OT: Micah
Micah marks the half-way point in our journey through the minor prophets. It is the sixth book of the twelve. It also marks the end of a section. We’ll talk more about that in a minute First let’s talk about the book itself, the man who wrote it, and its place in history.
Micah, the prophet, is from the town of Moresheth, located in NorthWestern Judah, 22 miles SouthWest of Jerusalem, and only 5 miles from the border with Philistia.
Micah prophesied during the reigns of three kings of Judah, the Southern Kingdom, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. During this same time in the Northern Kingdom, there are 5 or 6 kings in quick succession and then the Assyrian captivity.
You’ll remember that the prophet Isaiah prophesied during the reign of king Hezekiah and interacted with him directly. Micah has no direct interaction with the king, although his prophecy does influence Hezekiah, as we’ll see in a minute.
The dates for the writing of the book offer a clear example of the difficulty of such a task. Chapter 1 was obviously written before the fall of Samaria. Possibly as early as 750 BC, the beginning of Jotham’s reign, but more likely sometime during the reign of Ahaz.
Chapters 2-5 appear to have been written while Hezekiah was king, but before his reforms were complete sometime around 714 BC. Since no mention is made of Samaria in these chapters, it is likely that the Assyrian conquest of 723/722 BC has taken place by the time Micah penned these words. This would place the writing of chapters 2-5 sometime between the years 722 and 714 BC.
Some scholars believe the last two chapters were written later, under the reign of Manasseh, but Micah gives no indication that he prophesied during that king’s reign, and that would require a lifespan and prophetic career of extreme proportions. If written during the time of Hezekiah, the last king Micah mentions, they would have been written no later than 699 BC.
And so we have writings which Micah produced over the course of his lifetime/career spanning as much as 50 years. It is more likely the case that Micah did not prophecy during this entire period, but rather began sometime during the 16 year reign of Jotham, continued through the 16 years of Ahaz, and completed his work sometime during the 29 year reign of Hezekiah. It was during the 14th year of Hezekiah’s rule that Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, sent his armies to confront Hezekiah. This was the confrontation that lead to the angel killing 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night (
35 And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. (ESV)
). Since it appears that Hezekiah’s reforms are complete by this time (714 BC), Micah’s writings could have been completed anytime after that. Assuming a few years after this event to complete his work, Micah’s career could have been as short as 35 years, or as long as 50.
Micah’s place in the minor prophets is to act as a summary of all that has come before. Remember we said the prophet had three jobs.
- Expose sin
- Announce judgment
- Give hope
The first 6 prophets, ending with Micah’s summary, are focused primarily on that first job of exposing sin.
Hosea exposed the people’s covenant unfaithfulness.
Joel exposed their indifference and apathy toward their sin.
Amos exposed their hypocrisy and lack of social justice.
Obadiah gave us a picture of how not to love your neighbor.
Jonah exposed the people’s own lack of compassion for, and prejudice toward others.
Micah is literally going to call attention to all of that and more. His message sounds much like a prosecuting attorney giving his closing statement.
The book can be divided into three sections,
(1-2) Statement against the capitals of each kingdom
(3-5) Statement against the leaders of Judah
(6-7) Statement against the people
Each segment begins with the word “Hear.”
Over the course of the book, Micah does offer some hope for redemption in the future, and we’ll look at that, but he seems to be saying that judgment is inevitable at this point. Though the judgment against Judah does get delayed by a few years due to one godly leader’s actions. I’m getting ahead of myself.
Statement against the capitals
Beginning in chapter 1, Micah begins to summarize the case against the nations by accusing the capital cities of their sins.
1:5 Micah targets the capital cities.
1:6-7 Micah lays out the case against Samaria. It’s a familiar one by this point. The people have been unfaithful to the covenant, they have committed idolatry, spiritual adultery against Yaweh.
1:9 He says that the sin has spread to Judah as well.
Notice also the “incurable” nature of this sin. Judgment cannot be avoided any longer.
Chapter 1 takes the form of a poem, with a lot of Hebrew word play being lost on us in translation.
Chapter 2 begins with more accusations, this time of greed, oppression, and stealing.
2:1-2
2:3 Again he says the judgment is unavoidable.
Next he accuses them of more sins.
2:6 False prophecy
2:8-9 social injustice
2:11 again with following false prophets/teachers
Statement against the leaders of Judah
Micah now turns his accusations specifically against the nation’s leaders.
3:1 “Hear, you heads of Jacob”
3:2-3 Oppression
3:5-7 false prophets, disgraced
A time of darkness and despair, “night…without vision”
3:8 Micah establishes his authority as God’s true prophet
3:9-10 more injustice
3:11 bribery, corruption, witchcraft, hypocrisy
3:12 judgment on Jerusalem
Here we can take a pause and take a look at the historical aspects of this prophecy. It seems when Micah said these things, that the King listened. Hezekiah was king in Judah at this time and he began his reforms based on Micah’s words.
18:1 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. 3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. 4 He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). 5 He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. 8 He struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city. (ESV)
That’s the beginning of Hezekiah’s story as told in Kings. It sounds like he was a good king from the start, and maybe he was, but it was due to the influence of the prophet Micah.
When the prophet Jeremiah was saying some very hard things to the people during the time of the Babylonian captivity (after Micah), he is threatened with death. But then some of the leaders spoke up and remembered the story of Micah and Hezekiah.
16 Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” 17 And certain of the elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying, 18 “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“‘Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’
19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, and did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.” (ESV)
And so it was that Micah was the prophet who inspired the good King Hezekiah to begin his reforms and become the best king since David himself. And God held off the destruction of Jerusalem for some time because of Hezekiah’s reforms. So we can see a glimpse of the hope that comes with repentance.
And so chapters 4-5 are taken up with discussing the future hope of redemption.
4:1 “in the latter days”
This hope is for the future.
4:10 judgment will be executed, and then the remnant will be redeemed.
In chapter 5 we are given new information regarding the coming Messiah.
Formerly we’ve seen the narrowing of the genetic line through which he would come. First Adam, then Abraham, then Jacob, then Judah, finally David.
Then Isaiah told us he would come from Galilee (
9:1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. (ESV)
). Now Micah tells us he will be born in Bethlehem.
5:2, 4 Jesus is the good shepherd and the prince of peace.
5:5-6 This could be referring to the incident with the angel and a lot of dead Assyrian soldiers.
5:7-8 refers either to the dispersion of the Jews, or to the adoption of the gentiles.
5:10-14 the Lord will purify his people for himself
Statement against the people
Beginning in chapter 6 we have the last and final section of the book.
6:1-2 This is the indictment of the people themselves.
6:3-5 recounts the Lord’s deliverance of the people. He kept the covenant.
6:6-8 lays out what God required of them.
These are the key verses in the whole book. As Micah has summed up the people’s sin, he now states all that God asked of the people. Not religious righteousness, not religious show, just simple humility, justice, and love. He wants us to walk as Jesus walked.
But this is not what they did.
6:11 they were dishonest and greedy, cheating people out of money
6:12 they were violent toward those less fortunate than themselves
6:12 they were lying and deceitful
6:16 they have pursued the idolatry which began in the Northern kingdom under the kings Omri and Ahab
7:2-6 the extent of their wickedness
7:4 our righteousness cannot measure up
7:18-20 The books ends on a note of hope. Hope in God, not ourselves.
The inevitable judgment, unavoidable due to the sins of the people, shows us that God’s hatred of sin, his holy justice, is so much more than we can understand. He is not a cosmic push-over, he will execute justice, in his fierce anger against sin.
Yet his steadfast love, is so much more than we can understand. He redeems a people for himself, through no merit of their own, but through his own doing.
As Micah so aptly stated
“Who is a God like you?”
