Micah 6:1,2

Here there is a change in the subject that Micah is writing about. Micah leaves the message about the future (which was in Chapter s 4-5). He returns to *Israel’s present troubles. Verses 1 and 2 are the preparation for the case in court. God tells Micah to stand up. It is God who is actually making this protest, not Micah. Micah is speaking on behalf of God. Micah calls the mountains to be God’s witnesses. Verse 2 tells the reason why the *LORD is accusing the people in *Israel. This is the reason: *Israel is not obeying God’s *covenant.

God calls for the witnesses, which are the mountains. He speaks about the mountains as if they were people. Mountains are like good witnesses. They are always present. It is as if they have watched events for a long time. He also calls the Earth as a witness. The earth has a strong foundation (base). It is solid. Nobody can scare the Earth! So the Earth is also like a good witness. Micah introduces God to the court. It is God who is accusing *Israel’s people. They must explain their situation in front of the mountains. The people must defend themselves while the mountains listen to them.

The mountains have always existed (after God created them). They were there as witnesses to God’s original agreement. That agreement was his *covenant with *Israel’s people. The mountains were present when God made the *covenant. He gave it to Moses. Three times God then warned *Israel’s people. He used Moses to warn them. God warned that bad results would happen. They would happen if the people did not obey the *covenant. Each time, God called heaven and the Earth as witnesses (Deuteronomy 4:26; Deuteronomy 30:19; Deuteronomy 31:28). There is a similar message in the Psalms (Psalms 50:1-6). The *prophet Ezekiel also spoke the same message (Ezekiel 36:1-8). Jesus too said that if the people did not praise God, the stones would do it (Luke 19:40).

God speaks by means of the things that he has created. The Earth and everything in it belong to him. The things that he has created are his witnesses. They always do what God orders them to do. It was different with the nations that surrounded *Israel. Those nations made gods out of the things that God had created. They *worshipped those things and they bent their bodies to give honour to them.

v3 ‘My people, have I done anything wrong to you? How have I made life too hard for you? Answer me.’