Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

Sabbath SchoolLessonLesson Helps for the Week of June 20iFor June 20,1971God Requires Economic JusticeMicah 1:1; 2:1-3,8,°; 3:1-4,9-12Comments by John K. GaultEconomic justice means toguarantee to all citizens the right to sharein the production, the management, andthe distribution of the wealth of thecountry. The Constitution of the UnitedStates is supposed to do this in its preambleas it says, "We, the people of the UnitedStates, in order to form a more perfectunion, establish justice, insure domestictranquility, provide for the commondefense, promote the general welfare, andsecure the blessing of liberty to ourselvesand our posterity, do ordain and establishthis Constitution for the United States ofAmerica."The statute law of Israel wasdesigned by God and given to the peoplethrough Moses for the very purpose ofguaranteeing economic justice to all thecitizens of the land. Along with the injunctionto love God with all the heart,soul, and mind went the command to "lovethy neighbor as thyself." If people wouldlove God and also their neighbors as theBible commands there would be completeeconomic justice; and this goal can neverbe reached until people do love God andtheir neighbors as themselves.1: Micah Was Called of God.The first verse of his prophecy says,"The word of the Lord that came to Micah,the Morasthite, in the days of Jotham,Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, whichhe saw concerning Samaria andJerusalem." According to this he was anative of the village of Moresheth whichwas right near the Philistian city of Gathabout twenty-five miles southwest ofJerusalem. Micah was not only a godlyperson to begin with but he also possessedthe mental and physical abilities whichGod needed at that time. All believers inChrist should feel that they are called ofHim in their vocations of life inasmuch asthe Bible says, "Trust in the Lord with allthine heart; and lean not unto thine ownunderstanding. In all thy waysacknowledge Him, and He shall direct thypaths" (Prov. 3:5,6).2: God Is Witness Against All Formsof Injustice. (1:2,3)Micah said, "Hear, all ye people;MAT 26, 1971hearken, O earth, and all that therein is:and let the Lord God be witness againstyou, the Lord from His holy temple. Forbehold, the Lord cometh forth out of Hisplace, and will come down and tread uponthe high places of the earth." God was soonto call the wicked unto judgment, implyingthat He was holding court and was going tobring the evil doers to trial. God, throughHis prophet Micah, was the witness againstall the injustices which the rich had perpetrated.A witness against any indictedperson must have seen the crime committed,or must have accurate knowledgeof certain elements bearing on the case. Ahandwriting expert must have certaincredentials which give him the authority tobe a witness in a case of forgery. In all theacts of injustice committed by the peopleof Micah's day, God saw the acts committed,and also by His position in theuniverse, He had accurate knowledge of allthe elements bearing on the great trial.God's testimony is, therefore, always thetruth about every circumstance. Upon thebasis of God's witness against injusticeboth during the time of Micah and at thepresent time, "He will come down, andtread upon the high places of the earth."3: The Injustice That God's WitnessedWas Plotted in Bed. (2:1)Micah said of this, "Woe to them thatdevise iniquity, and work evil upon theirbeds! when the morning is light, theypractice it, because it is in the power oftheir hand." This shows the cunningcraftiness of their evil; it was by soberdesign. They planned it out while theywere in bed and could not sleep becausetheir minds were so active concerning it. Inthe morning they proceeded to put theirevil plans into action and they had it intheir power to do it.4: The Rich, by Force, Deprived thePoor of Their Homes and of TheirInheritance. (2:2)The form of injustice is describedhere as the prophet said, "And they covetfields, and take them by violence; andhouses, and take them away: so theyoppress a man and his house, even a manand his heritage." It sometimes happenedthat the land of poor peasants becameindentured through debt and so the richwould take the poor man's home. The richalso disregarded the law of inheritancewhich required that all land which hadbeen sold for debt must be returned to theoriginal owner in the year of Jubilee, whichcame around every fiftieth year. InLeviticus 25:23,24it was said, "The landshall not be sold in perpetuity: for the landis Mine; for ye are strangers and sojournerswith Me. And in all the land of yourpossession ye shall grant a redemption forthe land." The land could be redeemed atany time by the debtor or the nearestrelative but in the year of Jubilee the landmust be returned to the original owner orhis heir. The purpose of this law was toremind the people that the land belongedto God and gaining a monopoly in theownership of land was strictly forbidden.But the rich landowners of Israel andJudah had, in their greed, beendisregarding this ancient agrarian law andtherefore they were slated for destruction.5: The Oppression of the Poor WasEspecially Severe. (2:8,9; 3:2,3)It had come to the point when the.rich would even appropriate the clothingof the poor and the women and childrenwould be dispossessed of their comfortablehomes. In 2:8,9it is said, "Even of late Mypeople is risen up as an enemy: ye pull offthe robe with the garment from them thatpass by securely as men averse from war.The women of My people have ye cast outfrom their pleasant houses; from theirchildren have ye taken away My gloryforever." The description of this oppressionis so vivid that one can almost seethe poor people on the verge of starvationwith their cheek bones standing out in boldrelief as is shown in 3:2,3, "Who hate thegood and love the evil; who pluck off theirskin from off them, and their flesh from offtheir bones; who also eat the flesh of Mypeople, and flay their skin from off them;and they break their bones, and chop themin pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh withinthe caldron." This is not a picture ofcannabalism but it amounted to about thesame. The rich, in defrauding the poor,caused them to starve while they got fatterand fatter on the food from their ill-gottenwealth. Because of this oppression of thepoor the oppressors might cry unto theLord during the coming judgment but Hewould not hear them. In 3:4 this is said,"Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but Hewill not hear them: He will even hide Hisface from them at that time, as they havebehaved themselves ill in their doings."6: Even Some of the Prophets WereResponsible for the Oppression. (3:5,6)Micah said concerning them, "Thussaith the Lord concerning the prophetsthat make My people err, that bite withtheir teeth, and cry, 'Peace'; and he thatputteth not into their mouths, they evenprepare war against him. Therefore nightII