WEBVTT 00:01.050 --> 00:05.498 In the name of Yahweh, our judge and Redeemer. 00:05.674 --> 00:06.670 Amen. 00:09.090 --> 00:15.518 Americans seem to have a fascination with courtroom dramas, with those 00:15.604 --> 00:22.206 dramas that portray the activities that take place in legal battles in 00:22.308 --> 00:23.470 courtrooms. 00:24.050 --> 00:29.910 You turn on the news and oftentimes the lead story is this court case 00:29.980 --> 00:39.706 taking place in South Carolina of the murder of a wife and son by the 00:39.808 --> 00:46.380 accusation of murder against Alex Murdoch murder of his wife and son. 00:47.070 --> 00:52.670 We're enthralled by the new developments that arise from that trial. 00:53.810 --> 00:59.550 Or you can get fictional accounts of courtroom dramas on TV. 01:00.610 --> 01:05.950 Law and Order now is in its 22nd season, very popular. 01:06.030 --> 01:11.170 Even more popular is its spin off, Law and Order SVU. 01:12.230 --> 01:20.098 There's even reality TV that depict courtroom scenes like Judge Judy 01:20.194 --> 01:21.910 and America's Court. 01:22.810 --> 01:30.374 There is even a cable channel or digital broadcast that is dedicated 01:30.502 --> 01:33.286 exclusively to courtroom dramas. 01:33.478 --> 01:34.730 Court TV. 01:35.630 --> 01:41.022 And if you're not into television, you can go to the theater and see 01:41.076 --> 01:46.574 these dramas played out, such as Twelve Angry Men, one of my 01:46.612 --> 01:47.706 favorites. 01:47.898 --> 01:53.700 The contest that takes place among jurors in a particular legal case. 01:54.470 --> 02:00.034 Later on at the Fox, there will be the Broadway production of To Kill 02:00.072 --> 02:06.790 a Mockingbird with Atticus Finch making his case in a courtroom. 02:08.009 --> 02:12.994 Some of us, like myself, love reading legal fiction. 02:13.122 --> 02:17.190 I've got a shelf full of John Grisham books. 02:17.790 --> 02:21.930 We are enthralled by courtroom dramas. 02:22.670 --> 02:27.850 And that's why this particular text from Micah, chapter six, should 02:27.920 --> 02:34.110 especially engage us, because it's a courtroom drama. 02:35.170 --> 02:39.790 The plaintiff is Yahweh Sabaoth. 02:40.370 --> 02:46.750 The prosecuting attorney is the prophet Micah, and the defendant 02:47.410 --> 02:50.430 Israel, the people of Israel. 02:52.050 --> 02:58.242 And so the prosecution begins with these words hear what the Lord 02:58.306 --> 02:58.420 says. Arise 03:00.548 --> 03:04.734 plead your case before the mountains and let the hills hear your 03:04.772 --> 03:05.470 voice. 03:05.890 --> 03:07.354 Hear you, mountains. 03:07.482 --> 03:13.434 The indictment of the Lord and you enduring foundations of the earth. 03:13.562 --> 03:18.720 For the Lord has an indictment against his people. 03:19.170 --> 03:22.590 He will contend with Israel. 03:23.890 --> 03:29.654 This is his his contest, this is his contention with his people, 03:29.772 --> 03:36.614 Israel, and he's bringing an indictment against them, a legal case 03:36.732 --> 03:38.140 against them. 03:39.470 --> 03:42.410 And so what is that complaint? 03:43.230 --> 03:49.606 Micah, the prosecuting attorney, lays out the complaint of his client 03:49.718 --> 03:51.210 of Yahweh. 03:52.110 --> 03:55.980 Oh, my people, what have I done to you? 03:56.350 --> 03:58.446 How have I wearied you? 03:58.628 --> 03:59.840 Answer me. 04:00.290 --> 04:04.946 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the 04:04.968 --> 04:06.526 house of slavery. 04:06.718 --> 04:10.690 I sent before you Moses, Aaron and Miriam. 04:11.430 --> 04:17.074 Oh, my people, remember what Balak, King of Moab, devised, and what 04:17.111 --> 04:22.134 Balaam, the son of Beor, answered him and what happened from Shittim to 04:22.172 --> 04:28.326 Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the Lord. 04:28.518 --> 04:32.970 That you may know the saving acts of Yahweh. 04:34.830 --> 04:41.050 The case here is that Yahweh kept his part of the covenant. 04:41.210 --> 04:47.422 The covenant made at Sinai, signed in blood that the people themselves 04:47.556 --> 04:52.330 said, we will keep all of the stipulations of this law. 04:52.500 --> 04:58.030 Yahweh kept his part of the covenant, the saving acts. 04:58.190 --> 05:03.154 He delivered them, he rescued them out of Egypt, their bondage to 05:03.192 --> 05:04.014 slavery. 05:04.142 --> 05:09.378 He led them to the promised land, using faithful leaders like Moses, 05:09.474 --> 05:11.106 Aaron, Miriam. 05:11.298 --> 05:14.562 He brought them across the River Jordan. 05:14.706 --> 05:20.313 He protected them from their enemies, like Balak, King of Moab, and 05:20.352 --> 05:23.450 the sorceries of the wizard Balaam. 05:24.830 --> 05:29.450 And they were settled in the land at Gilgal. 05:29.890 --> 05:35.550 He kept his side of the contract of the covenant. 05:36.930 --> 05:47.120 But Israel has flagrantly and demonstrably violated their part. 05:48.370 --> 05:54.334 And so the courtroom scene here continues with the defense, the 05:54.372 --> 05:57.538 defense that's offered by the people of Israel. 05:57.714 --> 05:59.409 And the defense is essentially. 06:00.490 --> 06:03.470 Well, what can you expect of us, Yahweh? 06:03.810 --> 06:05.742 What can you demand of us? 06:05.876 --> 06:08.830 Haven't we fulfilled those demands? 06:10.290 --> 06:15.534 With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on 06:15.572 --> 06:18.094 high? Shall I come before Him 06:18.132 --> 06:22.000 with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 06:22.370 --> 06:23.834 Will the Lord be pleased 06:23.882 --> 06:28.950 with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? 06:29.290 --> 06:34.406 Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body 06:34.508 --> 06:36.710 for the sin of my soul? 06:38.110 --> 06:40.970 The defense is, well 06:41.040 --> 06:46.486 we've kept all of these ceremonies from the Sinai covenant. 06:46.598 --> 06:47.930 The sacrifices. 06:48.750 --> 06:49.306 Why 06:49.408 --> 06:52.142 we've offered calves, right 06:52.196 --> 06:56.750 according to the stipulations, not two years old, not three years old, 06:56.820 --> 06:58.094 one year old. 06:58.292 --> 07:04.690 We've offered thousands of rams for sacrifice, rivers of oil. 07:05.350 --> 07:06.659 What do you expect? 07:07.510 --> 07:09.810 What do you demand, Yahweh? 07:10.550 --> 07:19.122 Do you want, like the Moab, god Chemosh, a sacrifice of our own sons, 07:19.186 --> 07:20.226 our firstborns? 07:20.258 --> 07:21.800 Is that what you want? 07:23.370 --> 07:30.922 They make their defense, but then Micah comes with the rebuttals as 07:30.976 --> 07:38.634 the prosecuting attorney, and this is what he says. God has told you, O 07:38.672 --> 07:45.182 man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do 07:45.236 --> 07:51.760 justice and love kindness and to walk humbly with your God. 07:53.510 --> 07:57.186 Micah here says God has told you. 07:57.368 --> 08:03.460 It's all there in the covenant, the essence, the heart of it. 08:03.909 --> 08:09.654 Oh, yes, you have offered up sacrifices, and these are God's gifts to 08:09.692 --> 08:12.070 you, to his people. 08:12.220 --> 08:19.930 Gifts that deliver the forgiveness of sins to those who are repentant. 08:20.990 --> 08:26.169 But you have failed to provide the prerequisite repentance. 08:27.310 --> 08:35.470 You continue to abide in your sin willfully and without any remorse. 08:36.450 --> 08:42.782 And what is the heart of the covenant, the moral stipulations that 08:42.836 --> 08:45.069 form the heart of the covenant? 08:45.970 --> 08:54.206 It's to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly before your 08:54.308 --> 08:54.960 God. 08:56.170 --> 08:59.460 And for that, o, Israel, you 09:00.090 --> 09:05.070 have failed and you stand condemned. 09:07.970 --> 09:13.520 Wow, what a fantastic courtroom drama that is. 09:14.050 --> 09:20.622 And it's so great to be kind of an outsider a spectator watching that 09:20.756 --> 09:27.874 drama, but the fact is, you and I are not outsiders. 09:28.002 --> 09:32.310 We're not simply spectators to this drama. 09:32.970 --> 09:36.070 Because what does Micah declare? 09:36.570 --> 09:45.654 He says, God has told you, O man, what he requires notice he doesn't 09:45.702 --> 09:48.490 say, God has told you, O Israel. 09:49.230 --> 09:52.990 But he now expands it out to all of humanity. 09:53.730 --> 10:01.374 All human beings are accountable to him in this courtroom, and that 10:01.412 --> 10:05.940 includes you, and that includes me as well. 10:07.670 --> 10:12.580 How have we done in terms of God's moral law? 10:13.670 --> 10:16.470 Have we done justice? 10:17.930 --> 10:22.130 I think if we look in ourselves, in our hearts, we see that we're 10:22.210 --> 10:27.400 basically always looking out for ourselves at the expense of others. 10:28.830 --> 10:31.210 Have we shown kindness? 10:33.150 --> 10:38.634 So oftentimes we get caught up in the incivility of this age of 10:38.672 --> 10:43.230 slandering and reviling others to elevate ourselves. 10:44.690 --> 10:52.302 Have we walked humbly with our God in submission to His word, His 10:52.356 --> 10:53.780 will, His law? 10:54.870 --> 11:00.180 Or have we gone following after other gods of our own making? 11:01.910 --> 11:09.266 I think as we look in our own hearts, we see this same transgression 11:09.458 --> 11:14.182 against the holy covenant of God, the law of God. 11:14.316 --> 11:15.094 Oh, yes 11:15.212 --> 11:21.530 externally, we may do ceremonies like coming to chapel, but 11:21.600 --> 11:29.290 internally, there is no repentance, there is no remorse for our sin. 11:31.250 --> 11:37.710 And so we too stand condemned in this courtroom scene. 11:41.120 --> 11:49.788 But we must not miss what the intent is of Micah's prosecution against 11:49.874 --> 11:54.830 Israel and of God's words to us today. 11:55.840 --> 11:59.569 The intent is, is not to condemn these people. 12:00.970 --> 12:04.400 The intent is not to destroy these people. 12:05.090 --> 12:09.950 These words of Micah are intended to bring repentance. 12:10.690 --> 12:16.640 They are a call to repent to Israel and to us. 12:18.130 --> 12:21.230 And for us who do repent. 12:22.130 --> 12:28.790 There is another word of the Lord, another decree, another verdict. 12:29.610 --> 12:31.990 And that is acquittal. 12:32.570 --> 12:34.470 That is pardon. 12:35.530 --> 12:41.194 Even in Micah, in the very next chapter, Micah, chapter seven, he 12:41.232 --> 12:45.580 declares these words. Who is a god like you 12:46.030 --> 12:51.966 pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of 12:52.068 --> 12:59.198 his inheritance, for the remnant, the repentant remnant, there is 12:59.284 --> 13:00.266 pardon. 13:00.458 --> 13:03.890 There is passing over the iniquity. 13:05.110 --> 13:12.210 For you who repent, there is pardon passing over iniquity. 13:13.750 --> 13:19.442 God does not retain his anger forever because he delights in steadfast 13:19.506 --> 13:20.120 love. 13:20.490 --> 13:23.782 He will again have compassion on us. 13:23.915 --> 13:27.270 He will tread our iniquities underfoot. 13:27.790 --> 13:33.610 You, O Lord, will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 13:35.150 --> 13:36.730 That's God's desire. 13:37.550 --> 13:44.270 That's God's intent to cast all our sins into the sea. 13:45.890 --> 13:53.540 And that's what he has done, not simply by a wishful thinking it away. 13:54.630 --> 13:55.620 Oh, no. 13:56.310 --> 13:59.330 God is the just arbiter of all. 13:59.480 --> 14:06.165 He must be just as well as the justifier of the repentant of those who 14:06.188 --> 14:10.338 have faith in Him. And in His justice 14:10.514 --> 14:18.042 God, the plaintiff, takes upon himself the punishment for the 14:18.096 --> 14:20.250 transgression of the guilty. 14:20.910 --> 14:27.754 He assumes that penalty, the penalty of death, the penalty of 14:27.792 --> 14:33.840 condemnation of damnation in the person of Jesus Christ. 14:35.250 --> 14:43.322 The apostle John says, if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, 14:43.466 --> 14:47.680 a defense attorney, who pleads our case. 14:48.130 --> 14:55.286 Jesus Christ, the just one, the just for the unjust, the righteous for 14:55.308 --> 14:58.770 the unrighteous, the plaintiff for the defendant. 15:00.650 --> 15:04.720 That's Jesus Christ who has come for you. 15:05.410 --> 15:12.974 And he's not only the defense attorney, because the basis of our 15:13.092 --> 15:17.710 acquittal is his sacrifice. 15:18.370 --> 15:27.654 Not the sacrifice of year old calves or thousands of, of, of rams, but 15:27.692 --> 15:32.994 the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, of Yahweh 15:33.042 --> 15:33.750 Himself. 15:35.530 --> 15:41.722 We have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the just, who is the 15:41.776 --> 15:48.534 atoning sacrifice for our sins and not only for ours, but for the sins 15:48.582 --> 15:49.820 of the whole world. 15:52.680 --> 16:00.244 And so there is acquittal, there is pardon, there is peace for you in 16:00.282 --> 16:07.400 this courtroom drama through your advocate, through your substitute, 16:08.220 --> 16:09.530 Jesus Christ. 16:14.140 --> 16:16.760 We love to watch courtroom dramas. 16:17.420 --> 16:24.620 They are engaging unless we are the defendant standing accused. 16:25.520 --> 16:30.340 And the day will come in which there will be that greatest courtroom 16:30.440 --> 16:35.170 drama of all, the day of judgment at the end of all time. 16:35.860 --> 16:42.784 And as Paul says, we will stand before the judgment seat of God in and 16:42.822 --> 16:43.700 of ourselves. 16:44.520 --> 16:47.540 All the evidence will point to our guilt. 16:49.400 --> 16:54.596 But you have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ, who is the 16:54.617 --> 17:02.596 atoning sacrifice for your sins and through repentant faith in Him in 17:02.617 --> 17:10.892 that last and most dramatic courtroom scene of all God's verdict on, 17:10.945 --> 17:21.955 you will be not guilty. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and 17:21.978 --> 17:24.319 of the Holy Spirit. Amen.