I haven’t written a review of a horror movie before. So, let me start with this one. No, this is not one of my fav horror movies. No, it didn’t scare or shake me to the core. But it made an impact which has compelled me to pen down my thoughts about the same.

Horror, horror everywhere,
when Micah and Katie shifted,
they didn’t know what was in store,
and Micah was acting as if he wanted more

The doctor came and Katie relaxed,
But the ghost of the past won’t let her slack,
Micah experimented with the camera and the mike,
but the activity within the house only got spiked

Micah still didn’t believed in the s***,
kept mocking the ghost until it got pissed,
Katie mourned and carried a heavy load,
and Micah brought a seance board

The ghost shut doors, the chandelier got shaky,
Micah still didn’t listen and kept it infuriating,
they searched the attic, they searched the outdoors,
they shouted out loud,
but only their voices echoed

The light went on, the light went off,
a thud on the floor, an eerie silence,
A surprise was waiting,
a dreadful anticipation hung all over the place

But still they didn’t leave,
Micah confident to scare the shadow off,
But Katie believed in the supernatural,
that made the haunt even worse

The climax was devastating,
spine-chilling and shuddering,
someone got dragged and someone got stabbed,
But in the end, we got our dues back

Say there were some future society or alternate universe in which compassion was a civil crime (“aiding and abetting an unevolved weakling”), and/or a heresy punishable by imprisonment. What if  believers in a turn-the-other-cheek God were excommunicated, even oppressed, by those whose God wears armor (as if He would need it… ha!).

Or what if a historian in a hundred years goes digging into the details of your life, to see if you lived by the biblical injunction from the prophet Micah: “to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Will that historian find any evidence against you? Or in your favor? Would Satan’s head CSI or Grand Inquisitor be able to present evidence to convict you in some upside-down court of law, a court that celebrates selfishness and hatred but condemns faith? What would that physical evidence be, that you were one of those “Jesus” people? Hopefully it’s something more substantial than some idiotic Thomas Kinkade painting on your living room wall…

Bearing witness against injustice, being as “shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Mt 10:16), has to cost us something, or it probably won’t work. Maybe that just action you are called to is nothing more than a firm commitment in your role on the PTA to establish a “books and supplies” fund for poor families in your community, the “least of these” as our Lord calls them. Maybe it’s a letter to your congressperson, or a decision to leave a church over a matter of conscience. Or maybe it’s some more dramatic choice to be shrewd yet innocent, like the French and German Resistance movements during World War II.

Not that one has to put one’s life on the line, or even act justly in some smaller way, in order to earn salvation. If faith is working the way it’s supposed to, we just do it, or more accurately we let God do these things through us. We listen and learn, then follow His lead.

In other words, what are the fruits of God’s Holy Spirit in your everyday life? When did you sign on the dotted line this year, to bear witness in a visible way to your own children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, that Jesus is still at work in your life and in the world?

I’m not here to accuse, because I’d have to accuse myself first. I’m just asking the question:

Are you hiding the Light under a bushel?

sleep dont weep...

setelah bioskop bandung diserbu oleh para twilighters, tidak ada bioskop yang tidak ngantri dimanapun, oleh karena itu saya pergi ke blitzmegaplex berharap antriannya tidak segila bioskop 21. sesampainya disana justru tidak ada film new moon yang sedang diserbu para penggemarnya, oleh karena itu akhirnya saya menonton paranormal activity yang kata orang “the most bla bla bla” sebelumnya saya sudah membaca banyak review film ini dari kebanyakan orang, dan langsung mendapat gambaran bahwa film ini tidak jauh berbeda dengan Blair Witch Project maupun REC yang terlebih dahulu memakai gaya “kamera hand-held”, tapi karena tidak ada pilihan lagi akhirnya saya pun menontonnya.

bercerita tentang sepasang kekasih yang tinggal di suatu rumah dan sering diganggu oleh makhluk gaib! si pria pun (micah) akhirnya kesal dan ingin melakukan penelitian dengan merekam kejadian yang ada di kamar mereka ketika tidur, apa yang sebenarnya mengganggu kekasihnya (katie), tapi kenyataan di kamera nampaknya lebih mengerikan dari apa yang mereka rasakan.

yah, siap siap banyak terkejut dan teriak, karena memang film macam ini banyak menyimpan kejutan, apalagi ketika mendekati ending, tapi buat anda yang sudah menonton 2 film yang saya sebutkan sebelumnya mungkin sudah tidak aneh lagi, anda akan terkejut tapi tidak akan sehisteris orang orang mungkin, yang saya salut mungkin efek “penampakan” yang sangat halus dan bersih seperti benar benar sedang menonton rekaman yang ada penampakannya. ya lumayanlah buat penghilang kesal karena tidak jadi nonton new moon. watch and scream!

]]> http://babymatthew.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/brothers-2/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:09:27 +0000 vawterski http://babymatthew.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/brothers-2/

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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 underfoot.
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.

The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord is avenging and wrathful;
the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries
and keeps wrath for his enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.
His way is in whirlwind and storm,
and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
he dries up all the rivers;
Bashan and Carmel wither;
the bloom of Lebanon withers.
The mountains quake before him;
the hills melt;
the earth heaves before him,
the world and all who dwell in it.

These verses which close Micah and open Nahum represent the most dramatic tension in the Bible. The juxtaposition is jarring, and both the casual reader of the Bible and the higher critic conclude that these two prophets have two different visions of God. How can the one God pardon and pass over sin, and yet by no means clear the guilty?

But the Scriptures leave no doubt again and again that Micah’s God and Nahum’s God are the selfsame God. Micah himself proves it, as his absolution-ending prophecy, like Nahum, opens with a declaration of judgment.

In one sense, the whole narrative of Scripture builds the tension between God’s justice and mercy, forcing this question: How will God vindicate his justice and display his mercy? If he gives justice, he will prove himself less than merciful. If he lavishes mercy, he will compromise his justice. And so it is that in the prophets the tension between the mercy and justice of God reach a fever pitch. It cries out for resolution.

In the fullness of time, resolution comes. God resolves the tension in the only way it can be resolved. But it is nevertheless a surprising display of perfect wisdom, and the delay in this arrival is meant to magnify the glory of God. He absorbs the wrath of his own justice in the cross of Christ, securing the mercy he has promised to pour out on his people.

This is why the exclusivity of the gospel is not a take it or leave it doctrine. The gospel is not a solution to our greatest problem. It is the solution and the fulfillment of the promises of the ages. Rejecting the gospel means not only insulting the wisdom of God, it means rejecting the righteous and merciful God himself.

I’m so in love with our precious baby boy. He is an absolute joy! Today on the way to worship Jesus on the Lord’s day Ashley commented something to the effect of “Micah hardly ever cries…on the movies you always see the momma portrayed as running around with a screaming baby that she’s never able to console.” I informed her with a smile that some babies are quite fussy & rather demanding but Micah is just a happy little man, & I like it that way! He really is so good, seriously, I’m spoiled!

So Micah’s been learning new tricks & when I learn the new trick of uploading video to the blog I’ll show you what he’s been doing. Right now he loves watching his mobile while smiling, cooing, & squealing. The mobile was the first toy he’s ever showed a real interest in. He has much preferred our faces, singing, reading & bright colors to all the stuffed animals in his navy blue and green bins. Well now he’s beginning to enjoy batting things. I think he gets that his hands can grab things, hit things, pull things, & stick everything in his mouth! He’s the perfect three month old I am completely partial too & he’s handsome to boot!

My favorite thing right now is all the squealing and cooing…he loves to see how loud he can get & how long he can go. It’s hilarious & I can’t wait for you to hear it.

Well, off to spend more family time with the men in my life…loving this restful Sunday evening…hope you are too! Chat soon friends. Tune in for more fun this week & I sure do hope you’ll seek our Lord Jesus this week thanking Him for all that he’s blessed you with & rejoicing in His presence always.

Lately I have been thinking about metaphors and scripture, namely metaphors of God. Are all references to God metaphoric? How do we know when a reference of God is a metaphor and when it is not?

I had a discussion with a group of people about metaphors and gave them an exercise. We took the book of Micah and broke into groups with each taking a chapter and jotting down every metaphor. We got back together and reported what each came up with and it was a great discussion, so much that we couldn’t even get out of chapter one. although this exercise was not specifically about God and metaphors, nevertheless it will help in that direction.

Here is an example,

Micah 1:1

The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Below are the highlighted metaphors

Micah 1:1
Lately I have been thinking about metaphors and scripture, namely metaphors of God. Are all references to God metaphoric? How do we know when a reference of God is a metaphor and when it is not?
The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

There are at least two metaphors in that verse…”the word came”, and “he saw.”

We talked about how the word can come to Micah as if it had legs or movement from one place to another. Now given what is written following this verse and the seeing of the word, one has to wonder if it is a vision or something else. What did Micah see? Was it an object or objects? Interesting study indeed.

Ok, so yes, I’m sort of a creature of habit. I have found a Wal-Mart (actually a couple of them) and a Big Lots. So I’m set. LOL  And I found the library. I’m sitting here now applying for jobs on my laptop. It’s big but not too big. Comfortable chairs, quiet, and beautiful trees outside. The only thing I miss from the Tampa Library is the self-checkout.

But even though I do like routine and habits, I also embrace change – hence the move itself. I wonder when Newport News will start to feel like home? Well at least my daughter and son-in-law’s apartment is starting to feel like home.

Cute Micah tidbit – he likes to cough to get people’s attention. If you were around the kid for any length of time you’d think he was sick. But he really isn’t. He just coughs until you look at him. Then he smiles that juicy, gummy smile. I’ve begun coughing back at him and he just looks at me like, “What’s wrong with you?” Guess I’m stepping on his turf with the coughing.

Look for the blessing!

Chyrisse

Willoughby Amos, Willoughby Abram, Willoughby Bertram, Willoughby Barnabas,

Willoughby Bramwell, Willoughby Christian, Willoughby Cash, Willoughby Dashiell,

Willoughby Elliot, Willoughby Ezra, Willoughby Frank, Willoughby Grant,

Willoughby Isaac, Willoughby Ira, Willoughby Joel, Willoughby Jacob,

Willoughby James, Willoughby Jago, Willoughby Leo, Willoughby Lewis,

Willoughby Miles, Willoughby Matthew, Willoughby Micah, Willoughby Benjamin,

Willoughby Noam, Willoughby Oliver, Willoughby Rufus, Willoughby Reuben,

Willoughby Ross, Willoughby Rune, Willoughby Steven, Willoughby Thomas,

Willoughby Homer Rex, Willoughby Bruno Steven.

Judges 17:1-13

Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have that silver with me; I took it.”  Then his mother said, “The LORD bless you, my son!”

When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I solemnly consecrate my silver to the LORD for my son to make an image overlaid with silver.  I will give it back to you.”

So after he returned the silver to his mother, she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who used them to make the idol.  And it was put in Micah’s house.

Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household gods and installed one of his sons as his priest.  In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.

A young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who had been living within the clan of Judah left that town in search of some other place to stay.  On his way he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.

Micah asked him, “Where are you from?”  ”I’m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,” he said, “and I’m looking for a place to stay.”

Then Micah said to him, “Live with me and be my father and priest, and I’ll give you ten shekels of silver a year, your clothes and your food.”  So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man became like one of his sons to him.  Then Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house.  And Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest.“

Micah is a thief who collects gods to worship.  If he can just get enough of the right ones, his life will be blessed.  He steals for his mother, but then confesses and she thanks him for it, and even rewards him with an idol for his collection.  He has a shrine filled with an ephod and all kinds of idols.  He convinced one of his sons to be a “priest” for him…  That is, until he discovered a real, honest-to-goodness, Levite to be his priest.

One god.  One idol.  One priest.  None of that was enough, he was constantly searching for just the right thing that would put him over the top.

How do you approach religion?

December’s edition of the Atlantic Monthly features a disturbing article by Hanna Rosin entitled “Did Christianity Cause the Crash?” What is disturbing about this article is not the insinuation that many conservative Christian groups have caused far more problems than they’ve solved (“guilty as charged”), but the utter duplicity of the movement. The deception begins with the claim of the Prosperity Gospel pundits that they are holding true to biblical principles. In reality they rewrite the Bible to make it fit their vision of personal gain at the expense of the weak and needy. You can hear the sounds of Amos and Micah being ground beneath their wingtip heels.

The Prosperity Gospel is a particularly virulent disease in the United States, a nation of incomprehensible contrasts. The clergy of the Prosperity Gospel (churches of this stripe are among the largest and fastest growing in America) demand tithes on the part of their sometimes poor but always hopeful congregants. Most of them are being set up for failure. But it will be failure with a smile. As I read Rosin’s article, I was saddened that a growing number of those buying into this “Gospel” are those among the exploited Hispanic community. The message they are being given is the worst kind of blasphemy. One such believer, according to Rosin, claimed “the rich are closer to God.” A message farther from the actual Gospels would be difficult to concoct.

Prosperity Gospelers, decidedly not mainstream Christianity in theological outlook, judge a book by its glitzy cover. Its leaders, often fabulously wealthy, hold out unrealistic hope to their gullible and disappointed followers. It is so easy when a congregant looses everything simply to blame it on a lack of faith. This bogus idea of material payoff for spiritual righteousness is not only dangerous, but it is redefining the religious scene in North America. The article follows the story of Fernando Garay, the leader of Casa del Padre, a Prosperity Gospel church. When asked by Rosin about buying a house (a sign of God’s blessing) he tellingly replied, “Ten Christians will say that God told them to buy a house. In nine of the cases, it will go bad. The 10th one is the real Christian.” Americans have a fondness for snake-oil and entrepreneurs. Now the hucksters are the ones claiming the right to define what Christianity really is. It is a religion that even Jesus would fail to recognize.

Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk

Five prophets, one day – that’s what I’m talking about!  The longer I do it, the more I love the Bible in 90 Days Challenge!

VeggieTales has a great song at the end of their Jonah movie.  The chorus goes something like this:

Jonah was a prophet, ooo ooo!

But he really never go it, sad but true!

If you’ve been watchin’ you can spot it!  A doodely doo!

He did not get the point!

They make a great point, those signing vegetables.  God sent Jonah on a mission of mercy to call Assyria to repentance by preaching God’s coming wrath to its capital Nineveh.  You know the story – God calls boy, boy runs away, boy gets on boat, other boys through boy off the boat, fish eats boy – your basic ingredients for an awesome Sunday School lesson or feature film.  While in the belly of the great fish (the Bible never calls it a whale), Jonah repents and God commands the fish to spit him up onto dry land.  Jonah receives the mercy he wasn’t willing to offer the Assyrians.

Jonah keeps his word and preaches to Nineveh.  Based on his actions in chapter 4, it seems that he was hoping his preaching would not be heeded by the Ninevites, but it was.  The king himself repented and commanded the people to seek God’s forgiveness.  God sees their turning away from sin and toward Him and forgives them, not bringing the disaster He had threatened.  After receiving mercy from God himself, you’d think that he would rejoice at the repentance of Nineveh and God’s great mercy toward the people.

Instead, Jonah’s ticked!

He’s actually angry that God made him preach to Nineveh because he knew that God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love (4:2)!  He gets all suicidal and mopey, crying over the death of his shade tree/weed.  It’s funny, we normally leave the story of Jonah right after people repent, because this is the happy ending.  But where the Holy Spirit leaves the story is with Jonah whining and God telling him how messed up it is that he’s crying over the death of a plant but doesn’t care about the lives of over 120,000 people in Nineveh.  For Jonah, God’s forgiveness just wasn’t fair.  The Assyrians were just too wicked to forgive.

Later on, Assyria turned back to its wicked ways and God send Nahum to preach their coming destruction.  Because of their endless cruelty (3:19), God wiped them out with the Babylonians.  Many of the atrocities that the Assyrians had subjected other cities to during their hey day were brought into the walls of Nineveh.  The scene is horrific, but is very much the same as what they had done throughout the years to other nations.  Because they did not turn to God this time, His judgment, not His mercy, fell on Nineveh.

What Jonah asked for, Nahum got to see.

Is it right for us to expect God to hold others to a different standard than we hold ourselves to?  Paul tells us that we are to forgive as we have been forgiven (Ephesians 4:32).  Our sins against God are much greater than any sin someone could commit against us.  For that matter, if God forgives someone, how can we withhold our forgiveness from them?  Are we more offended than God?  God tells us that we don’t have to worry because ultimately He will settle all accounts (Romans 12:19).  This was true of Assyria – in the end they got what they deserved.  Each of us will stand before God and give an account, and if we don’t have the forgiveness of Christ we will be punished accordingly.

Let’s not put ourselves above God’s judgment by withholding forgiveness from those who’ve wronged us.  Let’s be willing to forgive, and not presumptuous about our own right to be forgiven.  Let’s learn the lesson that Jonah didn’t: God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy (Romans 9:15; Exodus 33:19).

originally at Words of Reason

I preached on Peace Sunday here about ten days ago (the Sunday before Remembrance Day), and in preparation for my sermon I was struck by the echoes of Micah in the letter to the Ephesians.

The Hebrew prophet Micah stood up and proclaimed condemnation against the false peace and injustice of his day (e.g. Mic 2:6-9; 3:9-11), knowing that all this would lead to further violence and ultimately the destruction of Israel and Judah. Hear his words in Micah 3:8-12:

But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin… because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.

In response to a so-called “peace” without justice, Micah himself could only proclaim justice without peace: God will come and punish his people Israel for their acts of injustice and their lack of mercy, and Jerusalem itself will be destroyed. This was a truly prophetic message, a right message—although it was not the message Micah would wish to give to his people.

But Micah was aware that this was not the end of the story. Hear his words from Micah 4 and 5:

In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains… Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths…” …the word of the Lord [will go out] from Jerusalem. He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore… (4:1-5)

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel… He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God… And he will be our peace… (5:1-5)

For Micah, the only hope of true peace was a far-off one, “in the last days,” when “the word of the Lord” would go out from Jerusalem. At this time the Lord would bring real peace: shalōm, a blessed existence of all things under God. This would happen, Micah says, when the “ruler” comes out of Judah, the promised king like David who would “shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord”—and this shepherd-king, this Messiah, this Christ, “he will be their peace.” At that time, true justice and real peace would finally be wed—peace would be the banner over the earth.

A last-days prophet proclaiming peace, with this word of the Lord going out to all the nations? The message of a king, a Christ, who will himself be our peace? These thoughts reverberate through another text in Scripture: Ephesians 2:11-22. Note these words from Ephesians 2:

Now in Christ Jesus you Gentiles who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For Christ himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility… His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and proclaimed peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. (2:13-18)

The author of Ephesians draws on Micah’s prophecy as he crafts this passage. The shepherd-king like David has come! The Messiah, the Christ, has come! He has brought an end to hostility and oppression and violence and injustice; he has brought true peace, a real shalōm, blessed existence of all things under God, through his death on the cross. And, with his feet “fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (Eph 6:15), the Christ has been a prophet of peace, proclaiming peace to a world ensnared in cycles of hostility and inequity. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is our peace.

He has shown you what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. 

What a simple but powerful message.  A recipe for a good life.  God does not ask a lot of us and gives us so much.  Here we are told to be merciful, to be humble and to be just.  In this world that is sometimes harder to do than it should be.  How many times does jealousy creep up on me, mainly with friends who I love and should be happy for and not jealous.  What about doing justly?  How can you leave church and then yell in traffic or not want to be bothered to run errands for your grandparents? What about trying to not think about all the injustice in the world, for woman and children- well what can I do, my little bit won’t help, it’s been going on for years and years- thoughts like that, when every little bit can help and does help.  We recently lost a very kind person who served and helped villages in Africa with just the help of his family and a small ministry and in his passing, his wife still wants to continue their work together even though she is well into her 70’s.  To be humble.  This is another one that creeps up with insecurity.  I’ll try to pomp myself up to make myself feel better.  Or I think if I had a better car, clothes, home location then my life wouldn’t be so complicated.  Let me spend some money on myself and use a credit card, I deserve it.  Why is it so hard to be humble and be happy and content with my circumstances.  This is when I like to take a step back and think of all my wonderful blessings.  I have so many and the fact that I have a pillow and blankets and a bed and a roof over my head and I can pray and be close to God, well that is enough.  I can only ask that I can be shown ways to be humble and just and merciful each and every day.

There was a prophet, Micah, who spoke of days coming when men would rest securely, each in the tranquility of his own home.

From Micah God’s people would learn of their coming destruction for rejecting and replacing Him with little-g gods. And they would also discover what God truly desired was that they would love mercy, do justly and walk humbly with God.

This same Micah foretold of one coming Messiah who would stand as Shepherd and who would be for His flock a living, breathing, tangible peace.

But there was another Micah. The one of whom the writer of Judges told.

This Micah was not that Micah.

::

Unlike so many controversial Judges characters, the Micah of chapters 17 and 18 didn’t make it into the Hebrews 11 Hall of Faith. He didn’t even make it into the Honorable Mentions.

He had no redeeming moment.

No, Micah shows up in one of two random — and awkward — accounts that close the book. His story doesn’t follow in chronological sequence. As though he was as bewildered as me, the writer tacked it on at the end though it likely took place before Samson’s day. This disorder suits the story; Micah came along during a period of anarchy while the people of Israel were without a judge.

Micah – not that Micah — enters the story as a common thief.

Well, maybe not a common thief. He seems more an uncommon thief. One who would steal from his own mother.

Maybe I’ll just tell it.

She tears boards off windows demanding the daylight invade sleepy shadows. Her shrieking, now unmuffled, cuts through morning stillness as she absorbs the enormity of her loss.

Another domestic at Micah’s? Neighbors cover children’s ears and marvel at this woman’s ease with shipyard discourse.

Micah shrinks. He tiptoes in from his chores, stepping around upended furniture and scattered effects. He holds out a sack of coins as he mumbles,  ”About the money — it was me. I took it.”

She rips the sack from his hands, counts. Eleven hundred shekels jingle together making music to gladden the soul.

“I heard you curse the thief,” he admits.

Micah’s mother pulls him, still cringing, into her embrace. Tears flow. It’s no matter now why he returned the coins, only that she had her treasure back. “The Lord bless you, my son. The Lord bless you!”

They rejoice as one, she in the lost-found, he in the curse-retracted.

It is no small thing, this return of lost coins. She bows her head and insists they return the find to Yahweh.

“God has surely smiled on me this day. This money, it must be set apart for the Lord,” she said. “Now go, take the money to the silversmith to cast an idol and  carve an image.”

[Play sound of needle scratching across vinyl record and cue up double-take.]

What?

I’ve read this account more times than you’ll believe in the last few weeks. It really says that. Look:

When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I solemnly consecrate my silver to the LORD for my son to make a carved image and a cast idol. I will give it back to you.” (Judges 17:3)

::

It gets worse. We’ll get to that in the next few days.

But for now, sit just with this: Micah and his mom did what they thought was right. They understood God to be honored by their gift of an idol.

From the deepest part of their hearts, they believed the LORD, who formed them with His hands, would be pleased to see them worship what they formed with theirs.

They thought they had it right.

Sometimes, I do too.

::

I’m going to leave it there. I think as the writer pulls back the curtain we’ll see how it ever got to this point. So there’s more, and we’ll get to it.

But for now, I’m sitting with this: I do it too.

Do you?

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(If you get a chance, check out the High Calling Blogs today. My “last day at work” post is there in this week’s Work feature. I’m humbled. My thanks to the good folks at High Calling Blogs and to Jennifer for being such a generous promoter.)

About: this paper was presented to Dr. John Goldingay at Fuller Theological Seminary during my second year for a class on the Prophets.

Amos and Micah share a great deal of similarities. Yet, they are different in several respects. Dealing with a small period of overlap within the 8^th Century B.C., both books address issues of judgment as a result of wickedness. We will examine how the two books are similar, then we will examine how the two books are similar though different, and finally we will examine how the books are different altogether. To the similarities of Amos and Micah we now turn.

Amos and Micah are similar in seven areas. First, both books focus on the wealthy people who were oppressing the poor. Second, both books understand that the Lord desires justice and not sacrificial offerings. Third, both Amos and Micah understand that desolation was going to come upon the land as a result of the wickedness. Fourth, both books understand that the people would be made desperate. Fifth, the Lord in both identifies the various wicked deeds of the people and then holds them responsible for them. Sixth, the time following the exodus from Egypt is seen in both as ideal for Israel. Finally, both books determine that Israel will come out of punishment on top of the nations.

Both books focus on the wealthy people who were oppressing the poor. In Amos, the Lord charges Israel for profaning his name by oppressing the poor (2:7-8). He identifies one of their major transgressions was that the rich were oppressing the poor and needy (4:1). The Lord identified that the rich were those who were at ease and secure in their lives (6:1), and they were those who lived in luxury, sleeping on ivory beds, lounging on couches, eating lambs of the flock, and singing idle songs (6:4-5). In Micah, the Lord saw the wicked—those who plotted evil deeds on their beds and did their plans since they had the power to do it, and they were also those who coveted fields, homes, and inheritances and took them from their rightful owners (2:1-2). These wicked ones described seem to be rich. If this reference is not clear enough, then this next one will be of help to us. The wicked were prosperous ones who obtained prosperity through dishonest means (6:9-11). These wealthy ones were full of violence (6:12). The idea is that the wealthy ones were oppressive through force. Both Amos and Micah focus on the wealthy people who were unjust, corrupt, and oppressive towards the poor.

Amos and Micah understand that the Lord desires justice and not sacrificial offerings. In Micah, someone wonders if they could approach the Lord with burnt offerings and if they could please the Lord with ram and oil offerings (6:6-7). They wonder if they could offer up their firstborn for appeasement (6:7). But Micah responds, saying that the Lord has already told them what he desires and requires—to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with him (6:8). In Amos, the Lord despises the sacrifices and offerings of the people (4:4-5), and he charges them to seek and love good, hate evil, and establish justice (5:14-15). Again, the Lord says that he will not accept their offerings (5:22), but instead he wants justice and righteousness (5:24). Both books understand that the Lord desires justice and not sacrificial offerings.

Both Amos and Micah understand that desolation was going to come upon the land as a result of the wickedness. In Amos, several visions show the desolation of the land. The first one was a vision of locusts eating up the grass (7:1). The second one was a vision of fire eating up the land (7:4). The third one was a vision of a plumb line, and the Lord said as he held a plumb line that he would make the high places desolate (7:7-9). In Micah, the Lord says that he will strike Jerusalem down and make them desolate (6:13). The Lord was going to lay Samaria bare so that it would be fallow (1:6-7). Both books understand that the Lord would lay the land desolate because of the people’s wickedness.

Both books understand that the people would be made desperate. Micah seems to feel desperate like one without food at the end of summer (7:1). The Lord declared that they would eat and not be filled, they would save but would not have provisions, and they will work but not see the fruit of their labor (6:14-15). Micah comments that the faithful and upright are gone, only the violent remain, and the violent are also corrupt and oppress the weak (7:2-3). The idea seems to be representative of the familiar saying, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” Micah even says that given the times, it is important to protect yourself (7:5-6). Amos has another vision in which he sees a basket of summer fruit (8:1). The Lord declares that there was going to much wailing and vast amounts of dead bodies (8:3). Furthermore, the Lord said there would be a famine, a drought of the word of the Lord (8:11-14). The people would be laid to waste, but they would also not hear the word of the Lord. Both Micah and Amos understand that the people would be made desperate.

Micah and Amos both show how the Lord identifies the various wicked deeds of the people and then holds them responsible for them. In Amos, the Lord charges Israel for selling people for goods (2:6). He charges them with profaning his name (2:7-8). He charges them for forsaking Him and for turning their backs on Him (2:9-12). He identifies their transgressions—oppressing the poor and needy and offering up unacceptable sacrifices, tithes, and offerings (4:2-5). The Lord identifies the rich and their deeds (6:1-5). And the Lord holds the people accountable for their ways by bringing exile (6:7). In Micah, the Lord charges Samaria for plotting evil deeds and doing it out of their power and for coveting fields and houses and taking them from their rightful owners (2:1-2). The Lord identifies how they became prosperous through dishonest means (6:9-11). He charges them with being full of violence, lies, and deceit (6:12). And the Lord holds them accountable for their ways by bringing exile (2:3) and destruction (6:13). Both books show the Lord as the one who identifies the wickedness of the people and judges them accordingly.

The time following the exodus from Egypt is seen in both books as the ideal condition for Israel. In Micah, the people plea for the Lord to return Israel, as the familiar saying has it, to “the good ol’ days” (7:14-15). They look at the time after they came out of Egypt, a time when they were in the wilderness, which was a time of renewal for the people and of utter dependence on the Lord. Earlier in the book, the Lord looks back to the same event as an explicit marker that He had chosen them to be His own people (6:4). It was a time of redemption. In Amos, the Lord marks Israel’s special condition as being the people that He had brought out of the land of Egypt and led into the wilderness for forty years (2:10). Later in the book, the Lord says that sacrifices were neither necessary nor desired during the time in the wilderness, nor are they desired now (5:25). The wilderness, that is, the time after the exodus from Egypt, was representative of what was ideal for Israel both in Micah and Amos.

Both books determine that Israel will come out of punishment on top of the nations. Amos concludes in the end that Israel will be restored. The Lord will rise up the booth of David and rebuilt the land, in order that the people may possess it and the nations (9:11-12). In Micah, Jerusalem will be the place that all the nations of the world will look to and travel to (7:11-13). It will also be the place from which the Lord will rule (4:3). The Lord will cause Jerusalem to prosper (4:11-13). He will rise up a new leader over Israel that will come out of Bethlehem in Judah (5:2). In the new age, Israel will be protected and will be victorious over all the nations (5:7-9). Amos and Micah both determine that Israel will come out of the punishment on top of the nations.

We have seen that both books are similar in more than a handful of ways. But Amos and Micah do share some similarities with their own distinctive touch in four areas. One, both books have judgment as the key theme. Two, both books proclaim exile as the result of the wickedness of the people. Three, both books demonstrate that the prophets received opposition. Last, both used Israel as a means for communicating to the nations. Although Amos and Micah share these similar areas, each of them has their own distinct uses. In this sense, we can say that they are similar though different.

Both Amos and Micah have judgment as the key theme. However, they are not quite the same in the way that judgment is portrayed. Judgment in Micah is primarily for Israel and Judah, and only by extension the rest of the nations (1:4-5). In Amos, judgment is coming to all the nations for their wickedness (1:3-2:16). Judgment is portrayed in Amos as destruction by fire (1:3-2:5). Israel is the only nation in Amos that is not punished with destruction by fire. Instead, the Lord decides to press and shame Israel (2:13-16). In Micah, judgment is portrayed as desolation and destruction (1:6-9). The similarity is evident; judgment is the key theme in both. The difference between the two books is the scope of judgment. Micah views judgment for Israel and Judah, while Amos views judgment for all the nations. In this way, they are similar though different.

Both books proclaim exile as the result of the wickedness of the people. However, they do not have precisely the same view about the exile. Micah seems to have the idea that the exile is most certainly going to happen (2:3) and that it is in the midst of happening (5:1). Yet, they would be rescued eventually from their exile (4:9-10). Amos seems to have the idea that the exile was dependent on the people. If only they would love good and hate evil, and if they would only seek God, then they would be saved (5:4, 6, 14-15). Amos also seems to have the idea that they would return from their exile (9:14-15). The similarity is plain: exile is a main punishment in both books. The difference between the two is the nature of the exile. Micah thought it was inevitable and nothing could stop it. Amos thought something could still be done. In this way, the books are similar though different.

Both books demonstrate that the prophets received opposition. However, the prophets respond to their criticisms in different ways. Amos is opposed by Amaziah (7:10-11). Amaziah charges Amos with conspiracy, and he tells Amos to leave and never again prophesy (7:10-13). Amos responds that he is not a prophet, but rather, a herdsman who was chosen by the Lord to speak (7:14-15). Then Amos reports the Lord’s judgment to Amaziah concerning him. He told Amaziah that his wife will become a prostitute, his sons and daughters will die by the sword, his land will be distributed out, he will die in exile and in shame, and Israel will go into exile because of his opposition to Amos (7:16-17). Micah is opposed by a preacher who tells him not to preach for disgrace would not come upon the people (2:6). Micah retorts back by saying that his words are helpful while the opposing preacher’s are not, for the preacher was the people’s enemy, saying that he (or she?) did not keep the peace, that he (or she?) drove women out and robbed their children (2:7-9). Micah summarizes the people that the opposing preacher represented by saying (possibly) that he should leave the people for it is not a place of rest and it is a place of folly (2:10-11). Amos and Micah are similar in the sense that they both received opposition as prophets. Yet, they are different in their responses. Micah retorts back and charges his accuser with being an enemy of the people, and then he seems reflect on the condition of his people. Amos responds by saying God chose him to speak and so his authority comes from the Lord, and the Lord will deal with Amaziah for his opposition. In this way, Amos and Micah are similar though different.

Both books used Israel as a means for communicating to the nations. Yet, they have different ways of using Israel to communicate to the nations. In Amos, Israel is stripped and plundered, and the nations, i.e., Ashdod and Egypt, are called to look at what was happening in Samaria (3:9-12). The Lord seems to be communicating to the nations when he tells Ashdod and Egypt to look upon the destruction and shame of Israel. What precisely is being communicated I am uncertain, but I would posit that the Lord is using Israel as an example for the nations, saying in effect that the rest of the nations should take what He was doing to Israel to heart, so that it would not happen to them. In Micah, the nations would look upon Israel and fall on their face in fear (7:16-17). It seems that Israel in this case is being used to communicate the glory of God, which would lead the nations to turn to the Lord in fear and respect. Both books demonstrate that Israel is a means for communication. However, Israel communicates in different ways. Amos uses Israel negatively to communicate to the nations; do not do as they do or you will become like them. Micah uses Israel positively to communicate to the nations; they are the result of God’s glory, so recognize the Lord for who he is. In this sense, Micah and Amos are similar though different.

We have seen how Micah and Amos are similar, and we have also seen how they are similar though different. Now we will see how they are each unique apart from each other. There are five areas in which Amos and Micah are different from each other. First, they are different in their post-exilic vision of a new age and a new ruler. Second, they are different in the way the Lord confronts Israel. Third, they are different in the reason for the Lord giving judgment. Fourth, they are different in their view of the Day of the Lord. Finally, they are different in view of the Lord’s rule.

Micah and Amos are different in their post-exilic vision of a new age and a new ruler. Micah has a vision of a new age and a new ruler, whereas Amos has no such vision. Micah has a vision of a new ruler of Israel that will come forth out of Bethlehem in Judah (5:2). This ruler will be “from ancient days” (5:2). The ruler will give the people over to oppressors, but when the exile is over he will reign (5:3). He will be the shepherd over the flock, that is, Israel (5:4). This ruler will stand in the strength of the Lord bringing security and peace (5:4-5). The new age would be a prosperous time for the people, and they would give all glory to the Lord (4:11-13). They would have leaders in the new age that would protect them from Assyrian invasion (5:5-6). And in the new age they would have victory over all the other nations (5:7-9). This vision of a new age and a new ruler is unique to Micah. Amos has no such vision.

Micah and Amos are different in the way they portray the Lord’s confrontation of the people. In Amos the Lord laments over Israel, but in Micah the Lord takes Israel to court. Amos highlights the relationship aspect between the Lord and Israel. The Lord said to Israel, “I know you, I will punish you” (3:2). He speaks in covenantal terms, saying that he tried to get their attention and draw them back to Him by taking away their food and bread, by not providing rain, by giving them blight and mildew, by wasting their gardens, by giving them a pestilence like what he did in Egypt, by killing their young men with the sword, by taking away their horses, and by overthrowing some of them like Sodom and Gomorrah (4:6-11). He is making a charge against Israel, but it is done in more covenantal and relational terms. However, the Lord takes Israel to court. He officially declares before all of creation that He made them His people when He brought them out of Egypt and slavery and saved them from Moab (6:4-5). He officially charges them before all of creation for forsaking him and taking on dishonest prosperity, violence, and deceit (6:9-12). Then he officially declares their judgment before all of creation, which was destruction and futility (6:13-16). Micah has no indication of a pursuit before judgment, whereas Amos does. The Lord, in Amos, attempted to get their attention before bringing judgment. This attempt is absent in Micah.

Micah and Amos give different reasons for the Lord’s judgment. In Amos, the Lord brings judgment on the earth as a result of the sins of the nations. In Micah, the Lord brings judgment on the earth as a result of the transgressions of Israel and Judah, and the nations would suffer by extension. Micah says that the judgment was against the whole earth as a result of the sins of Israel and Judah (1:4-5). But Amos identifies the wickedness of the nations, and the Lord deals with them accordingly. Damascus is given to destruction and exile for threshing Gilead (1:3-5). Gaza is given over to destruction and desolation for exiling communities to Edom (1:6-8). Tyre again is given to destruction for delivering communities to Edom (1:9-10). Edom is given to destruction for going after Israel with the sword (1:11-12). The Ammonites are given to destruction for ripping open pregnant women in Gilead (1:13-15). Moab is given to destruction for burning the king of Edom (2:1-3). Judah is given to destruction for rejecting the law of the Lord (2:4-5). Israel is given to pressing and shame for profaning the name of the Lord, selling people for goods, and oppressing the poor (2:6-16). Micah does not have the idea that the nations are being judged for their wickedness alone, but rather, that the nations are feeling the effects of the punishment of Israel and Judah for their evil deeds. Amos has the idea that the nations are being punished for their own wretchedness apart from Israel and Judah.

Micah and Amos are different in their view of the Day of the Lord. In Amos, the Day of the Lord is gloomy. But in Micah, the Day of the Lord is gloomy, yet it will usher in a new age. The Day of the Lord in Amos’ view was going to be a time of harsh judgment on the nations, including Israel (5:18-20). It would be dark and gloomy, and it would be frightening and scary (5:18-20). In Micah, “day” signals what the Lord would do in a similar way as “day of the Lord” functions in Amos. The Lord will remove the inheritance from the wicked (2:4-5). He will assemble the lame and those driven away and make them into a remnant and a strong nation, and he will reign over them (4:6-7). He will cut off their horses and chariots from them, he will cut their cities off, he will cut off their evil practices, and he will show them His vengeance (5:10-14). The walls of Jerusalem will be extended and built, and all of the nations between Assyria and Egypt, Egypt and the River (Euphrates?) would come to the Lord, and the earth will be desolate because of the wickedness of the inhabitants (7:11-13). The Day of the Lord in Micah, although not explicitly mentioned, is a time of judgment, destruction, and renewal. In Amos, it is only a gloomy and harsh judgment with no view of renewal on the horizon.

Micah and Amos are different in the way they view the Lord’s rule. Amos sees God ruling from the throne in the heavens, whereas Micah sees God setting up his throne on Zion and ruling the earth from there. Micah views God as ruling not from heaven but on earth (1:3). Micah envisions the Lord setting up his thrown upon Zion. From Zion the peoples will stream to him (4:1). From Zion the nations will come to worship him (4:2). Zion would be a place from which the Lord’s instruction would come forth and his word would come out from (4:2). Jerusalem being synonymous in understanding with Zion, the Lord will also judge the nations from Jerusalem (4:3). As a result of his ruling on earth and from his throne in Jerusalem and on Zion, there will be no war and there will be peace (4:3-4). Amos has a different way of talking about the Lord’s reign. He does open by saying that the Lord roars from Zion and speaks from Jerusalem (1:2), but he closes with God ruling from the heavens (9:6). The Lord builds his chambers in the heavens and his vault on the earth (9:6). All of creation, from heaven to earth, is the Lord’s place, and he reigns from any portion of it. Micah’s vision is different in the sense that it does not have the element of reigning from any portion of creation that Amos has.

As we have seen, Amos and Micah share a great deal of similarities, but they do have their differences. Amos and Micah share several features, such as the focus is on the wealthy who oppress the poor, the understanding that the Lord desires justice and not sacrificial offerings, and the understandings that the people would be made desperate and the land desolate. Amos and Micah are similar though different in several aspects, such as in the way they approach, use, or view judgment, exile, or opposition. Finally, we have seen how Amos and Micah are unique with respect to each other in several ways, such as Micah’s post-exilic vision of a new age and a new ruler, Amos’ description of the Lord’s attempt to gain the attention of Israel, Micah’s creation court scene, and Amos’ creation aspect of the Lord’s reign.