VIRTUALLY EVERY DAY, several times a day, my wife and I get annoying robocalls on our landline (yes, we still have one of those — though it’s actually VOIP, you know, Internet phone). Sometimes, we’d get the exact same message over and over, pushing the same scam from different numbers and places around the country. We’ve blocked dozens of phone numbers over the years.

The good news is that Caller ID now routinely tells us when it’s a “Spam Risk.” But even if it didn’t, we might ignore the ringing of the phone anyway, unless we’re expecting a call, or Caller ID tells us it’s someone we know. Of course, sometimes the ID isn’t clear. We have to wait until the person on the other end begins leaving a message to know when to pick up.

So imagine with me that God were to call. Would we pick up? What would we have to hear before we did? Or is it possible that we’re blocking his calls?

This is one vein in which we might re-imagine the role of a prophet. God delivers the message personally; the prophet tells the people that God is calling.

As we’ve seen, in Micah 6, the prophet prosecutes a covenant lawsuit against the people on God’s behalf. Chapter 3 described the rampant injustice among the people, especially as demonstrated by corrupt leaders in Jerusalem. They eagerly listen to the comforting words of false prophets, but will they listen to God’s words as conveyed by Micah or Isaiah?

Then in Micah 6, God asks the people to remember how he has been faithful to them, how he has held up his end of the covenant relationship. But through the prophet, the people are mockingly portrayed as proposing superficial, external fixes for behaviors that arise from a corrupt heart. Against this, Micah tells them, “You already know what God wants. He doesn’t want your religious sacrifices, no matter how showy or impressive you might think they are. He wants humble people who embody his justice and mercy.”

Micah then continues:

Listen! The Lord is calling to the city—
    and to fear your name is wisdom—
    “Heed the rod and the One who appointed it. (Mic 6:9, NIV)

The voice of the LORD calls to the city of Jerusalem, Micah says; will the people pick up? Will they listen?

Depending on how one translates Micah’s Hebrew, the call is to more than just the city — it’s to all the people of Judah. Strangely enough, what the NIV translates as “heed the rod” can also be translated as “Listen, tribe.” That’s because the underlying word literally means a “branch,” which in some contexts suggests a wooden rod taken from a tree branch, but in other contexts is used metaphorically, as in a branch of a family tree.

Either is possible, but some scholars believe the second interpretation to be more likely. God is the one who gathered the branch or tribe of Judah. Again, will they listen?

Through Micah, God is calling to the entire southern kingdom. Indeed, it’s a wake-up call. Prophecies of divine condemnation aren’t just advance notice of the future; often, they are meant to warn what will happen if the call isn’t heeded, if there is no repentance, if the people keep going on their same sorry path.

In the midst of preaching to the people of Judah, Micah turns briefly to speak directly to God: “To fear your name is wisdom.” He says this in their hearing, and this too is a call to the people. In the Old Testament, we are repeatedly told that true wisdom is found through a proper fear of God (e.g., Job 28:28; Ps 111:10; Prov 9:10).

Such fear needn’t be terror. At root, it’s knowing who we’re really dealing with, having a proper recognition of who God is in all his might, majesty, and holiness. That the people would respond to the prophet’s condemnations only by upping their religious game with ostentatious sacrifices suggests that they don’t truly fear God. They are trying to appease him as they might some idol or minor deity.

And yet — in the spirit of earlier verses in the chapter, even when God brings accusations against his people, he is still calling out to them, still trying to jolt them awake. Such is God’s covenant mercy, the character he wants them to embody in their relationships with one another.

But unfortunately, as we’ll see, there are still more accusations of injustice to come.