The Courtroom of the Mountains Text: Micah 6:1-5
Introduction: Covenant Amnesia
We live in an age that loves to put God on trial. We are constantly cross-examining Him. Why did you allow this? Why is that command so harsh? Why is your world so full of trouble? We sit in the juror's box of our own making, with our own autonomous reason as the presiding judge, and we weigh the Almighty in the balances of our feelings and find Him wanting. We think our case against God is a strong one, built on a foundation of suffering, confusion, and what we take to be righteous indignation.
The prophet Micah brings us crashing into a different reality. He summons us not to a courtroom where man is the prosecutor, but to one where God is. This is not our case against God; this is God's covenant lawsuit, His rib, against His people. And the indictment is not for some arcane infraction of the ceremonial law. The charge is much deeper, much more fundamental. The charge is covenant amnesia. Israel has forgotten who God is and what He has done. And when you forget God's grace, you will inevitably grow weary of His government.
The scene is set with a kind of cosmic grandeur. The mountains and the enduring foundations of the earth are called to be the jury. Why? Because they are the silent, ancient witnesses. They were there for the whole story. They saw the Exodus. They trembled when the Law was given at Sinai. They watched the Jordan part. They have stood, century after century, observing the relentless, covenant-keeping faithfulness of God and the fickle, wandering, adulterous heart of His people. The rocks have a better memory than Israel does. And so God calls them to the stand to testify against the people who have forgotten His mighty acts. This is a public shaming, intended to startle the people out of their spiritual stupor.
The Text
Listen now to what Yahweh is saying,
"Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
And let the hills listen to your voice.
Listen, you mountains, to the case of Yahweh,
And you enduring foundations of the earth,
Because Yahweh has a case against His people;
Even with Israel He will reprove.
My people, what have I done to you,
And how have I wearied you? Answer Me.
Indeed, I brought you up from the land of Egypt
And ransomed you from the house of slavery,
And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
My people, remember now
What Balak king of Moab counseled
And what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
And from Shittim to Gilgal,
So that you might know the righteous acts of Yahweh."
(Micah 6:1-5 LSB)
The Court is in Session (v. 1-2)
The proceedings begin with a divine summons.
"Listen now to what Yahweh is saying, 'Arise, plead your case before the mountains, And let the hills listen to your voice. Listen, you mountains, to the case of Yahweh, And you enduring foundations of the earth, Because Yahweh has a case against His people; Even with Israel He will reprove.'" (Micah 6:1-2 LSB)
God instructs His prophet to lay out the case publicly. This is not a private matter. Covenant breaking is a public scandal, and so the trial must be public. The whole creation is invested in the covenant between God and His people, and so the whole creation is summoned to bear witness. The mountains and hills are personified as the jury because of their stability and longevity. They are a silent rebuke to Israel's instability and short memory. These silent, granite witnesses have more integrity than the covenant people.
Notice who the defendant is. "Yahweh has a case against His people." This is a family dispute. The controversy is with "Israel." This is not God's case against Babylon or Egypt. This is an in-house confrontation. The pain is sharper, the betrayal is deeper, because it comes from His own children, the people He chose, redeemed, and established as His own treasured possession. He is not a distant deity; He is a Father and a Husband, and His heart has been grieved.
The Heart of the Complaint (v. 3)
God Himself now speaks directly to His people, and His question is filled with a kind of sorrowful astonishment.
"My people, what have I done to you, And how have I wearied you? Answer Me." (Micah 6:3 LSB)
This is the central question of the entire lawsuit. It is a staggering question. God, the sovereign of the universe, condescends to ask His creatures for their justification. "Tell me," He says, "what is your complaint against Me? What have I done to deserve your contempt and your wandering?" He opens the floor for their defense, knowing full well that they have none. There is no legitimate grievance they can bring. Their rebellion is entirely without excuse.
And then He puts His finger on the real issue: "how have I wearied you?" This is a profound insight into the nature of sin. Sin is often born of simple boredom with the goodness of God. His steadfast love becomes mundane. His righteous commands become a chore. His daily provision of manna becomes "this worthless bread." The people have become tired of God. They are weary of His faithfulness. They want the spicy, exotic idolatries of their neighbors. They want the thrill of rebellion. The steady, patient, day-in-day-out goodness of God has become a burden to them. And so God asks, "Is my grace so exhausting? Is my love so tiresome?"
Exhibit A: The Great Redemption (v. 4)
Since Israel has no case against God, God begins to present His case against them. But His prosecution is simply a recitation of His grace. He presents His first piece of evidence.
"Indeed, I brought you up from the land of Egypt And ransomed you from the house of slavery, And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam." (Micah 6:4 LSB)
God calls them to remember the foundational act of their existence as a people: the Exodus. He did not just help them escape; He "brought you up." It was His personal, powerful intervention. He "ransomed" them. This was not just a political liberation; it was a redemption. He purchased them out of the slave market of Egypt to be His own. This was an act of costly love.
Furthermore, He did not abandon them to figure things out on their own. He "sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam." He gave them structure. He gave them a prophet and lawgiver in Moses, a high priest and a system of worship in Aaron, and a prophetess who led them in praise in Miriam. He provided for their political, spiritual, and cultural life. He gave them everything they needed to be His people in the world. How could a people so graciously redeemed and so thoroughly provided for have grown weary of their Redeemer?
Exhibit B: The Stubborn Grace (v. 5)
God continues to build His case by calling another memory to the stand.
"My people, remember now What Balak king of Moab counseled And what Balaam son of Beor answered him, And from Shittim to Gilgal, So that you might know the righteous acts of Yahweh." (Micah 6:5 LSB)
This is a masterful stroke. He tells them to remember the incident with Balaam. King Balak hired the most famous sorcerer of the day to curse Israel, to destroy them with demonic power. And what happened? God intervened. He hijacked the prophet-for-hire and forced him to bless Israel three times. God's protective love for His people is so absolute that He can turn the intended curses of their enemies into effusive blessings. He was defending them from spiritual attacks they were not even fully aware of.
Then He points them to a specific geographical journey: "from Shittim to Gilgal." This is a journey dense with meaning. Shittim was the place of their last great failure in the wilderness, where they committed idolatry and sexual immorality with the Moabites. It was a place of profound shame. Gilgal was their first encampment in the Promised Land. It was the place where they rolled away the reproach of Egypt, renewed the covenant of circumcision, and celebrated their first Passover in the land. The journey from Shittim to Gilgal is the story of God's grace in a nutshell. It is a journey from abject failure to covenant inheritance, accomplished entirely by the grace of God. He dragged them across the finish line, despite their sin.
And what is the purpose of all this remembering? "So that you might know the righteous acts of Yahweh." The word "know" here is not about abstract data. It is about a deep, relational, experiential knowledge. And His "righteous acts" are not just acts of retributive justice; they are His covenant-keeping, saving acts of deliverance. God's righteousness is demonstrated in His faithfulness to His promises, even when His people are faithless. The cure for their covenant amnesia is a deliberate remembrance of God's saving history with them.
The Gospel in the Courtroom
This covenant lawsuit is not just for ancient Israel. God brings the same case against us today whenever we begin to drift, to complain, or to grow weary in our faith. He comes to us and asks the same piercing question: "My people, what have I done to you? How has my grace wearied you? Has the cross become commonplace? Has forgiveness become boring?"
And when we stand there, mute, with no defense to offer, He does not condemn us. Instead, He does what He did with Israel. He begins to recite His righteous acts. But for us, the evidence is infinitely greater.
He says, "Remember, I did not just bring you out of Egypt, but I brought you up from the kingdom of darkness. I did not just ransom you from a house of slavery, but I ransomed you from sin and death itself, not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of My own Son."
He says, "Remember, I did not just send you Moses, a servant, but I sent you Jesus, My Son, your perfect Prophet, Priest, and King. Remember, I did not just turn Balaam's curse into a blessing, but I took every curse you deserved, placed it upon My Son on the cross, and turned the greatest act of injustice in history into the fountain of your salvation."
He points us to our own journey from Shittim to Gilgal, from our old life of sin and shame to our new life in the promised land of His grace. The only proper response to such a case is to drop our own petty grievances, fall on our faces, and confess our foolish and forgetful hearts. The righteous acts of Yahweh are seen most clearly in the face of Jesus Christ. To know them is to love Him. To remember them is to be renewed.