The Divine Court Is in Session!

4th Sunday after Epiphany, 2/2/20
Micah 6:1-8


The Divine Court Is in Session!
I. Realize the gravity of the charges.
II. Reject humankind’s weak defense.
III. Repent in humble faith.


I don’t know how many of you have ever gone to trial. I’m guessing that number is quite small. Most of us have never even seen the inside of a courtroom except, perhaps, for jury duty. And you hope that you never have to go there because going to trial can be risky on a number of fronts. First, if you go to trial (unless you’re going to serve as your own attorney) you have to depend on your attorney completely, either to make your case or to defend you. Placing your life into the hands of another human being like that can be nerve-wracking.

Secondly, going to trial places your life into a second pair of hands—a jury of your peers. Will they see things the same as you do? Will they arrive at the truth as you have? What will their verdict be?

Third, even though we have what is arguably the finest justice system in the world, you know that wrongful convictions can occur and do. Innocent people languish unjustly behind prison bars for decades. How cruel! How unthinkable! We don’t have a perfect justice system. You take that risk going to trial.

But there is one court in which justice is always carried out perfectly. It’s the only court whose reputation is sacred, whose conviction rate is unblemished, and whose sentences are always perfectly in line with the crimes committed. And that’s God’s divine court.

Our God allows us into his courtroom in today’s sermon text from Micah 6. On one side of the courtroom is the holy Lord God himself and on the other side are his people. It’s a sad state of affairs that have brought these two sides to this point, especially when you consider that this is the last place the Lord wanted to be with his people. But his motivation for being here is not revenge or hatred, but only his eternal love. He simply wanted his people to love and trust in him, but they have refused.

So, the divine court is in session. This morning you and I have a seat in the gallery where we can listen and watch the proceedings. But as do we, let’s see how much of what is stated applies to us personally.

Part I.

An attorney once told me that he can’t watch attorney shows on TV. And the reason? They’re so far from reality. Things simply wouldn’t happen that way in any court of law in our country. And since it’s so unbelievable, that attorney simply can’t watch it. That show has no personal entertainment value.

But take a look at the trial which unfolds before us this morning here in Micah 6. The first witnesses are not what we’d expect. This is the divine court and God calls the mountains and hills to the witness stand. He’s imploring them to corroborate what he has to say. But hills and mountains are lifeless. They can’t hear, see or speak. What good are they as witnesses?

Well, when you consider the inaction between the Lord and his Old Testament people, the hills and mountains had witnessed a tremendous amount of evidence over centuries, evidence both of God’s faithfulness and Israel’s unfaithfulness.

On God’s side of the argument, consider two mountains—Sinai and Zion. On Mt. Sinai God met with his people and there established his covenant with them. He shared with them the terms of that covenant. He would be their God and bless them beyond measure, if they would be his people and serve him alone as their God. Mount Zion was one of the hills that comprised the city of Jerusalem. It’s the mountain on which the Temple was built. As such it was the site of countless offerings which expressed Israel’s devotion to the Lord and his forgiving love for them. Sinai proclaimed God’s law and Zion proclaimed his gospel.

But perhaps you know that the land of Israel is comprised of countless mountains and high hills. And all of these were witnesses of Israel’s unfaithfulness. The Bible declares that these high places became the sites of gross idolatry, where the people of Israel built altars to idols and offered incense on them. These hills and mountains were solid witnesses of God’s faithfulness and Israel’s unfaithfulness.

But there was more, more regarding God’s faithfulness. He states, “My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.”

The Lord points to his actions to back up his words. Some of his activity is probably familiar to you; but others, not so much. You’re probably aware how he led the Children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt after he used Moses to bring the ten plagues on Egypt. God was faithful. And you likely are familiar with Moses and his brother Aaron and perhaps even their sister Miriam, whom the Lord used to lead his people. The Lord was faithful. But then comes some not-so-familiar activities. Balak was the King of Moab who paid Balaam to put a curse on the Israelites. Balaam made four attempts, but each time God caused him to speak a blessing on Israel instead of a curse. The Lord was faithful. Finally, even though the Children of Israel engaged in immoral idol worship at a place called Shittim on the east side of the Jordan, God miraculously led them across the Jordan on dry ground and brought them to Gilgal, on the west side of the Jordan. They had reached the Promised Land. The Lord was faithful.

The divine court was in session and the Lord called on his people to realize the gravity of the charges. Their unfaithfulness in spite of his faithfulness.

It’s a common poetic device to give human characteristic to lifeless forms such as nature. Obviously, the hills and mountains were unaware of Israel’s unfaithfulness in spite of the Lord’s faithfulness. But what if there were such an all-seeing and all-knowing device, one that was logging all your actions, words, thoughts and feelings into a massive database? Pretty unnerving, isn’t it? Especially since you know that there is such a “device.” It’s the holy God, the same one that confronted the people of Israel with their unfaithfulness here. As we sit in the gallery of this divine courtroom, we’re none too comfortable. We, too, realize the gravity of the charges against us. We’ve been unfaithful to our God daily.

Part II.

So now what? Well, listen to what God’s people offered to do. “With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” God’s people resort to humankind’s “go-to” when it comes to their relationship with God. They offer him their own works or sacrifices. They reply, “What can I do to pay for my sins?”

Their sacrifices really come down to three choices. The first is quality. I’ll offer God something I consider valuable to me: a burnt offering, such as year-old calf. I’ll bring it to God and burn the whole thing on an altar. Surely he’ll be pleased with that.

And if quality doesn’t buy his favor, how about quantity? I’ll offer him 1,000 rams and 10,000 rivers of oil. I’ll overwhelm him with sacrifices. Surely he’ll be pleased with that and overlook my sins.

Still not pleased? Still not enough? Then I’ll offer the ultimate. I’ll murder one of my own children on an altar for my sins. Now what god wouldn’t be impressed with that kind of sacrifice?

The only true God wouldn’t. In fact, he forbids it. He’s incensed by it. Most of all, he’s offended that we think we can offer anything to please him, to pay for our own sins.

But as we sit in the gallery of this divine courtroom, isn’t that our thinking as well? We’re not all that evil. Surely God can’t be all that offended by our sins. And look what we do for him. Why, we even make sacrifices for him. Surely that’s worth something?

Part III.

Here's God’s reply to such stinking thinking, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Give the Lord what he’s looking for—a humble heart that doesn’t try to make up for your sins, but that repents of them. That’s walking humbly before your God. It’s recognizing that every one of your days on earth is a day filled with violations against God’s holy will. And it’s not just what we do and say, it’s what we think and feel about ourselves and others that offends God.

To a person with such a repentant heart God announces his full and free forgiveness through another sacrifice—the Lamb of God, his Son, our Savior. What we could never give to God on our own, God gave for us. His Son’s sacrifice on the cross washed all our sins away so that in the divine courtroom we hear the Judge declare, “Not guilty!”

We’re free—free to go and live in the forgiveness God won for us. What does that look like? God tells us, “To act justly and to love mercy.” It’s being the kind of person Jesus preached about earlier in his Sermon on the Mount. We can be meek and even persecuted because we know that eternal life in heaven is ours through faith in Jesus. Our eternity is secure, so we can live each day reflecting the love of Christ to others.

As difficult as that sounds, your God empowers that way of living through the resurrection of Jesus. God has made you a new person who loves God and loves your neighbor. And in the divine court, that behavior is always commended by our God. In fact, on the Last Day he’ll point to those deeds as fruit of your saving faith in Jesus.

The divine court is in session. By faith in Jesus, you’re not guilty and you’re empowered to live as the Christian God made you to be. So, live to his glory! Amen.