Second Wednesday in Lent, 2008
Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier
Micah 7:18-19
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
There is a song called Awesome God. You’re probably familiar with it. It describes God as One who has footsteps of thunder and fists full of lightening. He is called awesome. It goes on to say that He is returning soon and therefore you “better be believing,” because He is an awesome God. The primary message of this song is to declare that God is an awesome God.
He strikes fear and awe in to people far worse than the shock and awe initiative of the United States military in Iraq. This is a message of doom and destruction. It is a wonder how people can sing such a song and get any enjoyment out of it. These words should sound forth the alarm in the singers’ ears. To muffle the sound, hand motions are used. When the children sing it, they smile and flex there arms like Arnold Schwarzenegger depicting His power and might.
The message is similar to that of the prophet Micah in the 8th century B.C. He called the people of God to repentance declaring destruction. Chapter one of the book of Amos declares,
Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. For behold, the Lord is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place. All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. Micah 1:2-5 (ESV)
Micah declares that our God is an Awesome God not only is there thunder in His footsteps and lightening in His fists, but the mountains will melt under Him, the valleys will split and melt like wax in a fire and He will tread the high places.
Now this may be the primary message of the song, but it is not the primary message of the church, nor is it the primary message of the prophet Micah. The first chapter in the book of Micah strikes the chord of how awesome our God is, because of our sin, this is terrible, terrifying news. However, Micah ends on another note. In the last chapter, he sings the praises of our God declaring how merciful our God is. Micah chapter seven reads,
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:18-19 (ESV)
Micah unpacks image after image teaching us that our God is a merciful God. Micah comforts us with the good news that our God pardons iniquity. In other words, we are declared not guilty. He passes over transgressions. Rather than wading in the river of our sins God goes over it like a car over a bridge. He does not retain His anger forever. God does not remain in His wrath toward us. He delights in steadfast love. His desire and will is to be patient and loving. He is compassionate. He truly cares for us. He treads our iniquities under foot. He stomps out and squashes all of our sin like a grape. He casts all our sins into the depths of the sea. He throws it overboard and doesn’t count it against us.
All of this is true because of Jesus. Because of Jesus we have a Most Merciful God. Rather than thunder in His footsteps, there are nails in His feet. Rather than lightening in His fists, there are wounds in His hands. His return is very soon, but it would be better to “be believing” that our God is a merciful God. We envision this with the outstretched arms of Jesus on the cross. Rather than run from God as the awesome judge, we take our refuge in God as our merciful Savior.
The primary message of the church is that our God is a merciful God. During this season of Lent in which we reflect upon our condition as sinners, we set our eyes on Jesus and see God’s mercy toward us. Amen.
