Minor Prophets 06 - Micah - the Covenant Lawsuit Prophet

(Sources include The Wiersbe Bible Commentary and the ESV Study Bible.)

Name, short for Micaiah: “Who is like Yahweh?” Note last verse: “Who is a God like you …?” Home: Moresheth-gath, about 22 miles southwest of Jerusalem in the “lowland” or Shephelah.

Date and setting: Micah prophesied in Judah during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (about 750–700 BC), just after Hosea and at about the same time as Isaiah. During prosperity Micah denounced the wealthy, who were oppressing the poor, and warned of impending judgment. The northern kingdom actually fell during Micah’s ministry, in 722, and Judah almost fell in 701 (2 Kings 18–20). His warnings in Hezekiah’s reign helped to prompt great reform (Jer 26:18). Using the “covenant lawsuit” motif, the book has three sections, which alternate between words of warning and those of hope. Micah told of a day when all nations would have peace and “beat their swords into plowshares” (4:3), and of a royal Savior to be born in Bethlehem (5:2).

Micah’s claim to inspiration:  Mic 3:8.

Outline:

Chs. 1-2     Judgment is Coming!

Declaration: God’s Wrath is Coming. (1:1-5)

A witness against you, coming for battle from his holy temple to the earth which melts under him.

Lamentation: The Cities Shall Be Ruined (1:6-16)

Micah weeps over the ruin of Samaria (1:6-9a) and the ultimate ruin of Judah (1:9b-16).

Accusation: The People Have Sinned. (2:1-11)

Greed (2:1-5)

Like Eve re: fruit (Gen 3), Achan re: Jericho (Josh 7), and Ahab re: Naboth (1 Kgs 21).

False prophets (2:6-11)

“Do not preach about such things!” Note 2:11 re: wind, lies, wine, and strong drink.

Consolation: God’s Blessing is Coming. (2:12-13)

As a shepherd gathering, leading, and protecting his sheep. Cf. Ps 23; John 10.

Chs. 3-5     A Ruler is Coming!

Rebuke: The Sins of the Leaders (3:1-12)

The rulers hate the good and love the evil.

The rulers devour the people instead of serving them.

The prophets preach “Peace” when they are fed well and “War” when they are not.

Hope: The Promises of the Lord (4:1—5:5a)

Micah sees both the distant future (the Messiah) and the nearer future (exile and return).

The distant future: salvation through the coming Messianic age (4:1-8)

The “mountain of the house of the Lord.” Cf. Isa 2:2-4; Dan 2:35, 44.

“In the latter days” refers to the time of the Messiah.

Within this spiritual kingdom, the church, peace would replace war and strife.

Outside this kingdom, the nations would (and do) continue to serve other gods.

This cannot refer to a future physical 1,000-year rule of Christ over all the earth.

The nearer future: salvation through the return from exile to Babylon. (4:9—5:1)

“You shall go to Babylon. There you shall be rescued” (4:10).

The distant future: the ruler “from of old” to come from Bethlehem. (5:2-5a)

Victory: The Purging of the Nations (5:5b-15)

God will punish disobedient, powerful nations like Assyria; He will refine and restore Judah.

Chs. 6-7     God’s Kingdom is Coming!

Acknowledge Your Abundant Guilt, and Obey the Lord (6:1-8)

Because of this powerful description Micah is known as the “covenant lawsuit prophet.”

Acknowledge God’s Impending Judgment, and Obey the Lord (6:9—7:7)

God would punish those who used “wicked scales” and “deceitful weights” (6:11).

Omri (1 Kgs 16:25-28) and Ahab (1 Kgs 16:29—22:40) were evil past kings in North Israel.

Micah wept because “the godly has perished” and “they all lie in wait for blood.”

Acknowledge God’s Magnificent Mercies, and Obey the Lord (7:8-20)

The voice of the nation (7:8-10)

“When I fall, I shall rise … He will bring me out to the light.”

The voice of the prophet (7:11-14)

Micah assures Jerusalem that she will be rebuilt after the exile.

He prays to the Lord to shepherd his people once more.

The voice of the Lord (7:15-17)

He responds to Micah’s prayer. He will save and deliver Judah, as he did from Egypt.

The voice of the prophet (7:18-20)

Micah asks, “Who is a God like you …?”

Key verses from Micah:

Mic 2:11 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!

Mic 5:2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

Mic 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Minor Prophets 05 - Jonah - the Resistant Prophet

(Sources include The Wiersbe Bible Commentary and the ESV Study Bible.)

Name: “dove.” Home: Gath-Hepher, in Zebulun, about two miles north of NT Nazareth.

Date and setting: North Israel during the reign of evil King Jeroboam II (782–753 BC (2 Kgs 14:23–28). After Elisha; just before Amos and Hosea. God blessed Israel with military victory, land expansion, and prosperity, because He had compassion on her bitter, helpless suffering. But would God – should God – have any compassion at all toward the awful Assyrians in Nineveh?

Assyria: violent, bloodthirsty, terrifying, and lustful        pagans. Dedicated to the love and war goddess, Ishtar. Capital: Nineveh. Nineveh was named after Nina, the earlier Sumerian name of the goddess Ishtar written with a sign depicting a fish. From 800-745 BC (including Jonah’s time), torn and weakened by internal strife, external revolts, and war. Its population included 120,000 young children and possibly totaled 600,000.  Talk about a seemingly impossible field for a missionary! Did these wicked people deserve to be delivered? Jonah did not think so.

Key phrase: “the Lord sent, commanded, or appointed” Jonah (1:1-2) the great wind (1:4), the great fish (1:17), the plant (4:6), the worm (4:7), and the scorching wind (4:8). Each of these responded as directed, except for Jonah.

The Lord wanted to save the people of Nineveh. He also wanted to change the prophet’s heart.

Outline:

Ch. 1 Jonah’s Rebellion – Running Away From God – The Boat

Irony: Jonah goes the opposite direction. Tarshish may have been in southern Spain.

Irony: Jonah’s presence in the boat, causing the storm, leads the pagan mariners to pray.

Irony: Jonah sleeps, apparently unconcerned. They force him to share his faith with them.

Irony: Jonah’s one selfless act: “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea.”

Irony: Jonah would rather be thrown into the sea than go and preach in Nineveh.

Ch. 2 Jonah’s Repentance – Running Toward God – The Fish

It was the fish that caught Jonah! As God sent the fish, He wanted to send Jonah. As Nineveh was rebellious, so was Jonah. As God saved Jonah, He wanted to save Nineveh.

Jonah never mentions the fish in his prayer. He may not have known where he was, only that God had saved him. It was when he came out of the fish that he knew he had been in the fish.

It was grace that changed his life, at least for a while.

When the Lord spoke to the fish, it responded at once (2:10). Not so with Jonah.

Ch. 3 Jonah’s Resurgence – Running With God – The City

SOBERING COUNTDOWN    3:1-5

Only one preacher.  Only one sermon.  Very short sermon! Have you ever known eight words of preaching to accomplish so much? Words are powerful. Make them count.

STUNNING CONVERSION    3:6-9

Nineveh, unlike Jonah, did not resist. The king called for national repentance.

We never know who may choose to respond to God’s Word. We must not prejudge.

SUPREME COMPASSION                3:10

Many of God’s threats – and promises – carry an unspoken condition: “if” or “unless.”

God’s character does not change, but His actions change as we obey or reject Him.

God relents when man repents. Jer 18:5-10; Joel 2:12-14; Zech 1:3; Mal 3:7; Jas 4:8

Ch. 4 Jonah’s Resentment – Running Against God – The Vine

What preacher would not love to have as many as 600,000 positive responses? Jonah! Why?

Jonah knew that the Lord would be gracious and relent from carrying out this disaster.

Jonah actually wanted the Ninevites to perish. He had God’s words, but not God’s heart.

Like the elder brother of the Prodigal Son who resented his return and his father’s grace. Like the Pharisees who brought the woman caught in adultery. Like the Pharisee praying next to the tax collector. Like the priest and the Levite who passed by on the other side. Like the leaders who condemned Jesus for offering mercy to sinners.

Jonah left the city to pout and wait. God appointed a plant to shade him from the heat.

To make a point God appointed a worm to destroy the plant. Jonah was “angry enough to die.”

Jonah was more concerned for the plant (and his own comfort) than for thousands of lost souls and their cattle, which God had also created.

The book ends with an unanswered question. “Should I not pity …?”

We do not know Jonah’s response, but we may certainly choose our own response.

Key verses from Jonah:

Jon 4:2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.”

Jon 4:11 “And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”