I
grew up in Texas and if you have lived, know someone who lives, or heard of
Texas, you know that the central plains (around Dallas) are very prone to
thunderstorms.  It’s so common for the
day to start off normally then the sky begins growing darker and the
temperature drops sharply.  As everything
takes on a greenish-gray hue, the wind picks up and dark, thick, puffy clouds
cover from horizon to horizon.  These
thunderstorms are so common, it almost doesn’t get the residents too worked up.

 

Then
there are those “super-cells” that start throwing hail to the ground and produce
the ominous “wall cloud” that can produce tornadoes.  Residents don’t take these for granted but
what if they did?  Can you imagine the
damage and death if residents in these Texas towns simply ignored the signs all
around them and kept carrying on their days? 
How would it look for a tornado to hit a town and everyone was at
school, walking their dogs, eating in the parks, and shopping in the stores
without even looking up at the glaring signs all around them?

 

This
is precisely where we are in Micah 7:1-7 today. 
The signs are all around the people of God, spiritually speaking, and
yet they kept carrying on as if nothing was going wrong.

 

1 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.

Micah 7:1–7

 

The
prophet is feeling the heaviness of the storm clouds on the horizon.  Beginning with a statement like “what misery is mine” tells you this is not a song of
praise.  Micah laments the lack of Godly
fellowship in the land.  Instead,
everywhere he looks there is ruthlessness, injustice, abuse, and evil.  The hands of those who are to care for the
whole land rob the poor.  The day of the
Lord’s judgment on them is close.  The
alarms are ringing and the retribution of the Lord is here.

 

There
is a difference here from the usual judgment theme in Micah.  Until now, God’s judgment and punishment of
His people was presented as imminent military conquest.  Of course, history—both Biblical and
secular—tells us God used Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to overthrow Jerusalem in
587 B.C.  But here in this passage, the
focus of the judgment itself turns to the inward disintegration of the families
and relationships.  Truth, it seems, had
blown away under the strong wind of their sinfulness. 

 

If
a storm was approaching, most rational people would seek shelter.  We would consider someone crazy if they
simply cursed the wind, rain, and lightning and shook their fist at the
thunderclouds approaching them.  But this
is the degree to which their society had come unraveled.  As people lost without Christ, sinners don’t
do things considered wise.  As John
3:19-21 reminds us, “19 This
is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness
instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who
does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their
deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes
into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has
been done in the sight of God.”

 

But
the prophet sees the end of the storm and can smell the sweet renewal of God’s
mercy past this time.  “But as for me,” verse 7 reads,
“I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.”  The Lord’s punishment on the sinful is also
deliverance for the faithful.  It’s the
sweet cleanliness in the air after a major storm like Micah smells on the air
leading him to “watch in
hope”
for the Lord.  He will make everything
right with His purification. 

 

May
we, upon seeing the clouds of God’s judgment looming close, take the
appropriate shelter by repenting and seeking the Lord’s face so we can also
watch in hope.

 

Verse
1

When He rolls up His
sleeves

He ain’t just puttin’ on
the ritz

Our God is an awesome
God

There is thunder in His
footsteps

And lightning in His
fists

Our God is an awesome
God

And the Lord wasn’t
joking

When He kicked ’em out
of Eden

It wasn’t for no reason

That He shed His blood

His return is very close

And so you’d better be
believin’

That our God is an
awesome God

 

Verse
2

When the sky was
starless

In the void of the night

Our God is an awesome
God

He spoke into the
darkness

And created the light

Our God is an awesome
God

Judgment and wrath

He poured out on Sodom

Mercy and grace

He gave us at the cross

I hope that we have not

Too quickly forgotten

That our God is an
awesome God

 

Chorus

Our God is an awesome
God

He reigns from heaven
above

With wisdom pow’r and
love

Our God is an awesome
God

“Awesome
God”

Rich
Mullins

©
1988 BMG Songs, Inc. (Admin. by BMG Music Publishing)

For
use solely with the SongSelect Terms of Use. 
All rights reserved. www.ccli.com

CCLI
License # 196315