Today's Scripture Reading (May 1, 2026): Micah 4
One of my
pet peeves is the tendency to judge historical writing by the standards that we
hold today. One example might be Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird."
The book sometimes seems to be the object of jokes. In an episode of the
situation comedy, "Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter,"
Rory, the young son of Paul and Cate Hennessy, in frustration, asks at what
point in the book does this bird die? I didn't read Lee's book until I was an
adult, but I am disturbed by the recent movement to ban it. I wonder if those
who wish to ban the book, whose grounds extend to a word used in it, have ever
read it? The book actually teaches against the use of this word, but does so at
a time in our history when the word was much more acceptable than it is today.
We can argue that the attitudes were wrong, and from today's standards, that is
true. But judging yesterday by today is problematic.
I recently
had a conversation about whether the Bible should be declared hate literature.
There is no doubt that some passages in the Bible make me uncomfortable. However,
that would seem to be judging the Bible by our belief systems rather than by the
belief systems of the day in which the words were written. Such writings can
help us understand yesterday, but banning the entire book because of them seems
like overkill. The message of the Bible, as a whole, is one of peace and love.
Yes, there are places where that seems not to be true, but that is not the
message of the whole tome.
Sometimes,
we seem to take the wrong message from the writing. Most commentators seem to
see this passage as the wrath of God being carried out against the nations that
refuse to follow Him. I am not sure that is true. If Micah spoke of the chaff
or the impurities being swept away, I might agree with their conclusions. But
that is not what I read here. In fact, Micah himself argues that the nations oppose
God because they do not understand God's plan or God's purpose in our world.
Micah argues that God has gathered the nations as a farmer gathers sheaves.
Sheaves are not gathered to be discarded, but rather gathered because they are
valued. Nothing is worse in a world filled with hunger than grain that is
wasted and left in the field to rot.
God loves
the nations, but they have rejected him. But maybe even more importantly, the
nations refused to treat what God values most, people like us, with love and
respect. And for that reason, these nations that God has gathered will suffer
violence. But it didn't have to be that way; it never does. And as Christians,
we love even when love makes no sense, because we don't understand the thoughts
of God either. But we do know that God loves and wants the best for all of his
creation.
Tomorrow's
Scripture Reading: Micah 5
