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Who Is Like Yahweh in Judgment?
If you are like the people of Israel, you might think often, why doesn’t God do something about the evil things that the nations do? After all, we have a great God who is almighty and can do anything. The Israelites would think, God overthrew Egypt to deliver us from slavery, why can’t He set things right?
Micah’s perspective is different and in line with the other prophets. He sees God standing over the nations, evaluating them, and ready to do something. “Hear, you peoples, all of you, listen, earth and all who live in it, that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple” (Micah 1:2). God has a message bearing witness against all the impiety, injustice, and iniquity of the world. He is ready to act. “Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth. The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope” (Micah 1:3–4).
That’s what God is doing. His judgments are in the earth. He is coming to judge the world. When I went to Egypt, everywhere I went I saw statues of the Ramses the Great. He did some impressive things. One of his statues is found in Memphis, Egypt. It is huge. The statue is lying down with the back to the ground, though at one time it stood upright. Today, however, it cannot stand upright because the feet are broken off. This was a visual reminder to me that the mighty fall. God judges the nations. They do not last. God’s judgments are in the earth.
The name Micah means, who is like Yah or Yahweh? As we read this first section of the book of Micah, we can feel the power of that name. Who is like Yahweh, awesome in power, above all the nations, and able to deal with all wrongs? No one can stop Him and demand of Him, “What have you done?” He is mightier than all. Who is like Yahweh?