“He will again have compassion on us; he will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:19 CSB

The imagery in this verse from Micah captured me as I read it this week. A little history first, Micah is prophesying to Israel and Judah before the Assyrian conquest and the Babylonian exile. Much of the book of Micah is judgement and condemnation for injustice and greed and the wrongful treatment of the poor and oppressed. But Micah also sprinkles in hope; hope that God will again have compassion on His people and restore a remnant back to Jerusalem.

Our verse tells us that God doesn’t just forgive our sins, our iniquities, but that He casts them into the deepest part of the sea. Our sins are gone, buried at the bottom of the sea, vanquished, thoroughly defeated by God, and forgotten. What a wonderful hope and freedom!

I could (and probably should) end right here, on the promise that our sins are vanquished for good, that they can no longer bind us. But another image also comes to mind. Something I think that we all do, I know I do. We drop a fishing line into the sea and haul our sin back out because of guilt or shame or anger or just the belief that if we can’t forget it, neither can God. We re-examine it and mull it over and ask for forgiveness once more. We let that past iniquity have a hold on us, even though God has promised that it is vanquished, defeated, conquered.

This week let’s all agree to throw our iniquities, our sins, right back in, where they belong, in the deepest part of the sea. We have asked and received forgiveness. Jesus has fought the battle for us and vanquished our sins. They have been destroyed and totally overcome by God. Let’s not keep “fishing them back out.” Let’s all turn our backs on our vanquished sins and turn toward the God who has cast them into the depths of the sea.

I thank God for each of you! And I thank you for joining me this week as we trust God’s promise to be our vanquisher and live in His hope and freedom.

Blessings and hope and freedom this Memorial Day!