" H E A R, O E A R T H ! "

Judgment And Warfare By The Earth

The earth does not only play the role of a witness; it does not only record a sentences or judgment. Sometimes it is actually involved in the execution of judgment. Micah 6:1-2 presents such a situation.

1    Listen to what the LORD says: “Stand up, plead your case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say.

2    Hear, O mountains, the LORD’S accusation; Listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.  For the LORD has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel” (NIV).

It is important to note the language-use here.  It is very legal.  God had “a case against his people,” and  He was “lodging a charge against Israel,” summoning them to appear at the court before the hills.  That was  where the controversy was going to be settled.  They were to “stand up and plead their case before the mountains” to which He had already reported them or lodged a charge or summoned them.  The hills were going to hear what they had to say.  Meanwhile, the mountains had heard His own voice, His own side of the story, His accusations against His people, Israel.

Why did God have to report them to the hills and the mountains? How would these carry out a sentence against the Israelites should they be found guilty?  This is how.   

Let us suppose that your father or mother or someone you love and respect very dearly, maybe even your darling wife or husband, comes to you and says, “Mr X has offended me so terribly that, in fact, I have taken the matter to court. I decided to report him to you, my darling, especially since he is your tenant. You are my witness.  I am very upset and disappointed in Mr. X.”  What will be your attitude to Mr. X thereafter?   It won’t be so cordial anymore.   Mr. X has offended someone very dear to your heart, and has, therefore, offended you also.  Your darling is no more happy with Mr. X, and so are you.  If you used to visit Mr. X’s house before, you begin to check yourself.  If you were supposed to have given a gift to Mr. X, you would rethink the gift or even withdraw it.  You might even be ready to fight Mr. X and all who are on his side against your beloved.

When you remember that the earth, with all the living things on it, which it ‘brought forth,’ has a covenant with God (Genesis 9:10-13), it should give you an idea what the earth or the hills and the mountains were going to do to those whom God had reported to them.  If nations or mortal men should respect defence pacts, how much more would nature respect its covenant with God; if demonic covenants could be as strong as we have found them to be in scripture and in human life, how much more a divine covenant! 

If the mountains used to provide honey to those people, the mountains would begin to withdraw their supply of honey.  If their farms on the hills used to prosper, and yield bumper harvests, the hills would begin to rebel against their farms.  They were not going to disappoint their pact or covenant with the Almighty God.  If the people should put manure into the soil to enhance their yield, the earth would turn their manure into poison.  God had reported against them, and the hills and the mountains and the whole earth was going to help God and rise in judgment against the sinful and disobedient people.  Others would go into the mountains and pluck fruits to eat and be nourished.  But if any of those sinful people should go to the same trees in the same mountains and pluck the same fruits to eat, the fruits would constipate or purge them.  The Lord had reported them to the earth, and the earth was going to oppose them the way it had to oppose Cain after God judged him with the earth, for his murder of Abel his brother.  Others would build houses on the earth and their houses would stand.  But if those sinners whom God had sued or summoned to the courts of the earth should also build, the earth would rebel against them, and their houses would fall, no matter how strongly built.  Either an erosion would wash away the foundations of the house until it fell, or the earth would bring forth termites to eat up its foundations until nothing was left of the house.  The people have a case to answer before the courts of the earth.

This reminds me of the story told us by a visiting Zimbabwean preacher at a Christian conference some years ago, of a farm belonging to some Israelis in Zimbabwe.  The farm produced tomatoes fatter than a fist, and potatoes several times bigger than what was known.  However, as  a result of a government policy of indigenization, by which a number of ventures belonging to or run by foreigners had to be taken over by indigens, that Israeli farm was also indigenised.  When the Africans - the Zimbabweans - took over the land, surprisingly, the yields shrank.  The same land, the same manures or fertilizers, but different owners.  The land no more would yield her increase to those people.  They did not have the kind of covenant which Abraham the father of the Israelites had with God over the land, such as when it was said, in Deuteronomy 28:

3      Blessed shalt thou be in the city,      and blessed shalt       thou be in the field.

4     Blessed shall be ... the fruit of thy ground...

5     Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.

8    The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

The land knew the former Israeli owners.  It had a record in its files that they were a special covenant people, and were to be helped.  But it did not know the new owners in the same covenant way.  They had the backing of the government, plus the support of their fertilizers and so on, but they did not have any special covenant with God over the land such as the earth could honour.  A successful harvest on that land needed more than fertilizers and government support. 

Can the earth distinguish?  Does the land know?  Has it understanding?

You would have noticed by now that it is normally a community of people (nations, cities, etc) rather than individuals, that God reports to the earth and the heavens.  Is your nation or city under accusation before the elements?

Jesus told His disciples that if they went out to preach but were rejected by any people, they should shake off the dust (or the earth) from off their feet, and that that dust would appear in the courts of God on the great judgment day to testify against such a people, and it would be more terrible for such a city than for Sodom and Gomorrah (Luke 20:10-12).

Why would Jesus say that? Can the earth (or the dust) hear?  Can it keep a record, which may be needed at a future time?  Can it be a witness?  Is it a living thing?

This takes me to the issue of Moses’ judgment of Egypt which we promised, under a previous section, to consider in more details.