(5) Minor Prophets Micah
Background
Micah 1:1 The word of the Lord which came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
Kings of Judah
Jotham: Listened to Micah; little influence in bringing the nation back to Jehovah (2 Kings 32-38)
Ahaz: Evil king who reversed all the good of Uzziah and Jotham his predecessors (2 Kings 16)
Hezekiah: Listened to Micah; and averted God’s judgment for another 135 years calling the people back to God and to repentance.
Jeremiah 26:16-19 (see also Micah 3:12) Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and to the prophets, “No death sentence for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” 17 Then some of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, 18 “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus the Lord of hosts has said, “Zion will be plowed as a field, And Jerusalem will become ruins, And the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.”’ 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 the Lord changed His mind about the misfortune which He had pronounced against them? But we are committing a great evil against ourselves.” Structure:
1:1-2:13 God’s Just Judgment on Samaria and Jerusalem – But a Breakthrough 3:1- 5:15 Zion Condemned – But Redeemed 6:1 – 7:20 Controversy and Lament – But Pardon
Message & Application
Central Theme of Micah’s Message: Micah 6:6-8
With what shall I come to the Lord And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? 7 Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?
God Had Repeatedly Shown Them
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 “Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lordyour God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the Lord’s commandments.
Hosea 12:6 Therefore, return to your God, Observe kindness and justice, And wait for your God continually.
Isaiah 1:17-20 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow…“But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Israel
Do Justice Application
• Injustice
Micah 3:1-4 I said, “Listen, you leaders of Israel!
You are supposed to know right from wrong, 2 but you are the very ones
who hate good and love evil. You skin my people alive
and tear the flesh from their bones. 3 Yes, you eat my people’s flesh,
strip off their skin,
and break their bones. You chop them up
like meat for the cooking pot. 4 Then you beg the Lord for help in times of trouble!
Do you really expect him to answer? After all the evil you have done,
he won’t even look at you!”
Micah 3:11-12 You rulers make decisions based on bribes; you priests teach God’s laws only for a price; you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid. Yet all of you claim to depend on the Lord. “No harm can come to us,” you say, “for the Lord is here among us.” 12 Because of you, Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field; Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins!
Love Kindness Application
• Selfish Ambition; Use Others
Micah 2:1-3 What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out, simply because you have the power to do so. 2 When you want a piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone’s house, you take it by fraud and violence. You cheat a man of his property, stealing his family’s inheritance. 3 But this is what the Lord says: “I will reward your evil with evil; you won’t be able to pull your neck out of the noose. You will no longer walk around proudly, for it will be a terrible time.”
Micah 7:2,4-6 The godly person has perished from the land, And there is no upright person among men. All of them lie in wait for bloodshed; Each of them hunts the other with a net. The best of them is like a briar, The most upright like a thorn hedge… Do not trust in a neighbor; Do not have confidence in a friend. From her who lies in your bosom Guard your lips. 6 For son treats father contemptuously, Daughter rises up against her mother, Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
Walk Humbly with God Application
• Religion of Self
Jeremiah 5:30-31 “An appalling and horrible thing Has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?
Application
2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires.
Judah’s Temporary Response
I will bear the indignation of the Lord Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will see His righteousness. Micah 7:9
Judah’s response was temporary. After Hezekiah’s death, his son Manasseh denied the Lord and led the people back into idolatry. His fifty-five years on the throne were arguably some of the most evil years of Judah’s history. Manasseh “seduced the people to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the sons of Israel” (2 Kings 21:9).
2 Kings 23:26-27 The Lord did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him. 27 The Lord said, “I will remove Judah also from My sight, as I have removed Israel. And I will cast off Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the temple of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’”
Micah’s Messianic Prophecy of the Coming Kingdom and King
1. God’s Kingdom Will Rise and Be Established (4:1) 2. Nations Will Be Drawn to the Kingdom (4:2) 3. This Kingdom Will Establish Peace (4:3-5) 4. The Outcast, Hurting, and Oppressed Will Enjoy the Dominion of this Kingdom (4:6-8) 5. The People of God Will Be Delivered From Their Enemies (4:9-5:1) 6. The Return of the King and His Everlasting Rule (5:2-5a) 7. The Remnant Will Be Raised Above Its Enemies (5:5b-9) 8. In Victory, This Kingdom Will Remove All Evil From the Land (5:10-15)
Also see (Micah 2:12-13)