MICAH
Micah Introduction – “Micah” means, “Who is like Yahweh?” He prophesied during the reigns of the Judean kings Jotham (750-732 B.C.), Ahaz (732-715 B.C.), and Hezekiah (715-686 B.C.). This made him a contemporary of Isaiah, Amos and Hosea. These were years of economic affluence and international peace but spiritual decadence. Like the other prophets Micah pointed out how the Israelites had broken the covenant and that judgment was inevitable, but he also promised ultimate restoration in view of God’s promises to the patriarchs. Micah wrote also about the coming Messiah. He predicted His birthplace, lineage, His future reign (4:1-7; 5:4), and revealed that He was never created in heaven but rather shared everlasting existence with God in 5:2. The birthplace prophecy, also found in 5:2, is perhaps the most incredible one in the Bible, especially considering Bethlehem’s very small population,, even to this very day. I was there in 1977, and trust me, it’s small.
Micah 1 – Several judgments against Jerusalem and Samaria are levied, then the prophet wails and laments.
Micah 2 – Warnings against those who scheme evil things and oppress others. Verses 12 -13 describe the “remnant of Israel” that many other prophets wrote about as well. Here, there is a picture of God gathering His “true sheep” into a fold (possibly over a long time) and it is filled with “noisy men.” I’m not sure what “noisy men” refers to but perhaps it signifies that there would be much truth being tossed about coupled with an eagerness to leave that confinement and go out among non-believers and spread the Gospel. It does say that the Lord Himself will be leading the flock out of the fold. It could also be a picture of Jesus gathering all His people into the Eternal Kingdom at world’s End and the noise is their excitement. Accurate interpretation or not, there definitely seems to be a prophetic flair to these two verses. This picture also most likely included the return of Hebrew captives from Assyria and other places during Micah’s lifetime, but I can’t help but believe that there is a spiritual parallel that will be fulfilled centuries later.
Micah 3 – This reveals the iniquity among priests and prophets. They loved money rather than God. They hated good and loved evil, took bribes, and led God’s people astray. Verse 6 mentions that the sun will be dark – once again a symbol of impending judgment, not to be taken literally. Despite them thinking they were safe because the Lord was on their side, their dwelling place would soon be in ruins.
Application for Today: True Christian leaders today see things from God’s perspective while deceived ones are more concerned about their own reputations and self interests, especially the building up of their ministry($$$!). Good leaders stimulate people to be true to the Lord while poor leaders want people to follow them.
Micah 4 – Quickly Micah shifts to the Last Days and proclaims God’s mountain will rule all the nations and peoples. “Mountain” is a symbol for “government” throughout Scripture (Dan. 2:35, 44-45). There will be no more war ever again. So we know this refers to after Christ’s Second Coming because by then He will have put all His enemies under His feet and His kingdom will be the only one left standing as everyone enters into eternity, which marks the beginning of more ages to come (Daniel 7:18 and Ephesians 2:7; 3:21 – KJV).
Application for Today: It is always comforting to me, especially living in this insane world with its perverted priorities, that God has His Plan A in full motion and no one can stop it (Matthew 16:18).
Micah 5 – Bethlehem Will Be It!
Micah called the Israelites to prepare for war by referring to them as a “daughter of troops.” This meant that Jerusalem had a long history of warfare. While continuing to speak of God’s long-range Plan for Israel, Micah suddenly reveals that the Messiah would be born in a small town called Bethlehem. In the same breath he says that this Messiah comes out of eternity past. In other words, this Being is not someone created and therefore has no beginning, but rather He was always in existence. This is yet another strong support for the deity of Jesus. The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus was a created angel named Michael and he came to earth via the Bethlehem birth. They ignore Hebrews Chapter 1 and may not even know about this gem from Micah 5:2. But does this verse pertain to the Messiah? The Pharisees of Jesus’ day said it did (John 7:42). These enemies of Jesus could have easily proven that Jesus was born in Nazareth rather than Bethlehem due to good record keeping prior to the 70 A.D. destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem. The fact that they did not bring this evidence to public speaks volumes for the truth of Jesus’ birthplace. It was also confirmed in Matthew 2:6. Some modern critics still assert that Jesus was not born in Bethlehem yet offer no explanation of why the Pharisees offered no proof of this assertion.
When verse 5-6 speaks of Israel defeating Assyria, we know it refers to victory not yet realized since Assyria pounded Israel in Micah’s day. “The land of Nimrod” refers to Assyria. In the End-Times, the Lord will remove the vain sources of security that had always tempted the Israelites, represented by horses, chariots, cities, and fortifications. The bigger picture being painted here, however, is a worldwide stage where the Messiah will faithfully protect His humble sheep from “Assyria,” or the lion-like enemies of Christians in this world. So it seems that once again God initially speaks of physical realities of the OT times, then reveals the spiritual parallels of the Church Age and even beyond. It’s very exciting to realize this.
Application for Today: Get excited about what God has done and is doing!
Micah 6 – Reveals what God requires from His people – 1) be fair, 2) love kindness, and 3) walk humbly with God. Notice the importance God puts on how people relate to people. Not so simple for fallen man, but with God’s grace, all things are possible. Religious sacrifices don’t please God at all without a love relationship thriving between humans and Him.
Micah 7 – At first, he gives a brief description of the corruption in Israel. No one was upright and no one could be trusted, even friends, family, and neighbors. But as for Micah, he would watch and expect God to come through in the end for him. He warns his enemies not to rejoice when he falls because God will raise him back up from living in darkness into His light in the end. Then the enemies of God’s people will be shamed for the way they treated believers. Even whole nations, or possibly their ruling bodies, will not only be ashamed due to their unbelief and treatment of God’s people, but also will approach God’s eternal reign with fear as they leave behind things they thought would keep them safe. Verse 18 reveals why God does not remain angry forever – it is because He delights in unchanging love.
Application for Today: O that we may all abide in that love of God and not allow sin to darken and harden our hearts toward that love (Hebrews 3:13).