Series: November 2025
Speaker: Bethany Nelson
Today's Sermon
"Falling and Rising: Not So Minor Prophet 6"
Micah 7 - Woe is me! For I have become like one who, after the summer fruit has been gathered, after the vintage has been gleaned, finds no cluster to eat; there is no first-ripe fig for which I hunger. The faithful have disappeared from the land, and there is no one left who is upright; they all lie in wait for blood, and they hunt each other with nets. Their hands are skilled to do evil; the official and the judge ask for a bribe, and the powerful dictate what they desire; thus they pervert justice. The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge. The day of their sentinels, of their punishment, has come; now their confusion is at hand. But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.
Today is the last in our series on the prophet Micah – a “not so minor” prophet because he packs a lot of content into just seven chapters. Here, at the end of his book, he is not a happy camper. He is especially upset with those in power. “Their hands are skilled to do evil; the official and the judge ask for a bribe, and the powerful dictate what they desire; thus they pervert justice.” It is so interesting to me that these words, spoken over 2500 years ago, are still so relevant today. “The powerful dictate what they desire …” are we in the year 700 BCE or 2025 CE? We can assume by Micah’s context that what the powerful desire is not something that is good and helpful for the community. No, they are like briers and thorn hedges. Woe is me, says Micah.
Woe is me. I have heard many of you saying that in the past several weeks and months. Woe is me … the powerful are dictating what they desire and perverting justice. And let me be clear, this is not a Democrat or Republican issue. This is a societal issue. I have heard upset from folks on all sides of the political spectrum fed up with those in power, who are also on all sides of the political spectrum. Woe is me, indeed.
Since we seem to be in a similar state to Micah, what might we be able to learn from him? First, it’s OK to say, “Woe is me” when things are tough. Micah shows us that we don’t have to always put on a happy face, or look on the bright side. Sometimes, we just need to acknowledge the woe, the struggle, the hardship in our lives. And it’s not just about politics. If you keep reading in chapter 7, Micah struggles with friends and family as well. “Put no trust in a friend,” he says, “no confidence in a loved one.”
However, Micah doesn’t just list his woes. He also says he will look to the Lord, waiting for the God of salvation. Then, he proclaims, “My God will hear me.” That is not a question. That is not a timid hope. That is a bold statement of truth. May we remember that in the midst of our woe – look to the Lord, my God will hear me. That is good news.
Micah continues:
“Do not rejoice over me, my enemies; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.I must bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against God, until God takes my side and executes judgment for me. God will bring me out to the light; I shall see God’s vindication. Then my enemies will see, and shame will cover her who said to me, ‘Where is the Lord your God?’ My eyes will see her downfall; now she will be trodden down like the mire of the streets.”
I love the promise in the first part of this section. “When I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.” Another bold statement of truth. Nothing like a prophet to tell it like it is. Yes, we do fall. Yes, we do sit in darkness. It is hard. Would we prefer to skip over those parts of life? Sure! But they happen. And when they happen, God is with us. Even when we can’t perceive it. God is with us. Even when we don’t believe it. God is with us.
The season of Advent begins next Sunday. The season when we prepare for the birth of Christ, who is called Emmanuel. Emmanuel means “God with us.” How appropriate that we receive this word from Micah as the Advent season begins. God will hear me. God is with us.
I have shared about this book before – “Standing Naked Before God: The Art of Public Confession.” It is a beautiful collection of stories from various people about how God has been present in their lives. One story is shared by a man named Nat. He writes, “Not long ago, I was pretty near rock bottom. My marriage had failed, my business was failing, I was buried in debt. My best friend was a foxhound named Chester, who was dying of cancer. The only reason I got up each day was knowing I had to make breakfast and lunch for my daughter and get her to school or I was going to lose her too. And she left every weekend to be with her mom. I was sad all the time. My life was empty – no love and no God.
“A friend had been prodding me to get out, go listen to music, and on one of those nights, I met Heather. We dated and broke up several times. Somewhere during this journey, Heather invited me to a church service. There were hand drums. Friendly pastors. The passing of the peace. We attended another service. We stayed for coffee hour.
“The truth is that there was no epiphany, no miracle, no flash of light that suddenly showed me the way. Some days I still fear the prospect of failure. But somewhere along the way, little cracks began to erode the wall of my indifference. Help was needed changing the banners in the sanctuary, there was a problem with the church’s boiler, cracks (literally) appeared in the ceiling. Subtle invitations, God saying, ‘Nat, the church needs you.’ And slowly, my fear of commitment, fear of failure, fear of love began to wash away.”[i]
I notice two things about this story. First, there was no mountaintop experience for Nat. No miracle or flash of light. Sure, God works in miracles and flashes of light, but usually, we know God’s presence through the friend who urges us to go listen to music. Through the friend who invites us to church. When we have fallen, sometimes God helps us rise instantaneously. Other times, it is little by little, bit by bit.
The other thing I notice is that – when he was ready – Nat encountered God in the doing. He didn’t sit around waiting for God to make things happen. He hung the banners, he fixed boiler. Through serving, he was served. Now, in our deepest moments of woe, sometimes we just don’t have it in us to do anything other than get through the day. And that is OK. God is with us when we need self-care just as much as God is with us when we care for others. But at some point during our rising, God is likely going to nudge us to take some action. Not to change the world, but perhaps to change a lightbulb.
One more story for you. This is from a memoir that came out about two months ago, titled “Awake,” by Jen Hatmaker. The memoir focuses on many aspects of her life, but the central story is about Hatmaker’s unexpected divorce after discovering her husband’s affair. As you would expect, life was unimaginably difficult in the weeks and months that followed the end of her marriage. Unlike Nat in the previous story, however, Jen remained sure of God’s presence with her even in her darkest moments. Mostly because during her worst days, her friends and family continued to remind her of that presence. Yes, you have fallen, but God is with you. You are not alone. You will rise again. They told her over and over in a variety of ways.
Hatmaker shares a story about receiving a handkerchief in the mail that smelled like peppermint. It was from her friend, Sarah, and was accompanied by this note:
“Dearest Jen,
Since everything fell apart, I have been anointing this little cloth with oil. Each time I do, I pray for you. I am sending it to you now, soaked in prayers and the Word. I know it might seem weird but consider it an icon of prayer and love, all for you.
“Because when all is said and done, the last word is Emmanuel: ‘God with us.’ Isaiah 8:10.
“At your side always. I’m proud of you. You are who we knew you to be. Jesus is ever more than we could imagine. I imagine you, held in the love and embrace of God, who broods over you like a mother.”[ii]
Amen to that. When I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.
Now, that’s not all Micah says. Did you notice that at the end of the passage, things take a turn? Micah is a great prophet, and he is also very human, so once he begins to experience that light of God, once he rises out of his woe, he turns his attention to his enemies. Shame will cover them, he says. My eyes will see her downfall … she will be trodden down like the mire of the streets.
It’s easy for us to shake our finger at Micah, to say – do better, be better. Don’t speak so poorly of your enemies. But, who among us hasn’t thought this about our enemies at some point? Many of us are likely thinking this about someone right now! There is certainly someone in each of our lives whose downfall we would like to witness. Or perhaps even cause. And yet, we know that God calls us to do better, and to be better. We begrudgingly remember those important words from the apostle Paul – “Do not repay anyone evil for evil … so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Rob explained in his sermon just last week that revenge is not usually as sweet as we think it will be. So the book of Micah closes with a reminder of God’s compassionate nature …
“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of your possession? God does not retain God’s anger forever because God delights in showing clemency. God will again have compassion upon us; God will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all oursins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and unswerving loyalty to Abraham, as you have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old.”
God casts our sins into the depths of the sea. We hear these words of assurance each and every week following our community prayer – we are forgiven, we are set free, we are made new. But just as we receive this good news for ourselves, we also must remember that it is good news for everyone … even our enemies. It doesn’t mean that there are not consequences for bad behavior. There are. It doesn’t mean that God does not get angry. God does. It means that God does not retain God’s anger forever because God delights in showing steadfast love.
How might we do the same? Towards the end of her memoir, Hatmaker reflects on forgiveness, writing, “There is no tidy ending to a twenty-six year marriage and a shared family. We have a long, complicated road ahead, but we can smooth it significantly with forgiveness.”
She continues, “Forgiveness is not foolishness. Foolishness would include no boundaries, no honesty. Foolishness would bypass accountability for pretending. But forgiveness sets me free. I hope it hands him some freedom too. His actions detonated the bomb, but he was not spared the carnage. It’s a wondrous good for us each to heal. I want my kids’ dad to be healthy. I want his new life to be stable.
“It is tenuous at best, but I slowly reach for goodwill.”[iii]
This final paragraph from the book of Micah describes God using words like mercy, compassion, faithfulness, and love. In our falling and in our rising, God offers that to us over and over again. God also offers that to our enemies, over and over again. May we be both receivers and givers of that amazing grace. Amen.
[i]Standing Naked Before God: The Art of Public Confession, by Molly Phinney Baskette, pg. 82.