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Undergraduate Studies Graduate Studies. Micah describes their psychology as they keep themselves awake in bed at night, devising their plans. Upon those who have been thus accused of covetousness and greed Micah pronounces doom most unambiguously.
The very first word of Micah 2 strikes the basic note with its hoy woe :. Whoever pushes people aside in a selfish quest for things is pushing life aside and seeking death. The prophet is not, however, proclaiming a general abstract proposition. Our captors divide our fields. Expropriation and expulsion threaten the expropriators and expellers. They fall into the pit they have dug for others. The punishment fits the crime. So neatly will the punishment fit the crime.
Reprinted with permission from Micah the Prophet Fortress Press. In Isaiah , the prophet s built on the theological paradigms of Isaiah ben Amoz Isaiah Isaiah decries injustice by the elite against the poor. As a fit punishment, social order will be upset, leaving the people in leaderless chaos. We use cookies to improve your experience on our site and bring you ads that might interest you. From Dore's English Bible Wikimedia. Dust Manor will eat dirt, Dressy Town flee naked. Safefold will not save, Wallchester's walls are down, A bitter dose drinks Bitterton.
Why Gath? It was an enemy Philistine town, and news of Jerusalem's siege would encourage Israel's enemies. Specifically, "Gath" gat may have been chosen because of its similar sound in Hebrew to the verb "tell" taggidu ; cf. However, in the cities of Israel, like "Beth-le-aphrah" Beth Ophrah, "house of dust" , the inhabitants should "roll … in the dust," expressing their distress cf.
Inhabitants of "Zaanan," a town name that sounds like the Hebrew word translated "come out," would "not" be able to come out of their town to "escape. Their expectation would become bitter because God would send calamity to the gates of Jerusalem.
Before Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem in B. They would not be able to escape, however, because Lachish had led Jerusalem, as horses lead a chariot, into the sin of idolatry. The people of "Achzib" Heb. These dark moments in David's life form a gloomy backdrop to the description of the fall of the towns Micah spoke of.
Though he is never directly mentioned, the figure of David appears hauntingly in the tapestry of destruction—not a David standing tall in triumph, but a David bowed down by humiliation.
It is as if Micah saw in the fall of each town and the eventual captivity of the two kingdoms the final dissolution of the Davidic monarchy. Like David, the glory of Israel would come to Adullam.
Micah identified the sins of the people of Judah, all of which violated the Mosaic Covenant. In view of these transgressions, divine punishment was inevitable and just. In chapter 1 the sins of the people of both Northern and Southern Kingdoms seemed to be in view, but now Micah's audience, the people of Judah, appear to be the main subjects of his prophecy, in view of what he said.
We should not draw this line too boldly, however, since the same sins that marked the people of Judah also stained the citizens of Israel. Having spoken abstractly about rebellion and sin cf.
This oracle indicts them for specific crimes and puts the accent on the eternal and theological punishment. It was not the imperialism of Assyria or the fortunes of blind destiny that brought the house of Israel to this critical stage. It was her disobedience to her God. How different is the prophetic view of history from that of the secular mind! The people in view seem to be the rich because they had the ability to carry out their schemes.
In times of affluence and peace, the rich and the poor in society normally become richer and poorer, and this was true in Israel and Judah in the late eighth century B. The wealthy not only violated the tenth commandment against coveting what belongs to a neighbor, but also the eighth commandment against stealing Exod. Furthermore, they broke the second greatest commandment, which said that they should love their neighbors as themselves Lev. They would be locked into it like a yoke holds the neck of an ox.
The coming judgment would be a hard time for them that would humble them. God's people would also lament—with bitter weeping—and mourn their complete destruction, as the victims of the rich Israelites' crimes just cited had mourned.
They would bewail God's removal of His blessings, including their lands, from them—and His giving them to others that they considered apostate. No one would remain in the land who could do this "in the assembly" of Yahweh, namely, the covenant nation.
The reason was that God would send His people into captivity and give their land to their captors. This is one of many examples of God's talionic justice. The Israelites would reap what they had sowed cf.
They had taken land from their countrymen greedily and illegally, so God would take their land from them and let others occupy it. References to false prophets open and close this pericope vv. In the middle, Micah again targeted the greedy in Judah for criticism vv.
Apparently the false prophets condoned the practices of the greedy and took offense at Micah's antagonism toward their patrons. False prophets were "speaking out" lit. These prophets were trying to silence him because they did not like his message cf. They were saying that Micah and his fellow true prophets, such as Isaiah, should not prophesy as they were doing.
As long as the true prophets kept preaching, the false prophets claimed, the "reproaches" i. This preferable interpretation sees the second and third lines of the verse as the words of the false prophets as well, as much as the first part of the first line. They evidently felt that it was inconsistent to say that Yahweh would allow His people to experience disaster since He had committed Himself to them cf.
Theirs was a completely positive message. They failed to remind the people that God had also promised to punish them if they departed from His covenant Deut. Micah affirmed that God would indeed bless those who do right Deut. One should not blame the continuing disgrace of the nation on his and his fellow prophets' pronouncements. After all, God provided blessing, when His people obeyed Him, as well as discipline, when they disobeyed. It was the people's obedience or disobedience, not Micah's prophecies, that was responsible for their condition.
Preaching and teaching the whole counsel of God involves telling people how they fall short of God's requirements, so they can repent and enjoy His blessing, as well as affirming them for their good deeds. Either translation makes sense, but since the Holy Spirit executes the will of God in the world, He is perhaps in view here cf.
Micah proceeded to list more sins that the wealthy in Judah were practicing. They had taken the clothing of their fellow Israelites as payment for their debts, something their law forbade cf. They also did this to "unsuspecting" travelers who passed through their land, and to soldiers who had recently "returned from war. It is possible that Micah had the false prophets in view here, and in the following verses, and not just the rich Israelites cf. However, "My people" seems to imply a larger group of Israelites than just the false prophets, probably the numerous wealthy oppressors among the people.
They might as well have been the Assyrians or the later Babylonians in spoiling Israel. Bruce Waltke noted that in , when he wrote his commentary in The Minor Prophets , 35 percent of the wealth of the United States was concentrated in the hands of less than 1 percent of the people, many of whom functioned as patrons to the supposed representatives of the people.
Their conduct affected the "children" as well, since these children would have to live out their lives in a foreign land as exiles cf. The splendid heritage of the Israelites was the land Yahweh had given them cf. Amos They were wrong to be at rest in Israel when it had become an unclean place because of the people's sinfulness cf. They should leave while they could because "painful destruction" was coming as punishment cf.
Any prophet who preached greater affluence and prosperity would have a receptive audience. In contrast, Micah's message of doom was unpopular. God's people would follow anyone whose prophetic fantasies blew with the wind, in contrast to being led by the Spirit v. Because 'our God is a consuming fire' Heb. Remember, judgment begins in the house of the Lord 1 Peter The message of the false prophets was not completely wrong; it presented the positive aspects of God's promises to Israel—but omitted the negative.
Micah's message had been mainly negative; the people needed to repent or they would experience divine chastening. Now Micah reminded his hearers that there were positive blessings ahead for Israel, but they would come later. The Assyrian and Babylonian exiles were only the first of several that the Jews have experienced.
More recently, the Romans scattered them in A. The return of many modern Jews to the State of Israel does not fulfill this prophecy, as is clear from what Micah and the other prophets said about that future regathering. Yahweh would assemble them as a shepherd gathers "sheep in" a "fold," "in the midst of" a "pasture" cf. This pictures the regathering of the Israelites in the Promised Land, which is similar to an island in the world.
This pen "will be noisy" and crowded with people, because it will be a time and place of great rejoicing—like the city of Jerusalem was during one of Israel's annual feasts.
Some interpreters claim that this promise of blessing is being fulfilled now in the church, rather than in the future for Israel [i. However, if Micah refers to spiritual blessing for the church, then Israel has been misled all these centuries since Abraham to think that she will inherit the land forever.
They will "break out" of their former habitations, "pass through" the way "the gate" He opens for them, and leave all parts of the world to return to the Promised Land. Yahweh would not only function as their Shepherd but also as their Davidic King cf.
He will lead them as a mighty conqueror and ruler cf. Some commentators take "the breaker" as a title of Christ. But this is inadequate in view of the broader background of Micah's concept of the future. Micah's second oracle identifies the guilt of Israel's leaders and holds out hope for the future. Micah contrasted present conditions of injustice and corruption ch.
In the first oracle, only the last two verses dealt with Israel's future blessings , while everything preceding exposed her sins and guilt. In this second oracle, the balance of emphasis is different. About one-third deals with present sins ch.
This chapter consists of three sections. The first two point out the sinfulness of two groups of Israel's leaders, civil and religious, and the last one climaxes to assure their punishment.
The leaders of God's people were not the only guilty individuals, of course, but they were particularly responsible and culpable because they affected so many other Israelites. Micah saw the exercise of delegated authority in relation to the central and eternal fact of the Throne of God. The initial "And I said" ties this oracle to the preceding one and provides continuity.
Micah asked rhetorically if it was not proper for Israel's rulers to "know" practice "justice" fairness, equity. It was not only proper, but it was essential. Again, "Jacob" and "Israel" are a metonymy for all 12 tribes cf.
A metonymy is a figure of speech in which something is named that is associated with or suggested by something else that is related to it. They hated good and loved evil cf. Tearing the flesh off the people, eating their flesh, and cooking their bones all represent abuse of their victims for their own selfish ends. The figure is of a hunter, and the implication is that the rulers regarded and treated the ordinary citizens as mere animals rather than as human beings.
The rich stripped the poor of their money and property, and oppressed them unmercifully cf. God hiding His face from them is an anthropomorphism that pictures God disregarding them and turning His back on them. God hears all prayers because He is omniscient, but He chooses not to respond to some of them.
The false prophets gave benedictions to those who paid them, but people who did not give them anything received maledictions of doom and gloom cf. Self-interest motivated these prophets, rather than the fear of the Lord cf. After all, as Jesus affirmed, 'the worker is entitled to his wages' Luke But with so apparently subjective a craft as prophecy there was ever a temptation.
Why not make the message match the customer's pocket? Even today, some ministers favor those who treat them well—and neglect, or worse, those who do not. Their first rule is 'Don't rock the boat'; their second is 'Give people what they want. Rather than seeing the light, they would grope in the darkness. Covering the face was a sign of mourning cf. Seers received visions v. The title "seer" is an old one describing a prophet 1 Sam. Thus, these two titles became derogatory terms for the false prophets.
True prophets conditioned the nation's well-being on its fidelity to the Lord, whereas false prophets arrogantly conditioned it on fidelity to themselves. True prophets seek the Lord's gain; false prophets their own.
Acts , Micah claimed to be full of spiritual "power" not ecstasy as a result of God's "Spirit. This statement also implies that Micah experienced continuous empowerment by the Holy Spirit as a prophet cf. Whereas the Spirit empowered some Old Testament servants of the Lord only temporarily cf. Micah followed the will of God, and God's Spirit filled him cf.
Acts These two words may be a hendiadys , meaning "courageous justice. Micah did not tailor his prophecies to his honorarium, or fear what people might withhold from him if his message was negative cf.
His ministry was to declare the sins of the Israelites as well as their future hope , and he fulfilled it faithfully and boldly. In it he shares his understanding of his calling, his divine gifts, and the kind of ministry he was to have.
He called on all Israel's leaders to pay attention to what he had to say to them, they who despised lit. Micah used "Zion" and "Jerusalem" as synonyms to describe the same place cf. However sometimes, as here, Zion carries theological overtones meaning not just the city but what the city represented, namely: the kingdom of God on earth. The judges "leaders" gave favorable verdicts to those who bribed them cf. Yet they all claimed to trust in the Lord, and encouraged themselves with the false hope that since the Lord was among them, He would allow no evil to overtake them cf.
This is Micah's message to us. God would plow up overthrow Jerusalem like "a field," and tear down its buildings until they were only "ruins" cf. Even the temple mount, the most holy place in all Israel, would become like a hilltop in a forest: overgrown and neglected.
This happened when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in A. Jeremiah, who lived a century later, quoted this portion of Micah's prophecy to assure the Jerusalemites of his day that the doom of their city was certain Jer. They challenge every attempt to misuse the service of God for one's own glory and profit. They are a dire warning against the complacency that can take God's love and reject his lordship.
They are a passionate plea for consistency between creed and conduct. The Lord is content with nothing less. These chapters contain much revelation about the future kingdom of Messiah, to which almost all the writing prophets referred. This section contrasts conditions in Israel in the future with those the prophet just described in the present ch.
Micah mentioned several characteristics of the future kingdom of Messiah in this section. Verses are similar to Isaiah There is no way to tell for sure. He says, 'The testimony of two men is true;' and He has given the same promise of millennial blessing through both Micah and Isaiah, that all may know that neither wrote from himself, but as he was moved by the Holy Ghost.
It need be no matter of surprise that He chose to use the same language on each occasion. Some New Testament writers said that Christians live in the last days, namely, the days preceding Messiah's return to the earth and the establishment of His kingdom on earth e. These are the two events on which man's history turns. Zion where the temple, the Lord's house, stood in the past and will stand in the future cf.
In the future, Mt. Zion would become "the chief of" all "the mountains" on earth, rising above all other hills in its importance cf. Some interpreters believe that this text projects a future change in the physical topography of Jerusalem cf.
Here it probably has the double significance of literal Mt. Zion Jerusalem and the whole kingdom of Israel that Mt. Zion represents by metonymy. This is quite a contrast from what Micah predicted about the immediate future of Jerusalem and the temple: its destruction and abandonment cf. Literal streams of water will flow from this millennial temple Ezek. This Israelite pilgrimage is here magnified to universal dimensions. Not merely Israel, but their pagan neighbors from all around would one day wend their way to Yahweh's earthly residence, and there learn lessons which they would put into practice back in their own communities.
Israel will finally fulfill its function as a kingdom of priests, by mediating between God and the people of the world cf. Gentile people will want to obey His will, in contrast to the Jews of Micah's day who did not. Jerusalem will become the source of communication concerning the Lord and His will.
Could these things apply to our day? No, they will and must take place in the era of the personal and visible reign of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, on the throne of His father David.
The Jews of Micah's day did not want God telling them what to do and not to do, and their judges perverted justice cf. In that future day, the Millennium, when Messiah is reigning on earth, the nations will convert their implements of warfare into agricultural tools to promote life.
They will never again engage in warfare or train for battle. Standing armies and stockpiles of armaments will be things of the past. In Joel , the reverse imagery is used in describing the Tribulation. Believe me, it doesn't belong there! If those boys have beaten their swords into plowshares, it only means that they have a bigger instrument with which to beat each other over the head.
And if they are turning their spears into pruninghooks, they are not using them to catch fish but to gouge other nations, especially those that are weaker than they are. This verse certainly is not being fulfilled by the United Nations! They are really knocking each other out there, and there is very little agreement.
It will not be fulfilled until Christ comes. The figure of people sitting under their vines and fig trees describes them at rest, enjoying the fruits of their labors and God's blessings cf. They will not fear. Perhaps because it is so hard to believe that these conditions will ever prevail on earth, Micah assured his audience that the very "mouth" of Almighty Yahweh had spoken these words. These promises came from Him, not just from the prophet.
They were prophecies that were sure to come to pass, in contrast to those of the false prophets of Micah's day cf. The prophecy is national and even universal in scope and looks forward to a time when the nations will come so fully under the benign influence of God's Word that war will be no more.
There will be no poverty, none to grasp property not his own, no war to dispossess or to terrify the even tenor of life. Though this seems beyond belief it is true, nonetheless, because God has said it.
Consequently the Israelites needed to follow Him immediately. These promises encouraged Micah to make a fresh and lasting commitment for Israel to "walk" in the Lord's ways rather than in the ways of the gods of other nations cf. Walking "in the name of" Yahweh means living in dependence on His strength, which His attributes manifest. This will occur when He turns the tide for Israel and begins to bless her, namely, at the beginning of the Millennium.
Some of the postexilic books of the Old Testament i. The Jews continued to suffer under "the times of the Gentiles" Luke , and will do so until Messiah returns to the earth cf. This includes suffering in the Tribulation to come Dan. The Jews of Micah's day were weak morally and spiritually, and were about to go into captivity.
These times began when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and took the Jews into exile in B. Zion"—"forever" cf. He will do this through the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
His millennial reign will continue until the destruction of the present heavens and earth. Then it will continue on a new earth throughout eternity 2 Pet.
Zion in the future cf. It would then become like a watchtower to "the flocks" of God's people, Israel, and a stronghold to her descendants. Israel's "former dominion" over her world—under David and Solomon—would return then, called here "the kingdom of the daughter descendants of Jerusalem. Only if we spiritualize the meaning of "the daughter of Jerusalem" to mean the church can we get away from the clear promise of Israel's restoration here cf. Reference to restoration of the glory of the former Davidic kingdom predicts the revival of the Davidic kingdom cf.
One writer counted 11 characteristics of the future messianic kingdom in verses These are: the global prominence of the temple v. Jerusalem will function as teacher of the world v. The Lord will judge the world from Jerusalem v. Israel will experience peace and security v. One of the events that would occur before the realization of these great promises of blessing was Israel's exile, but the burden of this pericope is also future restoration.
He was looking into the future, not as far as the restoration previously promised, but into the captivity. He asked, rhetorically, why the Israelites were crying out in "agony," like "a woman" in labor pains who can do nothing to relieve her misery. Did the Jews have "no king" leading them and providing counsel for them? This would be their condition during the captivity. The Babylonian Captivity is in view, primarily v. Prophets saw the future not diachronically [consecutively] but synchronically [simultaneously].
They would have to live "in the field" the countryside temporarily until they arrived in "Babylon," but in Babylon "the L ORD " would eventually rescue and "redeem" them. He would deliver them from captivity and return them to the land. This is one of the earliest references to the Babylonian Captivity in prophetic Scripture cf. This prediction of captivity in Babylon was unusual in Micah's day, because then Assyria was the great threat to the Israelites.
The Babylonian deportations came a century later. In Micah's day, Babylon was part of the Assyrian Empire. Probably "Babylon" here has a double meaning: the historic Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar's day and the future Babylon, the symbol of Gentile power that has held Israel captive since Nebuchadnezzar cf.
The darkest land will become the place where the daylight of the new age dawns. Micah had just prophesied an eschatological redemption of Israel, and that future vision stayed with him vv. However, they did "not understand" God's purposes for Israel or for themselves. They failed to see that He would gather the nations for judgment, as a farmer gathers "sheaves" of grain on a "threshing floor" in preparation for beating them out. From the contemplation of the Babylonian siege his mind is carried on by the Spirit of God to the last great attack of the nations of the world against Israel.
The events are those of Joel 3, Zechariah 12 and 14, Ezekiel 38 and 39, and other prophetic portions of the Old Testament Scriptures. He will strengthen Israel to overcome "pulverize" them, and to turn over "devote" "their wealth" to Him, namely, to bring them into subjection to the sovereign Lord.
Israel has not yet done this, so the fulfillment lies in the future, when Messiah returns to reign cf. Universal peace in the Millennium, vv. Victorious Israel will devote the wealth gained from their triumphs to adorn the temple of the Lord. It continues the theme of Zion's might. Micah called on the Israelites to prepare for war, and reminded them that they had often engaged in war, by referring to them as a "daughter of troops.
Jerusalem's rich had been at war with the poor ; , ; , but now their external enemies would wage war against them. These enemies had "laid siege against" them 2 Kings ; ; Jer. The "judge of Israel" in view appears to be King Zedekiah for the following reasons cf. Second, verses jump to a time in the distant future, whereas verse 1 describes a time in the near future cf. Third, "judge" Heb. Micah may have chosen shopet because of its similarity to shebet , "rod.
Waltke, however, believed the judge to be Messiah. This creates a chiastic structure for the central portion of the speech, which can be outlined as follows:. A' The Lord strengthens a remnant " []. This section introduces another ruler of Israel who, in contrast to Zedekiah, his foil , would effectively lead God's people.
It presents a longer hope section than any other unit, and points to the fulfilment [ sic ] of royal promise as the key to the greatness of Jerusalem and Israel heralded in the surrounding pieces. This oracle may have been delivered during Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem.
He would be Yahweh's representative cf. John ; Heb. Bethlehem was, of course, the hometown of David 1 Sam. As David had been the least notable of his brothers, so Bethlehem was the least honorable "little" among the towns in Judah. The most insignificant place would bring forth the most significant person.
A Saviour, who was one of themselves, not born up there in the capital, foster-brother of the very nobles who oppressed them, but born among the people, sharer of their toils and of their wrongs! Yet meantime, be it observed, this was a promise, not for the peasants only, but for the whole people.
In the present danger of the nation the class disputes are forgotten, and the hopes of Israel gather upon their Hero for a common deliverance from the foreign foe. Such an One shall be our peace. This coming Ruler must be divine, since He had been conducting activities on Yahweh's behalf from long ago—even "eternity" past lit. Here too then there is no ground to stop short of that meaning; and so it declares the eternal going-forth , or Generation of the Son.
This messianic prophecy not only gives the birthplace of Messiah, and thus assures His humanity, but it also asserts His deity. No mere human could be said to have been carrying out the will of Yahweh eternally. In view of previous revelation about Israel's continuing discipline by God until her Redeemer appeared , this seems to be a reference to the second coming of Messiah, not His first coming.
This interpretation gains support from the promise in the last half of this verse. They "will return" to the land and rejoin other Israelites. Contrast the failure of Israel's leaders in Micah's day In the ancient Near East, kings frequently referred to themselves as the shepherds of their people.
It is the pastoral role of Israel's messianic King, leading and caring for His people, that is in view here. The Israelites "will remain" in their secure and glorious position because " He will be" so "great"; His greatness will guarantee His people's security cf.
People throughout the world will acknowledge His greatness cf. Bible prophecy isn't entertainment for the curious; it's encouragement for the serious. Thus, this prophecy must be a continuation of the vision of the distant future that God gave Micah —a. When future Assyrians, representative of Israel's enemies cf. The expression "seven … and eight" means the same as "three … and four," a phrase that occurs often in Amos cf. Amos ; et al. It implies completeness and then some. The Israelites will have more than enough leaders to defeat their enemy then.
The "land of Nimrod" is a synonym for Assyria cf. The Redeemer, and Yahweh behind Him, would deliver the Israelites from the Assyrian-like enemy that they would face in that day cf. Assyria is an archetype here. In terms that would have been very inspiring and meaningful to an eighth-century B.
Israelite audience, Micah assured God's people that a time was coming, unlike their own day, when they would no longer be threatened by powerful, hostile nations. In other words, Micah's vision of Israel's future is contextualized so that his contemporaries might fully appreciate it.
The essential point is that the new era will be one of peace and security for God's people where God's ideal king prevents the lionlike 'Assyrians' of the world from terrorizing helpless sheep. The presence of the Jews will be a divine gift to the other people of the world, as dew and rain are to the earth cf. God will have sent them among the nations as He sends the dew and rain; their presence there will be due to His working, not the result of human choices or national policies ultimately.
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