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?