Micah 1:1
Micah was a from Moresheth, a town near Gath, the Philistine city. His ministry began in about 740B.C. or so, about the same time as Isaiah was in his ministry. Isaiah's message was directed to the royal family while Micah spoke to the common people. His ministry took place during the reign of three kings; Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. This amounts to a bad king sandwiched between two good kings.
Jotham: King of Judah, 25 years old when he began his reign. Did good in God's eyes; a strong leader building up military. "Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God."
Ahaz (Jotham's son): King of Judaha, 20 year old when he began his reign. He reigned sixteen years and didn't do what was right in God's eyes. He sacrificed his own children in the fire. He put Judah into subjection of Assyria. He had an altar built in the temple like that which he saw in Syria to worship their god.
Hezekiah (Ahaz's son): He was 25 when he became king and reigned for 29 years. He did right in the eyes of God as David did. He purified the temple and restored worship. "Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him."
Micah spoke to the people of Israel; both the northern and southern, both Samaria and Jerusalem.
Micah 1:2-5
Mich essentially calls for all people to 'listen up!'. God's word is for everyone, not just Israel, not just for that time and place; but for the whole earth for all time. Mich declares that God is bringing witness from heaven against His own people.
Judgment is coming! Micah repeatedly zeros in on perversion of worship and injustice toward others. If the people wouldn't close down the high places of worship, God himself would come down and stomp them flat. The melting of mountains and the splitting of valleys reflect major physical upheaval that would get man's attention making him feel small, powerless and insignificant. God would humble them.
The "All this" of verse five is a picture of God coming down and intervening on their evil practices. Their sins and rebellion would be brought to judgment. "What sin?" they might ask. The Lord answers their first quesiton, "Is it not Samaria?" Sin had become such a part of their life in Samaria, it no longer was thought of as sin; after all it was legal and everyone was doing it. It started in the palaces of Samaria; the throne of the northern kings. King and king sinned and rebelled against God; the idolatry and wickedness spread across the land. It was making its way into Judah also.
Someone may have asked, "What's Judah's sin? What did they do wrong?" God answers through Micah with two more questions. What are the high places? Are they not Jerusalem? This was the center of worship; the place where God met the people and revealed Himself. This is where holiness was defined, sin was dealt with and men could be in fellowship with God. It was the center of the universe, the apple of God's eye. However, instead of a crown of the glory of God; it had become a common high place of many false gods and idols. A place where compromise overflowed and covered the promise; where the altars of the gods and goddesses of the surrounding godless nations took the place of the altar of God Most High.
Micah 1:6-7
The 'therefore' of verse six is the outcome of the indictment against Israel and Judah. Samaria would be a heap of ruins. To uncover the foundation, one would have to completely remove the building and dig to expose the structure of what hold's a building up. The ruination would be so complete it wouldn't be rebuilt but turned into farmland. Samaria had been a very wealthy land; Jereboam II ignored the prophets because of the prosperity and military prowess. He trusted in all those things and the people followed suit. She was as a harlot, selling herself to the nations and collecting her pay. The 'pay' was the word 'ethnan' meaning harlot's wages. This was the gifts one brought to the temple prostitutes when they came to worship. The wealth of Samaria was built by idolatry and the wages of prostitution. All this wealth would burn and be flattened; the treasure hauled off to a nother godless harlot nation. Samaria would become the harlot wages for the next arrogant and godless king.
Micah 1:8-11
So, God brought testimoney and then declared judgment. This 'therefore' brought mourning for Israel. Micah becomes the grieving man who stands in the midst of this with his eyes wide open. He is wailing in pain and sorrow; stripped naked is a picture of being robbed of everything. The wound caused by Samaria has become deadly, like cancer it spread across the land and made its way to Judah.
Micah uses some puns and wordplay:
- Gath sounds like the word for tell it – tell it not.
- Beth Aphrah sounds like the word for dust – roll in the dust
- Shaphir sounds like the word for pleasant – those who live in nakedness and shame.
- Zaanan sounds like the verb meaning come out – for those who won't come out.
Micah 1:12-16
The prophet listed 12 cities; six in lamentation and six in threatening.
- Maroth sounds like the word bitter – for those who writhe in pain, waiting for relief.
- Lachish means impregnable; yet it was from Lachish that idolatry made it's way into Judah and inundated it. The impregnable had been penetrated, there for harness the chariots and run for your life!
- Moresheth Gath is Micah's home town. It became a present given; the word present is a parting gift, a dowry given to the enemy.
- Achzib means deception; this 'lie' is the idea of a deceitful brook. It looks as if it would offer relief and quench the thirst of a traveler yet it is dried up and useless.
- Mareshah means 'conquered town'. This heir will be a conquereer, someone to take possession.
- Adullum means 'justice of the people'; the 'glory of Israel' are the nobility and they will come to justice by way of hiding in the mountains of Adullum.
Verse 16 is mother Israel who sees the twelve children subject to the enemy. Mouring is in order; but off your hair to baldness and shame. The children of Israel will go into captivity.
Micah 2:1-2
Chapter two continues with this first section of Micah. God gives His testimony against His children. He charges them and speaks of their judgment. Now he speaks to the evildoers on a more personal level. When the God of the universe speaks of you and it begins with 'woe' things are bad. Iniquity is morally objectionable behavior; God is speaking to those who devise it. They lie in their beds and night and, driven by covetousness, they dream up ways to steal, decieve, lie and cheat; then at dawn, they get up and go do those things, oppressing others, taking their inheritance and homes. They didn't make some bad decisions and sin, it is premeditated to be as evil as possible. Why do they do it? Because they can; it is within their power.
Micah 2:3-5
'Therefore' is the result of this iniquity. This family, are the twelve sons of Jacob; the twelve tribes. The word for 'devising' is the same word as in verse 1; they stayed up all night devising iniquity, God devised a disaster for them; and He didn't have to stay up all night thinking about it. This disaster will be like a yoke around their necks that can't be removed. Under this yoke, they won't be walking haughtily. They brought an evil time by their iniquity; God brings an evil time on their lives.
Proverbs 22:8
8 He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow,
And the rod of his anger will fail.
Hosea 8:7
7 "They sow the wind,
And reap the whirlwind.
Job 4:8
8 Even as I have seen,
Those who plow iniquity
And sow trouble reap the same.
'This day' is the day of the Lord; the day of judgment for them. They will make up a chant against them; a song or ditty to speak to the lamentation. This proverb will speak of the destruction and the removal of the people from the land. Their land and fields were given to an apostate or faithless one.
"Therefores' is another result; the result of these apostates taking the land. The apostate didn't know God and are considered somewhat less responsible than the Jews who knew God and turned away. The apostate only knew rebellion; the Jews knew faith and rebelled anyway. The boundaries of the Promised Land become meaningless. There will be no children of promise to maintain the boundaries and judge regarding these boundaries in the Lord's assembly.
Micah 2:6-7
The word's "Do not prattle" may well be a quote of sorts, spoken derogatory towards the prophets who prophecied. The word 'prattle' and 'prophecy' are the same word. The words of the prophet, God's word, brought conviction and shame. Their approach wasn't to listen and repent but to silence the messenger. Because the prophet would not longer prophecy, they would not hear from God. They in turn could not be turned back from the state of shame and disgrace (return insult for insult) in the eyes of God.
This passage could also be viewed as directed to the false prophets. Micah directed them to stop prophecying, don't prattle becaue that's all it amounted to. Their words were in fact not prophecy. When they said peace and safety they were wrong. When they said, "judgment isn't coming" they were sowing more iniquity. The result was the same; there would be no turning back from dishonor or shame by listening to the false prophets.
The false prophets asked rhetorical questions to settle the people, that their false prophecy might be received. Their questions were based on the assumption that they were the house of Jacob, God would never destroy them. Would God withdraw His spirit from them? The Jews blinded to their own sin would say, "Heavens no!" They reinforce their point by saying God is good and His works are good, therefore all the bad spoken of by the prophets must not be from God.
We hear a similar message today. It is said, "God is love" with no regard to the fact that God is also just and will judge all sin. Since God is love, the false prophets of the world would say, we can be whoever we want and do whatever we want because we're so special in God's eyes. They'd say God isn't restricted; not to just the name of Jesus. The false prophets say there are many names and many paths to God while Jesus said, "I AM The Way!"
Micah 2:8-9
Micah presents more evidence to support the argument things were bad and going to get worse as opposed to the 'all is well' message of the false prophets. The people had 'risen up' in rebellion and appear as an enemy; not just toward God but also each other. They walk along the road trusting all is well because God is love and they listened to the 'peace and safety' message of the false prophets. Their own people rob them along the road stealing their clothes like soldiers returning from war. The widow and fatherless were cast out of their homes by those who considered themselves God's people. The point was that they weren't God's people and all these actions were inconsistent with the true Israel.
In their rebellion, they make the justice of God appear as if He were going to rob them and cast them from their homes. They make God's warning of judgment out to appear as a work of Enemy when in fact their works were evil.
Micah 2:10-11
Micah declares God's word to 'stand up and go away'. These people weren't God's Israel and this land wasn't for these people; it wasn't their rest. The land was a place of destruction and wickedness, a land defiled and full to the brim with iniquity.
The man walking down the street declaring wine and drink (all is well) is speaking lies. He is a prattler, a false prophet among his people.
Micah 2:12-1
The faithful who stand through the judgment and have their eyes on God would once again be gathered. They will be the remnant. God would gather them as sheep in the pasture and they will make a loud noise; probably the noise of praise and worship.
'The One who breaks open' is a traditional messianic title. This pictures the messian stepping forward to shepherd this flock; He is 'The Way' that is now open before them. They will break out and pass through the gate.
John 10:1-10
10 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." 6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.
7 Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
As we see our world grow darker by day, we hear the message of our culture and world; one of peace and safety of wine and drink. The world is encouraged to keep their eyes on the hope that all our problems will go away with the next tax raise, next election, next promise of change, invention, technology or another pill to take. All the while days turn to weeks, turn to years, turn to lifetimes while mankind is entertained, medicated and decieved. We must look to Jesus alone as our hope. He is coming again. He is love, but He is Just. He is 'The Way' to righteousness and eternal fellowship for us to be with Him, in His kingdom, forever.
©2017 Doug Ford
Facebook