Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

Lesson Helps for the Week of June 27—*Sabbath SchoolLessonFor June 27,1971God Requires Personal RighteousnessMicah 6:1-4,6-8; 7:18-20Comments by John K. GaultPersonal righteousness has been theprime requisite in the whole government ofGod. Obedience to His revealed will is themeans whereby this desirable state can beaccomplished, and it is faith in Christ thatleads people to obey. In Hebrews 11:4 it issaid, "By faith Abel offered unto God amore excellent sacrifice than Cain, bywhich he obtained witness that he wasrighteous, God testifying of his gifts: andbyit he being dead yet speaketh." Personalrighteousness, such as Abel possessed,consisted of exemplary conduct andsincerity of heart. The prophet Micahsought to bring about the development ofpersonal righteousness in the lives of thepeople of Israel, the northern kingdom,against which he was sent to prophesy.1: God Will Be Heard.He will be heard in one way oranother but He will be heard. It is requiredin a court trial that the defendant bepresent to hear the charges which arebrought against him. If he refuses to bepresent he can be cited for "contempt ofcourt." In the lesson before us, God spokethrough Micah with the voice of authority,saying, "Hear ye now." If they would notlisten to this voice coming from theprophet, then God would speak to themwith a different kind of a voice, namely,the voice of judgment which they would becompelled to hear and they would not likeit. God continues to speak to the peopleand nations of the world, saying, "Hear yenow," and it is listen now and repent oreventually hear the doom sounding announcingdestruction. The Psalmist says in29:4,10, "The voice of the Lord ispowerful; the voice of the Lord is full ofmajesty. . . .The Lord sitteth upon theflood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever."2: The Unchanging Mountains andHills Witness Against Sinful Man.Micah said in verses 1 and 2, "Arise,contend thou before the mountains, and letthe hills hear thy voice. Hear ye, Omountains, and ye strong foundations ofthe earth: for the Lord hath a controversywith His people, and He will plead withIsrael." The mountains and the hills stoodin their majesty and they did not changeJUNE 2, 1971from one generation to another. They didnot utter any word of complaint but as theywere at the time of creation so they werethousands of years later. On the farm of myboyhood home in Iowa there were two hillsin the pasture called "the west hill" and the"east hill." After an absence of over fortyyears I visited the old farm again. Thehouse, barn, and other buildings had beenradically changed so that I would not haverecognized them as my former home. Butone thing had not changed and that was thecontour of the land. There were the twohills, the "west hill and the east hill", just asthey had been fifty years before. Themountains and hills of Israel did notchange and they had obeyed the voice ofGod from one generation to another. Theywere solid and secure with their peakspointing toward heaven. They could beseen from a distance of many miles andthus were guides to travelers crossing theplains. So, Israel was challenged to"contend thou before the mountains" andlearn from them that God was the Lordwho was to be obeyed. The people ofAmerica could, likewise, learn from themountains and hills which abound in theland.3: God Has Instituted Legal SuitAgainst Rebellious People and Nations.In verse 2 the prophet said, "TheLord hath a controversy with His people,"God is the judge of all the earth and thedestiny of men and nations is controlled byHim. When Abraham interceded for therighteous in the doomed city of Sodom hesaid unto God, "That be far from thee todo after this manner, to slay the righteouswith the wicked: . . . Shall not the Judge ofall the earth do right?" God's controversyis different from that which often arisesamong people. If people have a seriousdispute with one of their own fellows theymust seek justice in a court of law before ajudge and jury. God, however, is judge,jury, and executioner, all in one and all thefacts of the case are all well-known untoHim. In the civil court of the land justice isthe principal objective and rarely is mercyshown to those who have committed acrime. In God's court wherein Israel wascited Micah said of God, "And He willplead with Israel." God is a judge of greatmercy and He will plead with offenders tocease from their transgressions and He willpardon them.4: Israel was Challenged to TestilyAgainst God.God said to them through Micah: "Omy people, what have I done unto thee?and wherein have I wearied thee? testifyagainst Me. For I brought thee up out ofthe land of Egypt, and redeemed thee outof the house of servants: and I sent beforethee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam." Thegreatest event in the whole history of Israelbefore the coming of Christ was theirdeliverance from the bondage of Egypt. Itwas God who provided their sustenance asthey wandered in the wilderness and it wasGod who enabled them to overcome theirenemies and enter the Promised Land.There was nothing in all that God haddone for them which could be construedas an act of injustice. All which had beendone was of a beneficent character. If theyhad a complaint to make, "let the hills hearthy voice."5: The Futility of Trying to PleaseGod with a Lavish Display of ReligiousZeal.The prophet Micah asked of thepeople several rhetorical questions,"Wherewith shall I come before the Lord,and bow myself before the high God? ShallI come before Him with burnt offerings,with calves of a year old? Will the Lord bepleased with thousands of rams, or with tenthousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give myfirstborn for my transgression, the fruit ofmy body for the sin of my soul?" Theserepresent great religious efforts requiringsacrifice and work. But these acts were alloutward performances. Jesus found muchfault with the Pharisees to whom He said,"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint andanise and cummin, and have omitted theweightier matters of the law, judgment,mercy, and faith: these ought ye to havedone, and not to leave the other undone."God is never pleased with mere formalitywithout sincerity in religion and religiousacts must be in accord with God's law aswell. Offering one's firstborn in sacrificewas what the heathen nations did and suchacts were strictly forbidden to the childrenof Israel.6: The Basic Elements In PleasingGod Were Justice, Mercy and Humility.This Micah stated positively in 6:8,"He hath showed thee, O man, what isgood, and what doth the Lord require ofthee, but to do justly, and to love mercy,and to walk humbly with thy God." Thesequalities of character had been missingfrom the people and the rulers of Israel.These are vital elements of good characterand they are needed as much today as theywere in the davs of Micah.II