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Micah Chapter One
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"I HATE YOU!" she screams, and runs from the
room. Words from a child, thrown as emotional darts. Perhaps she learned the
phrase from Mom and Dad, or maybe it just burst forth from that inner well of
"sinful nature." Whatever the case, hate and love have become society's bywords,
almost tired cliché, tossed carelessly at objects, situations, and even people.
The casual use of such words as "love" and "hate" has emptied them of their
meaning. We no longer understand statements that describe a loving God who hates
sin. So we picture God as gentle and kind-a cosmic "pushover"; and our concept
of what he hates is tempered by our misconceptions and wishful thinking.
The words of the prophets stand in stark contrast to such
misconceptions. God's hatred is real-burning, consuming, and destroying. He
hates sin, and he stands as the righteous judge, ready to mete out just
punishment to all who defy his rule. God's love is also real. So real that he
sent his Son, the Messiah, to save and accept judgment in the sinner's place.
Love and hate are together-both unending, irresistible, and unfathomable.
In seven short chapters, Micah presents this true picture of God-the almighty
Lord who hates sin and loves the sinner. Much of the book is devoted to
describing God's judgment on Israel (the northern kingdom), on Judah (the
southern kingdom), and on all the earth. This judgment will come "because of
Jacob's transgression, because of the sins of the house of Israel" (1:5). And
the prophet lists their despicable sins, including fraud (2:2), theft (2:8),
greed (2:9), debauchery (2:11), oppression (3:3), hypocrisy (3:4), heresy (3:5),
injustice (3:9), extortion and lying (6:12), murder (7:2), and other offenses.
God's judgment will come.
In the mist of this overwhelming prediction of destruction, Micah gives hope
and consolation because he also describes God's love. The truth is that judgment
comes only after countless opportunities to repent, to turn back to true worship
and obedience-"to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God"
(6:8). But even in the mist of judgment, God promises to deliver the small
minority who have continued to follow him. He states, "Their king will pass
through before them, the LORD at their head" (2:13). The
king, of course, is Jesus; and we read in 5:2 that he will be born as a baby in
Bethlehem, and obscure Judean village.
As you read Micah, catch a glimpse of God's anger in action as he judges and
punishes sin. See God's love in action as he offers eternal life to all who
repent and believe. And then determine to join the faithful remnant of God's
people who live according to his will.
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Vital Statistics
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Purpose:
To warn God's people that judgment is coming and to offer pardon to all
who repent
Author:
Micah, a native of Moresheth, near Gath, about 20 miles southwest of
Jerusalem
To Whom Written:
The people of Israel (the northern kingdom) and of Judah (the southern
kingdom)
Date Written:
Possibly during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (742-687 B.C.)
Setting:
The political situation is described in 2Kings 15-20 and 2Chronicles
26-30. Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea.
Key Verse:
"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD
require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your
God" (6:8).
Key People:
The people of Samaria and Jerusalem
Key Places:
Samaria, Jerusalem, Bethlehem
Special Features:
This is a beautiful example of classical Hebrew poetry. There are three
parts, each beginning with "Here" or "Listen" (1:2; 3:1; 6:1) and closing with a
promise.
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The Blueprint
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1) The trial of the capitals (1:1-2:13)
2) The trial of the leaders (3:1-5:15)
3) The trial of the people (6:1-7:20)
Micah emphasized the need for justice and peace.
Like a lawyer, he set forth God's case against Israel and Judah, their leaders,
and their people. Throughout the book are prophecies about Jesus, the Messiah,
who will gather the people into one nation. He will be their king and ruler,
acting mercifully toward them. Micah makes it clear that God hates unkindness,
idolatry, injustice, and empty ritual-and he still hates these today. But God is
very willing to pardon the sins of any who repent.
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Megathemes
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Theme:
Perverting faith
Explanation:
God will judge the false prophets, dishonest leaders, and selfish
priests in Israel and Judah. While they publicly carried out religious
ceremonies, they were privately seeking to gain money and influence. To mix
selfish motives with an empty display of religion is to pervert faith.
Importance:
Don't try to mix your own selfish desires with true faith in God. One
day God will reveal how foolish it is to substitute anything for loyalty to him.
Coming up with your own private blend of religion will pervert your faith.
Theme:
Oppression
Explanation:
Micah predicted ruin for all nations and leaders who were oppressive
toward others. The upper classes oppressed and exploited the poor. Yet no one
was speaking against them or doing anything to stop them. God will not put up
with such injustice.
Importance:
We dare not ask God to help us while we ignore those who are needy and
oppressed, or while we silently condone the actions of those who oppress them.
Theme:
The Messiah-King of Peace
Explanation:
God promised to provide a new king to bring strength and peace to his
people. Hundreds of years before Christ's birth, God promised that the eternal
king would be born in Bethlehem. It was God's great plan to restore his people
through the Messiah.
Importance:
Christ our king leads us just as God promised. But until his final
judgment, his leadership is only visible among those who welcome his authority.
We can have God's peace now by giving up our sins and welcoming him as king.
Theme:
Pleasing God
Explanation:
Micah preached that God's greatest desire was not the offering of
sacrifices at the temple. God delights in faith that produces justice, love for
others, and obedience to him.
Importance:
True faith in God generates kindness, compassion, justice, and humility.
We can please God by seeking these results in our work, our family, our church,
and our neighborhood.
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(1) The trial of the capitals
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1) When did the word of the LORD
came to Micah, and what was the vision that he saw concerning?
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Micah and Isaiah lived at the same time,
about 750-680 B.C., and undoubtedly knew of each other. Micah directed his
message mainly to Judah, the southern kingdom, but he also had some words for
Israel, the northern kingdom. Judah was enjoying great prosperity at this time.
Of the three kings mentioned, Jotham (750-732) and Hezekiah (715-686) had tried
to follow God (2Kings 15:32-38; 18-20), but Ahaz (735-715) was one of the most
evil kings ever to reign in Judah (2Kings 16). Moresheth was a Judean village,
near Gath on the broader with Philistia.
2) Who did Micah tell to hear, who did Micah tell to listen, who did Micah say may witness against
them, and from where will the LORD
witness against them?
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The opening statement of the prophecy consists
of a summons to the nations to attend to the cosmic judgment scene so vividly
described by the prophet in the subsequent verses. It is clear that the summons
is directed to the nations.
Micah pictured God as coming from his dwelling place to "witness against"
the nations. This witness was effected in the cataclysmic destruction of the
cities of Samaria and Jerusalem. Micah, like Isaiah, saw the destiny of the
nations as integrally related to the destiny of God's people. He deftly
developed this theme throughout the prophecy. (NIV Bible Commentary, Zondervan
Publishers)
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Judgment Against Samaria and Jerusalem
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3) Whom did Micah say is coming from his
dwelling place, where does the LORD
tread, how do the mountains melt beneath him, and how do the valleys split apart?
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God's witness against the nations is depicted
in a vivid anthropomorphic scene in which God comes forth from heaven to tread
the high places of the earth and to bring about the destruction of Samaria and
Jerusalem. In this representation, the prophet illustrates that God is not only
transcendent above the world but immanent in it, and that he intervenes in
history to effect his will.
The term "high places" connotes several concepts. Aside from the basic
meaning, it was used of pagan religious sanctuaries (Jeremiah 7:31; Ezekiel
20:29), the place of security and protection (Daniel 32:13), and the place of
military advantage (Deuteronomy 33:29; Ezekiel 36:2). Apparently here Micah
envisioned God as the majestic Sovereign who steps from heaven into the course
of human events. Samaria and Jerusalem cannot stand before the might and power
of the Conqueror who strides across the heights of the earth and before whom the
pagan sanctuaries crumble as the mountains melt. The cataclysm that accompanied
God's intervention in history is described in terms of a violent storm or
earthquake (verse 4). The language is metaphorical and describes the intensity
of the destruction of Samaria and Jerusalem. (NIV Bible Commentary, Zondervan
Publishers)
4) What is the cause of all this judgment, what is Jacob's transgression, and what is Judah's high place?
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Jerusalem was the capital city of
Judah (the southern kingdom); Samaria was the capital city of Israel (the
northern kingdom). The destruction of Samaria was literally fulfilled during
Micah's lifetime, in 722 B.C. (2Kings 17:1-18), just as he had predicted.
There are two sins identified in Micah's message-the perversion of worship
(1:7; 3:5-7, 11; 5:12, 13) and injustice toward others (2:1, 2, 8, 9; 3:2, 3,
9-11; 7:2-6). Rampant in the capital cities, these sins infiltrated and infected
the entire country.
5) What will the LORD
make Samaria, what will Samaria be a place for, where will the LORD
pour her stones, and what will he lay bare?
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Samaria was to become a ruin, a place with
vineyards planted on her sloping sides amid the stones of her ruined buildings.
The expression "lay bare her foundations" may echo the use of the word for
uncovering one's nakedness (Leviticus 20:11, 17-18, 20-21), a term used in the
Old Testament of prostitution (Ezekiel 16:36; 23:18) and lewdness (2Samuel 6:20;
Hosea 2:10). The imagery of the harlot appears where the wages Samaria received
from the practice of prostitution referred to is idolatry, which the Old
Testament consistently regards as spiritual fornication. (NIV Bible Commentary,
Zondervan Publishers)
6) What will happen to all of Samaria's idols, what will happen to all her temple gifts, what will the LORD
destroy, how did Samaria gather her gifts, and how will they again be used?
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The word translated "temple gifts" seems out
of place in a sequence describing the destruction of idols and may reflect a
Semitic root meaning "resemble"; hence it may refer to an image or idol. But the
same word also connotes payment to a harlot, and Micah used the same word later
in this verse (translated "the wages of prostitutes"). The wealth that accrued
to Samaria from her idolatry would be taken away from her to be used again for
the wages of prostitution-i.e., the invading Assyrians would transfer the wealth
of Samaria to their own temples where it would again be used for idolatrous
worship. (NIV Bible Commentary, Zondervan Publishers)
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Weeping and Mourning
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7) Because of all that was going to happen to
Samaria, what did Micah say he would do, where has Samaria's incurable wound come to, and where has Samaria's incurable wound
reached?
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The prophet next laments the destruction of
the great metropolis of Samaria by representing himself as wailing and going
about unclothed as a sign of mourning. The judgment on Samaria was like an
incurable wound, i.e., it was irreversible. But in its malignant course it had
come to Jerusalem as well. (NIV Bible Commentary, Zondervan Publishers)
Samaria's sins were incurable, and God's judgment on the city had already
begun. This sin was not like a gash in the skin, but more like a stab wound in a
vital organ, causing an injury that would soon prove fatal (Samaria was, in
fact, destroyed early in Micah's ministry). Tragically, Samaria's sin had
influenced Jerusalem, and judgment would come to its very gates. This probably
refers to Sennacherib's siege in 701 B.C. (see 2Kings 18,19).
8) Where does Micah say not to tell about
God's judgment, what does Micah tell them not to do, where does Micah tell them to roll in the
dust, whom did Micah tell to pass on in nakedness
and shame, who will not come out, who is in mourning, and what did Micah say was taken from
them?
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The phrase "Tell it not in Gath" is reflective
of David's lament at Saul's death (2Samuel 1:20). It warns the people not to
weep lest the inhabitants of Gath, a Philistine city, learn of their impending
destruction. In Beth Ophrah ("house of dust") the inhabitants are to roll in the
dust as a sign of mourning (Job 16:15; Isaiah 47:1).
The people of Shaphir ("beautiful," "fair," "pleasant") are to experience
something quite the opposite of what the name of their town means; they are to
be reduced to shame and dishonor. Those who live in Zaanan ("come out") will not
be able to come out from their city. Beth Ezel is unknown to us. The word 'etsel
means "beside," "contiguous to." We may paraphrase the name Beth Ezel as
"nearby house." Perhaps the town was in close proximity to Jerusalem. That's its
"standing place" was to be taken away may indicate that this town would cease to
exist. Thus a buffer between Jerusalem and the invading armies would be removed.
(NIV Bible Commentary, Zondervan Publishers)
9) Why do those who live in Maroth writher in
pain waiting for relief, what does Micah tell those living in Lachish
to do, who was the beginning of sin, what was found in Lachish, who will Lachish give parting gifts to, and who will prove deceptive to the kings of
Israel?
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The wailing is "because" Maroth
("bitter") will also endure God's punishment. All this is because God will
punish his people, including Jerusalem.
The inhabitants of Lachish are to harness the team to the chariot and are to
flee the coming destruction like steeds. The significance of Moresheth is
difficult to determine. Its name in Hebrew is somewhat similar in sound to the
word for "betrothed" and, since "parting gifts" were given to brides as dowries
(1Kings 9:16), possibly the name was intended to connote that the town was soon
to be parted from Judah as a bride parts from her family.
Aczib ("deception") will prove to be a deception to Judah. The word is used
of a stream that has dried up (Jeremiah 15:18); so this city will cease to
exist. (NIV Bible Commentary, Zondervan Publishers)
10) What will the LORD
bring against those who live in Mareshah, who will come to Adullam, why did Micah tell them to shave their heads
in mourning, and where will the children go?
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The terrain surrounding Adullam had numerous
caves. Micah was warning that when the enemy approached, Judah's proud princes
would be forced to flee and hide in these caves.
Micah pictured the devastating sorrow of parents seeing their children taken
away to be slaves in a distant land. This happened frequently in both Israel and
Judah, most horribly when each nation was completely conquered-Israel in 722
B.C. and Judah in 586 B.C.
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Answers Micah Chapter One
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1) During the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and
Hezekiah, kings of Judah...Samaria and Jerusalem
2) people, all of them...earth and all who are in it...the Sovereign LORD...his holy temple
3) The LORD...the high places of the earth...like wax before the fire...like water rushing down a slope
4) Jacob's transgressions, the sins of the house
of Judah...Samaria...Jerusalem
5) a heap of rubble...planting vineyards...into the valley...her foundations
6) they will be broken to pieces...they will be burned with fire...all her images...from the wages of prostitutes...as the wages of prostitutes
7) weep and wail, go about barefoot and naked,
howl like a jackal, moan like an owl...Judah...the very gates of God's people, even to Jerusalem
8) in Gath...weep...in Beth Ophrah...you who live in Shaphir...those who live in Zaanan...Beth Ezel...its protection
9) because disaster has come from the LORD,
even to the gate of Jerusalem...harness the team to the chariot...the daughter of Zion...the transgressions of Israel...Moresheth Gath...the town of Aczib
10) a conqueror...he who is the glory of Israel...for the children in whom they delight...into exile
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Taken from the NIV Life Application Study
Bible, Zondervan Publishers
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