Why do you now cry aloud—have you no king? Has your ruler perished, that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor? – Micah 4:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (February 3, 2020): Micah 4

Keith Richards and Mick Jagger wrote the song in the late 1960s. It was about the death of the decade, and the movement of time seemed to be carrying the world into something entirely different. Essentially, the song is about the difference between desire and need, something that we still struggle trying to understand today.

The song takes us to three places. It starts at the reception with a girl with a glass of wine in her hand. Then it moves us to a demonstration, where Richards and Jagger say that they want to get their “fair share of abuse.” The final stop is at the drugstore with the mysterious Mr. Jimmy. For me, the most likely identity of Mr. Jimmy is the legendary Jimmy Hutmaker, a local Excelsior, Minnesota celebrity who had some disabilities, although he was usually mentally sharp, and who was cared for by the local businesses. Hutmaker did have a habit of talking to himself. According to the legend, Jagger really did meet Hutmaker at a drugstore, where Mr. Jimmy was complaining that he had ordered a Cherry Coke but had received a regular Coca-Cola instead. It was at that point in the song that Hutmaker might have issued the immortal words, “You can’t always get what you want.” Richards and Jagger finished off the expression by adding, “But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.” There is no proof that the legend is true, but it is a great story.

Micah writes this prophecy somewhere around 735 B.C.E. The timing is critical. At this moment, both kingdoms, Israel and Judah, still stand. Israel is probably on its last legs, and it is reasonably apparent that without a response from God, it will fall in some way shortly to the Assyrians. Judah’s fall to Babylon (vs. 10) is the real surprise of the passage. Looking at the political situation in 735, the most apparent demise for Judah would also have been at the hands of the Assyrians, not the Babylonians. It is Micah’s assertion in verse 10 that makes some question the date of the prophecy.

But Micah delivers this news of defeat to the Kingdoms and then travels back in time to the days of Samuel. You, or more precisely, your ancestors, cried for a king. You wanted to be like all of the other nations. And so, Samuel gave you a king. So why do you weep now? Did you not get what it is that you want? Is there not a ruler on your throne just as you desired? Or is it that your current kings don’t quite measure up to your expectations. You wanted a Cherry Coke, but all you received was a plain old Coca-Cola.   

Judah and Israel, hear my voice. Your kings are still on your throne. But more importantly, God is still on His throne. And he is the one who has the power to save you, not the earthly kings that you so foolishly desired. You can’t always get what you want, but if you turn to God, it is still possible that you can get what it is that you need.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Micah 5