Incomparable God

Today’s passage contains the words of the prophet Micah himself. Micah cries out in praise, “Who is a God like You?” (1) These words have the same meaning as the name “Micah.” In other words, he is making a wordplay using his own name. (2) In his mind is the event of the Exodus. After the people of Israel came out of Egypt, Moses cried out: “Who is like You among the gods, Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?” (Ex. 15:11). The One who could deliver the people of Israel from slavery is truly a great God, an incomparable God. (3) Building on the words of Moses, Micah speaks about the salvation of the people of Israel in the end times: “Who is a God like You, who pardons wrongdoing and passes over a rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy” (v 18). This is a prophecy of the salvation of “the remnant of Israel.” (4) “He will again take pity on us; He will trample on our wrongdoings. Yes, You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (v 19). This is a plea that God would perform wondrous deeds like those of the Exodus.

The reason Israel will be saved

Verse 20 states the reason why the people of Israel will be saved: “You will give truth to Jacob and favor to Abraham, which You swore to our forefathers from the days of old.” The event of the Exodus was a miraculous work of God carried out on the basis of the Abrahamic Covenant. In the same way, the salvation of the people of Israel in the end times will also be God’s work performed on the basis of the Abrahamic Covenant. Everything that God promised to the people of Israel in the Abrahamic Covenant will be fulfilled in the end times. The birth of Jesus the Messiah was also based on the Abrahamic Covenant. Through the Lord Jesus, who is the Messiah, we partake of the “spiritual blessings” of the Abrahamic Covenant. The New Testament explains the blessings we Christians receive by using the term “mystery.” “That the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph. 3:6). We Gentile Christians have become fellow heirs together with the Jewish people. Therefore, we must not boast over the Jews. Rather, we should be grateful to them, pray for their salvation, and serve them.