The Book of Micah
Lecture Notes from
Minor Prophets of the Old Testament
Introduction to Micah
I. Who was Micah?
1. His name (hk;ymi =Micah) means “Who is
like Yahweh?” (Probably short for Micaiah.) Part of his message is that only
Yahweh is God. He alone is sovereign.
2. He is
from Moresheth, a small town about 25 miles SW of Jerusalem.
II. When did he preach?
1. He
preached during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, & Hezekiah—742-686.
2. He
probably preached from about 725 until 700, but maybe a little before or after
that.
a.
1:2-7 contains reference to Samaria, which fell in 722.
b. 1:10-16 contains what appears
to be a description of military action, probably by Sennacherib in 701.
c. Jeremiah 26:18 tells us that
Micah announced the judgment against Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah,
i.e. probably 701.
3. What was
it like:
a.
Worship was perverted:
--Prophets
& priests worked for profit.
--Idol
worship
b.
Oppression of the poor
--Separation
of the rich & poor
--Unethical
merchants
--Lack
of justice
III. Where did he preach?
--Almost certainly he preached
primarily in Jerusalem:
--Frequent
mention of Zion & Jerusalem.
--Preached
against Judah (except a couple of references to Israel).
--Preached
against the rulers, prophets, etc., who were primarily in Jerusalem.
--This makes him a contemporary of
Isaiah.
IV. What was his message?
--Judgment
is coming. Why?
--Sin,
Rebellion, Iniquity
--Covenant—God
hold His people accountable
--A remnant
will survive—Hope for the future
V. The Book of Micah:
I. 1:1— Superscription
II.
1:2-2:13 Judgment & Hope
A.
Call to Judgment
B.
Hope for the Remnant
III.
3:1-5:15 Judgment & Hope
A.
Judgment on the Leaders of Judah
B.
Hope for the Remnant after Judgment
IV.
6:1-7:20 Judgment & Hope
A.
Judgment on God’s People
B.
Hope in God’s Compassion
Micah 1-3
1:1--Introduction
MIC 1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth during
the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah--the vision he saw
concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
“Vision he
saw”—
--Prophets are
often called “seers”
--They “see” the
Word of the Lord.
--This points to the visionary
aspect of the prophetic ministry. In essence, the “word” is something that the
prophet can visualize & then proclaim to his/her audience.
1:2-16—The Coming Judgment
1:2-7—God’s
impending judgment
1:2—A
summons to hear the prophetic word.
--The
Message: “The Lord Yahweh” is coming as a witness against His people.
--He
is coming from His holy temple (cf. Amos 1:2)
1:3-7—Judgment
is coming
--The
Lord Himself will come to the earth.
--Total
destruction:
--Mountains
melt
--Valleys
split apart
--The
will melt like wax
--They
will be gone like a flood on a hill.
--Jacob’s
Transgression:
--Samaria
--Judah’s
High Place:
--Jerusalem
--These cities are the sin of the
nation. This is where the people go to engage in sin & Baal worship.
--The
judgment:
--The
city will become rubble.
--Idols
will be destroyed
--The “harlot’s hire” will return
to “harlot’s hire.” They received their riches by chasing after foreign gods,
perhaps in literal prostitution, at least in worship. Their riches will now
revert to use by foreign people, i.e. “harlot’s hire.”
1:8-16—The
Prophet’s Lament
--1:8-9--The Prophet’s Reaction to
judgment
--1:10-16—Warning
of Judgment
--List of cities, apparently on
the road of conquest by a conquering king. Each city has a symbolic meaning,
sometimes only based on sound.
--Gath=”tell”—“Tell
it not in ‘tell’.”
--Beth Ophrah=”House of
dust”—“Roll in the dust (in mourning) in ‘House of Dust.’”
--Shaphir=”Pleasant”—“Those in
‘Pleasant’ will be put to shame.
--Zaanan=”Go out”—“Those in ‘Go
out’ will not go out to battle.”
--Beth Ezel=”House that is
near”—“The one that is near (suggesting refuge/help) will have no protection.
--Maroth=”bitter”—“Those in
‘Bitter’ will be in pain w/o relief.”
--Lachish=”team (of
horses)”—“Those in ‘Team of Horses’ will hitch up the chariot, but will be
defeated.” Lachish was traditionally the final major city conquered before the
invading army came against Jerusalem.
--Moresheth Gath=”dowry”—“Those in
‘dowry’ will depart,” i.e. as a bride leave her home.
--Aczib=”deception”—“Those in
‘Deception’ will deceive Israel,” i.e. be no help.
--Mareshah=”conqueror”—“Those in
‘Conqueror’ will be conquered.”
--Adullam—The place where David
hid from Saul. The Glory of the Lord, i.e. the Lord Himself, will be removed to
hide in a cave.
Be prepared to mourn. You will go
into exile.
2:1-11—Woe to the Oppressors!
--2:1-5—Woe
to the land-grabbers
--The rich plot at night how they
will steal property the next day. They steal the inheritance from their
countrymen.
--But they, too, will lose their
inheritance! They will mourn because they have lost what they have stolen. It
will be stolen from them as they stole it from others.
--2:6-11—False
Prophets
--They
command that Micah stop prophesying.
--They deny that evil will come.
They are standing on a theological principle that God will not allow His own
people to be destroyed.
--Micah defends his prophecy
against the evils of the people, i.e. vv 1-5.
--The kind of prophecy they want
is “I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer”! They have fooled
themselves. They only want good words, when their action have earned words of
judgment.
2:12-13—Word of Hope
--A “remnant” will return from
exile. The theology of a remnant is common in OT prophecy. God will judge His
people, but He will not abandon them completely. There will be a remnant of the
people for the future.
--Yahweh himself will lead them
back from exile, just like He brought the judgment in 1:3.
3:1-12—Judgment on Rulers & Prophets
3:1-4—The rulers are singled out
for condemnation because they should have known better.
--They knew
the true meaning of justice, but they disregarded it.
--Rather
than doing the good, they hated it…. And they loved evil.
That
evil is exploiting the people, i.e.
“… tear the skin off my people,
and the flesh off their bones;
3 who eat the flesh of my people,
flay their skin off them,
break their bones in pieces,
and chop them up like meat in a kettle,
like flesh in a caldron.[1]
--This is a total disregard for
the people, the very people they should have been leading. They were doing the
opposite of their responsibility. They were responsible to stop people from
exploiting those less fortunate, but instead they themselves were doing the
exploitation.
--Because of this, a time of
judgment will come when God will not hear their cry for help. He will disregard
the leaders of Judah just like they disregard those they exploit.
3:5-8—The prophets are also singled
out because they had the responsibility of hearing & proclaiming God’s word
to His people.
--Rather
than lead the people to God, the prophets have led them astray.
--They preach “peace” to the one
who gives them food, but preach against those who do not, lit. “wage war
against.”
--Therefore, the prophets &
seers will no longer hear from God.
--Instead
of seeing the “light” from God, they will see only darkness.
--Instead
of a word, there will be only silence.
--Thus, they will be disgraced
because they can no longer do their job (which, of course, they were not really
doing anyway).
--cf.
with the “famine for God’s Word” in Amos 8.
--On the other hand, Micah is:
--Filled
with power & the “Spirit of the Lord”
--Filled
with justice & might
--Able
to proclaim “rebellion/transgression” & “sin.”
--“Rebellion/Transgression”-[v'p,,
suggests conscience rebellion against God’s standards, i.e. the law.
--“Sin”-taf;j'--A
generic term, often seen to refer to a “missing of the mark,” i.e. not living
up to God’s standards. But this can be over-emphasized. The term can also mean
sin or rebellion.
3:9-12—The
leaders are again denounced:
--The
despise justice
--They
build up Jerusalem with bloodshed & wickedness, lit.?
--Rather
they judge for a bribe
--The
priests teach for a price
--The prophets perform divination
for money. (“Perform divination” was a normal activity for prophets in the ANE.
This was done with extipicy, augury, hepatoscopy, or other means.)
--They proclaim, “God is in our
midst.” This was the theology called the “inviolability of Jerusalem,” i.e.
Jerusalem is God’s city & will never be destroyed. It was a common belief
in Judah, as seen in the prophecies of Micah, Isaiah, & Jeremiah, thus
spanning more than a century.
--Because of their sin, Jerusalem
& the temple will be destroyed!
4:1-5:15—Zion’s Hope
4:1-5—The Mountain of the Lord
--“The Mountain of the Lord”=Temple Mount=Mount
Zion=Jerusalem—
--Here is symbolizes the place
where God dwells among His people.
--The prophecy refers to a time
when Yahweh’s mountain, i.e. Yahweh himself, will be exalted to a place where
people from all nations will come to Him. As Smith notes, this is in essence a
reversal of the curse at Babel.
--“Many nations” will:
--Come
to Yahweh
--Learn
from Him
--“Walk in His paths,” i.e. they
will see Yahweh as the true God and will desire to know & follow Him.
--NOTE: Yahweh Himself will do the
teaching. It is a time when the people will learn directly from Yahweh, without
a mediator, i.e. no mention of priesthood or even prophet. This is similar to
the “New Covenant” prophecy of Jeremiah, where Yahweh will change the hearts of
His people so that they can know & follow Him.
CHARACTERISTICS:
--The
law/Word of the Lord will “go out.”
--Yahweh will serve as judge for
the entire world. Of course, He has always been the judge, but now the
implication is that all nations will acknowledge His lordship over the nations.
--No war—“swords into plowshares,”
“spears into pruning hooks”—There will no longer even be armies, or the need
for them.
--There will be true peace, w/o
fear, i.e. “every man under his own vine & fig tree.”
--These verses must be seen as a
description of the eschatological, or messianic, kingdom, even though that term
is not used here. This is looking forward to a time of unparalleled blessing,
which will be brought by Yahweh himself, not by an earthly, human king.
--v. 5—The present situation—A
confession that Yahweh’s people will choose to follow Him. We should probably
see this as based on the previous verses, i.e. because He will reign supreme in
the future, we will choose to follow Him now.
--Micah 4:1-3=Isaiah 2:1-4 (see
handout)
--Why the identical passage in both
books?
1.
Isaiah copied from Micah
2.
Micah copied from Isaiah
3.
Micah & Isaiah used an existing oracle
4.
A later redactor placed the oracle in one or both books
--I opt for #3, that both prophets
used an existing oracle, although the identical nature does not rule out #1 or
#2.
4:6-13—Restoration after judgment
--vv. 6-8—This is a promise that
the lame, exiled, & grieving will be restored. Yahweh will gather them as a
remnant to Zion=Jerusalem. The city will be restored to power with the Lord as
ruler.
--vv. 9-10—Satirically describes
the nation weeping without a leader.
--But like a woman in labor, the
pain will one day cease & they will be restored/redeemed.
--vv. 11-13—Contrasts the present
state in subjection to foreign nations to the future restoration when the
riches of the nations will be devoted to Yahweh.
5:1-5a—The Promised Ruler from Bethlehem
--v.
1—Israel will be defeated and it’s ruler put to shame.
--v. 2—A
future ruler will come from Bethlehem, not from Jerusalem!
--This
ruler is “from ancient times, even from eternity.”
--Could this describe an earthly,
human king? Not in my mind.
--This should be seen as a
messianic prophecy. It follows on the promises of a universal kingdom in Micah
4. This seems to be an ideal, messianic kingdom.
--However, it could be seen as a
reference to David’s monarchy from Bethlehem, chosen from eternity by Yahweh.
Micah would then be looking to the reestablishment of David’s kingdom after the
exile.
--3-5a—An elaboration on the
promise of a future leader. Israel will be abandoned by Yahweh until the time
of the future king is born (cf. (Is. 7:14).
--He
will rule in Yahweh’s strength.
--He will bring peace, lit. “And
this one will be peace.” This partial verse may introduce the next section as
the promise of peace to come.
5:5b-15—Judgment & Deliverance
--vv. 5-6—The Assyrian menace will
end in deliverance,
--or does this refer to a time of
deliverance following judgment. If so, then the chronology is off, because the
Babylonians, not the Assyrians, were the source of judgment for Judah (no
called Israel).
--vv.
7-9—The remnant in the midst of the nations, i.e. in the exile/judgment, will
be:
--like the dew, is this symbolic
for blessing or judgment. Judgment would fit the context, but dew is usually
seen as a blessing (i.e. God’s coming as the dew in Hosea).
--Like the lion, defeating their enemies.
This would point to deliverance from captivity.
--vv.
10-13—The prophet describes the destruction of :
--Military
strength
--Fortresses
--False
worship.
--This probably refers to Israel
& the nations, i.e. v. 15b. After the exile Israel never struggled with
idolatry again. This should probably be ultimately connected to the oracles of
messianic peace in ch. 4.
Micah 6-7
6:1-16—The Lord’s Judgment (rib byr)
--6:1-8—The
Lord presents His case
--This is a rib passage.
Yahweh calls upon Israel to present her case & then presents His own case.
All three highlighted words below represent the Hebrew word rib, the 1st
as a verb & the 2nd two as a noun.
Micah 6:1
“Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
And let the
hills hear your voice.
2 “Listen, you mountains, to
the indictment of the Lord,
And you
enduring foundations of the earth,
Because the Lord has a case against
His people;
Even
with Israel He will dispute.[2]
--The Lord’s case:
1.
He delivered them from slavery in Egypt.
2.
He gave them Moses, Aaron, & Miriam as godly leaders.
3.
He blessed them in the wilderness, i.e. Balaam.
4.
He brought them across the Jordan River, i.e. Shittim to Gilgal.
--The prophet’s response:
--What is a proper response to
what Yahweh has done? Burnt offerings? Rivers of oil? My firstborn?
--NO! He has shown His people what
he requires:
--“Do
justice”—Live with justice to all people.
--“Love
mercy/kindness/devotion”—They are to love chesed, i.e. be completely
devoted to Yahweh.
--“Walk humbly/wisely with your
God”—This is true worship, letting God lead in His wisdom. This is what God
requires! (Note Snaith’s quote in Smith, p. 52.)
6:9-16—Yahweh’s
Judgment
--He
will no longer acquit those who:
--Have
used dishonest scales
--Have
used “a short ephah,” i.e. false measures.
--Have
acquired riches dishonestly.
--Thus he will, in fact has begun
to, judge them. They will be hungry & will not enjoy the fruits of their
(dishonest) labor.
--They have followed in the
practices of Omri & Ahab & likewise will come to ruin. Omri and Ahab’s
practices greatly affected both Israel & Judah because of intermarriage and
military cooperation (although it may have been forced by Ahab).
7:1-6—God’s Visitation
--The prophet (or another individual)
looks throughout the land for a righteous person, i.e. good fruit. All he finds
is evil, and the good have been removed, forced out or corrupted?
--Look at the sins:
--They wait to shed blood—“Blood” may
be metaphorical for the things that he needed, i.e. material goods.
--The ruler & judge receive
bribes.
--The “great one,” i.e. the
powerful, demands whatever he wants. All of the leaders conspire together.
--They are like a brier or thorn
bush. They offer nothing good, only pain & destruction.
--Even immediate family members
cannot be trusted.
--v. 4b--God will visit His people,
like the “Day of the Lord” in Amos. The Lord has been watching & now will
come in judgment.
7:7-13—Restoration after Judgment
--v. 7—The prophet expresses his
trust in Yahweh.
--He will wait for
the Lord’s deliverance.
--He knows that God will hear
him.
--(This verse may go with the
previous oracle. It is a transition verse that could go with either.)
vv. 8-13—The prophet (as a liturgy
for the people?) proclaims that God will come to restore the destroyed city,
probably Jerusalem. At the same time He will destroy her enemies. In fact, the
enemy lands will be completely desolate. (This is probably poetic &
hyperbolic.)
7:14-20—Prayer & Praise
--vv. 14-17—These verses are a
prayer that God would care for his people and that their enemies will be
destroyed.
--vv. 18-20—These verses are a
doxology or benediction, hymn?
--“Who
is a God like you?”—a play on Micah’s name. There is no one like God!
--Why? He pardons & forgives
sin, transgression, & iniquity. (The latter is a general wickedness that
carries with it the connotation of guilt.) God removes sin completely!
--Instead of judgment, God will
show “truth” and “mercy/steadfast love” (chesed) to His people.
They failed to
love chesed,
but Yahweh will give them chesed
anyway, because
He is a God of
compassion &
He is faithful to His covenant
with their forefathers Jacob & Abraham.
See John 1:17, where “grace & truth come through Jesus
Christ.”