Daily Thoughts from Micah: A Personal Lament (1:8-16)

Daily Thoughts from Micah: A Personal Lament

8 For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make lamentation like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches.  9 For her wound is incurable, and it has come to Judah; it has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem.

10 Tell it not in Gath; weep not at all; in Beth-le-aphrah roll yourselves in the dust.  11 Pass on your way, inhabitants of Shaphir, in nakedness and shame; the inhabitants of Zaanan do not come out; the lamentation of Beth-ezel shall take away from you its standing place.  12 For the inhabitants of Maroth wait anxiously for good, because disaster has come down from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.  13 Harness the steeds to the chariots, inhabitants of Lachish; it was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion, for in you were found the transgressions of Israel.  14 Therefore you shall give parting gifts to Moresheth-gath; the houses of Achzib shall be a deceitful thing to the kings of Israel.  15 I will again bring a conqueror to you, inhabitants of Mareshah; the glory of Israel shall come to Adullam.  16 Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair, for the children of your delight; make yourselves as bald as the eagle, for they shall go from you into exile. (Micah 1:8-16, ESV)

I don’t think I have wept over my nation or even over my immediate community.  Something is wrong with that.  Micah laments loudly and cares nothing for his clothes, a clear sign that something of far greater value than personal dignity or appearance has been lost.  Israel’s sin and subsequent judgment from God has crushed him and her incurable wound has now infected Judah and Jerusalem.  He weeps for her idolatry and its consequences.

Even as David said upon Saul’s death at the hands of the Philistines, “Tell it not in Gath,” one of their chief cities.  Don’t give our enemies reason to cheer.  Though Micah is weeping he charges Jacob not to weep at all and give away how much his people are suffering from their own foolishness.  But in the Israelite city of Beth-le-aphrah, whose name reminds of the word dust in Hebrew, he encourages mourning by rolling in the dust.  The town of Shaphir, whose name sounds like the word for beautiful, is to become as unbeautiful as possible in their lament as prisoners of war marched naked from their abode.  And Zaanan, which sounds like “go out” is not to come out because it is besieged by the enemy and must stay inside its walls.  Beth-ezel will be too concerned with its own danger to come help Zaanan.  Maroth, which sounds like “bitter things” will shake with anxiety hoping for good but being denied.

Lachish was Judah’s defense city where her chariots of war were kept and instead of trusting in Yahweh they trusted in Lachish.  Because of this sin, Micah’s town, Moresheth-gath will go into exile, expressed metaphorically as being given to a new husband along with the bride’s gift, and nearby Achzib (sounds like ‘deceitful’) will be unable to fulfill promised business.  Mareshah will be conquered and Israel’s hoped for glory, David, will come to Adullam, the place of refuge David sought when Saul chased him.  Judah’s children will suffer for all this and so the people should cut off their hair in mourning as they prepare for exile.

I recall the day I heard about the twin towers in New York City going down to terrorist attacks.  All the nation was in mourning for those lost and for the loss of our sense of security.  There was a temporary turning to God and people who knew God for answers.  But nobody really wanted to hear the need for our repentance.  Our security is not in airport searches, elimination of immigration, increased armories or savvy politicians.  Our security is the God of Israel.  Mourning our sin is step one toward finding in God our protection and safety.  Mourning our sin in our immediate neighborhoods is the practical step to take, facing our sin in our own backyard.  We start with ourselves.