Micah 3:4

It is never too late to ask God for forgiveness. That is what preachers preach, and modern Christians believe. Therefore, when Christians read what Mica said, they often respond by pointing out that Micah is in the Old Testament, and Jesus brought a new covenant. For many different reasons, (I am not going to list them here), it is wrong to believe that the God of the Old Testament is not the same God as Jesus revealed through Himself in the New Testament. We cannot explain away apparent conflicts between what Micah said, and what we believe, that easily.

Micah predicted a day of judgment upon Israel, where her enemies would invade bringing devastation and enslavement. God has not changed, and it is never too late to ask for forgiveness, even in Micah’s time. Yet, when the leaders of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord would not answer. Therefore, we can conclude with 100% certainty that the leaders were not crying out for forgiveness, and Micah was not describing their repentance.

They were evil men who had done evil things, and on the Day of Judgment, they did not cry out for forgiveness, but rather for deliverance. Their hearts had not changed; they still loved money, power and pleasure. However, they were foolish enough to believe that by calling on the name of Lord he would protect them from their enemies. They believed that was what it meant to be God’s chosen. They believed God’s covenant with Israel was unbreakable, and therefore He would have to deliver them from the consequences of their sin. They were wrong.

Israel’s covenant with God was a relationship. God would never break that relationship; but He did not take away the Israelites’ freedom of choice. While they lived in right relationship with God, they were safe. When Israel’s leadership chose disobedience and broke the covenant, they lost God’s protection. They learned that “once safe” is not “always safe”. Repentance was their only option to repair their broken relationship with God.