AS A BRIER … A THORN HEDGE

Having considered the purposes of God for the nation of Israel and observed with prophetic vision their future glory, the prophet again turns his attention to the needs of the pres­ent. In chapters 6 and 7 he appeals to the people in view of their low spiritual condition. As suggested on a previous occa­sion, the verses of chapter 6 resemble a courtroom scene with the nation standing accused before God. Evidence is brought for the prosecution which condemns them for their departure from God even though He graciously preserved them through the wilderness years, vv. 3-5. The response of the nation is almost a plea for mitigation on the grounds of igno­rance, vv. 6, 7, yet how could Israel fail to appreciate what was required of them? - The accusation is clear, ‘do justly … love mercy, and … walk humbly with thy God’, v. 8, this they had repeatedly failed to do! The judge’s summing up follows in verses 9-12, guilt is established beyond doubt and sentence is passed, vv. 13-16.

Micah takes no pleasure in seeing his people thus con­demned. He walks from the courtroom with a heavy heart and a cry of despair escapes his lips, ‘Woe is me!’ 7. 1. He surveys the scene all around and has to concur with the absolute righteous­ness and justice of the sentence. The nation is fruitless, fierce and fraudulent, vv. 1-3. The prophet has concluded that ‘the good man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men’, v. 2. Even ‘the best of them is as a brier’, v. 4, that which catches the traveller in his pathway, hindering his prog­ress and causing discomfort. ‘The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge’, impeding others and inflicting injury.

What a sad commentary on ‘the best’ of the nation. In the Hebrew epistle a warning is given to those who were privi­leged to experience the blessings of God, yet, not having salvation, were in danger of ‘falling away’ and going back to Judaism. Such were likened to barren land, ‘that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned’, Heb. 6. 8. So Micah will warn the nation, ‘the day of thy. visitation cometh’, 7. 4.