Friday 25 April 2014

Does Micah 6 refute Jesus?

I want to take a look at what Micah 6:1-8 and examine it:
"6 Listen to what the Lord says:

“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;
    let the hills hear what you have to say.
2 “Hear, you mountains, the Lord’s accusation;
    listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.
For the Lord has a case against his people;
    he is lodging a charge against Israel.
3 “My people, what have I done to you?
    How have I burdened you? Answer me.
4 I brought you up out of Egypt
    and redeemed you from the land of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you,
    also Aaron and Miriam.
5 My people, remember
    what Balak king of Moab plotted
    and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal,
    that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”
6 With what shall I come before the Lord
    and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly[a] with your God."

As mentioned in a previous article that I have written, the reason the Lord was displeased with the sacrifices was because the people were delibrately abusing the sacrificial system so they could live in sin. The sacrifices were rendered unacceptable because there was no repentance accompanying them. Without repentance, a sacrifice is useless, which even the New Testament and the Talmud affirm.

Secondly, Micah asks if HE shall offer his firstborn for his transgression and the answer is that he will not do so. However, what most fail to mention is that the text doesn't refute the notion of God the Father sending his Son to atone for the sins of Israel. Micah is simply pointing out "What makes you think that God is pleased with the sacrifices you offer? You live in sin, Your sacrifices are pointless because you are not taking God seriously and you are deliberately abusing his mercy."

What astonishes me is when this passage is quoted and most fail to mention who is actually speaking in the passage itself. YHWH speaks from verse 1-5 and then Micah speaks from 6-8. Nothing in the passages suggests Jesus cannot be sent as a means of atoning for us, which is what he came to do in such places as Isaiah 53.

Answering Judaism.

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