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Love Not Duty
To rebel against God's truth is to choose disaster, so we must understand that choosing covetousness over contentment perpetuates choosing lies over truth (verses 1-11).
As Judah's leaders rebelled against God's covenant with them, they drifted away from Him and into selfishness, became increasingly more discontent with God's provisions, and no longer motivated by love to obey, serve, and follow Him. Their limited obedience became mechanical and dutiful, and their hearts became covetous, desiring to have whatever anyone else had. They literally plotted out evil plans at night to take advantage of others, and acted on them in the morning through their power and influence. Their idolatrous rebellion against God's authority had also become rebellion against God's law, calling them to love their neighbor as themselves. They took advantage of foreign visitors and deceived widows to evict them from their homes and steal their children's inheritance. God warned Judah through Micah that their idolatrous and covetous rebellion against Him and others would result in the unavoidable disaster of exile by foreign conquerors and the total loss of their inheritance. The people's response was to tell Micah to quit preaching at them because God would never do such a thing to His people! After all, He loves them and wants them to be happy. But God responds to them by saying that He does do good, but only to those who walk uprightly through loving obedience to His commands! Further, He says that Judah has drifted so far from Him that they'll listen to anyone but Him. They've become drunk on lies and false promises, and the result will be disaster because God will be faithful to all His nature, character, and promises, and will hold them accountable for their sin. Their love for God and others had been replaced by love for idols and self. Their "obedience" to God's covenant had become nothing more than duty, in their own strength, and for their own benefit. If "love" for God is nothing more than mechanical and dutiful obedience, "loving" others will also become dutiful and mechanical, and it won't last because duty is not a sufficient long-term motivator. In the absence of being truly motivated to obey God's commands out of love for Him, we become weary. The yoke of weariness from duty results in self-love, which eventually promotes self-preservation and self-service above all else. In the world, this results in a breakdown in ethical and moral living. In the church, it most often eats away at its hearth through self-centered decisions that ultimately only consider personal agendas, benefits, happiness, enjoyment, and convenience. If there is any service undertaken in God's desires or for the needs of others, it's done wearily out of duty and accompanied by grumbling. God and others become an afterthought, and we're able to justify any desire or action because selfishness ultimately rejects and rebels against truth.
To rebel against God's truth is to choose disaster, so we must trust fully in God's certain truth, promises, provision, and Lordship (verses 12-13).
God will be faithful to judge those who reject His truth and rebel against Him. But He will also be faithful to preserve forever those who belong to Him. Those who rebel against God and choose their own way in their own strength will ultimately reap the harvest of disaster for their efforts. But those who belong to God, are motivated in their hearts by love for Him and others, and who embrace and live by His truth are guaranteed to experience the fullness of His salvation, restoration, and deliverance. He will assemble, gather, and lead them into His blessing. This promise of hope given through Micah speaks of God's promise to preserve His remnant who obediently love. Like Micah, we live in a rebellious world which is self-centered, hostile towards the truth, and seeks to suppress the truth in unrighteousness and oppress those who stand for it. We must continually guard our hearts against the lure of covetousness that impacts us all. We must not settle for less than the blessing of walking in God's truth, motivated by love for Him and others. Nothing we gain here or endure here is worthy to be compared to the glory to be revealed in us in Christ Jesus. And nothing we endure here can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. We experience the fullness and abundance of the truth of promises in this life when we abide lovingly and obediently in Christ and embrace and proclaim the truth of His glorious gospel with our whole lives.Â
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