Today’s Scripture Reading (February 1, 2020): Micah 2
At the height
of the Watergate Investigation, President Richard Nixon issued this assessment
of the process. “When the President does it, that
means that it is not illegal.” Essentially Richard Nixon believed that to be
the President of the United States was equal to being the King of the nation or,
maybe worse, God. The president could not do anything illegal because he was
the law. It would be interesting to explore the concept a little further. If everything
that the President does is legal, then can anyone be charged for doing precisely
what the President did? In the 1970s, assuming that Richard Nixon's appraisal
was right, then could the democrats have been involved in their own break-in
and cover-up and would that would be legal as well. Or if lying to Congress is
not a crime for the President, is it a crime for anyone. The question is the
difference between the president being above the law and the President setting
the law. Each political leader sets up the precedent for the next. And that
could be a huge problem.
The strength of the modern Democratic
system is the checks and balances involved. Checks and balances mean that no
one has the absolute right to do anything. But checks and balances are weakened
by the partisan politics that we are witnessing all around the world today. I
am not sure what the modern solution is to the problem, but it might be the demolition
of the current system of political parties in favor of something else that
allows the politician to be more independent and less beholding to outside
interests.
We often miss it, but the irony or
sarcasm is heavy in this verse. Usually, someone who plots a crime often plans
it during the day and executes the plan under cover of darkness. The night can
hide our actions from unwanted eyes. Jesus even uses this concept to describe his
return.
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your
Lord will come. But
understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the
thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be
broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son
of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him (Matthew 24:42-44).
It
is obvious. The thief comes at night.
But
Micah talks about a group of people who plan their evil deeds at night and
carry them out in the light of the morning. The description of someone who
begins their day at first light fits the judges who started to carry out their
duties as the light of the day drives away the darkness of the night. These are
the powerful who, because of their position in society, can essentially do
whatever it is that they want to do. Micah is pointing his finger straight at
the corruption that had infiltrated the highest levels of Jewish Society. Those
who were depended on to bring justice, but instead brought more injustice.
But
there is a second point here. The judges were able to bring injustice onto the
nation because they have within themselves the power to do it. There are many
sins that we will never commit because we do not have the ability. The real
test of our character is when we have the power to do something evil, and we refrain
because we know that it is morally wrong. And this why God is good; because he could
commit evil but holds back his hand due to his own moral judgment. Our reality is
that good can never be forced; it has to be chosen by each of us.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Micah
3
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