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Introduction
The book of Micah is the sixth of what are called “the twelve minor prophets” (Major and Minor Prophets).
Micah prophesied to both the northern and southern kingdoms (The Divided Kingdom). He was a contemporary of Isaiah (who comes first among the major prophets, and who prophesied to the southern kingdom); Micah was also a contemporary of Hosea (who comes first among the minor prophets, and who prophesied to the northern kingdom).
Micah was briefly mentioned in the book of Jeremiah at one of the points Jeremiah was being threatened with death. The specific verse of Micah being quoted here is Mic 3:12.
Jer 26:16 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.”
Jer 26:17 Then some of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying,
Jer 26:18 “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.”‘
Jer 26:19 “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.”
All the prophets were threatened with death. Only a fraction seem to have escaped it.
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Micah 1
Destruction in Israel and Judah
Mic 1:1 – Compare this verse to Isaiah 1:1 and you’ll see one of the reasons the two men are considered contemporaries.
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Micah 2
Woe to Oppressors
Mic 2:11 – Alas, we have seen such foolishness in America, too. It is a bad sign for us. (Repentance Is Required)
Mic 2:13 – #FJOT – The word “breaker” in this verse deserves to be capitalized as much as “Branch” does in Isaiah 4:2, don’t you think? (NASB) ***** The Hebrew word for “breaker” is related to the Hebrew words for “breakthrough” (as in 2 Sam 5:20) and “breach” (as in Neh 4:7; 6:1). Picture someone breaking through a wall…creating an opening where there had been none.
***** See ANGEL OF THE EXODUS for the parallel between that angel and “the breaker,” and for how the “preparation” spoken of in Ex 23:20 fits with what Jesus said about “preparing a place for us” in John 14:2-3. All this will make even more sense as you read what follows immediately below about “the breaker.”
***** That the breaker “goes up” prophesies Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Prior to Jesus, all humans descended to Sheol at death…and stayed there. The deceased were captive, held by Satan. They were walled in. Jesus broke through that wall by rising from the dead. ***** The expression “goes up” speaks not just of Jesus’ resurrection but also of His ascension into heaven. For Jesus was initially raised from Sheol back to earth, where He spent 40 days demonstrating in many different ways the reality of His resurrection to His disciples, and teaching them how the Old Testament had prophesied everything He had done, was doing, and was going to do. (The 40-Day Bible Study of Jesus the Messiah) (The Messianic Plan) But after those 40 days, Jesus ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of God. Thus “up” meant to the heights of heaven.
***** That the breaker went up “before them” refers to the fact that Jesus was the first to break through the wall of death. Thus the New Testament calls Him the firstborn from the dead (Col 1:18; Rev 1:5). Other people had been brought back from the dead (in both the Old Testament and the New), but they all eventually died again. Jesus was the first person ever raised from the dead never to die again (Rom 6:9; Heb 2:14-15; 7:15-16).
***** When Micah says “They” he is talking about the rest of the dead who rose to heaven at the resurrection of the dead which occurred at the second coming of Christ – which was, of course, the coming of the kingdom of God, the day of the Lord. This is the Messiah “leading captivity captive” as described in Psalm 68:18 and Ephesians 4:7-10 (these links are to the BSN notes on each). ***** The “gate” refers to the gates of Hades Jesus said would not prevail against those He had called out of death.
Matt 16:18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
And whom did Jesus call out of death? The dead.
1 Cor 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
***** This verse closes with Micah making sure that all of us understand who “the breaker” is: It’s “their king” and “the Lord.” #FJOT, for sure!
***** Correlate this verse (Mic 2:13) with “God sent me before you…” in Gen 45:7 – as both passages for foreshadowing what Jesus would do. #FJOT
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Micah 3
Rulers Denounced
Mic 3:1-4 – Alas, we see leaders and people today who “hate good and love evil.” And it’s unsettling to behold them. They are bringing judgment on themselves; we must seek refuge from that judgment so that we are not swallowed up in it. That refuge is found in repentance from sin and devotion to Christ. (Repentance Is Required) (BSN: repent)
Mic 3:7 – When “there is no answer from God,” it’s like a famine for the word of God (Amos 8:11-12).
Mic 3:8 – While there is no answer for the false prophets, the true prophets – like Micah – will be given strong words of warning from the Lord to share.
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Micah 4
Peaceful Latter Days
Mic 4:1-3– These three verses from Micah are almost identical to Isaiah’s words in Is 2:2-4. It is not clear whether 1) both men independently received this word from the Lord, or 2) one man is quoting the other, or 3) both men are quoting another prophet. Regardless of which of these three scenarios it is, Mic 4:1-3 and Is 2:2-4 are words of the Lord, and they are fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Mic 4:4 – This verse was quoted often by George Washington and other American founders as an ideal they were seeking for the families of the nation they were building. For this reason it’s fair to say that Micah helped establish the original “American dream.” Alas, in our time, “the American dream” has become so perverted by secularism and progressivism that it would be more aptly called “the American nightmare.” Freedom to be licentious is bondage to lust.
Mic 4:5 – Let this be the watchword of our hearts.
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Micah 5
Birth of the King in Bethlehem
Mic 5:2 – #FJOT Micah is speaking here of the same person he was speaking of in Mic 2:13…but not enough people connect the dots.
***** At the time Jesus was born, it was common knowledge among biblically-literate Jews that Mic 5:2 was a messianic prophecy.
Matt 2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
Matt 2:2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
Matt 2:3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Matt 2:4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
Matt 2:5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
Matt 2:6 ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH,
ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH;
FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER
WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’”
This passage from Micah was considered messianic because it was understood that 1) the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah, 2) the Messiah would also be a descendant of David, 3) Bethlehem was the home of David’s family, and 4) the Messiah would be the greatest king Israel would ever have.
***** “His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity” – In contrast to the part of Mic 5:2 quoted above by Matthew, it is not likely that this last part of this verse was widely understood either in Micah’s time or Matthew’s time. This is because it speaks of Messiah as existing long before His incarnation – even before creation. This revelation did not come out until Jesus explained it to His disciples during the 40 days between His resurrection from the dead and His ascension into heaven (The 40-Day Bible Study of Jesus the Messiah). We know this because the Gospels – especially the Gospel of John – display this understanding even though they simultaneously make it clear that the disciples had no inkling of this preexistence of Jesus before His resurrection from the dead. That Jesus was more than a prophet and actually the Messiah Himself was as far as they got; they even struggled to understand resurrection itself until it actually happened and they saw with their own eyes what it meant. To conceive of Messiah as having a longstanding and active heavenly existence prior to His human existence was beyond them before His resurrection. #RPJ
Mic 5:3-5 – #FJOT – This passage continues the focus on Messiah that we saw in Mic 5:2. The prophecy was that God was going to bide His time until Messiah, who would “arise” – a pointed reference to Jesus resurrection.
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Micah 6
God’s Indictment of His People
God reminds Israel of the mighty actions He had taken on their behalf.
What God Requires of Man
God points out to Israel that He is not being excessive in His demands.
Mic 6:6-8 – Compare the rhetoric of this passage from God through Micah with something Jesus Him self spoke. Notice that it sounds like the same voice making the same point, just in different words.
Matt 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
Matt 23:24 “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
I said different words, but are “to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” are really that different from “justice and mercy and faithfulness”?
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Micah 7
The Prophet Acknowledges
Mic 7:1-6 – When a nation goes downhill, it takes its best and brightest with it: “The best of them is like a briar, the most upright like a thorn hedge.” Eventually, even individual family life in the nation is corrupted by the degeneracy of the culture.
Mic 7:6 – Israel was in a state of deep decline when Messiah finally came on the scene, and this is why He quoted Micah when He initially commissioned apostles to go out and represent Him in their preaching and teaching.That’s what’s happening below.
Matt 10:34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Matt 10:35 “For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW;
Matt 10:36 and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.
Matt 10:37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
Matt 10:38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
Matt 10:39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
An elderly Spirit-filled man named Simeon made a similar point to Mary and Joseph when Jesus was just an infant – that the societal clash Micah was describing would even affect Messiah’s family. Simeon doesn’t mention Micah by name or quote him word for word, but the point is the same.
Luke 2:25 And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
Luke 2:26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
Luke 2:27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,
Luke 2:28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
Luke 2:29 “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,
According to Your word;
Luke 2:30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
Luke 2:31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
Luke 2:32 A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”
Luke 2:33 And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.
Luke 2:34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed–
Luke 2:35 and a sword will pierce even your own soul–to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
The main point for us to take away is that the spiritual contaminants of a culture bleed into even the most pious of families. Therefore, when you’re raising children you’re not just dealing with the normal foolishness that is bound up in the hearts of children (Prov 22:15), but with foolishness can be infected and exacerbated by winds of cultural decline all around you. It’s not possible to seal up your windows so that no bad breezes blow your way. This does not mean that we should give up – far from it! Rather, it means that we must seek greater grace to deal with greater evil.
James 4:6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”
James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James 4:9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.
James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
The very James who wrote this and his brother Jude opposed Jesus during the days of His public ministry. (See either of the links for evidence of their opposition to, and later, whole-hearted support of Jesus.) The point is that Messiah caused interpersonal tension even with in the most holy of families. We had seen similar negative dynamics in Noah’s family after the flood. There is no temptation-free zone anywhere on earth. This is why we are told to pray every day that we not be led into temptation.
God Is the Source of Salvation and Light
Mic 7:7 – We can picture Micah saying this, and we should also seek to say it for ourselves.
Mic 7:8 – We can picture Jesus saying this for Himself, and especially the part that goes “Though I fall I will rise.” We should also seek to say it for ourselves.
Mic 7:9 – It’s harder to picture Jesus talking about Himself this way because of the part that says “Because I have sinned against Him.” But we could certainly picture Him saying it for our sakes. In any case, we should seek to say it for ourselves.
The purpose of the Bible – including Scriptures like this – is to give us the mind of Christ that we might use it to live our lives.
1 Cor 2:16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.
All the prophets make their individual contributions to the common understanding of the mind of Christ, and Micah is no exception.
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