Careful study of Micah will allow you to see that God is holy and judges sin. But, also that he is a gracious forgiving God.
I am currently preaching a series from the book of Micah. In contrast to his contemporary, Isaiah, Micah does not give us much detail about his personal call, but we do have his name.
“Micah” means, “Who is like Yahweh?” (“Yawhweh” being the personal name of God given to Israel). The text of Micah allows us to better know God.
Much of the book of Micah warns that God is holy and just. Micah prophesied in response to a rebellious people who were breaking covenant with God. They chose to sin, now they would suffer. Because of their rebellion, Micah warns that all will become ruin (2:10-11).
We ought not to deceive ourselves. God will not be mocked. We reap what we sow. (Galatians 6:7-8).
But, Micah does not conclude with judgment. Inserting his own name into the text (notice the bold), Micah concludes:
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old (Micah 7:18-20).
Bruce Waltke comments:
“Micah, by artfully inserting his name in the forgiven people’s hymn of praise at the end of the book (7:18) , applies the meaning of his name, “Who is like Yahweh?’, to the Lord’s incomparable quality to forgive his guilty people and to be true to his promises to the patriarchs. God’s memorial name, Yahweh, became famous in the early days of Israel’s history when he hurled the Egyptian army into the depths of the sea. Its luster is added to when he promises to hurl the iniquities of his people Jacob into the depths of the sea (7:19).” Waltke, TOTC, 137.
