Bible Study

Acrostic:    

Messages against Samaria & Jerusalem (ch. 1)

Evils of Israel’s people (ch. 2)

Sins of Israel’s leaders (ch. 3)

Sovereign King in Zion (ch. 4)

Introduction of Bethlehem’s Messiah (ch. 5)  

Actions of injustice rebuked (ch. 6)

Hope in God’s future (ch. 7)

I.    
WHO WROTE THE BOOK?

The name of the book is derived from the prophet himself, who having received the word of the
Lord, was commissioned to proclaim it. Micah, whose name is shared by others in
the OT, is a shortened form of Micaiah and means “Who is like the Lord?”
In 7:18, Micah uses a play on his own name, saying, “Who is a God like You?”

[READ Micah 1:1]

1 The word of Yahweh which came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and
Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he beheld concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Verse 1
establishes Micah as the author, but beyond that, very little is known about
him outside of his book and a brief mention by the prophet Jeremiah.

[READ Jer.
26:17-18]

17 Then some of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying,
18 “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king
of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus Yahweh of
hosts has said, “Zion will be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem will
become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house will become the
high places of a forest.”’

Getting back to Micah, we’re not even told the name of his parents, but his name suggests he
had a godly heritage. Instead, Micah identified himself by his hometown, called
Moresheth Gath, located in the Judean foothills close to the border of
Philistia near Gath. Moresheth Gath was located about twenty-five miles
southwest of Jerusalem. Dwelling in a largely agricultural part of the country,
like Amos, Micah lived outside the governmental centers of power in his nation,
leading to his strong concern for the lowly and less fortunate of society -- the
lame, the outcasts, and the afflicted.

[READ Micah 4:6-7]

6 “In that day,” declares Yahweh, “I will assemble the lame
and gather the banished, even those upon whom I have brought calamity. 7 I
will make the lame a remnant and the outcasts a mighty nation, and Yahweh will
reign over them in Mount Zion from now on and forever.”

Therefore, Micah directed much of his prophecy toward the powerful leaders of Samaria and
Jerusalem, the capital cities of Israel and Judah, respectively (1:1),
who for the most part ignored the outcasts of society.

As a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea, Micah prophesied during the momentous years surrounding
the tragic fall of Israel to the Assyrian Empire (722 BC), an event he also
predicted.

[READ Micah 1:6-7]

6 So I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the field, planting places for a vineyard. And I
will pour her stones down into the valley and will lay bare her foundations. 7 And
all of her graven images will be smashed, and all of her earnings will be
burned with fire and all of her idols I will make desolate, for she collected them from a harlot’s earnings [cult
prostitutes], and to the earnings of a harlot they will return.

Micah states inn his introduction to the book that he prophesied during the reigns of Jotham (750-731BC), 

Ahaz (731-715 BC), and Hezekiah (715-686 BC)

During this period, while Israel was imploding from the effects of evil and unfaithful
leadership, Judah seemed on a roller-coaster ride -- ascending to the heights
of its destiny in one generation, only to fall into despair in another. In
Judah at this time, good kings and evil kings alternated with each other, a
pattern seen in the reigns of Jotham (good, 2 Kgs. 15:32-34); Ahaz (evil,
2 Kgs. 16:1-4); and Hezekiah (good, 2 Kgs. 18:1-7).

Micah prophesied
for more than half a century, so he had many years to observe what was
transpiring in Israel and Judah. A contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea, his
prophetic activity took place during the latter half of the eighth century BC.

Just as Amos had
taken the leaders of the northern kingdom to task for their sins, so Micah did
primarily with the southern kingdom of Judah. There was much to say to both
kingdoms, where they royal bureaucracies had grown greedy and the upper classes
were using a national season of peace as an opportunity for indulgence.

The wealthy
enjoyed themselves as the expense of the poor – behavior that did not sit well
with God or His prophets. The rich seized property, many priests reduced
worship to mere ritual designed to manipulate God, civil and religious leaders
neglected doing what they should and persisted in doing what they should not …
and again, idolatry was pervasive. When Hezekiah ascended the throne of Judah,
however, he instituted reforms that reversed the spiritually destructive
decisions of his father, King Ahaz, who had closed the doors of the temple and
established altars to idols “in every corner of Jerusalem” (2 Chr.
28:24). King Hezekiah tore down those altars, reopened the temple, renewed
the observance of feasts, and revamped the priesthood. In spite of all of this,
he made a serious error by maintaining his father’s alliance with Assyria.

Hezekiah
eventually rebelled against Assyrian rule, prompting Sennacherib to invade Juda
in 701 BC. Hezekiah offered
to pay the king of Assyria whatever tribute was required to spare Jerusalem –
even to the point of stripping the Lord’s temple of silver and gold and sending
it to the pagan king (2 Kgs. 18:13-16). Not satisfied, Sennacherib
besieged Jerusalem, but the Lord miraculously delivered the city in response to
Hezekiah’s prayer (2 Kgs. 18:17 – 19:36).

Compared to his
two predecessors, Hezekiah was a godly ruler. Sadly, though, his reforms
produced little more than a temporary pause in Judah’s downward spiral. Micah
added his eloquent, passionate voice to the call for repentance.

II.  WHAT’S THE BIG PICTURE?

Much of Micah’s
book revolves around two significant predictions, and one powerful scene. The
first prediction is the of judgment of both Israel and Judah. The second
prediction concerns the restoration of God’s people in Christ’s millennial
kingdom. Judgment and restoration inspire fear and hope, two ideas wrapped up
in the final, powerful sequence of Micah’s prophecy -- a courtroom scene in
which God’s people stand trial before their Creator for turning away from Him
and from others.

Ÿ  Judgment on Israel
& Judah
(Mic.
1:2 – 3:12)

[READ Mic. 1:2-5]

2 Hear, O peoples,
all of you; give heed, O earth, as well as its fullness, and let Lord Yahweh be
a witness against you,

the Lord from His holy temple. 3 For behold, Yahweh is going
forth from His place. He will come down and tread on the high places of the
earth. 4 The mountains will melt under Him, and the valleys
will be split, like wax before the fire, like water poured down a steep place. 5 All
this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? What is the high place
of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?

As you know,
Samaria and Jerusalem were the capitals of the northern and southern kingdoms.
The people were offering sacrifices to the Lord in His temple but also
worshiping idols. Their failure to worship the Lord alone violated the first
commandment and brought judgment. High places can refer both to geographic
features, such as mountains, and to pagan sites of worship that the Israelites
were frequenting.

Foreseeing the
invasion of the Assyrian army led by Sennacherib, Micah uses words that echo
David’s lament upon Saul’s death (2 Sam. 1:20). As in the days of Saul,
the nation would experience another humiliating defeat, and its leaders would
be forced to run for their lives as David had.

[READ Mic. 1:8-9]

8 Because of this I
must lament and wail; I must go barefoot and naked; I must make a lament like
the jackals and a mourning like the ostriches. 9 For her wound
is incurable, for it has come to Judah; it has reached the gate of my people, even
to Jerusalem.

Micah’s
heartbroken expressions of grief over what God would do may seem extreme today
but were common back then (2 Sam. 15:30). These outward expressions of
sorrow – to wail and howl, strip oneself naked and mourn – should give us
pause. People often want to focus on the meaning of prophecy, when perhaps its
intent is just as much to pierce our hearts and move us to action. Micah’s
lament in response to God’s judgment vividly communicates just how dire the
people’s sin really was.

[READ Mic. 2:1-2]

1 Woe to those who
devise wickedness, who work out evil on their beds! When the light of the
morning comes, they do it, for it is in the power of their hands. 2 And
they covet fields and then tear them away, and houses, and take them
away. And they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.

Greedy people can
never get enough to consume. They can think only about how they can become even
richer. God wanted His covenant people to exemplify concern for others instead
of exploiting the courts and economic system to their advantage (Jer. 22:17;
Amos 8:4), as the affluent Israelites were doing.

[READ Mic. 2:6-11]

6 ‘Do not speak,
dripping out words,’ they say while dripping out words. But
if they do not drip out words concerning these things, dishonor will
not be turned back. 7 Is it being said, O house of Jacob: ‘Is
the Spirit of Yahweh impatient? Are these His deeds?’ Do not My words do good
to the one walking uprightly? 8 And recently My people have
arisen as an enemy -- you strip the robe off the garment from unsuspecting
passers-by, from those returned from war. 9 The women of
My people you drive out, each one from her pleasant house. From her
infants you take My splendor forever. 10 Arise and go, for this
is no place of rest because of the uncleanness that wreaks destruction, a
painful destruction. 11 If a man walking after wind and lying had
acted falsely and said, ‘I will speak, dripping out words to you
concerning wine and liquor,’ he would be one who drips out words as a
spokesman to this people.

The Israelites
viewed God’s prophets as ones who prattle – troubling the privileged with empty
words – and ordered them to stop prophesying (Isa. 30:10). Meanwhile,
those with a false spirit would prophesy abundance (characterized by beer
and wine) to suit their hearers (Jer. 5:30; 2 Tim. 4:3-4).

These wealthy
Israelites were so greedy they were robbing the weak as if they were an enemy.
To emphasize this, Micah pictures them taking the clothes right off the backs
of unsuspecting victims. By rigging the courts in their favor and charging
exorbitant taxes, Israel’s leaders took away the land of the widows and the
fatherless – abuses that made these oppressors targets of God’s judgment.

[READ Mic.
2:12-13]

12 “I will surely
assemble all of you, Jacob; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel. I will
put them together like sheep in the fold; like a flock in the midst of its
pasture, they will be noisy with men. 13 The breaker goes up
before them; they break out, pass through the gate, and go out by it. So, their
king goes on before them, and Yahweh at their head.”

Restoration would
occur one day, when the Lord would break open the gates of Babylon where the
exiles would be trapped (4:10) and lead His people home (Isa. 52:12).

[READ Mic. 3:1-4]

1 And I said, “Hear
now, heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel. Is it not for you to
know justice? 2 You who hate good and love evil, who tear off
their skin from them

and their flesh from their bones, 3 And who eat the flesh of my
people, strip off their skin from them, break their bones, and spread them
out as for the pot and as meat in a caldron.” 4 Then they will
cry out to Yahweh, but He will not answer them. Instead, He will hide His face
from them at that time because they have practiced evil deeds.”

Micah compares the
injustice against the poor to butchering animals for food, graphically
describing the corrupt leaders as cannibals. They viewed their victims not as
fellow human beings but as animals who existed solely to satisfy their
appetites. These butchers would reap what they had sown – God would show them
no mercy.

[READ Mic. 3:5-7]

5 Thus says Yahweh
concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; when they have something
to bite with their teeth, they call out, “Peace,” but against him who puts
nothing in their mouths, they set themselves apart for war.

6 Therefore it will be night for you -- without vision,
and darkness for you -- without divination. The sun will go down on the
prophets, and the day will grow black over them. 7 The seers
will be ashamed, and the diviners will be humiliated. Indeed, they will all
cover their mouths

because there is no answer from God.

Many prophets were
also corrupt. If people gave these false prophets food in exchange for a
prophetic message, they promised peace, but if they did not receive
satisfactory compensation, they pronounced doom. The Lord would judge the false
prophets by shutting off all their channels of revelation, both legitimate (visions)
and illegitimate (divination).

[READ Mic. 3:8]

8 On the other hand
I am filled with power -- with the Spirit of Yahweh -- and with justice and
might to declare to Jacob his transgression, even to Israel his sin.

Though the leaders
in Israel were motivated by greed, Micah’s message has power because it agrees
with God’s Law; Micah calls for justice and courageously confronts violators of
the covenant (Isa. 58:1). Anyone who claims to speak by the Spirit of
the Lord must also live a life that proclaims His priorities.

[READ Mic. 3:9-11]

9 Now hear this,
heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who abhor
justice and twist everything that is straight, 10 Who build
Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with violent injustice. 11 Her
heads pronounce judgment for a bribe, and her priests instruct for a price, and
her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on Yahweh saying, “Is not Yahweh
in our midst? Evil will not come upon us.”

The injustice and
covenant unfaithfulness of Israel’s leaders would produce unimaginable national
devastation (Jer. 26:18), including the ruin of the temple, which by
this time was a hollow house of worship. The leaders mentioned here include the
civil leaders (heads) and priests responsible for promoting justice, as
well as the prophets responsible for communicating God’s will and plans to the
people.

[READ Mic. 3:12]

12 Therefore, on
account of you Zion will be plowed as a field; Jerusalem will become a heap of
ruins, and the mountain of the house of God will become high places of a
forest.

This verse speaks
of conditional judgment. Micah foretold that sinful Jerusalem would be
destroyed. However, when Hezekiah repented, the Lord postponed this judgment (Jer.
26:17-19) and delivered Jerusalem from the Assyrian army (4:11-13).
Many OT prophecies of judgment were conditional and, in fact, designed to
motivate repentance so that God could stay His judgment (Jer. 18:1-12; Jonah
3-4). Although God threatened punishment, it was the last thing He wanted
to do!

Prophecies of
judgment could be canceled or postponed and were on many occasions. However, if
the people returned to their sin, they reactivated the judgment of the original
prophecy. This happened to Jerusalem. Though the city escaped judgment in 701 BC, its inhabitants
returned to their sins, and it was destroyed in 586 BC, as Micah had foreseen
(4:9-10).

Ÿ  The Restoration of
God’s People in Christ’s Kingdom (Mic. 4:1 – 5:15)

[READ Mic. 4:1-5]

1 Now it will be
that in the last days the mountain of the house of Yahweh will be established
as the head of the mountains, and will be lifted up above the hills, and the
peoples will stream to it. 2 And many nations will come and
say, “Come and let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh and to the house of the
God of Jacob, that He may instruct us from His ways and that we may walk in His
paths.” For from Zion will go forth the law, and the word of Yahweh from
Jerusalem. 3 And He will judge between many peoples and will
render decisions for mighty, distant nations. And they will hammer their swords
into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up
sword against nation, and never again will they learn war. 4 And
each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to
make them tremble, for the mouth of Yahweh of hosts has spoken. 5 Though
all the peoples walk each in the name of his god, as for us, we will walk in
the name of Yahweh our God forever and ever.

Micah’s vision
resembles Isaiah’s in many respects (Isa. 2:1-5). Since God will someday
establish a kingdom of peace, His people should provide a preview of that
coming era now by walking in the Lord’s commands (Isa. 2:5) and
worshiping Him alone.

A portion of verse
3 from this passage is inscribed on the UN building in New York City. The
promise of this inscription – “They shall beat their swords into
ploughshares” (see Isa. 2:4) – will not be fulfilled until later.
There will be no true peace (nationally or individually) until the
Prince of Peace returns to make all things new and to rule once and for all (Isa.
11:6-9; Rev. 21-22).

In the last days,
however, God will set all things in order and the temple will be rebuilt.
People from all nations will be drawn to it because they will desire to be
taught by God; all people will receive His divine law. The kingdom of God will
be completely at peace because God will be the only judge. In that world fear
will be absent because of God’s law and reign. Only then will war no longer
exist and all human implements of warfare be eliminated.

Dr. M.R. DeHaan
wrote: “The Bible is replete with prophecies of a coming age of peace and
prosperity. It will be a time when war will be utterly unknown. Not a single
armament plant will be operating, not a soldier or sailor will be in uniform,
no military camps will exist, and not one cent will be spent for armaments of
war …. Can you imagine such an age, when all nations shall be a perfect peace,
all the resources available for enjoyment, all industry engaged in the articles
of a peaceful luxury?”

[READ Mic. 4:9-10]
 

9 “Now, why do you
make a loud shout? Is there no king among you, or has your counselor perished,
that writhing has taken hold of you like a woman in childbirth? 10 Writhe
and labor to give birth, daughter of Zion, like a woman in childbirth; for now
you will go out of the city, dwell in the field, and go to Babylon. There you
will be delivered; there Yahweh will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.

Doom and
deliverance are combined in a single utterance. The experience of destruction
and exile will be like a woman’s labor pains, yet because of His promises to
Abraham, God would deliver His people from Babylon (2:12-13; Isa. 48:20).

[READ Mic.
4:11-13]

11 But now many
nations have been assembled against you

Who say, ‘Let her be polluted, and let our eyes behold Zion in triumph.’
12 But they do not know the thoughts of Yahweh, and they do not
understand His counsel; for He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing
floor. 13 Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, for your horn I
will make iron, and your hoofs I will make bronze, that you may pulverize many
peoples, that you may devote to Yahweh their greedy gain unto destruction and
their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

These warnings
were for other nations that might be tempted to gloat at Israel’s suffering:
the nation will rise to conquer its oppressors (Isa. 9:2-7). The horn
symbolizes Israel’s strength (Deut. 33:17), and the bronze hooves
symbolize the might of Israel’s feet as they trample over the enemy. The
immediate fulfillment of this prophecy came in 701 BC, when the Lord
destroyed the Assyrian army outside of Jerusalem (2 Kgs. 19:35-36).

To make his
message resonate with his eighth-century BC audience, Micah calls the future
enemy “the Assyrian.” Assyria was the most powerful nation in the Near
Eastern world of Micah’s day. The Assyrians disappeared forever in the seventh
century BC, but in this
context, Assyria serves as an archetype of the ruthless powerful nations of the
earth. Zechariah also used Assyria this way in 10:10-11. According to Isaiah (Isa.
19:23-25) these powerful nations represented by both Egypt and Assyria will
someday join Israel in worshiping the Lord as the one true God.

[READ Mic. 5:1]  

1 “Now muster
yourselves in troops, daughter of troops; they have laid siege against us; with
a rod they will strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.

The reference to “Daughter
of troops” foretells that Jerusalem would be besieged by invading soldiers.
The Babylonian siege of Jerusalem (2 Kngs. 25:1) would be both horrific
and humiliating, with the marauders smiting the judge of Israel (King Zedekiah)
with a rod on the cheek – a far greater insult than being slapped on the cheek.

[READ Mic.
5:10-15]

10 “And it will be in
that day,” declares Yahweh, “That I will cut off your horses from among you and
destroy your chariots. 11 And I will cut off the cities of your
land and pull down all your fortifications. 12 And I will cut
off sorceries from your hand, and you will have soothsaying no more. 13 And
I will cut off your graven images and your sacred pillars from among you
so that you will no longer worship the work of your hands. 14 And
I will uproot your Asherim from among you and eradicate your cities. 15 And
I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath on the nations which have not
listened.”

To prepare His
people for Messiah’s kingdom, God will purify the remnant of the people and
remove their misplaced trust in weapons, fortified cities, divination, and
idols. He will also clear His kingdom of all forms of covenantal infidelity,
such as the sacred pillars and wooden images representing the worship of
Canaanite fertility deities.

Ÿ  God’s Courtroom of
Justice
(Mic.
6:1 – 7:20)

Micah opens the
third section of his message with a dramatic courtroom scene moving back and
forth between 3 speakers: the Lord pleading His case, the people responding
under conviction, and the prophet as the lawyer for the plaintiff.

[READ Mic. 6:1-2]

1 Listen now to what
Yahweh is saying, “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the
hills listen to your voice. 2 Listen, you mountains, to the
case of Yahweh, and you enduring foundations of the earth, because Yahweh has a
case against His people; even with Israel He will reprove.

The Lord commanded
Micah as His advocate, to plead His case before the mountains and hills. Which
were to act as witnesses against His people. The mountains and hills were
present at Sinai when the Lord made His covenant with Israel and when the Ten
Commandments were written and placed in the ark of the covenant as a permanent
witness (Deut. 31:26). 

[READ Mic. 6:3-5]

3 My people, what
have I done to you, and how have I wearied you? Answer Me. 4 Indeed,
I brought you up from the land of Egypt and ransomed you from the house of
slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5 My
people, remember now what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of
Beor answered him, and from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you might know
the righteous acts of Yahweh.”

This was the
Lord’s appeal. With tenderness and emotion, the divine Plaintiff recalled His
many gracious acts toward them, almost to the point of assuming the tone of a
defendant. Noting their trek from bondage in Egypt to their own homeland, God
had provided leadership, reversed the attempts of Balaam to curse the people,
and miraculously parted the Jordan River so they could cross over from Shittim,
located east of the Jordan, to Gigal on the west side near Jericho. God had
faithfully kept all His promises to them.

[READ Mic. 6:6-7]

6 With what shall I
come before Yahweh and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come
before Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? 7 Is
Yahweh pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I
give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin
of my soul?

Micah, as though
speaking on behalf of the people, asked rhetorically how, in light of God’s
faithfulness toward them, they could continue their hypocrisy by being
outwardly religious but inwardly sinful.

[READ Mic. 6:8]

8 He has told you, O
man, what is good; and what does Yahweh require of you but to do justice, to
love lovingkindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah’s terse
response indicates that they should have known the answer to the rhetorical
question. Spiritual blindness had led them to offer everything except the one
thing He wanted – a spiritual commitment of the heart from which right behavior
would ensue (Deut. 10:12-19; Mt. 22:37-39). This theme is often
representing in the OT.

[READ Mic. 6:9-16]

9 The voice of
Yahweh will call to the city -- and it is sound wisdom to fear Your name:
“Hear, O tribe. Who even has appointed its time? 10 Is there
yet a man in the wicked house, along with treasures of wickedness, and a
short measure which is cursed? 11 Can I purify wicked
scales and a bag of deceptive weights? 12 For the rich men of the
city are full of violence, and her inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is
deceitful in their mouth. 13 So also I will make you
sick, striking you down, desolating you because of your sins. 14 You
will eat, but you will not be satisfied, and your vileness will be in your
midst. And you will try to remove something for safekeeping, but
you will not cause anything to escape, and that which you do have
escape, I will give to the sword. 15 You will sow but you will
not reap. You will tread the olive but will not anoint yourself with oil; and
the grapes, but you will not drink wine. 16 The statutes of
Omri and all the works of the house of Ahab are kept; and in their counsels you
walk.

Therefore I will give you up as an object of horror and your inhabitants as an
object of hissing, and you will bear the reproach of My people.”

The Lord was
sending judgment; God Himself had appointed the time and instrument to punish
His people. The Lord spoke, noting that their corrupt deeds perpetrated on the
poor were still continuing, in spite of His warnings and discipline. Therefore,
a severe judgment was coming; it would happen to them just as it did to their
northern neighbor, Israel, when led by the counsel of her wicked kings.

[READ Mic. 7:1-4]

1 Woe is me! For I
am like the fruit pickers, like the grape gatherers. There is not a cluster of
grapes to eat, or a first-ripe fig which my soul desires. 2 The
holy one has perished from the land, and there is no upright person
among men. All of them lie in wait for bloodshed; each of them hunts the other
with a net. 3 Concerning evil, both hands do it well. The
prince asks, also the judge, for a payment, and a great man speaks the craving
of his soul; so they weave it together. 4 The best of them is
like a briar, the most upright like a thorn hedge. The day when you post your
watchmen, your punishment will come. At that time their panic will happen.

This is the lament
of one starved of fellowship with the righteous (Ps. 12:1; Isa. 57:1; Jer.
5:26). Even the best of those around Micah – the supposed “upright”
– were a fruitless, prickly bunch. Micah is the watchman here, representing all
the prophets who warned of the impending captivity that was now at hand.

[READ Mic. 7:5-6]  

5 Do not believe in
a neighbor; do not have confidence in a close companion. From her who lies in
your bosom guard the openings of your mouth. 6 For son treats
father as a wicked fool; daughter rises up against her mother, daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own household.

Rivalries and
distrust often cause people to make choices that destroy what they love the
most. Dishonesty, bribery, commercialism, and idol worship had led to the
breakdown of the family.

[READ Mic. 7:7]  

7 But as for me, I
will watch expectantly for Yahweh; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My
God will hear me.

In spite of his
dire circumstances, Micah, as a watchman, would intently look for evidence of
God’s working, trusting God to act in His own time and way (Hab. 3:16-19).

[READ Mic. 7:8-10]

8 Do not be glad
over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; though I inhabit the darkness,
Yahweh is a light for me. 9 I will bear the rage of Yahweh
because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my case and does justice for
me. He will bring me out to the light, and I will see His righteousness.
10 Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said to
me, “Where is Yahweh your God?” My eyes will look on her; at that time she will
be trampled down like mire of the streets.

Speaking for the
remnant who trust God, Micah expresses the hope that remains in spite of the
coming judgment: God will vindicate the faithful, being their light (Isa.
9:2) and righteousness (salvation). This confidence should
characterize God’s people in the face of any difficulty.

[READ Mic.
7:11-13]  

11 It will be a day for
building your walls. On that day your boundary will be extended. 12 It
will be a day when they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of
Egypt, from Egypt even to the River [Euphrates], even from sea to sea and
mountain to mountain. 13 And the earth will become desolate
because of her inhabitants, on account of the fruit of their deeds.

Micah speaks again
recounting the many blessings awaiting the faithful remnant in Messiah’s
millennial rule. It would include unprecedented expansion (Zech. 2:1-5)
and a massive infusion of immigrants (Isa. 11:15-16). For those who
defied Messiah’s millennial rulership, their land will become desolate (Zech.
14:16-19).

[READ Mic. 7:14-15]

14 Shepherd Your
people with Your scepter, the flock of Your inheritance which dwells by itself
in the forest, in the midst of a fruitful orchard. Let them feed in Bashan and
Gilead as in the ancient days. 15 “As in the days when you came
out from the land of Egypt, I will show you wondrous deeds.”

Micah petitioned
the Lord to shepherd, feed, and protect His people like a flock. The Lord
answered, in the following verses, reiterating that He would demonstrate His
presence and power among them as He did in the Exodus from Egypt. As a result,
the vaunted pride and power of the nations would be rendered powerless and
having been humbled, they would no longer listen to or engage in the taunting
of God’s people.

The wondrous
deeds (miracles) of verse 15 will be fulfilled in God’s judgment (the
Tribulation) on the earth preceding the Second Coming of Messiah (Rev.
6-19).

[READ Mic. 7:16-17]

16 Nations will see
and be ashamed of all their might. They will put their hand on their
mouth; their ears will be deaf. 17 They will lick the dust like
a serpent, like crawling things of the earth. They will come trembling out of
their fortresses; to Yahweh our God they will come in dread, and they will be
afraid before You.

Then, in response
to the gracious, forgiving character of Messiah toward Israel, the repentant
remnant of the people will extol His incomparable grace and mercy (Ps.
130:3-4).

[READ Mic.
7:18-20]

18 Who is a God like
You, who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of
His inheritance? He does not hold fast to His anger forever because He delights
in lovingkindness. 19 He will again have compassion on us; He
will subdue our iniquities. And You will cast all their sins into the depths of
the sea. 20 You will give truth to Jacob and
lovingkindness to Abraham, which You swore to our fathers from the days of old.

“Who is a God like
You?”
In verse 18, Micah began this final section with a play on words involving his
name (who is like the Lord?). In spite of Israel’s unfaithfulness to
God, the Lord intends to fulfill His unconditional promises in the Abrahamic
Covenant made with Abraham and confirmed with Isaac and Jacob (Gen. 12 ff).
When enacted in conjunction with the Davidic Covenant, Israel will again be
restored as a people and a nation to the land originally promised to Abraham.
Jesus Christ, the ultimate descendant of David, will rule from Jerusalem over
the world as King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 17:14; 19:16).

III.  WHY IS MICAH SO IMPORTANT?

You may have
noticed that when we were going verse by verse through Micah, I skipped over
5:2-9. That was because I was saving the best for last. The book of Micah
provides one of the most significant prophecies of Jesus Christ’s birth in all
the OT, pointing some seven hundred years before Christ’s birth to His
birthplace of Bethlehem and to His eternal nature.

[READ Mic. 5:2-4a]
 

2 But as for you,
Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you
One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from
everlasting, from the ancient days. 3 Therefore He will give
them up until the time when she who is in childbirth has borne a child. /* Then the remainder of His brothers will return
to the sons of Israel. 4 And He will stand and shepherd His
flock in the strength of Yahweh, in the majesty of the name of Yahweh His
God. [/* -- denotes separation between the two
events of Jesus’ incarnation and His second coming]

Micah looks beyond
the exile and prophesies that the Lord will raise up another ruler, who
will secure His people. By picturing this great King as coming from Bethlehem (the
city of David), Micah suggests that He will be a new David, in agreement
with several other prophets (Isa. 9:6; Jer. 30:9; Ezek. 34:23-24; 37:24-25;
Hos. 3:5).

[READ Mic. 5:4b-5]
 

4 And they will
remain because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth. 5 And
this One will be peace. When the Assyrian enters our land, when he treads on
our citadels, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes
of men.

Like David of old,
this ruler will defeat Israel’s enemies and protect them from would-be
invaders. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy (Mt. 2:6; Lk. 2:4, 11). Also,
according to verse 5, Israel’s future King will have effective commanders (seven
shepherds and eight princely men) carrying out His will. Though the numbers
are used primarily for poetic structure, the point is -- under the Messiah’s
reign, there will be no shortage of competent leadership.

Surrounding
Micah’s prophecy of Jesus’s birth is one of the most lucid pictures of the
world’s future under the reign of the Prince of Peace (5:5). This future
kingdom, which scholars call the millennial kingdom, will be characterized by
the presence of many nations living with one another in peace and security (4:3–4)
and coming to Jerusalem to worship the reigning king, that is, Jesus Himself (4:2).
Because these events have not yet occurred, we look forward to the millennial
kingdom at some undetermined time in the future.

Micah’s message,
in keeping with that of his brother prophets, is twofold: judgment and hope.
God could not overlook Israel’s sins, but neither could He overlook His
promises and loyalty. Although God would allow conquering kings to overrun the
Promised Land and carry most of the nation into captivity, hope would live in
the remnant that He would restore – a remnant of faith that, even today,
recognizes a baby in Bethlehem as Israel’s only true hope for peace, both now
and for eternity.

IV.  HOW DO I APPLY THIS?

Sometimes we make
the Christian life into something it’s not – placing ourselves under arbitrary,
self-imposed rules, and complicated objectives. The prophet Micah, however,
boils it all down to a simple question, “What does the Lord require of
you?”

He answers his own
question with only three benchmarks: do justly, love mercy, and walk
humbly with God (6:8). In other words, be honest and fair in all
your dealings, remain kind and faithful to others, and walk in daily submission
to the One who loves you. If we fail in these ideals, then it really does not
matter how busy we are in the Lord’s service or how much we give up for Him –
because those efforts will be wasted. If, on the other hand, we direct our
lives according to these three ancient signposts, the remaining details of life
will tend to fall into place.

Jesus simplifies
the priorities of life even further when He says to His anxious friend: “Martha,
Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is
needed” (Lk. 10:41). That one thing? Complete devotion to Jesus
Christ.

Prayer: Heavenly
Father, we come before You with a heart full of gratitude for Your boundless
love. Yet, I think we all know that our love for You can grow even deeper. Help
us to love You with all our heart, soul, and mind, and let that love overflow
into every aspect of our life. Teach us to see Your love in every sunrise and
sunset, in every act of kindness, and in every moment of joy. May our love for
You deepen with each passing day. We desire a love for You that knows no
bounds. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Trivia Question: What bird does
Micah name in his prophecy? Answer: eagle, Mic. 1:16

MICAH (750-686 BC)

TEXT: Selected Scriptures (NASB)

Messages against Samaria & Jerusalem (ch. 1)

Evils of Israel’s people (ch. 2)

Sins of Israel’s leaders (ch. 3)

Sovereign King in Zion (ch. 4)

Introduction of Bethlehem’s Messiah (ch. 5)

Actions of injustice rebuked (ch. 6)

Hope in God’s future (ch. 7)

I.  WHO WROTE THE BOOK?

The name of the book
is derived from the prophet himself, who having received the word of the Lord,
was commissioned to proclaim it. Micah, whose name is shared by others in the
OT, is a shortened form of Micaiah and means “Who is like the Lord?”

Micah 1:1

Verse 1 establishes Micah as the author, but
beyond that, very little is known about him outside of his book and a brief
mention by the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 26:17-18

Dwelling in a largely agricultural part of
the country, like Amos, Micah lived outside the governmental centers of power
in his nation, leading to his strong concern for the lowly and less fortunate
of society -- the lame, the outcasts, and the afflicted.

Micah
directed much of his prophecy toward the powerful leaders of Samaria and
Jerusalem, the capital cities of Israel and Judah, respectively (1:1),
who for the most part ignored the outcasts of society.

As
a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea, Micah prophesied during the momentous years
surrounding the tragic fall of Israel to the Assyrian Empire (722 BC),
an event he also predicted.

Micah 1:6-7

Micah
states in his introduction to the book that he prophesied during the reigns of
Jotham (750-731 BC), Ahaz (731-715 BC), and Hezekiah (715-686
BC) in Judah, but does not mention the simultaneous string of dishonorable
kings that closed out the northern kingdom of Israel.

Micah
prophesied for more than half a century, so he had many years to observe what
was transpiring in Israel and Judah. A contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea, his
prophetic activity took place during the latter half of the eighth century BC.

II. WHAT’S THE BIG PICTURE?

Much of Micah’s book revolves around two
significant predictions, and one powerful scene. The first prediction is the of
judgment of both Israel and Judah. The second prediction concerns the
restoration of God’s people in Christ’s millennial kingdom. Judgment and
restoration inspire fear and hope, two ideas wrapped up in the final, powerful
sequence of Micah’s prophecy -- a courtroom scene in which God’s people stand
trial before their Creator for turning away from Him and from others.

Ÿ   The Restoration of God’s People in
Christ’s Kingdom (Mic. 4:1 – 5:15)

Micah 4:1-5

In the last days God will set all things in order and the temple will
be rebuilt. People from all nations will be drawn to it because they will
desire to be taught by God; all people will receive His divine law. The kingdom
of God will be completely at peace because God will be the only judge. In that
world fear will be absent because of God’s law and reign. Only then will war no
longer exist and all human implements of warfare be eliminated.

Micah 4:9 – 5:15

To prepare His people for
Messiah’s kingdom, God will purify the remnant of the people and remove their
misplaced trust in weapons, fortified cities, divination, and idols. He will
also clear His kingdom of all forms of covenantal infidelity, such as the
sacred pillars and wooden images representing the worship of Canaanite
fertility deities.

Ÿ   God’s Courtroom of Justice (Mic. 6:1 –
7:20)

Micah opens the third section of his message with a
dramatic courtroom scene moving back and forth between 3 speakers: the Lord
pleading His case, the people responding under conviction, and the prophet as
the lawyer for the plaintiff.

Micah 6:1 – 7:20

III.  WHY IS MICAH SO IMPORTANT?

The book of Micah
provides one of the most significant prophecies of Jesus Christ’s birth in all
the OT, pointing some seven hundred years before Christ’s birth to His
birthplace  of Bethlehem and to His
eternal nature.

Micah looks beyond the exile and prophesies
that the Lord will raise up another ruler, who will secure His people.
By picturing this great King as coming from Bethlehem (the city of David),
Micah suggests that He will be a new David, in agreement with several other
prophets (Isa. 9:6; Jer. 30:9; Ezek. 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hos. 3:5).

Micah 5:2-4a

Micah 5:4b-5

Like David of old, this ruler will defeat
Israel’s enemies and protect them from would-be invaders. Jesus fulfilled this
prophecy (Mt. 2:6; Lk. 2:4, 11). Also, according to verse 5, Israel’s
future King will have effective commanders (seven shepherds and eight
princely men) carrying out His will. Though the numbers are used primarily
for poetic structure, the point is -- under the Messiah’s reign, there will be
no shortage of competent leadership.

Surrounding Micah’s prophecy of Jesus’s birth
is one of the most lucid pictures of the world’s future under the reign of the
Prince of Peace (5:5). This future kingdom, which scholars call the
millennial kingdom, will be characterized by the presence of many nations
living with one another in peace and security (4:3–4) and coming to
Jerusalem to worship the reigning king, that is, Jesus Himself (4:2).
Because these events have not yet occurred, we look forward to the millennial
kingdom at some undetermined time in the future.

Micah’s message, in keeping with that of his
brother prophets, is twofold: judgment and hope. God could not overlook
Israel’s sins, but neither could He overlook His 

promises
and loyalty. Although God would allow conquering kings to overrun the Promised
Land and carry most of the nation into captivity, hope would live in the
remnant that He would restore – a remnant of faith that, even today, recognizes
a baby in Bethlehem as Israel’s only true hope for peace, both now and for
eternity.

IV. HOW DO I APPLY THIS?

Sometimes we make the Christian life into
something it’s not – placing ourselves under arbitrary, self-imposed rules, and
complicated objectives. The prophet Micah, however, boils it all down to a
simple question, “What does the Lord require of you?”

He answers his own question with only three
benchmarks: do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God
(6:8). In other words, be honest and fair in all your dealings, remain
kind and faithful to others, and walk in daily submission to the One who loves
you. If we fail in these ideals, then it really does not matter how busy we are
in the Lord’s service or how much we give up for Him – because those efforts
will be wasted. If, on the other hand, we direct our lives according to these
three ancient signposts, the remaining details of life will tend to fall into
place.

Jesus simplifies the priorities of life even
further when He says to His anxious friend: “Martha, Martha, you are worried
and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed” (Lk. 10:41).
That one thing? Complete devotion to Jesus Christ.