2Hear, you peoples, all of you!
Listen, O earth, and all that is therein.
Let the Lord Yahweh be witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
3For behold, Yahweh comes out of his place,
and will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.
4The mountains melt under him,
and the valleys split apart like wax before the fire,
like waters that are poured down a steep place.
5“All this is for the disobedience of Jacob,
and for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the disobedience of Jacob?
Isn’t it Samaria?
And what are the high places of Judah?
Aren’t they Jerusalem?
6Therefore I will make Samaria like a rubble heap of the field,
like places for planting vineyards;
and I will pour down its stones into the valley,
and I will uncover its foundations.
7All her idols will be beaten to pieces,
all her temple gifts will be burned with fire,
and I will destroy all her images;
for of the hire of a prostitute has she gathered them,
and to the hire of a prostitute shall they return.”
8For this I will lament and wail.
I will go stripped and naked.
I will howl like the jackals
and mourn like the ostriches.
9For her wounds are incurable;
for it has come even to Judah.
It reaches to the gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem.
Micah creates for us the picture of a court room scene. God is bringing the accusations against north and south and he is on his way to deliver the charge. God’s strength is conveyed and his awesome power acknowledged in verses 3&4, as he leaves his throne and tramples the earth and melts the mountains. Take a moment to think about this description of God on the move, the earth shakes beneath his feet and mountains melt like candle wax against heat and pour into the valleys below.
Maybe this account makes us uncomfortable as we think of the terrifying glory of God as he moves from heaven to earth. Of course, this is set in a backdrop of people who would set up temples and idols to worship the mountains, the sun and moon rather than the one who created them. The irony would not have been lost on the people as they thought about the absurdity of their idolatry. However, sometimes we want to explain these difficult scenes away, but the truth is we need to acknowledge the awesome power of God. He is above all, he does make the earth shake and the mountains tremble he is glorious and powerful and there is no one like him. He deserves all honour and praise and all glory. When we think about God in his fullness it is too much for our minds to comprehend, but it is still important for us to reflect on. Then as we ponder in wonder, let us be further amazed, for this God of all glory has sought us, and loved us and made us his family.