18 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.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
from the days of old. – Micah 7:18-20 ESV
It was Warren Wiersbe who wrote, “Few passages in Scripture contain so much ‘distilled theology’ as Micah 7:18-20” (Warren Wiersbe, “Micah,” The Bible Exposition Commentary/Prophets). And his assessment could not be more accurate. These four verses are absolutely brimming with theological insights into the character and nature of God. And this amazing thing is that they come at the end of a book that warns of God’s coming judgment against a sinful and rebellious people.
This is the same man who opened chapter 7 with the statement, “Woe is me!” He was living during a time of great turmoil and stress and having to deal with the pending fall of his nation’s capital and the utter devastation of his own people. And yet, in the midst of it all, Micah is able to praise God, the very one who was bringing judgment against Israel and Judah.
While he was sadly confident that God would fulfill His promise to punish His disobedient children, Micah was also completely convinced of God’s plans to restore them. He saw no conflict or contradiction between these two aspects of God’s divine plan for His people. They had sinned against God and deserved His discipline. God was simply doing what any human father would do who loves his children but in perfect righteousness and justice.
My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t be upset when he corrects you.
For the Lord corrects those he loves,
just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. – Proverbs 3:11-12 NLT
Yet Micah also knew that God was committed to keeping the promises He had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He had made a covenant to these men, guaranteeing to make of them a great nation, and promising to provide shower their descendants with His blessings.
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” – Genesis 12:1-3 ESV
And the Lord appeared to him [Isaac] and said, …“Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed…” – Genesis 26:2-4 ESV
And behold, the Lord stood above it and said [to Jacob], “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” – Genesis 28:13-14 ESV
God had made a commitment to remain faithful to HIs chosen people and Micah was willing to take God at His word. He opens this prayer of praise by asking the rhetorical question: “Who is a God like you?” Micah wasn’t expecting a response from God, because he already knew the answer. This “question-as-a-statement” device is found throughout Scripture and is intended to declare the greatness and transcendence of God. Moses declared:
“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?” – Exodus 15:11 ESV
David wrote:
“O Lord, who is like you,
delivering the poor
from him who is too strong for him,
the poor and needy from him who robs him?” – Psalm 35:10 ESV
And another unknown psalmist adds:
“Who is like the Lord our God,
who is seated on high,
who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?” – Psalm 113:5-6 ESV
Micah’s own name meant, “Who is like Yahweh?” His parents had given him a name that would constantly remind him of the unique nature of his God. And Micah believed it. But the one aspect of his incomparable God that Micah focused on was His willingness to forgive. What Micah couldn’t stop thinking about that his God “pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people” (Micah 7:18 NLT). The false gods of the pagan nations were not known for their forgiving spirits. They were harsh, vindictive, and quick to mete out judgment, and yet, the people of Israel had made a habit of worshiping these gods in place of the one true God.
The problem with false gods is that they are nothing more than the creations of men. They don’t actually exist. And because they are the creations of men’s imaginations, they are little more than humans with supernatural powers. These gods bear a striking resemblance to fallen mankind, manifesting the same capacity to display uncontrolled anger, greed, vengeance, lust, and a blatant disregard for humanity.
But Micah’s God was different. Yes, He was going to judge His people for their sins, but His judgment would be followed by compassion, love, and forgiveness.
You will not stay angry with your people forever,
because you delight in showing unfailing love. – Micah 7:18 NLT
Micah would have been very familiar with the story of when God had descended upon Mount Sinai and had declared to Moses:
“Yahweh! The Lord!
The God of compassion and mercy!
I am slow to anger
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.
I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.
But I do not excuse the guilty.
I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren;
the entire family is affected—
even children in the third and fourth generations.” – Exodus 34:6-7 NLT
The God of Moses was the God of Micah. And he rested in the knowledge that what God had declared to Moses hundreds of years earlier was still true because his God never changes. He never goes back on His Word. He is faithful to keep all His promises and commitments “to a thousand generations.”
And Moses declared his trust in God’s word by stating, “you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!” (Micah 7:19 NLT). The great king, David, had written a psalm that echoed this same sentiment, declaring the unprecedented character of Yahweh.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust. – Psalm 103:9-12 ESV
And Micah placed his hope and trust in the very same God that David worshiped and adored. This prophet of God, who had spent years delivering a call of repentance to his disobedient countrymen, was placing his confidence in what he knew about Yahweh. The days ahead were filled with destruction and devastation, but Micah rested in the word of God. He was a loving, compassionate, and forgiving God. He was a covenant-keeping God.
God had promised to bless the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Micah was fully convinced that He would. God had declared that those very same people would be a blessing to the nations of the world, and Micah was confident that, one day, they would be. He rested his hopes in the character of his God. He placed his confidence in the integrity, righteousness, and holiness of Him who was like no other.
Micah began this prayer of praise with the question: Who is a God like you? And he answered his own question by declaring the unparalleled mercy, grace, love, and forgiveness of his God. There was and never will be anyone like God.
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.
The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
