Introduction
“Micah prophesied in Judah during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (about 750-700 B.C.), at about the same time as Isaiah. It was a time of prosperity, and Micah denounced the wealthy, who were oppressing the poor, and warned of impending judgment.
The northern kingdom actually fell during Micah’s ministry, in 722, and Judah almost fell in 701 (2 Kings 18–20). The book contains three sections, which alternate between words of warning and messages of hope.
Micah told a day when there would be peace among all nations, who would then be able to “beat their swords into plowshares” (4:3), and of a royal deliverer who would save God’s people from all her enemies. This deliverer would be born in Bethlehem (5:2).”
The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem:
The Coming Destruction
“Hear, you peoples, all of you;
pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it,
and let the Lord God be a witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
For behold, the Lord is coming out of his place,
and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.”
-Micah 1-3
Micah made this announcement and spoke the prophecy that the day was at hand for the impending judgments on Israel and Judah. ‘The Lord is coming’ is an Old Testament expression describing the Lord’s intervention in history.
It continues on with God as the speaker describing the things that would happen to the nations. This prophecy was fulfilled during Micah’s lifetime when Assyria destroyed Samaria in 722-721 B.C.
Woe to the Oppressors
This was primarily directed to the wealthy landowners that oppressed the poor. The rich, oppressing classes continued to get rich at the expense of the poor because they controlled the power structures of their society. They even went against the tenth commandment as they coveted.
“Woe to those who devise wickedness
and work evil on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
because it is in the power of their hand.
They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
a man and his inheritance.”
-Micah 2:1-2
Because of the sins of Israel’s influential classes, calamity will strike. This disaster would be the impending exile. The oppressing classes, the rich landowners, would be where God’s judgment would fall and the Assyrians would capture the land.
Rulers and Prophets Denounced
“Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray,
who cry “Peace”
when they have something to eat,
but declare war against him
who puts nothing in their mouths.
Therefore it shall be night to you,
without vision,
and darkness to you,
without divination.
The sun shall go down on the prophets,
and the day shall be black over them;
the seers shall be disgraced,
and the diviners put to shame;
they shall all cover their lips,
for their is no answer from God.
But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression
and to Israel his sin.”
-Micah 3:5-
Disobedience leads to separation from God. The false prophets predicted peace for Judah while Micah predicted destruction and captivity. One of the chief purposes of Micah was to declare to Judah its sin as the prophets were Spirit-filled messengers.
The Mountain of the Lord
“It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and it shall be lifted up above the hills;
and peoples shall flow to it,
and many nations shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between many peoples,
and shall decide for strong nations far away;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore;
but they shall sit every man under his vine
and under his fig tree,
and no one shall make them afraid,
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
For all the people walk
each in the name of its god,
but we walk in the name of the
Lord our God
forever and ever.”
-Micah 4:1-5
Everyone must CONFESS, LOVE, OBEY, and RELY ON THE LORD.
The Lord Shall Rescue Zion
“In that day, declares the Lord,
I will assemble the lame
and gather those who have been driven away
and those who I have afflicted;
and the lame I will make the remnant,
and those who were cast off,
a strong nation;
and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion
from this time forth and forevermore.
-Micah 4:6-7
Micah foresees the collapse of the monarchy and the impending exile in 586 B.C. as well as the restoration beginning in 538. There is the prophecy of judgment on the enemies of Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be besieged, and her kings will be seized and taken to Babylon.
In contrast to the dire predictions, Micah shifts to a positive note…which we’ll discuss next time!