Micah
Major Points From The Minor Prophets
Pastor Brandon Ball
10/18/2023
Micah - The Cause of Calamity
Preface
Revival rarely outlasts a generation and thus there is poetic significance in the fact that Micah follows Jonah. As the echoes of the book of Jonah die away, the Ninevites are in sackcloth and ashes, humbling themselves under the mighty hand of God. But by the time Micah writes his prophecy, the Assyrians have gone back to their warlike, wicked ways and the king of the north is on the march.
Nineveh had thrown off its sackcloth and ashes to become the tyrant and terror of the world.
When Micah picked up his pen, Samaria’s doom was assured. Nor could godly King Hezekiah sufficiently stem the tide of apostasy in Judah to save his land entirely from the savagery of Assyrian invasion.
Micah was a younger contemporary of the great prophet Isaiah.
We know nothing about him except that he was a Morasthite and that he prophesied during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
Micah was primarily a prophet to Judah, although Samaria fell briefly within his line of vision. He indicated that Samaria’s doom was inescapable because “her wound [was] incurable” (1:9)—and her doom came, just as Micah had predicted. After his pronouncement about Samaria, he concentrated on Judah.
Micah could see that Judah, as surely as Israel, would come under God’s lash, but his vision was not restricted to imminent retribution. In the dim and distant future, he saw hope. Ruin was on the way, but so was redemption and the reign of a coming King.
In spite of King Hezekiah’s efforts to reform the religious life of Judah, idolatry survived; it was the root of all the evil flourishing in the land. The nation’s leaders remained proud, unscrupulous, and cruel. They were addicted to luxury and careless of the civil rights of the common people. Practical unbelief coexisted with the outward worship of Jehovah. Organized hostility to God’s prophets was emerging. False prophets began to exert a disastrous influence, a trend that came to a head a century later in the days of Jeremiah. Micah himself suffered at the hands of the false prophets.
The prophecies of Micah were not readily accepted by many of his contemporaries, but later they were quoted as authoritative (Jeremiah 26:17–19). He began where he was—in a nation ripening fast for judgment. His themes were retribution, restoration, and repentance.
Under Jotham, luxury reigned. His great ambition was to build palaces in Jerusalem and make the city impregnable. The fact that he accomplished his goals at the expense of the poor peasants did not concern him at all. Under Ahaz and his senseless foreign policy, Judah was forced to pay tribute to Assyria. Under Hezekiah, Jerusalem became a cauldron of intrigue. Some factions favored an alliance with Egypt; other factions advised abject submission to Assyria. Injustice was rampant and lust for money and power sapped the last vestiges of spiritual and moral values. Godly King Hezekiah could not stem the tide.
I. The
(3:1–4)
Rulers and Prophets Denounced
1 And I said:
Hear, you heads of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel!
Is it not for you to know justice?—
2 you who hate the good and love the evil,
who tear the skin from off my people
and their flesh from off their bones,
3 who eat the flesh of my people,
and flay their skin from off them,
and break their bones in pieces
and chop them up like meat in a pot,
like flesh in a cauldron.
4 Then they will cry to the LORD,
but he will not answer them;
he will hide his face from them at that time,
because they have made their deeds evil. —Micah 3:1–4 (ESV)In his stirring book, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens described in many graphic passages the plight of poor Parisians on the eve of the French revolution. He also told of the wealth and extravagance of the idle rich, who had little or no pity for the poor.
But Micah’s message is not in favor of a “social justice” as our world now hears about.
- God’s chosen form of government was originally a theocracy.
- God’s people, in dissatisfaction and jealousy, would cry out for a monarchy.
- In either way, God’s people were to be led with justice and the truth of His Word.
This was not the case, and in fact, the political leadership was corrupt and led with injustice.
Micah turned his angry gaze toward the capital where the “heads of Jacob” and the “princes of the house of Israel” (3:1) lived in the lap of luxury, on money sweat out of the poor. The prophet compared the princes to a cook who had a chicken in his hand. With deft fingers accustomed to the task, the cook stripped off the skin. Then with a sharp knife he cut off the edible meat. Not wanting to waste anything, he chopped up the bones and put them in the pot. Like ancient Shylocks, the princes wanted their full pound of flesh. They fleeced the poor and, scraping them to the bone, stripped away everything they had.
Micah could see that the scales of divine justice were already being tilted to redress these wrongs. He warned that retribution was on the way:
“Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them” . —(Micah 3:4)Hope would not come through political policy or reform in Micah’s day, and it certainly will not come in our day.
Hope would and will always come through a people who repent and turn toward God!
II. The
(2:1–13)
Having pointed out national apostasy, Micah turned to the subject of national immorality. He called attention to social sins but also the unbecoming behavior within His people.
a. The
(2:1–5) Woe to the Oppressors
1 Woe to those who devise wickedness
and work evil on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
because it is in the power of their hand.
2 They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
a man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says the LORD:
behold, against this family I am devising disaster,
from which you cannot remove your necks,
and you shall not walk haughtily,
for it will be a time of disaster.
4 In that day they shall take up a taunt song against you
and moan bitterly,
and say, “We are utterly ruined;
he changes the portion of my people;
how he removes it from me!
To an apostate he allots our fields.”
5 Therefore you will have none to cast the line by lot
in the assembly of the LORD. —Micah 2:1–5 (ESV)
Among the people bringing on the calamity were those who at night lay awake making plans to do wickedness and in the morning bounded from their beds to execute those plans. No one had the power to stop them. Micah knew of such men. He knew men who coveted fields and houses, schemed to get the property by fair means or by foul, and succeeded in their nefarious enterprises.
While Isaiah was concerned about the corrupt politics of the capital, Micah was concerned about the social wrongs of the province. He knew avaricious (greedy) landlords and oppressed peasants. He knew men like Ahab, who coveted Naboth’s vineyard. He knew men who used the same oppressive, highhanded methods that Ahab and Jezebel used to rob the helpless of their heritage.
Anyone who studies the minor prophets must be impressed by God’s hatred of social injustice and crime. Many of God’s laws are designed to protect the vulnerable, and Micah was quick to threaten His judgment on people who scorned those laws.
The “robbers” are the people group who intentionally do wrong and disregard God’s people.
Their hearts are set against true holiness.b. The
(2:6–7) 6 “Do not preach”—thus they preach—
“one should not preach of such things;
disgrace will not overtake us.”
7 Should this be said, O house of Jacob?
Has the LORD grown impatient?
Are these his deeds?
Do not my words do good
to him who walks uprightly? —Micah 2:6–7 (ESV)
There was an immediate reaction against Micah’s prophecy of divine retribution. People in places of influence denounced him as a meddler and accused him of talking nonsense. Wrapped in their insular power and pride, they confidently believed that “it can’t happen here.” After all, they were of the house of Jacob. Their boast was that they were called Israel.
In a later age John the Baptist denounced the same spirit: “Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father” (Matthew 3:9; also see John 8:39–40) John’s point of course was that the boast was empty. Those who relied on their heritage as Abraham’s children had long since ceased to be his children in spirit.
Likewise in contemporary society people imagine that because they mouth certain slogans or because they are heirs to the Judeo-Christian ethic, they are strong, when in fact their strength has been eroded by their departure from the spirit of the slogans and ethic. Prophets who expose the fallacy of such fond illusions are never popular.c. The
(2:8–9) 8 But lately my people have risen up as an enemy;
you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly
with no thought of war.
9 The women of my people you drive out
from their delightful houses;
from their young children you take away
my splendor forever. —Micah 2:8–9 (ESV)
Micah turned on his critics and said in effect, “You are the foes of my people.” Speaking as the voice of God, he accused them of beggaring folks and violently stripping off the coats and undergarments of peaceable citizens when they were off their guard. By oppressing the people, those in authority were actually declaring war on God. Particularly provocative to Him was the unscrupulous greed that resulted in women and children being thrown out of their homes.d. The
(2:10–11) 10 Arise and go,
for this is no place to rest,
because of uncleanness that destroys
with a grievous destruction.
11 If a man should go about and utter wind and lies,
saying, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,”
he would be the preacher for this people! —Micah 2:10–11 (ESV)
Micah saw rich men twisting the law to suit themselves and quieting their consciences by relying on the words of hireling prophets who opposed him. These false prophets were telling the oppressors what they wanted “to hear: namely, that God would not punish their wicked behavior.
Micah sarcastically referred to the lifestyle of these lying prophets in Micah 2:11. The King James translation reads, “If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.” These prophets, whose words were of the same value as a drunkard’s babbling, were just what the wicked scorners of God’s true messenger deserved.e. The
(2:12–13) 12 I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob;
I will gather the remnant of Israel;
I will set them together
like sheep in a fold,
like a flock in its pasture,
a noisy multitude of men.
13 He who opens the breach goes up before them;
they break through and pass the gate,
going out by it.
Their king passes on before them,
the LORD at their head. —Micah 2:12–13 (ESV)
There was a godly remnant in Judah and the most prominent spokesman of this believing minority was King Hezekiah. There will always be a godly remnant. Contemplation of this remnant encouraged Micah to switch suddenly to a promise for the future. His vision leaped over the ages and he saw the endtime blessing of a regathered remnant of both Israel and Judah.
Micah, who was fond of pastoral imagery, saw this remnant as “the sheep of Bozrah” (2:12), a district noted for its rich pasturelands (2 Kings 3:4). He heard the noise of a large crowd of people and saw, going before them, “the breaker” (2:13). The Messiah is the One who clears the way. Just as He marched ahead of His people when they came out of Egypt into the promised land, so He will march ahead of them in a coming day. He will clear out of their way the beast, the false prophet, and the massed armies of the world.
III. The
(3:5–12)
a. The
Prophets (3:5–7) 5 Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray,
who cry “Peace”
when they have something to eat,
but declare war against him
who puts nothing into their mouths.
6 Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,
and darkness to you, without divination.
The sun shall go down on the prophets,
and the day shall be black over them;
7 the seers shall be disgraced,
and the diviners put to shame;
they shall all cover their lips,
for there is no answer from God. —Micah 3:5–7 (ESV)
Wicked men can usually find a religion that will accommodate their sins. In Micah’s day false prophets were willing to say whatever their patrons wanted to hear—as long as there was adequate remuneration. The establishment wanted to hear “Peace” (3:5), so the prophets said “Peace” even though Assyria, the superpower to the north, was eyeing Judah. These lying prophets have a legion of heirs in the world today.
They “bite with their teeth,” wrote Micah. The word translated “bite” was generally used to describe the bite of a poisonous snake, so Micah was saying that the false prophets were as treacherous as serpents. What came out of their mouths was deadly poison.
As a result of listening to their lies, the land would face unrelieved darkness. Micah could see the approaching darkness and the prophets themselves groping blindly in it. The people who had been so fond of them would turn at last in utter desperation to God. But there would be “no answer of God” (3:7). There would be nothing but a terrible silence. God would ignore those who for so long had ignored and insulted Him.b. The
Prophet (3:8–12) 8 But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of the LORD,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression
and to Israel his sin.
9 Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel,
who detest justice
and make crooked all that is straight,
10 who build Zion with blood
and Jerusalem with iniquity.
11 Its heads give judgment for a bribe;
its priests teach for a price;
its prophets practice divination for money;
yet they lean on the LORD and say,
“Is not the LORD in the midst of us?
No disaster shall come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you
Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height. —Micah 3:8–12 (ESV)
Attributes of a true prophet (Man of God):Filled with “power”/ “Spirit of the Lord” (Acts 1:8)
Leads with “Justice” and “Might”
Declares the “Transgression” and “Sin” of the people he is called to lead.