Micah Minor Prophet
Rev Chris Knepp

Micah Minor Prophet

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Micah - The Text

Micah – The Text

Micah: what does God require of us?

Historical Context

• United kingdom of Israel divided into Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Judah (Southern Kingdom) upon death of Solomon in 930 B.C. Northern Kingdom conquered by Assyrian Empire in 722 B.C. Southern Kingdom fell to Babylonian Empire in 586 B.C.
• Our prophets, contemporaries of Isaiah, warned that breaking covenant with God would bring punishment – and it did!

•       Amos: Prophesied c. 755 or 760 B.C.

•       Hosea: Prophesied c. 755-715 B.C.

•       Micah: Prophesied c. 750-687 B.C.

Micah: what does God require of us?

Historical Context

Opening verse – “The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.”

Historical Context

•       Micah came from Moresheth, a town about 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem.

•       The reigns of the Judean kings during which he prophesied spanned from 750 B.C. to 687 B.C.

•       “It is difficult to assess the length of Micah’s public activity with any precision. At a minimum, the 16-year reign of Ahaz … in combination with the presumed transitions at the end of the reign of Jotham and the start of the reign of Hezekiah, provides a ministry length of 20 to 25 years.” ESV Study Bible

Historical Context

•       A century later, Micah’s preaching was remembered as a cause of Hezekiah’s reform (Jeremiah 26:18-19)

18 “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“‘Zion will be plowed like a field,
    Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,
    the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.’

19 “Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did not Hezekiah fear the Lord and seek his favor? And did not the Lord relent, so that he did not bring the disaster he pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves!”

Micah: what does god require of us?

Structure:

Chapters 1-2: Samaria and Jerusalem judged – but deliverance promised

Chapters 3-5: Jerusalem condemned – but redeemed

Chapters 6-7: Israel proven guilty – but pardoned

Message: “Micah’s message is essentially about ‘kingdom-of-God-living.’ Both Israel and Judah are condemned for violating the covenant standards of God’s kingdom – for showing how God’s people should not live. They were supposed to be a holy nation, a light to the Gentiles; instead, they chose to blend in with the surrounding darkness. Micah contrasts this upside-down picture with the right-side-up portrait of God’s true kingdom, the ultimate Messianic kingdom, from which justice, truth, peace, safety, dignity, and mercy inherently flow.” Charles Swindoll, God’s Masterwork: A Concerto in Sixty-Six Movements, Vol. 3.

Micah 1-2: Samaria and Jerusalem Judged – But Deliverance Promised

2 Hear, you peoples, all of you,
    listen, earth and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness against you,
    the Lord from his holy temple.

3 Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling place;
    he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth.
4 The mountains melt beneath him
    and the valleys split apart,
like wax before the fire,
    like water rushing down a slope.
5 All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,
    because of the sins of the people of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression?
    Is it not Samaria?
What is Judah’s high place?
    Is it not Jerusalem?

Micah 1-2: Samaria and Jerusalem Judged – But Deliverance Promised

6 “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,
    a place for planting vineyards.
I will pour her stones into the valley
    and lay bare her foundations.
7 All her idols will be broken to pieces;
    all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
    I will destroy all her images.
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,
    as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”

8 Because of this I will weep and wail;
    I will go about barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
    and moan like an owl.
9 For Samaria’s plague is incurable;
    it has spread to Judah.
It has reached the very gate of my people,
    even to Jerusalem itself.

Micah 3-5: Jerusalem Condemned – But Redeemed

3:9 Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
    you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
    and distort all that is right;
10 who build Zion with bloodshed,
    and Jerusalem with wickedness.
11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,
    her priests teach for a price,
    and her prophets tell fortunes for money.
Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say,
    “Is not the Lord among us?
    No disaster will come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you,
    Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,
    the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.

4 In the last days

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
    as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
    and peoples will stream to it.

2 Many nations will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
    so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He will judge between many peoples
    and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
    nor will they train for war anymore.
4 Everyone will sit under their own vine
    and under their own fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid,
    for the Lord Almighty has spoken.

Micah: Jerusalem Condemned – But Redeemed

5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
    from ancient times.”

3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned
    until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
    to join the Israelites.

4 He will stand and shepherd his flock
    in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
    will reach to the ends of the earth.

Micah 6-7: Israel Proven Guilty – But Pardoned

6 Listen to what the Lord says:

“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;
    let the hills hear what you have to say.

2 “Hear, you mountains, the Lord’s accusation;
    listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.
For the Lord has a case against his people;
    he is lodging a charge against Israel.

Micah 6-7: Israel Proven Guilty – But Pardoned

6:3 “My people, what have I done to you?
    How have I burdened you? Answer me.
4 I brought you up out of Egypt
    and redeemed you from the land of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you,
    also Aaron and Miriam.
5 My people, remember
    what Balak king of Moab plotted
    and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal,
    that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”

Micah 6-7: Israel Proven Guilty – But Pardoned

6:6 With what shall I come before the Lord
    and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.

7:18 Who is a God like you,
    who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
    of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
    but delight to show mercy.
19 You will again have compassion on us;
    you will tread our sins underfoot
    and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
20 You will be faithful to Jacob,
    and show love to Abraham,
as you pledged on oath to our ancestors
    in days long ago.

Christ in Micah: The Shepherd-King

2:12 “I will surely gather all of you, Jacob;
    I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
    like a flock in its pasture;
    the place will throng with people.
13 The One who breaks open the way will go up before them;
    they will break through the gate and go out.
Their King will pass through before them,
    the Lord at their head.”

Christ in Micah: The Messiah’s Birthplace

5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
    from ancient times.”

Christ in Micah: The Messiah’s Rule

5:4 He will stand and shepherd his flock
    in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
    will reach to the ends of the earth.

5 And he will be our peace
    when the Assyrians invade our land
    and march through our fortresses