the gifts of God — Blog

1 Woe to those who devise wickedness
    and work evil on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
    because it is in the power of their hand.
2 They covet fields and seize them,
    and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
    a man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says the Lord:
behold, against this family I am devising disaster,
    from which you cannot remove your necks,
and you shall not walk haughtily,
    for it will be a time of disaster.
4 In that day they shall take up a taunt song against you
    and moan bitterly,
and say, “We are utterly ruined;
    he changes the portion of my people;
how he removes it from me!
    To an apostate he allots our fields.”
5 Therefore you will have none to cast the line by lot
    in the assembly of the Lord.– Micah 2:1-5 ESV

The judgment of God was coming against Israel and Judah. But why? The answer to that question is found in chapter one: “All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel” (Micah 1:5 ESV). And both Israel and Judah stood as guilty and condemned by God. But just in case anyone was thinking about arguing their case, Micah provides a detailed list of crimes worthy of conviction.

While chapter one included God’s indictments against Israel and Judah, in chapter two the focus shifts to the southern kingdom of Judah. After all, as one of its residents, Micah had been appointed by God to deliver his message of judgment and call to repentance to his own people. And God wanted Micah to make it painfully clear that when the nation fell, it would not be the result of blind fate or because of the imperialistic ambitions of a foreign power. No, it would be because of their many sins against God. The grounds for their future fall would be their own wickedness. The source of their ultimate demise would be their sovereign, holy, and righteous God.

Micah proceeds to itemize the many sins of the people of Judah through a series of woes. The term “woe” was often used to express sorrow or lament but in this case, Micah is using it as a threat or announcement of pending judgment because of guilt.

Unrighteousness had become so prolific in Judah that there were those who spend their nights concocting plans to commit acts of wickedness the next day. They literally dreamed of sinning. And, because they had the financial resources and power to put those plans into action, “When the morning dawns, they perform it” (Micah 2:1 ESV).

This first woe seems to be directed at the rich and powerful in Judah, who were using their influence to take advantage of the less fortunate among them. They were growing richer by means of extortion and graft. They were motivated by greed and devoid of compassion, using their formidable resources and connections to satisfy their insatiable lust for more.

When you want a piece of land,
    you find a way to seize it.
When you want someone’s house,
    you take it by fraud and violence.
You cheat a man of his property,
    stealing his family’s inheritance. – Micah 2:2 NLT

The actions of these individuals were driven by a love of self. They exhibited the characteristics outlined by James centuries later.

You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. – James 4:2-3 NLT

These people were guilty of violating the tenth commandment.

“You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.” – Exodus 21:17 NLT

And because they were using their power and influence to turn their thoughts of covetousness into reality, they were also guilty of breaking the eighth commandment, which prohibited stealing. And to top it all off, they were guilty of violating what Jesus said was the second greatest commandment of God. “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18 NLT).

James accused these kinds of people of spiritual adultery. They were guilty of making a god out of money and material possessions.

You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. – James 4:4 NLT

They were worshiping the gifts rather than the Giver. And they took great pride in their affluence and in their ability to increase their wealth through cunning and deceit. But Micah warns them that there will be serious consequences for their actions.

But this is what the Lord says:
“I will reward your evil with evil;
you won’t be able to pull your neck out of the noose.
You will no longer walk around proudly,
for it will be a terrible time.” – Micah 2:3 NLT

Notice his emphasis on pride. That is exactly what James points out in his letter when addressing the spiritual adulterers of his day.

As the Scriptures say,

“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. – James 4:6-10 NLT

Pride and arrogance have no place in the life of a child of God. Everything we have comes from the gracious hand of God, as James makes clear in his letter.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights… – James 1:17 ESV

And what we have been given by God is intended for the good of all. His blessings are meant to be shared. There is no place for selfishness and self-centeredness among God’s people. Greed, lust, and covetousness are antithetical to the life of righteousness to which we have been called. And the same thing was true of the people of Judah in Micah’s day. Long before they had ever entered the land of Canaan, God had promised that He would bless them and that He expected them to use those blessings to care for one another. His gracious gifts were to be lovingly shared, not greedily hoarded.

“There should be no poor among you, for the LORD your God will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you as a special possession. You will receive this blessing if you are careful to obey all the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today.” – Deuteronomy 15:4-5 NLT

But generations later, the people of God had proven their inability and unwillingness to follow God’s commands. So, Micah warns them that the very evil they had committed was about to come upon them. These greedy, covetous people would find themselves the victims of someone else’s dreams of conquest and acquisition. The Babylonians would show up one day and use their great power, wealth, and influence to relieve the proud people of Judah of their homes, lands, and dignity. Micah warns that the once-prideful people of God will sing a doleful dirge, lamenting their fall from grace.

“We are finished,
        completely ruined!
    God has confiscated our land,
        taking it from us.
    He has given our fields
        to those who betrayed us.” – Micah 2:4 NLT

God was going to take away the very land He had given to them as their inheritance. He would deprive them of the source of their abundance and fruitfulness. The fields and houses they had stolen from others would be taken from them. They would be left with nothing. No inheritance, no land, no homes, no flocks, no herds, no grains, no fruit, and no hope. And all because they had chosen to disobey the will of God.

Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do. There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need. – Deuteronomy 15:10-11 NLT

Because of their disobedience, the entire land of Judah would become inhabited by the poor. Those who had been graciously blessed by God, but had become dissatisfied with His gifts, would one day find themselves mourning their losses. Both Israel and Judah had been blessed by God so that they might be a blessing to others. But they had failed to use God’s gifts wisely and selflessly. They had become plagued by pride, arrogance, greed, and covetousness. And they were going to learn the invaluable lesson that Jesus would later share.

“When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” – Luke 12:48 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon.” The man did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph’s house. And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house, and they said, “It is because of the money, which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may assault us and fall upon us to make us servants and seize our donkeys.” So they went up to the steward of Joseph’s house and spoke with him at the door of the house, and said, “Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food. And when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and there was each man’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it again with us, and we have brought other money down with us to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.” He replied, “Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. And when the man had brought the men into Joseph’s house and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder, they prepared the present for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there. – Genesis 43:16-25 ESV

Jacob had sent his sons back to Egypt, but he had not been in an overly enthusiastic mood. “And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved” (Genesis 43:14 ESV). He did not have high hopes that all of this was going to turn out well. After all, his son, Simeon, was being held as ransom in an Egyptian prison by the governor. This powerful man had accused Jacob’s sons of being spies and demanded they prove their innocence by returning with their youngest brother as proof of their story. On top of that, when they left with their bags full of grain, they discovered that the money they had given as payment had been returned to them. Now they could be accused of stealing. So Jacob was understandably pessimistic when it came to the eventual outcome of these events.

But when the brothers returned to Egypt, things did not go quite like they had feared. It is likely that, on their long journey, they had found plenty of time to conjure up all kinds of unpleasant scenarios concerning what was going to happen to them when they arrived in Egypt. Their minds most likely reeled and raced as they thought about their fates and the possible reactions they would get from the governor. Would he accept their younger brother, Benjamin, as proof of their innocence? Would he believe them when they said they knew nothing about the money in their sacks? Would their brother, Simeon, still be alive? And if he was, would they all soon be joining him in prison? The unknown can cause a great deal of anxiety and lead to fear. Not knowing what is going to happen in a given circumstance can leave us drawing wrong conclusions and developing our own means of escape or rescue. The brothers had come expecting the worst and prepared to attempt to buy their way out of trouble. Jacob had sent them with gifts for the governor, telling them, “Take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and take a gift down to the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds. Take double the money with you; you must take back the money that was returned in the mouths of your sacks—perhaps it was an oversight.” (Genesis 43:11-12 NLT).

When they arrived in Egypt, they went straight to see the governor, but he instructed that they be taken to his home. The brothers did not see this as a good sign. They concluded, “We are being brought in because of the money that was returned in our sacks last time. He wants to capture us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys!” (Genesis 43:18 NLT). They feared for their lives and they begged the governor’s steward for mercy, explaining to him the truth about all that had happened. They had brought back their younger brother just as the governor had commanded. They had returned with the money. They were innocent. But the steward gave them some shocking, but also comforting news. “‘Everything is fine,’ the man in charge of Joseph’s household told them. ‘Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. I had your money’” (Genesis 43:23 NLT). In other words, the money they had originally brought to pay for grain was not the money they had found in their sacks. That money had another explanation: God. The brothers had automatically assumed the worst. But unbeknownst to them, Joseph had placed the money in their bags as a gift to them, their father and families. And ultimately, that gift was from God. because He was the one who prompted Joseph to give it.

This entire series of events would prove to be a gift from God. Even the sale of their brother into slavery would reveal itself to have been a providential gift from the hand of God Almighty. This is not to say that God caused the brothers to sin by forcing them to sell Joseph to the Midianites. James reminds us, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one” (James 1:13 ESV). The brothers made the decision to sell Joseph on their own. But God redeemed their sinful choice by using it to accomplish His divine will. “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9 NIV). We can choose to ignore or disobey the revealed will of God, but we cannot thwart the preordained plans of God. Think of the high priest and the religious leaders who planned, schemed and orchestrated the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. They rejected Him as their Messiah and, instead, did everything in their power to assure that He was eliminated as a threat to their power and influence. And yet, in his sermon after Pentecost, Peter would tell these very same men:

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it… Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” – Acts 2:22-24, 36 ESV

Joseph’s sale into slavery, his elevation to the governor’s post, the seven years of famine, the brothers’ original trip to Egypt, the accusation of spying, the imprisonment of Simeon, the demand to return with their brother, the money in the sacks – it had all been a gift from God. The problem is that we can’t always recognize God’s gifts for what they are. We misinterpret and misunderstand them. We judge them based on our limited perspective. Famine is devastating, and no possible good can come from it. False accusations are damaging, so how can anything worthwhile result from them? The thought of imprisonment is deplorable. How could anything redeeming result from something so demeaning? And yet, the gifts of God often come in confusing forms. His blessings are sometimes cloaked and obscured by what appear to be curses. David spent years running from King Saul. But it was those years in the wilderness, learning to trust God, that made him the king God had chosen him to be. Paul spent years in prison, but it was from those confines that he penned the majority of his letters which make up the New Testament. Jesus was falsely accused and tried as a common criminal. He was hung on a Roman cross and executed. And yet it is because of His death that we have been given access to eternal life.