Against His People ultimately led to His Verdict… they would suffer destruction, derision and reproach.
  • “…Therefore I will give you up for destruction
    And your inhabitants for derision,
    And you will bear the reproach of My people,” (6:16).

How do we respond to His Case Against His People?

Let us pray that we would learn from God’s Case Against His People who grew so complacent in their relationship with Holy God that they forgot all He had done for them. They took His grace and favor for granted; and they forgot He had told them why they were chosen; and they forgot it had nothing whatsoever to do with them; and they forgot they should never have taken credit for His loving favor He had bestowed.

For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. ⁷ “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, ⁸ but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, (Deuteronomy 7:6-8).

They also forgot that sin can never be hidden.

But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out, (Numbers 32:23).

And they forgot that God cannot be fooled by outward displays of religion; for whatever one sows that is what one will inevitably reap.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. ⁸ For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life, (Galatians 6:7-8).

And His Case Against His People stands today, reminding us that forgetfulness lends itself to waywardness, and waywardness to resistance, and resistance is a slippery slope that can slide straight into absolute defiance, until it’s not only forgetting His goodness, but it’s walking in total rebellion to His call.

Let us pray that His questions would stop us in our tracks, every day, that the idea of rejecting His goodness would absolutely grieve our heart; for the Lord has done nothing but good to us. And how on earth can we ever grow weary of His mercy and lovingkindness?

Oh, may we understand the danger we court in forgetting. Let us agree with His Case Against His People, that we would not even go one day without remembering who we once were apart from His amazing grace.

For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, ⁵ He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life, (Titus 3:3-6).

And as we are reminded of who we used to be and how undeserving we are of His lavish mercy and grace, won’t we be moved to express our gratitude by humbly walking with Him, and sowing His justice and kindness wherever He leads?

He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God? (6:8).

What He has required calls us to live by faith in His Ways, His Word, and His Will, that we would be transformed to resemble the God we follow. Let us so follow Him, that at the end of this age, we will not be in line to hear His Case Against His People, but we will hear Him say, “Come,” as He invites His People who have lived by faith to live as He lived, doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly, into the blessing of His Eternal Kingdom.

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.³⁵ For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; ³⁶ naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ³⁸ And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ³⁹ When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me,'” (Matthew 25:34-40).

Let’s Grow Together!