MICAH:

ISRAEL’S SUFFERING AND FINAL GLORY

Picture credit: Wikimedia. Prophet Micah PRIZREN. Chruch of Theotokos of Ljeviš, Prizren, Fresco painting, 2019 BLAGO Fund, Inc.

JIM GERRISH

Light of Israel Bible Publications
Colorado Springs, CO

MICAH

INTRODUCTION

The prophet Micah lived in Moresheth-gath. This was a settlement near the Philistine city of Gath. It was located about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Jerusalem. Since he does not mention the name of his father, we can assume that he was not a person of wealth or prominence. While Micah is the prophet’s abbreviated name, his full name is later seen in Jeremiah 26:18. It is Micayah in Hebrew, and it means, “Who is like God?” ¹Micah was a young contemporary of the great prophet Isaiah, and some of his passages are parallel to those of Isaiah, such as Micah 4:1-5 and Isaiah 2:2-4. ²

The dates of Micah’s ministry correspond roughly to the reigns of the Judean kings, Jotham (739-735 BC), Ahaz (735-715) and Hezekiah (715-687). Micah was very much concerned with the great and expanding Assyrian Empire. The dates and names of kings in his era are Tiglath-pileser III (745-727 BC), Shalmaneser V (727-722), Sargon II (722-705), and Sennacherib (705-681). It is of note that the Assyrian Empire conquered all the Near East, except Egypt and Jerusalem.³

Dr. John Phillips of Moody Bible Institute writes: “As the echoes of the book of Jonah die away, the Ninevites are in sackcloth and ashes, humbling themselves under the mighty hand of God. But by the time Micah writes his prophecy, the Assyrians have gone back to their warlike, wicked ways and the king of the north is on the march…Nineveh had thrown off its sackcloth and ashes to become the tyrant and terror of the world.” ⁴

American professor of Semitics, Charles Feinberg, mentions that the Book of Micah is easily divided into three sections. These are chapters 1 and 2, chapters 3 to 5 and chapters 6 onward. Each section is marked with the words “Hear ye” (or “listen”). ⁵Micah’s message was mostly given to Judah but he also certainly had Israel in view as well. Phillips writes, “When Micah picked up his pen, Samaria’s doom was assured.” ⁶

CHAPTER 1

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. Micah 1:1

The message of Micah was not only about Samaria but about Jerusalem and Judah as well. In fact, it was and is a message to all people everywhere. Under wicked king Ahaz, Judah was compelled to pay tribute to Assyria. Even the later good King Hezekiah could not reverse this situation.¹ Because of the influence of some good kings and the great mercy of God, Judah and Jerusalem would outlast Assyria and would live on for almost another century and a half.

“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” (1:2). Warren Wiersbe, Moody pastor, religious broadcaster and voluminous commentator, sees the picture here as a court of law where both Samaria and Jerusalem are called before the Almighty Judge as defendants.²The prophet Isaiah says of this scene: “See, the LORD is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer” (Isa. 26:21).

Pastor Charles “Chuck” Smith, founder of the Calvary Chapel Movement, notes how striking it is that an earlier prophet also by the name of Micaiah (1 Ki. 22:28; 2 Chr. 18:27) uses the same expression, “Hear, all ye people” (ASV, NRS) found in Micah’s opening.³ Paul tells us that the word has gone out in all the earth. However, the problem in Micah’s day and in our day is the matter of “hearing” the word of the Lord (Amos 8:11; Rom. 10:17-21).

“Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth” (1:3). Dr. Bob Utley, of East Texas Baptist University points out how the “high places” or “heights” can refer either to the mountains or to the local fertility altars, as the same word is used for both.⁴Phillips comments: “Let those who would turn our country toward the pursuit of false gods ponder well the sin of Samaria and the tramp of God’s mighty feet.” ⁵

“The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope” (1:4). James Burton Coffman, influential Churches of Christ commentator, reminds us of this sobering fact: “The geophysical disturbance of the whole earth is repeatedly mentioned in both the Old Testament and the New Testament as accompaniments of the final judgment day (See Revelation 6:14ff, 11:19,16:17-21, etc.).” ⁶Even the proud sinners of our Western World need to prepare for this fiery scenario.

“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? (1:5). The northern kingdom called “Israel,” which included ten of the tribes, had gotten itself off to a very bad start. Its first king, Jeroboam, made Israel sin greatly by setting up two golden calves, one at Bethel and the other at Dan. These idols helped bring about the eventual downfall of that nation. In addition, Israel had to endure the exceedingly evil reign of King Ahab and his wicked queen Jezebel. She almost eliminated the true prophets of God and had for herself several hundred prophets of Baal and other false deities. This idolatry and evil is called Jacob’s transgression and it had much of its source in the capital city of Samaria.

We see in this verse that Jacob’s transgression did not stop with Samaria. Judah also had her high places and they even reached the capital of Jerusalem. The Holy City was not so holy, despite having the holy temple in her midst. Even the temple had become polluted. Judah’s wicked king Ahaz had spied a pagan altar in Damascus and ordered that one like it be built and placed in the temple compound. This was done and the new pagan altar replaced the God-ordained brazen altar in many of the sacrifices (2 Ki. 16:10-16). Jeremiah also tells us later that incense was being burned to Baal and other gods on Jerusalem’s rooftops (Jer. 32:29).

“Hear now what the LORD is saying, ‘Arise, plead your case before the mountains, And let the hills hear your voice’” (1:6 NAS). Several years ago, I had an occasion to visit ancient Samaria. I remember it as a beautiful hill that overlooked a pleasant and fertile valley. However, the hill was strewn with building stones, many of which had been tossed down toward the valley. It was difficult to imagine that the stones once formed a near impregnable city that took the Assyrians three years to conquer (2 Ki. 18:10).⁷

Why would God show such wrath to his own people? God’s covenant with Israel was like a marriage covenant. When wicked Jezebel introduced Canaanite fertility worship, the people of God went whoring after other gods. They broke the holy covenant and therefore God’s wrath was rained down upon them.

“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” (1:7). It is difficult to think that pieces of the idols for whom these people gave their lives, their fortunes and their futures would finally be found trashed among the ruins of the city. Micah gives us some vivid pictures of ancient pagan worship. Pagan temples were thronged with “holy” prostitutes and the worship included sexual excesses of all sorts. The price of the prostitute was a gift to the gods. We can understand why these shrines were so popular. Scottish minister, Robert Jamieson and his associates, mention that the picture of a harlot’s hire as a temporal reward is a common thing in the scriptures (cf. Hos. 2:12).⁸

WEEPING AND WAILING

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. Micah 1:8

Micah was certainly not an uninvolved observer regarding Samaria’s plight. He wept deeply over it. He also wept for the cities of Judah. James Boice once said, “Many who have rejected a Christian’s logic have been won by his tears.” ⁹ Apparently, the prophet went around naked in his grief as Isaiah once did (Isa. 20:2). The nakedness was probably a way of picturing the plight of captive people. Assyria forced total nudity on their captives to embarrass and demoralize them (v. 11, Isa. 47:2-3; Jer. 13:26-27; Hos. 2:3, 10).¹⁰ Utley points out that “naked” used here probably does not mean total nudity but that it likely means one is wearing only the inner loincloth without the outer robe (cf. 1 Sam. 19:24; 2 Sam. 6:20; Jn. 21:7).¹¹

To illustrate the coming plight of Israel’s captives, the prophet went around howling like a Jackal. British theologian, Donald Guthrie, remarks that Jackals “…have a peculiar howl at night, beginning with a high-pitched, long-drawn-out cry repeated at a successively higher pitch, and finishing with a series of loud yelps.” ¹² In addition to howling like a jackal, he moaned like an owl. He must have been some sight to see and hear. Since this was the day before electronic sound effects the prophet just had to improvise to get attention and to get his message across.

“For Samaria’s plague is incurable; it has spread to Judah. It has reached the very gate of my people, even to Jerusalem itself” (1:9). Judah and Jerusalem may have been shocked to hear themselves included in Samaria’s woes. The coming verses will vividly describe the Assyrian sweep through the southern cities of Judah and even to the very gates of Jerusalem (Mic. 1:10-16). They could not conquer Jerusalem because God performed a mighty miracle to protect the city. We read in 2 Kings 19:35, that the angel of the Lord came and put to death 185,000 soldiers in the Assyrian camp. With this, Sennacherib broke off Jerusalem’s siege and quickly headed for home. Jerusalem was spared, but it seems that the Assyrians decimated much of Judah’s outlying territory.

DESCRIPTIVE WORDS FOR JUDAH’S DEFEAT

We do not want to miss the interesting play on words that the prophet gives us. It is a little difficult to reconstruct a 2700- year-old wordplay, but we can try. He says: “Tell it not in Gath; weep not at all. In Beth Ophrah roll in the dust” (1:10). It seems that Judah was always careful to keep the Philistines from rejoicing over her own woes (cf. 2 Sam. 1:20). How interesting it is today that the Palestinians, who now live where the Philistines once did, and falsely claim to be Philistines, still rejoice over Israel’s woes. Some years ago, when Saddam Hussein’s missiles were falling on Tel Aviv, the Palestinians actually danced with joy on their rooftops.

Some commentators say the underlying meaning here is “Tell it not in Tell-town.” However, the Hebrew does not seem to bear this out. The meaning of “Gath” has to do particularly with an olive press. There is a pun or play on words with Beth Ophrah. This name means house of dust.¹³

The prophet is saying “Roll in the dust at dust house.” This was a way of expressing grief or deep sorrow in the ancient world (Jer. 6:26; Ezek. 27:30). The idea behind the use of puns is an ancient one, that somehow character and destiny are described in a name.¹⁴

“Pass by naked and in shame, you who live in Shaphir. Those who live in Zaanan will not come out. Beth Ezel is in mourning; it no longer protects you” (1:11). The pun on Shaphir would be something like “beauty shamed at Beauty-town.” ¹⁵ Zaanan may be a sound play on another Hebrew word meaning “coming out” or “going out.” ¹⁶ Beth Ezel conveys the idea of proximity in Hebrew. It is thought that this city was near Jerusalem and they may have leaned on the city for protection. Phillips may have the pun right in saying, “no neighborliness at Neighbor-town.” ¹⁷

“Those who live in Maroth writhe in pain, waiting for relief, because disaster has come from the LORD, even to the gate of Jerusalem” (1:12). Since Maroth is related to bitterness and Jerusalem is related to peace in the Hebrew, Phillips may have the pun close in saying, “Maroth: ‘bitter tears at Bitter-town’….Jerusalem: ‘no peace at Peace-town.’” ¹⁸

“You who live in Lachish, harness fast horses to the chariot. You are where the sin of Daughter Zion began, for the transgressions of Israel were found in you” (1:13). Lachish was an important fortified city and chariot town in the lowlands about 30 miles (38 km) southwest of Jerusalem. It too was conquered by Sennacherib. Lachish had the dishonor of being the first to introduce Samaria’s false religions into Judah, as we see in this verse.¹⁹

Utley feels that this verse makes a pun sounding like the Hebrew term “to the steeds.” Lachish was a city famous for its horses and chariots.²⁰ Phillips may have the pun right once more in saying, “Horsepower gone from Horse-town.” ²¹

“Therefore you will give parting gifts to Moresheth Gath. The town of Akzib will prove deceptive to the kings of Israel” (1:14). Moresheth Gath was the hometown of the prophet Micah. English Bible scholar, Peter Pett, says that the sound of this town’s name was similar to the word which means possession or gift. He says, “But now the gift would be a parting one, because she was going into captivity. This must have been an especially bitter blow to Micah.” ²² The houses of Akzib would be a big disappointment to the Judean dynasty who would need their help. Feinberg comments: “The Achzabim of the Old Testament are brooks that are dry in summer, thus deceiving the thirsty traveler (see Jer. 15:18).” ²³ Phillips again comes up with the possible pun, “Falsehood reigns at
False-town.” ²⁴

“I will bring a conqueror against you who live in Mareshah. The nobles of Israel will flee to Adullam” (1:15). Mareshah has the meaning of possession or inheritance. The prophet is saying that the possession town will be possessed.²⁵ However it will be possessed by an enemy.

The area of Adullam was an area of caves. Here David once hid from Saul (1 Sam. 22:1-2). No doubt, many hid from the Assyrians in these caves, but it was all in vain.

“Shave your head in mourning for the children in whom you delight; make yourself as bald as the vulture, for they will go from you into exile” (1:16). A shaved head among the Jewish people was a sign of deep mourning (Lev. 19:27; Deut. 14:1; Ezr. 9:3; Job 1:20; Amos 8:10). The picture here seems to be that of a Griffon vulture, which appears quite bald. There is probably no mourning like that of watching one’s children be led away into captivity. Apparently, the Assyrians killed the very young and the very old. The rest were carried away. Micah is the first prophet to assert that the southern two tribes also would go into captivity.²⁶

CHAPTER 2

Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. Micah 2:1

English minister, F. B. Meyer, comments that while chapter one dealt with sins against the first table of the law, this chapter deals with sins against the second table.¹ The first chapter dealt with our relationship with God and this chapter deals with our relationship with people. Feinberg adds: “Whenever the rights of God are lightly treated, the rights of man can fare no better.” ²

We note that these wicked people were plotting evil on their beds. They were like the wicked of Psalm 36:4. It is said of them: “Even on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong.” What a contrast between these and the righteous. The Psalmist says: “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night” (Psa. 63:6). The Psalmist gives us all some good advice: “Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent” (Ps. 4:4). It is good for us today to have bedtime prayers and scripture readings. This will help save us from wrong thoughts in the night.

These people could hardly wait for morning so that they could carry out the evil plans dreamed up during the night. Pett says: “They sin night and day. It is a way of life with them. We are reminded of those of whom it was said that ‘the thoughts of their hearts were only evil continually’ (Genesis 6:5).” ³Of course, they could carry out their plans because they had the power to do it. Wiersbe comments: “They practiced the world’s version of the Golden Rule: ‘Whoever has the gold makes the rules.’” ⁴ We begin to understand why the rich will have a difficult time entering the Kingdom of Heaven (Lk. 18:24).

“They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud people of their homes, they rob them of their inheritance” (2:2). In Israel, a person’s heritage was a God-given, sacred thing. The land belonged to the Lord and was only leased to the people (Lev. 25:23). Nevertheless, God leased to them permanently so long as they would keep his laws and decrees. If a plot of land was sold, the property would revert to the original owner every fifty years on the Year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:10). So, we can understand that property was a sacred heritage for the family, a heritage given by the Lord.

It is easy to understand how some families could fall into hard times and need money. Wicked lenders could take advantage of their need and get them into debt they could not repay. Soon, their little farm or home would be taken away from them. Farmers would then become only tenants or day laborers. Perhaps even children would be sold into slavery in order for the poor family to survive. We have evidence that this wicked land practice continued on to New Testament times. Some parables mention absentee landlords (Lk. 13:6-9; 20:9-19). Thus, many farmers in the later times were just mere tenants.

We see a reference to this type of activity in the Book of Isaiah. The prophet says, “Scoundrels use wicked methods, they make up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just” (Isa. 32:7). Poor people have few resources and cannot easily pay to defend themselves in court. Micah had probably witnessed this injustice, since he lived in a small rural community.⁵

In the Bible, we have the famous instance of a very rich man coveting the land of a neighbor. It was King Ahab who coveted the vineyard of Naboth. Through the wicked plotting of his wife Jezebel, Naboth was murdered and the land was stolen (1 Ki. 21:1-16).

“Therefore, the LORD says: ‘I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity’” (2:3). This is a message from God, particularly spoken to the proud and rich landowners. Professors Charles Pfeiffer & Everett Harrison say: “Instead of going about with their heads haughtily lifted, they will be led into captivity with haltered necks.” ⁶ The rich oppressors who took the land of the poor will now lose all their holdings to the Assyrian enemy. It is difficult for us to imagine the utter cruelty to ancient, defeated people being led away in captivity.

“In that day people will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song: ‘We are utterly ruined; my people’s possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors’” (2:4). Jamieson sees this as a doleful lamentation or a continuous and monotonous wail. The Hebrew words naha, nehi, nihyah are repeated.⁷Early American clergyman, Albert Barnes says, “No mockery is more cutting or fiendish, than to repeat in jest words by which one bemoans himself.” ⁸

“Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD to divide the land by lot” (2:5). The biblical practice is now all over and finished. In Bible times a line or cord was used to measure and allot the land (Psa. 78:55-56). Now the land will be allotted to the enemies. The prophet Amos speaks of this horrible outcome: “Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land’” (Amos 7:17).

FALSE PROPHETS IN THEIR MIDST

“‘Do not prophesy,’ their prophets say. ‘Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us’” (2:6).

It was a tragic fact for both houses of Israel that they rejected the true prophets of God. The Lord speaks in the New Testament concerning Israel: “Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town” (Matt. 23:34). The Jewish people somehow felt that they were so special to God that he could not punish them. After all, they had Abraham as their father. Phillips comments: “In a later age John the Baptist denounced the same spirit: ‘Think not to say within yourselves. We have Abraham to our father’” (Matthew 3:9, also see John 8:39-40.) ⁹

The prophet Amos says: “But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy. Now then, I will crush you as a cart crushes when loaded with grain” (Amos 2:12-13). The prophet Isaiah adds: “They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions’” (Isa. 30:10). The people of Israel were not the last folks to tell the minister what to preach and what not to preach. In our day truth has become a casualty, sometimes even in the church. Some speak of the death of truth today. Plenty of people, and some of them called Christians, boldly declare that they have their “own truth.”

“You descendants of Jacob, should it be said, ‘Does the LORD become impatient? Does he do such things?’ ‘Do not my words do good to the one whose ways are upright?” (2:7). The NET Bible may be a little clearer: “Does the family of Jacob say, ‘The LORD’s patience can’t be exhausted– he would never do such things’?” (Mic. 2:7 NET). That is a very presumptive attitude for sure.

Pastor, Bible teacher and author, David Guzik, says of the poor prophet: “Micah began his ministry in the reign of Jotham, but nobody listened. Then he prophesied during the reign of Ahaz, but nobody listened. Finally, he prophesied during the reign of Hezekiah and the leaders and the people repented. Micah didn’t give up, even though the results were slow in coming. Micah preached for anywhere between 16 and 25 years before there was any response.” ¹⁰

“Lately my people have risen up like an enemy. You strip off the rich robe from those who pass by without a care, like men returning from battle” (2:8). The disobedient become an enemy of God regardless of whether they are Jews or Gentiles. Here we are told of an especially hard-hearted crime. The supposed people of God were stripping the robes off innocent travelers as they passed through the territory. They would treat them as an enemy in battle.

Barnes notes how the large enveloping cloaks, which were worn loosely over their other clothing, were also used for a covering at night.¹¹ How heartless, to let an innocent traveler shiver all night in the cold mountain air. This would surely be classified as highway robbery. God had long before commanded his people: “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt” (Exod. 22:21).

“You drive the women of my people from their pleasant homes. You take away my blessing from their children forever” (2:9). Utley points out that the husbands may have already been sold into indentured servitude and now the wife and children are being sold.¹² The beauty and glory of Israel’s households are thus snatched away. What an utterly tragic situation! Feinberg comments: “When man is given his desire, a desire not born of the Lord, then leanness of soul always accompanies it.” ¹³

“Get up, go away! For this is not your resting place, because it is defiled, it is ruined, beyond all remedy” (2:10). Several scriptures speak of the land of Israel as being a place of rest for God’s people (Exo. 33:14; Deut. 3:20, 12:10; Psa. 95:11). Guthrie says: “The ungodly Hebrews are bidden to leave and go off into captivity, for the Holy Land cannot bear the defilement of their abominable crimes.” ¹⁴

Rest is something we believers feel deeply in our spirits. We know when it’s there and we know when it’s not. Many years ago, my small son and I visited a certain church in our large city. Once we sat down, I felt a great uneasiness. Finally, I took my little son’s hand, and we made a quick exit from that worship service. That coming week, we read that both pastors of the church had been arrested for some serious crimes. We obeyed the Holy Spirit’s nudging and got up, for that place was not our rest.

Zion or Jerusalem was not too restful in Micah’s day. Neither is it particularly restful in our day due to all the often-instigated Palestinian strife. However, God promises that it will be restful (Psa. 132:14). This verse alone should change a lot of our church theology. God plans to come to earth and live in Zion forever with his holy people. We have everything going up, but the Bible has everything coming down. That should help us understand the struggle for Jerusalem, in Micah’s day and in our own day.

“If a liar and deceiver comes and says, ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’ that would be just the prophet for this people!” (2:11). Coffman quoting Scoggin comments: “This people wants a preacher who is a lying wind-bag, someone who will talk for wine and whiskey! …There remains today a willing audience for anyone who panders to the vices of the age under the guise of proclaiming God’s truth.” ¹⁵Pett quips, “For they preferred false spirits to the true Spirit (Micah 2:7; 3:8).” ¹⁶

THE RESTORATION PROMISED

“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.” Micah 2:12

The prophets of Israel spoke of a terrible calamity coming upon Israel and Judah, but they also spoke of a glorious restoration of both biblical nations. That restoration happened in a partial, way when the Jews returned from Babylon under Zerubbabel in 538 BC. However, they were massively dispersed again in AD 70 and in 135. These last dispersions were not just to Babylon, but the Jewish people were spread throughout the whole earth. While some Jews returned in small groups over the centuries, the real restoration of Israel began in the early 1880s.

The return to Israel and to Jerusalem was called “making aliya.” Aliya in Hebrew means “going up” or “ascending.” After all, Jerusalem has an elevation of 2575 feet (785 meters). This seems quite high when sea level is only some 40 miles (64 km) away.

Here is a quick listing of the various aliyot especially in the 20^th Century.

“The First Aliya (1882-1903) – Some 25,000, mostly from Eastern Europe, came at this time.

The Second Aliya (1904-1914) – Consisted of about 40,000 and was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War.

The Third Aliya (1919-1923) – Contained many young pioneers. About 35,000 arrived in this period.

The Fourth Aliya (1924-1928) – Totaled some 67,000 with many middle-class immigrants. The bulk of this group was from Poland.

The Fifth Aliya (1929-1939) – There was a total in this group of about 250,000, with many from Nazi Germany.

The Sixth and Seventh Aliyot (1940-1948) – About 100,000 entered the country during this period Immigration was greatly hindered due to British restrictions.

The mass aliya or ingathering of exiles (1948 and following) – When Israel became a state, all immigration restrictions were removed. For instance, in the years 1948-1951, 684,000 immigrants returned home to Israel.” ¹⁷

The massive return to the land of Israel was quite miraculous. The ancient land had become a wilderness, and the early settlers had the job of making the land fruitful again. They had the task of building settlements all over the country. God raised up a prophet named Theodore Herzl who did not give up until he had laid the foundation for a Jewish state. Israel was then recognized by the nations and became a state on May 14, 1948.

From its beginnings, the people of Israel faced massive problems. They had to restore and relearn Hebrew, since it had become a dead language. They had to fight the surrounding Muslim nations constantly, and that battle still goes on today. They had to learn about farming, since land ownership in many nations had largely been denied them.

Still, the restoration of Israel was a miraculous thing. Just the aliya itself was miraculous. My wife and I had served in Israel before, but in the summer of 1989, the Lord called us back to Israel. Soon, miracles began to happen. When the Soviet Union started falling in 1989, the thousands of captive Jews began to return home to Israel. They came at the rate of about 30,000 per month. From that time to the end of the century, over a million Jews returned to the land. That was a lot for a nation that had only slightly over four million people.

The Jews began to return from other nations, especially from Ethiopia. Starting on May 24, 1991, in a 33-hour period, 15,000 Jews from Ethiopia were secretly airlifted to Israel. Suddenly we saw Jeremiah 43:5-6 fulfilled before our eyes: “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth.” Suddenly, we were watching the Jews return from the north and south at the same time, just like the prophet had said!

We had the grand privilege of welcoming thousands of these needy immigrants and supplying them with food, blankets, kitchen utensils, bus passes and many other needed things. These items were supplied by Christians from all over the world. That work with our organization, Bridges For Peace, still goes on today after over 30 years because immigrants are still coming. With antisemitism increasing worldwide aliya is also beginning to increase once more.

Sadly, the great miracle of the second Jewish restoration went on largely unnoticed by most of the vast, worldwide Church of Jesus. Several thousand messianic Jews in the land certainly perceived it and a few thousand evangelical Christians saw it because they had been called to Israel to help out. The Bible says that this large and miraculous aliya was greater than when they came out of Egypt under Moses long ago (Jer. 23:7-8). How could the church miss it?

“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” (2:13). Certainly, God broke open a way for his people’s return from the Babylonian prison. It was a huge miracle, but only a group slightly less than 50,000 returned home as we have said. This hardly compares with the vast modern miracle where millions of Jewish people have returned. In several cases like in the former Soviet Union, God literally broke down the wall (the Berlin Wall) and brought his people home. At this writing the Jewish population of once deserted Israel is over seven million people. The total population is now approximately ten million.

CHAPTER 3

Then I said, “Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel. Should you not embrace justice,” Micah 3:1

Feinberg helps us navigate this chapter by saying: “Verses 1 to 4 are addressed to the rulers; verses 5-8 are spoken to the prophets; then rulers, priests, and prophets are all included in verses 9 to 12.” ¹ Once more, the prophet cries out for the leaders to “hear,” or “listen.” The “hearing” is almost an outline of the book as we have already mentioned. It reminds us of what Jesus often said: “Whoever has ears, let them hear” (Matt. 11:15). That message now goes out to all of us as we see in Hebrews 12:25, “See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?”

Coffman sees some sarcasm in this first verse. The very guardians of justice do not seem to know what justice is.²These leaders were much like the sons of Eli the priest in earlier times. The Bible says they were sons of Belial and did not know the Lord (1 Sam. 2:12). Barnes says: “There was one general corruption of every order of men, through whom Judah could be preserved, princes Micah 3:1-4, prophets Micah 3:5-7, priests,
Micah 3:11.” ³

Micah continues “…you who hate good and love evil; who tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones; who eat my people’s flesh, strip off their skin and break their bones in pieces; who chop them up like meat for the pan, like flesh for the pot?” (3:2-3). We might accuse these leaders of “fleecing the flock,” or taking the wooly covering from off the sheep. However, it was worse, and they were taking this a few steps further. They were slaughtering the sheep and then making themselves a big pot of lamb stew with the poor creatures (cf. Psa. 14:4).

Many are the “Christian” leaders today who harm and even destroy their sheep. We can never forget Jim Jones who led the People’s Temple between 1955 through 1978. Jones had much support from Christian leaders like William Branham and Father Divine. He even became affiliated with the Disciples of Christ.

Jones ended by leading his people to a jungle commune at Jonestown, Guyana. On November 18, 1978, he led the group in a mass suicide. This is now known as the Jonestown Massacre. He didn’t just take the wool from his sheep, but he took 900 sheep to the grave with him. That was after many crimes such as continual sexual abuse of the members.

In my own pastoral ministry, after leading two churches in Kentucky, my wife and I felt called to the West. I became the pastor of a small congregation in the Denver, Colorado area. When I arrived, to my dismay, I learned that the former pastor had sexually abused several members of the church. There was a common feeling among the members that he had also murdered his own wife. Somehow that event had never been properly investigated. We led that church successfully, but my pastorate sure got off to a bumpy start in caring for a lot of wounded sheep.

The prophet Ezekiel once said: “Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock” (Ezek. 34:2-3). Guzik says: “This reminds us that people never exist for the sake of the leaders, but leaders are there for the sake of the people.” ⁴

Sometimes we think that Annas and Caiphas, who crucified Jesus, were just two unusually wicked priests. However, when we read the prophets, we realize that the whole priesthood and other leaders were defiled throughout most of the nation’s history. Had Jesus appeared many times before, he surely would have been killed by Israel’s leaders. There were several prophets who also met that fate, one was stoned to death in the very temple complex (2 Chron. 24:20-21).

We can look aghast at these rulers of God’s people, but what we are seeing clearly is the very nature of sin. Its effect can be measured in what began as a holy priesthood. The progress of sin is almost like the process of gradual aging in our bodies. We begin as healthy, vibrant little ones and within a period of 70-90 years, we become old and decrepit. It is a steady but certain process. We see a similar process in spiritual movements, churches, organizations and governments, etc. Only Jesus can restore things and people, making them new.

“Then they will cry out to the LORD, but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done” (3:4). There are many scriptures that bear this out. Jeremiah writes: “Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them’” (Jer. 11:11, cf. Psa. 18:41; Pro. 21:13). God even says that on the day of their calamity he will laugh and mock at them (Pro. 1:24-28).

PITIFUL PROPHETS

“This is what the LORD says: ‘As for the prophets who lead my people astray, they proclaim “peace” if they have something to eat, but prepare to wage war against anyone who refuses to feed them.”’” Micah 3:5

This verse is a little difficult in the Hebrew. Perhaps the NAS translation is clearer. It says: “Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets Who lead my people astray; When they have something to bite with their teeth, They cry, ‘Peace,’ But against him who puts nothing in their mouths, They declare holy war” (Mic. 3:5 NAS). Other translations miss the word “bite” (Heb. nashak). It was normally translated to describe the bite of a poisonous snake.⁵ Much later, Jesus even called Israel’s leaders “vipers” (Matt. 23:33). Utley says: “The very ones who were to reveal God, did not know Him (cf. Hosea 4:1).” ⁶

Even today, there are many false prophets who are proclaiming peace and blessing. This often happens both inside and outside the church. It especially happens in Israel. The Hebrew greeting of “shalom” or “peace” is often heard in Israel. Yet, there is little peace. The major peace thrust near the end of the 20^th century was the Oslo Accords. These began with Oslo I (1993), where Israel pulled out of Jericho and Gaza. Oslo II (1995) required Israel to withdraw from several major cities of the West Bank (ancient Judea and Samaria). These cities included Shechem, Bethlehem and most of Hebron. In time, Israel would withdraw from about half the West Bank (her ancient mountain homeland) as it all was turned over to the Palestinians.

This “peace” agreement was lauded by many in Israel. However, Evangelical Christians living in the country were horrified at it. Israel paid a dear price for this “peace.” She soon learned that more of her citizens had been killed in the process than before it began. Much later, on October 7, 2023, the terrible Gaza War was launched by Palestinians from the very area Israel gave to them. What a price she has paid and continues to pay for so-called peace.⁷

So, ancient Israel’s prophecy had degenerated into a sort of “pay for a prophecy” scenario. If one paid, that one would get a good and peaceful prophecy. If one did not pay, the prophet would declare war on that person. We should note that gifts and money were normally given to even the good prophets (1 Kgs. 14:3; 2 Kgs. 4:42; 8:8-9). The problem here was the manipulation of the prophets.⁸ In a sense the people were bribing the prophets in order to receive a blessing.

Unfortunately, the lies of the false prophets made it easier for the corrupt officials to do their evil deeds.⁹ Jeremiah laments about this situation: “…From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:13-14). Jeremiah goes on to say that their houses, fields and wives will be given away.

“Therefore, night will come over you, without visions, and darkness, without divination. The sun will set for the prophets, and the day will go dark for them” (3:6). How true was this word! After Malachi, the last prophet, finished his ministry, there were four hundred years of darkness until John the Baptist came. He then introduced the Sun of Righteousness, Jesus. Utley points out how “darkness” is the imagery for lack of revelation (Psa. 82:5; Prov. 2:13; Isa. 59:9, 2 Pet. 1:19; 1 Jn. 1:6, 2:11).¹⁰

“The seers will be ashamed and the diviners disgraced. They will all cover their faces because there is no answer from God” (3:7). In earlier times the prophets were called seers. The diviners were usually connected with divining, magic and sorcery. At times, diviners far outnumbered true prophets in Israel (1 Ki. 18:19). Regarding the covered face Feinberg says, “In the Orient men prided themselves on their moustache and beard. To cover them was a token of shame and silent mourning…Lev. 13:45.” ¹¹

“But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin” (3:8). In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon different individuals at differing times. When the Spirit came, they were able to accomplish great feats. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit comes upon believers in Jesus and abides with them forever (Jn. 14:15-17). When the Spirit came upon Micah, he was able to declare the sins of Israel and Judah. Today the Holy Spirit does the same thing. In John’s gospel, we read: “And he, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:” (Jn. 16:8 ASV).

There is a difference between Old Testament and New Testament prophecy. Guzik describes this difference: “Under the old covenant, the law was not written on the heart of the believer and the Holy Spirit did not indwell each believer in the same way as under the new covenant. Therefore, there was a greater need for the convicting work of the Spirit of God coming from the ‘outside,’ from prophets such as Micah. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul described the ministry of the prophet like this: ‘But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men (1 Corinthians 14:3).’ This certainly doesn’t mean that under the new covenant prophecy will never be used to expose sin, but it isn’t its central purpose.” ¹²

The true prophet, whether in the Old or New Testaments, can present a fearful presence. Jeremiah says: “But I am full of the wrath of the LORD, and I cannot hold it in. ‘Pour it out on the children in the street and on the young men gathered together; both husband and wife will be caught in it, and the old, those weighed down with years’” (Jer. 6:11). Phillips tells of the great Scottish reformer John Knox and his effect upon the Queen. Apparently, she was more afraid of Knox than all of England’s armies.¹³ A prophet full of God’s Holy Spirit is awesome and frightful. Meyer says longingly, “Oh, that every minister and teacher of God’s holy gospel were able to utter Micah 3:8!” ¹⁴

“Hear this, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right; who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness” (3:9-10). It is almost unbelievable that the rulers of Zion would despise justice. By their deeds they were bringing about bloodshed. We can imagine that when they took away houses from the poor, some probably despaired and may have given up on life. Some may have starved to death. In short, people died and blood was shed for their avarice and evil deeds. They were building up Zion with bloodshed. Ezekiel says: “Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain” (Ezek. 22:27).

In Proverbs 6:16-19, the Bible tells us of seven things the Lord hates most. The first three are “haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood…”

There are a lot of ways that we can shed blood. Sexual sins often shed blood, at least the blood of aborted babies. Hateful and degrading words can shed blood. I remember how in high school, all of us picked on Burl, a rather sissified kid. We would call him “Burl the girl.” Some years later we heard that Burl had committed suicide. It is likely that our words had a part in shedding his blood. Lord, forgive us all! The Bible says: “The tongue has the power of life and death…” (Prov. 18:21). Our words can build people up or they can maim and kill. How important it is that we Christians speak life and blessing to people.

In Psalm 51:18, David prayed that God would build the walls of Jerusalem. Actually, King David by his adulterous affair with Bathsheba, had done a great deal to tear the walls down.¹⁵ It is faith, truth, love and righteous living that builds the walls of Zion.

A DISGRACEFUL LEADERSHIP AND A DESTROYED CITY

“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.’” Micah 3:11

In this verse, Micah lumps all the leadership together – leaders, priests and prophets were all rotten to the core. Smith describes them: “The ministry had become a profession; professional ministers teaching for hire and the prophets divining for money and yet saying, ‘Hey, the Lord is with us. No evil is going to come.’” ¹⁶

Later in Jesus’ time, the temple was a den of thieves once more (Mat. 21:13). Much of the dishonesty had to do with the offerings that were sold there. The biblical scholar James Charlesworth notes: “On one occasion R. Simeon ben Gamaliel (c. 10-80 C.E.) vigorously protested because the price of a pair of doves had been raised to one gold denar, a price some twenty-five times the proper charge.” ¹⁷

Charlesworth also pointed out that the very office of the high priest was secured by bribery.¹⁸ He stated that, “The four principal high priestly families are remembered for their violence and oppression.” ¹⁹

Feinberg reminds us that the priests were commanded by Law to teach for gratis (Num. 18:20; Deut. 17:8-11; 18:2; 21:5; Eze. 44:23, 24 and Mal. 2:7).²⁰ They could not judge for rewards (Exo. 23:8; Deut. 16:19; 33:10). The Lord was to be their inheritance.

“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” (3:12). The First Temple of Micah’s day became a pile of rubble. Interestingly, the Second Temple of Jesus’ day met the same fate and for very similar reasons.

Jesus prophesied, “‘Do you see all these things?’ he asked. ‘Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down’” (Matt. 24:2). It happened to the Temple of Jesus’ day. Not one stone was left upon another at the Temple complex. Today, one can visit the museum at the Western Wall area and see a great pile of original stones that were pushed from the mount by the Romans to the area below. Today, we cannot even tell for certain where the temple stood.

Concerning the First Temple that Micah knew, Jeremiah laments over it; “For the mountain of Zion, which is desolate: The foxes walk upon it” (Lam. 5:18 ASV). Much later, the Talmud relates that Rabbi Akiba smiled while others wept at seeing a fox coming from the Holy of Holies. He smiled at seeing the prophecy fulfilled.²¹

When Nehemiah first visited the destroyed city of Jerusalem he remarked: “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire” (Neh. 2:17). In Nehemiah’s day there was so much dust and rubble of the First Temple that the workers could hardly build (Neh. 4:10). At that time the enemy Sanballat mocked and charged the Jews that they could not bring the burned stones back to life (Neh. 4:2).²²

There is a story in the Talmud that some doubt, although Jerome noticed it and Maimonides repeated it, that in 70 AD, Rufus, who was an officer in the Roman army, plowed up the foundations of the temple. This, of course, would have accurately fulfilled the prophecy of Micah in this verse.

CHAPTER 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. Micah 4:1

The fourth chapter of the Book of Micah opens with such an incredible statement that it had to be verified in almost identical words by the prophet Isaiah (Isa. 2:2-4). This is like the required testimony of two witnesses spoken of in John 8:17, so it must be really true and really important.

In speaking out these words today, one might be identified as a lunatic or perhaps even a heretic. Nevertheless, let us speak them, and the verses following, for they are God’s words. Here they are – At the end of days, or the start of the Messianic Era, the whole world will be governed by God Himself and from the city of Jerusalem. Zechariah says: “The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name” (Zech. 14:9). The little city of Jerusalem will become the spiritual, geographical, and political center of the world. In saying this, we can see why, for at least four thousand years, the devil and the nations have despised the land of Israel and its people and have tried constantly to destroy them both.

It is clear from the Bible that the Lord will come and make his home in Jerusalem. He says: “This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it” (Psa. 132:14). The Almighty God says to Ezekiel, “…Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever….” (Ezek. 43:7).

The Book of Revelation confirms this, saying: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God’” (Rev. 21:3). Can we even imagine that God will come and live forever with the Israelis? This idea would surely chap most people living on the earth today, along with some Christians.

Since God will ultimately come to live forever on the earth, there will be some changes made.

We read about a few of the physical changes in Zechariah 14:9-10. Apparently, the city or parts of it will be greatly elevated. The city will be wonderfully enlarged to about 1400 miles wide (2254 km), 1400 miles long and 1400 miles high. (Rev. 21:16-17). We are told that there will be no more sea (Rev. 21:1). There will certainly be no more room for seas, at least in the Middle East. This may all sound strange, but if we believe the Bible, this is exactly how things will work out.

Alcorn says, “A metropolis of this size in the middle of the United States would stretch from Canada to Mexico and from the Appalachian Mountains to the California border… The ground level of the city will be nearly two million square miles. This is forty times bigger than England and fifteen thousand times bigger than London…” ¹

What can we say about the size of this city? A city that is 1400 miles high must surely include heavenly realities. Does this mean that God will now rule the whole universe as well from Jerusalem? If God lives in Jerusalem forever, it certainly seems so. There is much involved in that prayer he taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come….”

This lets us know that we have a few things out of kilter in our theology. Since the time of our Greek-thinking early church fathers, we have focused on fleeing the earth and going to heaven. Yet, Jesus told us to pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). We have had everything going up and the Bible has everything coming down. There will be a New Heaven and a New Earth right here (Isa. 65:17; 66:22). And Jerusalem will take on incredible and astounding importance for the whole world.

Jewish people would understand this much better than most Christians. Fortunately for them, the Jews have always kept a great appreciation for the natural, while they have sought the spiritual. Theologian Marvin Wilson says: “Judaism serves to keep Christianity grounded in the world by addressing the most challenging of human needs and real-life problems. From Bible times to the present, Judaism has never been a religion indifferent to the here and now.” ²

Some Bible interpreters seem to understand the coming importance of Jerusalem. Wiersbe comments: “…Jerusalem would become the world’s most important city…” ³ Phillips says, “…Jerusalem will become the capital of the world and will be exalted above all nations.” ⁴

GATHERING OF THE NATIONS

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. Micah 4:2

It is important for us to realize that there will always be nations, even in the world to come. The Bible tells us of two great gatherings of nations. First, they will all gather to fight against God and Israel (Zech. 14:2-3; Joel 3:1-2). Then the survivors will gather to worship God and to honor Israel. The Bible says, “…All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Rev. 15:4). In Psalms 22:27-28 we read, “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations.”

For the first time in the history of the world, the nations will come to inquire of God and to give honor to Israel. The church has spent much of the last two thousand years hating and persecuting Israel. Zechariah comments: “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, “Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you”’” (Zech. 8:23).

God’s law will go forth from Jerusalem to all the nations. As one old pastor used to say, then the world will at last be run by the manufacturer’s handbook. The law will include the Old Testament and the New. Then people will delight themselves in the perfect law of Christ (Jam. 2:8, 12). Gone will be lawlessness and man’s ideas of what is right and true.

Meyer comments: “In the millennial age Israel, in her restored beauty, will be the center of a renovated world. That restoration will bring great glory to God and blessing to mankind…The time center of unity is not to be found in creeds or systems, but in the impulse of a common desire after God and common worship.” ⁵ Phillips adds: “Jerusalem will be the legislative capital of the world. An omniscient, absolutely righteous King will govern an empire stretching from pole to pole and from sea to sea…There will be universal peace, prosperity, and progress. No wonder the nations will flock to Jerusalem to see the beautiful, benevolent capital and its all-glorious King!” ⁶

“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” (4:3). This is a picture of the Millennial Age or the thousand-year initial reign of Christ on earth. During this period Christ will rule the earth with a rod of iron (Psa. 2:9). No longer will Christ pamper nations and extend great grace to the wicked. The presence and glory of Christ will be evident for all to see.

Smith points out how our values today are twisted and that our nations spend more in their budgets to destroy others than to help them, and that we seem to be beating plowshares into swords, with military spending almost bankrupting nations.⁷In fact, worldwide military spending in 2023 was two thousand four hundred and forty-three billion dollars. Phillips says that in the Millennial Age “Factories, built for the manufacture of military hardware, will be used for the production of consumer goods…” ⁸ Guthrie adds concerning Jesus: “He shall judge between many people; He shall become the absolute Arbiter for all moral and ethical questions among all the nations of the earth.” ⁹

“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” (4:4). This was a proverbial expression in Israel that meant perfect peace and lasting security (1 Ki. 4:25; 2 Ki. 18:31; Isa. 36:16). The vine became the symbol of Israel and was later found on Jewish coins.¹⁰ It seems that Nathaniel was either sitting or praying under his fig tree before he was called to Jesus (Jn. 1:48).

“All the nations may walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever” (4:5). Some commentators have noted how this verse does not seem to fit. They assume that the Millennium is a time of perfect obedience and devotion to the one True God. However, there are many mysterious things about this age that we do not yet understand.

The Millennium will be a near-perfect earth, but it is interesting that there still will be some rebellion present. We see that a perfect society will not produce perfect people. Only Jesus can do that. We not only see stubborn Egyptians refusing to come and worship (Zech. 14:18-19), but at the end of the Millennium there is mentioned the final battle of Gog and Magog against God and Israel (Rev. 20:8-9). That last rebellion will be quickly terminated by God, with Israel spending seven months just burying the dead enemies. We are assured by this that there will still be some rebellious flesh on earth.

Guzik says: “In the millennial reign, the inhabitants of the Earth will not be compelled to follow the LORD. Some will walk each in the name of his god; those who do walk in the name of the LORD will enjoy great blessing and peace.” ¹¹

THE LORD’S MINISTRY

“In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. I will make the lame my remnant, those driven away a strong nation. The LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever.” Micah 4:6-7

Pett points out that this was good news for the lame since they were originally excluded from the precincts of the Tabernacle (Lev. 21:18).¹² We see this inclusion in the ministry of Jesus. He often healed the lame (Matt. 11:5; 15:30; 21:14; Lk. 7:22). The idea of the holy remnant is very prevalent in scripture. In our time we have watched as God has gathered his remnant back to the land of Israel. Many were weak, sick, lame and with various other maladies as they came from the Holocaust. God gathered them and made them into a strong nation, as we have mentioned earlier.

“As for you, watchtower of the flock, stronghold of Daughter Zion, the former dominion will be restored to you; kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem” (4:8). The Hebrew Migdal Eder is generally translated as “tower of the flock” or “watchtower of the flock.” This statement is a bit mysterious. The early church father Jerome lived in Bethlehem, and he notes that the Tower of Eder was about a thousand paces (a mile) from the city.¹³ Genesis 35:21 tells us that Israel once pitched his tent there.

This strange verse seems to connect with King David. Perhaps he kept his sheep there. Eder is a very short distance from Jerusalem, and we seem to have a promise that the throne of David will be re-established in the city (Isa. 1:26). Wiersbe says, “Messiah, the Son of David, will one day reign from Jerusalem and care for his flock as a faithful Shepherd-King.” ¹⁴

Utley probes the mystery saying: “This is possibly a special place name near Bethlehem itself, where sacrificial sheep for daily sacrifice were raised…This will become the focus of prophecy in Mic. 5:2 (cf. Luke 2:8-20), which relates to the Messiah’s (who is the sinless Lamb of God, cf. John 1:29) birthplace where the daily sacrifices of lambs…are kept year round.” ¹⁵

THEIR SITUATION

Why do you now cry aloud – have you no king? Has your ruler perished, that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor? Micah 4:9

Micah turns from his glorious vision of Israel’s future to sad and bewildering events of her present and even immediate future situation. Both Israel and Judah were facing much suffering, leading to awful exile from their homelands. Because of Micah 4:10, Utley sees this section as primarily reflecting the destruction of Jerusalem much later in 586 BC by Nebuchadnezzar II.¹⁶ Judah’s king was removed, abused, bound, and taken to Babylon (2 Kings 25:7). Micah seems to accurately envision these events which were almost a century and a half away. Feinberg comments: “Before the blessed day of the coming of the great King, Judah will lose all kingly rule.” ¹⁷

“Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you must leave the city to camp in the open field. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued. There the LORD will redeem you out of the hand of your enemies” (4:10). All the pains of both Israel and Judah are compared to the birth pains of a woman in labor. Labor pains throughout the Old Testament are pictures of judgment and suffering (cf. Isa. 42:14; Jer. 4:31; 6:24). The good news is that through the labor pain, a new reality is born. This same verse tells of Judah’s eventual redemption and return from captivity.

Micah was writing about the time of Israel’s defeat and capture. Normally, one would think that he would mention Assyria and her capital city Nineveh. We see here the beauty and accuracy of biblical prophecy. Guthrie comments: “Amazingly enough, the prophet foretells the land of their captivity: not Assyria (which was then mistress of the Middle East), but Babylon, which in Micah’s day was only a subject province of Assyria.” ¹⁸

ANOTHER PICTURE OF THEIR FUTURE

But now many nations are gathered against you. They say, “Let her be defiled, let our eyes gloat over Zion!” Micah 4:11

Here the prophet seems to be looking far into the future, centuries and millennia from the threats of Assyria or even Babylonia. He may very well be picturing the great approaching Battle of Armageddon, where the armies of the whole world will be defeated (Rev. 16:16). It seems that antisemitism will spread to all nations and increase with such ferocity that the armies of the world will at last come to deal with their perceived “Israel problem.”

Their purpose would be to conquer, defile and gloat over defeated Zion (Joel 3:1-16; Zech. 12:2-9). Jamieson says, “Her foes desired to feast their eyes on her calamities.” ¹⁹ Zechariah describes the beginning of this great battle saying: “I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle” (Zech. 14:2-3). It seems that Jerusalem will suffer a partial defeat before the awful anger of the Lord is aroused.

“But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor” (4:12). Likely, Armageddon is a sort of biblical code word that speaks of an attack against the whole nation of Israel. Armageddon may well include the great battle that will be fought in the Kidron Valley next to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. It is called the Valley of Jehoshaphat or the valley where God judges.

Armageddon and Jerusalem are scarcely over fifty air miles apart (80 km.) and such a large battle will cover both, even all the tiny nation of Israel. It is unthinkable that a worldwide battle involving all nations against Israel will not cover and saturate the whole country in war. The prophet Joel says: “I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel, because they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land” (Joel 3:2).

We read that initially the houses of Jerusalem will be looted and the women raped. Rape was often a hallmark of Muslim victories in the past. Surely, the surrounding Muslim nations will gladly join in with the international forces to vent their ancient rage once more against Israel.

“‘Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion, for I will give you horns of iron; I will give you hooves of bronze, and you will break to pieces many nations.’ You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth” (4:13). We observe something here that is not evident in other places. The military forces of Israel will be involved in the last great battle of this evil age. We have watched God make Israel invincible in several of her modern battles. He has already given them iron horns and bronze hoofs on several occasions. More than once, small Israel has defeated the combined armies of all the Arab Middle Eastern nations.

This last battle will witness the long pent-up and horrible wrath of God against the nations for all of their antisemitism. God will put the nations on trial, as we observed in Joel 3:2. In prophecy, we will later see the survivors of the world’s nations meekly coming to Israel in order to worship the Lord of the whole earth. Isaiah says that even, “The children of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel” (Isa. 60:14).

CHAPTER 5

Marshal your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod. Micah 5:1

Statements in this verse have led commentators to see this as a picture of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 586 BC. So many soldiers were encamped around Jerusalem that it probably looked like a city of troops. Unfortunately, Israel only had a weak and half-starved army to resist the Babylonians. Several commentators mention that striking Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod would have been a terrible insult to an oriental monarch (cf. Lam. 3:30). We mentioned the account in 2 Kings 25:1-7, and we see that Israel’s King Zedekiah was captured and greatly abused. His sons were killed before his eyes. He was then blinded and taken as a captive to Babylon. We can assume he was struck with rods in all this abuse.

“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” (5:2). Here the prophet Micah does it again. Earlier he had accurately named Babylon as the site of Judah’s captivity. Now he names little, insignificant, Bethlehem as the site of the coming Messiah’s birthplace. Phillips says, “Micah was the first person to realize this fascinating fact, and against all odds, he wrote it down.” ¹

Bethlehem was truly a small and insignificant town. It was just 5 miles (8 km) south of Jerusalem, and today is almost a city suburb. The root of the ancient Hebrew name Ephrathah means “fruitful.” ² The name Bethlehem itself in Hebrew means “house of bread.” How fitting, since Jesus was and is the Bread of Life (Jn. 6:35). The Bethlehem area today has many olive trees. In Bible times we note in the Book of Ruth that there were many fields of grain. In addition, it was a luscious place to graze sheep.

The little city had a great history featuring Ruth and Boaz as well as being the hometown of King David. Still, it was tiny and insignificant. Phillips says, “Although Bethlehem was only a small place of little account, it would become world famous.” ³

We simply must focus on the one who is to be the ruler of Israel. We are told that his origins are unsearchable, from the days of eternity, or from everlasting (Psa. 45:6). This reminds us of the amazing description in John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (Jn. 1:1-2). Yet, this one, who was and is God, came down to earth and was born as a little baby in Bethlehem (cf. Isa. 7:14; 9:6). He who was timeless, stepped into time, took on human flesh and thus became the Savior of humanity.

The Messiah coming from Bethlehem was a well-known fact when the wise men arrived in Jerusalem and the elders were asked where the Christ would be born. They quickly spoke up, “‘In Bethlehem in Judea…for this is what the prophet has written’” (Matt. 2:5). They no doubt replied, “Bethlehem in Judea,” because there was most likely another Bethlehem in the tribal lands of Zebulun.⁴ Matthew Henry, 17^th century minister and author, notes that this is probably the most important prophecy in the whole Old Testament.⁵

It is terribly sad today that Bethlehem, which was a Christian city through recent history, has now become mostly an Arab/Muslim city. This happened during the peace process with Oslo II (1995). Israel’s leftist leaders seemingly did not even have an appreciation of King David’s city of birth, so they traded Bethlehem for an elusive peace, which was absolutely worthless in the end.

A PICTURE OF ISRAEL’S FUTURE

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. Micah 5:3

The NIV here has that Israel will be “abandoned,” while several other translations use the expression “give them up” (ASV, NAS, NKJ, NRS, RSV), until the one in labor brings forth. Utley comments: “This whole paragraph marks a radical transition from God’s judgment (siege, exile) of Jerusalem and Judah to God’s marvelous restoration (cf. Mic. 4:6-8,12-13).” ⁶

Of course, the true beginning of that restoration, although unperceived by Israel, was the virgin Mary bearing her divine Son as we have mentioned (cf. Isa. 7:14; 9:6; 11:1-16). Phillips comments, “Micah was saying that there was to be an interval between his time and the time of the incarnation. During that span, Judah would lose its sovereignty.” ⁷ Judah would not only lose sovereignty but would experience 70 years of Babylonian captivity. Phillips continues by saying, “…the royal family of David would shrink in importance until it was represented by a peasant girl and a Nazarene carpenter.” ⁸

We now know that the time interval between the woman bearing the son and the brothers returning home was a long one, approximately 19 centuries. As we have mentioned, the serious second return of Jewish people to the land of Israel began in 1882. It soon became a worldwide movement. In the next 50 years or so, the land was settled and populated. Israel became a Jewish state on May 14, 1948, as we have mentioned. Few people, including Christians, realized that Micah’s ancient prophecy was fulfilled. Also, the state of Israel was literally born in a day, according to Isaiah’s prophecy (Isa. 66:7-11; cf. Lk. 21:24).

“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” (5:4). Both Feinberg and Phillips feel that this verse reflects the second coming of Christ, and they note that there is no picture of him more beautiful than that of a shepherd.⁹ This verse makes clear that the greatness of the Lord will be seen and acknowledged worldwide (cf. Psa. 2:8; 72:8; Mal. 1:11, 14).

“And he will be our peace when the Assyrians invade our land and march through our fortresses. We will raise against them seven shepherds, even eight commanders, who will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with drawn sword. He will deliver us from the Assyrians when they invade our land and march across our borders” (5:5-6). Commentators are pretty well agreed that these verses speak of a great end-day battle against Israel.

Phillips comments: “The word Assyrian became a haunting synonym for war, cruelty, oppression, and terror to the hapless middle eastern countries…In his somewhat obscure reference to a latter-day Assyria, Micah may have had in mind the confederation of nations that will have as their common goal in the last days extermination of the state and people of Israel…Israel’s Shepherd will be her protector during all the end-time troubles.” ¹⁰ Wiersbe adds: “Israel’s future enemies would be defeated (vv. 5:5b-6), the Jewish remnant would be blessed (vv. 5:7-9), and the nation would be purged of its sins (vv. 5:10-15).” ¹¹

We see in 4:13 that God will give Israel horns of iron and hooves of bronze in the last days (cf. Zech. 12:6). Here we note that God will give Israel seven shepherds, even eight commanders, who will rule the land of Assyria with the sword. The identity of these future warriors is quite impossible for us at present. However, these figures may also be symbolic. Jamieson remarks: “‘Seven’ expresses perfection; ‘seven and eight’ is an idiom for a full and sufficient number (Job 5:19; Prov. 6:16; Eccl.11:2).¹²

THE BLESSINGS OF ISRAEL

The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for anyone or depend on man. Micah 5:7

Feinberg comments: “Since rain does not fall in Palestine from the beginning of May to the latter part of October, the dew, the night-mist of the summer months, is essential to the summer crops. The dew speaks of Israel’s abundant, refreshing and fertilizing ministry among the nations.” ¹³ Surely a part of that blessed dew is the general knowledge of the True God that is spread worldwide by the Jewish people.

A continuous blessing or dew from the Jews that is so often overlooked is their wisdom and inventiveness. In my book Does God Play Favorites, I spend a chapter outlining these blessings. There have been literally hundreds and thousands of Jewish people who have blessed the nations with their knowledge, skills and inventiveness throughout history.

America has been particularly blessed with Jewish knowledge and skill. A Jewish man by the name of Haym Solomon saved our revolution by loaning massive amounts of money to our leaders. If it were paid back today with interest (and it never was) it would amount to two and a half trillion dollars. In 1975, we did issue a postage stamp honoring Solomon who “was responsible for raising most of the money needed to finance the American Revolution.”

The Jews have blessed all the nations with many discoveries and inventions. Just to list famous Jews in America will astound us. There were names in merchandising like Levi Strauss, Sears Roebuck, Gimbels and Macy’s. There was Edwin Land and his Polaroid camera and Emile Berliner and his Gramophone, which made the recording industry possible. Also, there were Radio and entertainment giants like David Sarnoff of NBC, and William Paley of CBS. In our day we cannot forget Larry Page and Sergey Brin who founded Google.

Of course, Hollywood has been the domain of Jewish enterprisers and entertainers. Samuel Goldwyn founded MGM while Adolph Zukor founded Paramount. There were also Louis B. Mayer, Lewis Selznick, William Fox and Marcus Loew. Hollywood itself has boasted hundreds of Jewish actors, actresses and other entertainers from Joey Adams to Shelly Winters. An extremely high percentage of the famous Hollywood figures are Jewish.

When we think of music we think of Irving Berlin, with his God Bless America and White Christmas. We think of George Gershwin, Rogers and Hammerstein, Jerome Kern, Fritz Kreisler, Bruno Walter, Arthur Fiedler and Leonard Bernstein.

It was Jewish scientists who enabled America to lead in the atomic race. We would not have developed the atomic and hydrogen bombs without names like Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer and Edward Teller. A Jew, Hyman Rickover, also developed the first atomic- powered submarine.

We would need a small book to catalog all the inventors, musicians, actors, doctors, politicians and other Jewish people who have helped give us a wonderful life in America.¹⁴God did say that the Jewish people would be a blessing to all nations (Gen. 18:18).

It is stated in this verse that the Jew waits for no man. The Jewish people have a certain boldness in their ideas and inventiveness. They call it chutzpah and they define it as: “Gall, brazen nerve, effrontery, incredible ‘guts,’ presumption plus arrogance such as no other word and no other language can do justice to.” ¹⁵ This chutzpah is especially evident inside Israel. Dan Senor and Saul Singer, in their book Start-Up Nation, say: “Whereas Americans emphasize decorum and exhaustive preparation, Israelis put chutzpah first. ‘When an Israeli entrepreneur has a business idea, he will start it that week, one analyst put it.’” ¹⁶ That might explain why following the United States, tiny Israel has more companies listed on the NASDAQ than any other country in the world.¹⁷

THE LION-LIKE NATURE OF ISRAEL

The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which mauls and mangles as it goes, and no one can rescue. Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies, and all your foes will be destroyed. Micah 5:8-9

Here we note that not only will Israel be a dew of blessing to the nations, but it will be a force to be reckoned with. The “lion of Judah” quality will certainly be evident at times. Feinberg sums up: “Israel will serve in a twofold character; as a source of refreshing (dew, showers) and as a source of power and judgment (lion) in God’s hand.” ¹⁸

We might remember reading about the valiant Maccabees when a tiny and ill-equipped Jewish force defeated the tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria. His large army was wonderfully equipped and was in fact the remnant of the mighty and victorious army of Alexander the Great. Antiochus had made an awful mistake of offending the God of Israel by terribly oppressing the Jews and by offering a pig on the great altar in Jerusalem. The Jews defeated him and founded their independent Hasmonean dynasty in 167 BC.

In modern times, many of us have witnessed the “lion-like” nature of Israel. On May 15, 1948, six Arab armies from Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Iraq attacked newborn Israel. The Arab armies were well equipped and trained, while the Jews were ill-trained and poorly equipped. Still, by the time of the conclusion of the War of Independence in 1949, the Israelis had won control of most of the land that presently makes up the state of Israel.

The lion-like nature of Israel was certainly seen in the miraculous Six-Day War. Although Israel had won her independence, Arab belligerence had continued at very high levels. By May 25, 1967, the armies of Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Saudia Arabia and Egypt all moved in hostility to the very borders of Israel. The Israel armies were then outnumbered three to one.¹⁹

Assessing the grave situation, Israel decided to pre-empt the attack. On the morning of June 5, the Israeli air force struck the airfields of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Syria. In all, 452 enemy planes were destroyed, 391 of them on the ground. In less than three hours Israel had gained complete air superiority.²⁰

The armies of Israel went on the attack, and in one of the largest armor battles in history, the Egyptian armored power was shattered. Israeli troops raced on and soon reached the Suez Canal. The Egyptian losses: over 400 tanks destroyed, with another 200 captured; 10,000 men dead, with another 12,000 taken prisoner.²¹ Israel captured the Gaza Strip from Egypt and once again Israel took control of the whole Sinai Peninsula.

The miraculous war progressed on all fronts. Judea and Samaria, which had been under Jordanian control since 1948, fell into Israeli hands. At last, the Old City of Jerusalem came under Israeli control.

The 1967 war was so miraculous that even Israelis were stunned. Tough, battle-hardened soldiers wept when the Western Wall was captured. Gen. Shlomo Goren, the Chief Rabbi of the Israel Armed Forces arrived at the wall, with the Torah clutched in his hands. Goren cried, “We have taken the city of God, we are entering the Messianic era for the Jewish People…” ²²

The Golan Heights, from which Syria had terrorized the Galilee for years, was captured by Israel. In a mere six days, the war was over and once again the vastly superior Arab armies were defeated.²³

Micah has assured us that in future actions Israel will have horns of iron and hoofs of bronze to defeat her enemies. The Bible also indicates that Israel will fight mightily in the great last day battle of the ages. Indeed, their leaders will be “…like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left,..” (Zech. 12:6).

GOD’S CHASTENING AND PREPARATION

“In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will destroy your horses from among you and demolish your chariots. I will destroy the cities of your land and tear down all your strongholds.” Micah 5:10-11

Since the days of King Solomon, Israel has relied on chariots (1 Ki. 10:26). However, God had regularly warned his people not to do such a thing (Deut. 17:16; Isa. 2:7; 30:15-17). The Psalmist had sung: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psa. 20:7). Utley comments: “Chariots were the ultimate weapon of that day. They seem to have been introduced into this area (originally from the Hyksos rulers in Egypt) by the Phoenicians or Philistines who plated them with iron and made them the most formidable weapon available.” ²⁴They were like the combat tank of ancient times.

God has not cast away his people (Rom. 11:1). However, he will chasten them and prune them until he does away with their fleshly ideas. Israel’s victories in the last days will not come about through human strength.²⁵ This has implications for the church as a whole. Calvin once said, “…The Church will never be safe, till she is stripped of all creature trusts, and rests on Jehovah alone.” ²⁶

The Lord certainly did this stripping in Micah’s day. Utley comments, “We know from Assyrian documents that in 701 B.C. Sennacherib captured forty-six walled cities of Judah (cf. Mic. 5:14b).” ²⁷

“I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells. I will destroy your idols and your sacred stones from among you; you will no longer bow down to the work of your hands” (5:12-13). We know from the prophets that the people of Israel eventually forsook the Lord and wholeheartedly ran after the Baals of Canaan. This brought about their downfall. Coffman notes how after their Babylonian captivity the people never again fell into the shameless idolatry they had before their captivity.²⁸

Witchcraft and sorcery are matters that affect both the US and Israel. Today the whole subject of sorcery has gained wide popularity as reflected particularly by the Harry Potter books and movies. We have also been gently initiated into sorcery by the TV, starting long ago with such innocent and funny witch programs like “I Dream of Jeannie,” then moving deeper into programs such as “Bewitched,” and finally on to the really heavy stuff like “The Exorcist.”

It seems that despite its strong biblical prohibitions, even we Christians hardly have a clue as to sorcery’s evil nature and its damaging effects upon humankind. I can remember that as a student in a Christian college, several of us young men (some were already pastors) had numerous sessions of hypnotizing each other. At the time, we had no idea that the seemingly innocent practice of “casting spells” was absolutely forbidden by the scriptures (Deut. 18:11-12). I have often wondered what damaging and long-term effects might have resulted from these sessions. I have personally repented and asked God‘s forgiveness for my ignorant participation.

Perhaps it is about time for the church and for Israel to consider this subject in view of the strong warnings of scripture, even those of our own New Testament. Hopefully, our children can be much better prepared to deal with sorcery than some of us were in the older generations.

It seems that many in modern Israel are easy prey to sorcery. It is a common practice for young men out of high school or after the army experience to travel the world looking at other religions, particularly those of India. They apparently do not realize that the revelation of the True God has been given specifically to the people of Israel. Micah tells us that God will not put up with such things. In Isaiah 2:6, it is said: “You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob. They are full of superstitions from the East…”

Today, due to New Age influences, many eastern ideas are permeating our society and our churches. These include eastern meditation, various forms of mind control, and even seemingly harmless exercise and relaxation programs. In Psalm 147:19-20 we read: “He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws….” We must understand that the special saving revelation of God to humanity has come exclusively through Israel. We must not look elsewhere.

“I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles when I demolish your cities. I will take vengeance in anger and wrath on the nations that have not obeyed me” (5:14-15). The Lord God had said to Israel: “Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the LORD your God, and do not erect a sacred stone, for these the LORD your God hates” (Deut. 16:21-22). Yet, wicked King Manasseh put an Asherah pole in the very temple of God in Jerusalem. (2 Ki. 21:7). It was this wickedness of witchcraft, sorcery and idolatry that brought about the ruin of Israel.

CHAPTER 6

Listen to what the LORD says: “Stand up, plead my case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say. 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 6:1-2

Here we have a court case between the Lord and his people. Meyer states, “The mountains, as the most enduring monuments of nature, are summoned as witnesses in the great trial between Jehovah and his people…” ¹ This picture is not an unusual one for we see it reenacted in other scriptures. In places, he even includes the heavens as a witness (Deut. 4:26; 31:28; 32:1; Psa. 50:4; Isa. 1:2). Nature itself is an example of strict obedience to the laws of the Creator and it is called to testify. Even the everlasting foundations of the earth are summoned. From this, we learn that the earth is eternal. This is evident in several scriptures (Psa. 93:1; 96:10; 104:5; Eccl. 1:4).

“My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. 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” (6:3-4). Has God done evil to his people? Has he failed them? Rather, he has redeemed them from abject slavery in Egypt and led them tenderly on their way to freedom. God sent them Moses, who, outside of Christ, might have been the most holy and outstanding leader in human history. God sent Aaron, who initiated the holy priesthood of Israel, and he sent Miriam, the prophetess, holy dancer and singer (Exo. 15:20-21). What blessed and tender care!

“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” (6:5). The episode of King Balak of Moab and Balaam the prophet was one of the most serious challenges to Israel in her journey from Egypt. King Balak of Moab was fearful of the vast numbers of Israelites moving near his territory. He sent to Mesopotamia for the prophet Balaam, promising him a great reward if he would come and curse Israel.

Balaam is one of the Bible’s most interesting and most perplexing characters. We read about this episode in Numbers chapter 22 through chapter 24. Balaam is mentioned in several other places of scripture, even in the New Testament. The Jewish people consider Balaam as the first Gentile prophet. We might also say he was the worst Gentile prophet. He was a serious threat to Israel since he seemed to have a very strong prophetic gifting.

As we look at Balaam in these chapters, we discover several things. God first of all told this prophet not to go to Balak and not to put a curse on Israel (Num. 22:12). Balaam obeyed temporarily, but we observe from the story that his tongue was a mile long with greed. He really wanted Balak’s reward. Finally, God allowed Balaam to go but was very angry with the situation (22:22). The Angel of the Lord sought to stop the mad prophet. Even the donkey he was riding tried to stop him. Balaam, like a madman carried on a miraculous conversation with the donkey as if it were a normal thing to do.

So, Balaam continued his journey to Balak, with the promise of great reward. He tried to curse Israel, but only a blessing of Israel came forth. This happened three times, much to the displeasure of Balak. It is obvious that Balaam was trying to mix sorcery with his prophecy (24:1) but he learned that sorcery would not work against Israel (23:23).

Balaam was a mixture of true prophecy and sorcery. Yet, when he tried to curse Israel only a blessing came forth each time. In fact, one of the best prophecies of the coming Davidic kingdom and perhaps its Messiah is seen in Numbers 24:17-19. Balaam tried and tried to curse Israel, but he could not succeed. His prophetic episode at Moab ended in failure. Israel was saved from what might have been a devastating curse from Balaam. God was taking great care of them.

We do know from the New Testament that Balaam tried another tactic and succeeded wonderfully. In Revelation 2:14, it is said: “…There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.” Balaam was therefore responsible for the awful falling away of Israel at Baal-Peor. Thousands of Israelites were lured into fornication and adultery leading to the false worship of Baal. God’s judgment fell and 24,000 Israelites were slain (Num. 25:9). This was one of the most disastrous events in Israel’s journey. It is interesting that when Israel entered the land one of their first acts was to slay Balaam (Josh. 13:22).

This whole dreadful episode happened at a place called Shittim, as they were on their way to enter Canaan and to finally arrive at Gilgal. In order to complete that journey, God led them through the Jordan River at flood stage just as he had led them through the Red Sea. How amazing, that God still led Israel even after all their unbelief at Shittim.

HOW TO PROPERLY WORSHIP GOD

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? Micah 6:6

After their disastrous experience, it seems that Israel is asking God just how they should worship him. They begin by doing a quick and very limited review of the sacrificial system. Coffman, quoting Rolland Wolfe, says: “This passage is one of the greatest in the Bible on the futility of ritualistic worship.” ² Under the Old Covenant God was looking for obedience. He was also looking for their ethical behavior. But even this was not sufficient.

The simple answer to their question was given and explained centuries later in Hebrews 10:4. It was answered for all time: “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

God would finally take away sins by their belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. The old sacrificial system was one of types and shadows, always looking forward to the final forgiveness. The people’s job was to be obedient to the types by faithfully making their prescribed offerings. The final forgiveness for all their sins would be made with the shedding of Jesus’ blood centuries later. Someone has said that the whole sacrificial system was only an IOU until the death of Jesus.

Paul deals with this mystery in Romans 3:25. He says, “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood – to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished…”

“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?” (6:7). Coffman remarks: “Some of Israel’s kings, especially, had offered the most outlandish numbers of beasts as sacrifices. Solomon offered 1,000 burnt offerings (1 Kings 3:4), 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep 1 Kings 8:63; 2 Chronicles 30:24; 2 Chronicles 35:7). Solomon must have supposed that cleared him of the blame for having 700 wives and 300 concubines!” ³

Guzik says: “We can almost hear Israel shouting at God from the witness stand. “You ask too much, God. Nothing will satisfy You. If we brought thousands of rams or rivers of oil or even our own firstborn it would not be enough to please You. You are unreasonable.” ⁴

They even ask if God desires that they sacrifice their own children for their sins. This of course was totally forbidden under God’s law. On some rare occasions, it was actually done. Evil kings Ahaz (2 Ki. 16:3) and Manasseh (2 Ki. 21:6) did such things. Nevertheless, child sacrifice was a pagan practice and demanded the death sentence for Israelites who practiced it (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5; Deu. 12:31 and 18:10).

What did God really want? He really wanted the blood of Jesus to cover the sins of humankind. That of course would take a lot of time to work out. Until that time, God’s people would have to be content with the types and shadows of animal sacrifices.

“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” (6:8). This verse may qualify as being the most well-known saying of Micah. Some have called it the greatest saying of the Old Testament.⁵ Feinberg concludes: “Liberals who love to make a religion out of this verse fail to realize that these requirements of the Law are impossible of fulfillment by the unregenerate man.” ⁶

Centuries later Jesus himself would answer this urgent question: “Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent’” (Jn. 6:28-29).

ISRAEL’S GUILT AND PUNISHMENT

Listen! The LORD is calling to the city – and to fear your name is wisdom – “Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.” Micah 6:9

The meaning of the Hebrew text is a little unclear in this verse. Perhaps the NET translation would make more sense in saying: “Listen! The LORD is calling to the city! It is wise to respect your authority, O LORD! Listen, O nation, and those assembled in the city!” (Mic. 6:9 NET).

The Lord says: “Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house, and the short ephah, which is accursed?” (6:10). Wiersbe says that “businessmen were exploiting and abusing the poor and needy in the land for whom God has a special concern (Amos 8:4-10… also see Micah 2:2; 3:1-3).” ⁷

The ephah was a standard dry measurement for grain and other items. It was approximately the equivalent of five gallons (US) or about 20 liters. Crooked merchants could work with a short ephah, maybe not short enough for people to notice. This practice hurt poor people most of all since they were dependent on every ounce of their purchases of grain, flour and other food items for their very livelihood.

“Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights?” (6:11). The Bible has quite a bit to say about dishonest scales. In the law of God it is written: “’Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt” (Lev. 19:35-36). In the Book of Proverbs, we have some practical wisdom about this very thing: “The LORD detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him” (Prov. 11:1). “Honest scales and balances belong to the LORD; all the weights in the bag are of his making” (Prov. 16:11). When I was a child, I remember that some of the merchants would slip their finger on to the scales when they were selling some food items.

“Your rich people are violent; your inhabitants are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully” (6:12). The rich person’s wealth is like a fortified city (Prov.10:15). The rich can afford to answer gruffly and use wealth to control and hurt others. The poor person must come meekly and plead for needs to be supplied. The rich lie and deceive others. Deception is a way of leading others to believe a lie. All those who love to lie will eventually find themselves consigned to a lake of burning sulfur at the end-day (Rev. 21:8).

When it comes to the subject of lies versus truth, our society has a very big problem. Already, 72 percent of Americans deny that absolute truth exists, and that includes biblical truth.⁸

The Christian philosopher Nancy Pearcey says, “The very meaning of the word true has been distorted. It no longer means that a statement matches what really exists in the world but only that it matches my inner experience.” ⁹ The novelist George Orwell says: “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ¹⁰

“Therefore, I have begun to destroy you, to ruin you because of your sins” (6:13). Woe unto us when God begins to destroy us because he will surely finish the job. He began to destroy Judah with the Assyrians and he finished the job with the Babylonians. Barnes feels that Micah is referring to the threats of the law as seen in Leviticus 26:16; Deuteronomy 28:30, and Deuteronomy 28:38-41.¹¹

“You will eat but not be satisfied; your stomach will still be empty. You will store up but save nothing, because what you save I will give to the sword. You will plant but not harvest; you will press olives but not use the oil, you will crush grapes but not drink the wine” (6:14-15). There is a very close connection between obedience to God and natural blessing. Israel in her long history went through several cycles of blessing and famine, depending upon their obedience to the Lord.

Modern nations have experienced a similar thing. Some years ago, when America was more of a Christian nation, she was the breadbasket of the world. Now neopagan America is beginning to suffer want. Newsweek Magazine reported in 2023:

The U.S. had the highest rate of people struggling to afford enough food to feed themselves and their families of all G7 countries in 2023, according to a recent Gallup survey. One in four (26 percent) Americans surveyed in a new Gallup analysis, titled “U.S.: Leader or Loser in the G7?” said there have been times in the past 12 months when they did not have enough money to buy the food they needed.¹²

“You have observed the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house; you have followed their traditions. Therefore I will give you over to ruin and your people to derision; you will bear the scorn of the nations” (6:16). Israel’s King Omri (reigned 876–869 or c. 884–c. 872 BC), began an exceedingly evil dynasty. He moved the capital from Tirzah to Samaria and outwardly was a strong and respected ruler. Inwardly, he began a time of compromise with the Canaanites (1 Ki. 16). “The statutes of Omri included unbridled wickedness and Baal-worship.” ¹³ In 1 Kings 16:25 we are told that, “…Omri did evil in the eyes of the LORD and sinned more than all those before him.”

His son Ahab married a Canaanite princess, Jezebel, who became the epitome of evil. Once again, the Canaanite gods were worshipped. The true Israelite prophets went into hiding. Earlier we mentioned how Baal worship seeped into Judah through the city of Lachish. Eventually, Ahab’s corruption entered into Judah’s kingly line as the wicked Athaliah, daughter of Ahab, became Judah’s queen and ruler.

CHAPTER 7

What misery is mine! I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster of grapes to eat, none of the early figs that I crave. Micah 7:1

Wiersbe comments on Micah’s grief: “Looking for a godly person was as futile as looking for summer fruit after the harvest was over.” ¹ Micah pictures himself as a hungry man looking for a cluster of sweet ripe grapes or a tasty summer fig. In reality, it was not natural fruit the prophet was looking for but spiritual fruit in Israel. Sadly, there was none to be found. Pett notes, “when according to the Law there should have been some left-overs, the gleanings, for the poor. But there were none. The rich had stripped every branch bare for greatest profit.” ²

“The faithful have been swept from the land; not one upright person remains. Everyone lies in wait to shed blood; they hunt each other with nets” (7:2). George Adam Smith comments: “Beginning here and through Micah 7:6, we have one of the most poignant criticisms of a commercial community ever to appear.” ³One would almost have to return to Abraham’s day and to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to find such gross evil. God dealt with Sodom and Gomorrah and in time he would deal both with Samaria and Judea.

The whole society was out to shed blood. We spoke earlier about how there are a lot of ways to shed blood, that we can even do it with our words. Today in the US, human blood has become cheap. The Bible tells us that bloodshed brings a curse upon any land (Num. 35:33). America’s blessed land is slowly becoming cursed with the blood of innocent people. Today it seems fashionable for young, deranged youth with automatic rifles to mow down the innocents en masse, even very young school children.

Isaiah, Micah’s contemporary said: “For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things” (Isa. 59:3). Micah notes that people hunted each other with nets. These are not fishing or game nets. They are people nets. Of course, there are a lot of ways to bind people up. The rich, in Micah’s day, probably bound up the innocent with legal maneuvers and bribes. Today much of this happens through the internet. Even by 2022, the FBI reported that Americans were losing $10.3 billion a year to internet scams.⁴ In addition, many of the net scams go unreported.

“Both hands are skilled in doing evil; the ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire – they all conspire together” (7:3). Utley comments that they were ambidextrous in their evil.⁵ They were also skilled at doing evil. It required a lot of practice to be that skilled. These greedy people were those in authority, the rulers and the judges. They were people who probably had a lot of money already, but they wanted a lot more. Elmo Scoggin comments, “They had no shame in letting the whole town know that they could be bought.” ⁶ These thieves had no time to care for the pitiful widows and the orphans.

“The best of them is like a brier, the most upright worse than a thorn hedge. The day God visits you has come, the day your watchmen sound the alarm. Now is the time of your confusion” (7:4). To deal with such people was a little like walking barefoot through a cactus patch. The Bible says, “Whoever touches thorns uses a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear; they are burned up where they lie” (2 Sam. 23:7). Even as Micah spoke, God was preparing a hot fire for Samaria, and one would soon be prepared for Judah.

The Bible assures us that we will face a similar situation as the last days dawn. Paul says, “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people” (2 Tim. 3:1-5).

The Lord does tell us that after the terrors of the last day, there will be a beginning of wonderful blessing. He says, “Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever” (Isa. 55:13).

Micha tells us that the wicked game is about over. Very soon for Samaria, the watchman will be sounding the trumpet to prepare the people for war. It will be a war they will lose and the whole people will be carried away to Assyria as prisoners.

“Do not trust a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend. Even with the woman who lies in your embrace guard the words of your lips” (7:5). Feinberg comments: “The holiest relations and the close ties mean nothing to the wicked…When God is not honored as he should be, no human bond can survive.” ⁷ This whole wicked scenario is also a picture of the last days in which we are living. Can we even imagine such wickedness, when all natural bonds will be dissolved, even with normally close family members? This speaks of a total breakdown of the home and of society.

“For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law – a man’s enemies are the members of his own household” (7:6). Jesus speaks of a similar situation in Matthew 10:35-36. He is speaking of the perils of the last day. In Israelite society, a father was greatly respected. It was unthinkable for a son to dishonor a father or even an elder. Jewish family ties were close and still are today. When the home is divided then society becomes divided. We are experiencing this trend in the US. Today a quarter of families are headed by single parents, with 80 percent of these being moms.⁸ Many moms do a good job. However, even by the turn of the century, 70 percent of inmates in state juvenile centers serving long-term sentences were raised by single mothers.⁹

Micah sighs at it all saying, “But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me” (7:7). George Adam Smith once said, “Other nations have been our teachers in art and wisdom and government. But [Israel] is our mistress in pain and in patience.” ¹⁰ Israel’s prophets have often been weeping ones like Jeremiah and even Micah (cf. 1:8; Jer. 13:17). Still, in all the darkness Micah began to experience the light as he looked at the Lord’s work in the future.

ISRAEL WILL RISE AGAIN

Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. Micah 7:8

Most of the English translations begin a new thought with this verse.¹¹ It seems here that Micah begins to look down through the centuries and behold the outcome of God’s age-old work with Israel. The holy nation, after all her suffering, will rise again. From all her darkness a wonderful light will come.

“Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the LORD’s wrath, until he pleads my case and upholds my cause. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness” (7:9). In this section of Micah, it seems that most commentators have little to say. They have little to say because they have missed the modern miracles of a mostly restored Israel. The latent antisemitism that has always hovered over the church keeps many writers from dealing with modern Israel. We have already spoken about the miraculous return of the Jews from virtually all the nations of earth. We have spoken about their miraculous wars to settle their country again. All this has come with a lot of pain and suffering for Israel.

The pain and suffering go on to this present hour. At this writing, Iran has literally surrounded Israel with its proxy armies, Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Houthis in Yemen. They are determined to destroy the Big Satan (the US) and the little Satan (Israel). They are on the verge of having an atomic bomb and they have sworn to use it on Israel as soon as it is developed. The truth is that Iran is the Satan. The strong evil spirit that dogged Daniel centuries ago is likely ruling Iran or ancient Persia today. That spirit despises Israel with an other-worldly hatred and will not rest till Israel is destroyed. Strangely, Iran has no common border with Israel.

It is unthinkable that this evil power is presently evicting many Israelis from their homes in the northern and southern parts of the country. These are living in hotels while the vast tourism industry is being virtually shut down because of the conflict. How dare Iran deprive Israel’s immigrants and residents of the homes and land to which God has returned them after two thousand years! Israel weeps and mourns for her losses, but weeping will be only for the night. Joy will come in the morning (Psa. 30:5).

“Then my enemy will see it and will be covered with shame, she who said to me, ‘Where is the LORD your God?’ My eyes will see her downfall; even now she will be trampled underfoot like mire in the streets” (7:10). Commentators have wondered who the enemy is that is spoken of here. Feinberg is probably correct in saying that this verse speaks of a later and final fulfillment of prophecy.¹²

In my writings, I have often compared prophecy to the Rocky Mountains where I live. When one is a hundred miles out toward the east on the Great Plains, the Rockies look like an unbroken string of giant snow-capped peaks. Upon closer inspection, one finds that they are made up of many lower peaks and valleys. Prophecy is like that. The prophet is seeing the whole picture, but we now know that there were many peaks and valleys. The Babylon captivity was a valley and the return with Zerubbabel was a peak. The destruction of Israel in AD 70 was a terrible valley but now at the end of the ages, we are again reaching the highest peaks as Israel rises.

The prophet speaks of Israel’s enemies being covered with shame in the end-days. He will speak in more detail of this in verse 16 onward. It is a fact today that nations are becoming more and more antisemitic. Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, global antisemitism has skyrocketed. There is now a fear that Jews may not be able to live safely in many parts of the world.¹³ It seems today that Israel is covered with a worldwide shame. However, that situation will soon be reversed, and the nations of the world will be covered with shame.

“The day for building your walls will come, the day for extending your boundaries” (7:11). Of course, one of the mountain peaks we spoke of was the return from Babylon and the rebuilding of the temple, which was finished in 516 BC. Yet, that effort only took place with less than 50,000 returnees from Babylon. Today we have millions of Jewish people who have returned home from almost all the nations. The Babylon returnees were also struggling with their Persian overlords and many antisemitic residents of the area. In the last days, Israel’s walls and borders will be greatly increased. Israel will also gain the fear and respect of all the nations on the earth.

Feinberg states: “Micah predicts that Zion will be rebuilt, and all nations will be joined to her in spiritual blessing. This our prophet has already foretold in 4:14. But before the glorious future is realized, a time of punishment must first intervene with the desolation of the land because of the sins of her people.” ¹⁴ Israel has now undergone almost 20 centuries of punishment. Added to the evils Micah has already mentioned, the people of Israel killed their long-awaited Messiah when they put Jesus on the cross in AD 30.

“In that day people will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates and from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain” (7:12). The Bible is clear that the nations will be gathered to Israel on two occasions in the last days. They will first be gathered in their hot antisemitism to fight against Israel. The prophet Joel speaks of this gathering as we mentioned before: “I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel, because they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land” (Joel 3:2).

The dividing up of the land of Israel has been at the forefront of many national plans in modern times. Perhaps this gathering will be through the United Nations since this organization has become exceedingly antisemitic. In this awful worldwide war, God will come and completely destroy all the armies of the whole earth. The nations of the world will be left in shambles.

“The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants, as the result of their deeds. (7:13). The Lord gives us several hints that after Armageddon and Jehoshaphat the nations of the earth will be decimated. Part of that judgment will be because of the gross ungodliness of the nations and part will be for their antisemitism and their united worldwide attack upon Israel. Later, in verses 16 and 17, Micah will further describe the terrible state of the nations.

As Christians, we assume that Jesus is coming just for us. The biblical truth is that Jesus is coming to Israel. He is coming in a holy rage to judge the nations of the world. He is coming for a showdown with the wicked world and the powers of darkness. That judgment will take place at Armageddon and at the Valley of Jehoshaphat in Jerusalem. It will result in the total defeat of the wicked Antichrist and his worldwide army.

The prophets mention another gathering of nations. This time, Earth’s people will come in peace. We read about this in Zechariah: “And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreat him. This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, “Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you”’” (Zech. 8:22-23). What an incredible change in the nations of the world! Phillips comments: “Micah foretold that the nations will tread softly before Israel…Abject fear of Israel will possess the nations after the battle of Armageddon, the judgment in the valley of Jehoshaphat, and the inauguration of the new order.” ¹⁵

God says of Israel: “The LORD their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown” (Zech. 9:16). After this great battle of the ages, Israel will blossom and bud and fill the whole world with fruit (Isa. 27:6). Guthrie says, “From all over the earth converts to the true faith will come to the Lord and join themselves with believing Israel.” ¹⁶ God’s grand and eternal program for Israel and for the whole world will be instituted.

MICAH’S PRAYER AND FURTHER VISION

Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasturelands. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago. Micah 7:14

Micah continues to envision the blessed day of Israel’s peace and restoration. He asks for the Good Shepherd Jesus to lead them. The Psalmist says “…Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth…” (Psa. 80:1). Micah pictures Israel once again living peacefully in the Golan (Bashan) and even in Gilead. This tells us that surrounding nations will quickly restore captured areas like Gilead in upper Jordan and other lands taken away from Israel. Gilead will be a land of fertile pastures. It will be so peaceful, even in the natural world, that Israelis can sleep safely in the forests (Ez. 34:25).

Guzik comments: “The nations shall see and be ashamed: When Israel is restored to the land and enjoys a restored relationship with the Lord, then those who opposed God’s people will see how wrong they were to fight against them.” ¹⁷

“As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show them my wonders” (7:15). When Israel came out of Egypt, history witnessed some of the most astounding acts of God that the world had ever seen. The seas and rivers were divided to allow the chosen people to cross. The world’s mightiest army of Egypt was drowned in the sea. For 40 years, Israel was sustained by miraculous food from heaven. There were many more astounding miracles. The Lord says that it will be like that when he comes to make a final deliverance of Israel.

“Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power. They will put their hands over their mouths and their ears will become deaf. They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens; they will turn in fear to the LORD our God and will be afraid of you” (7:16-17). Guthrie says, “All the Gentile nations will be reduced to impotence before this display of divine power…” ¹⁸ In fact, it is difficult to imagine how utterly weak and destroyed all the nations of the earth will be after their foolish battle against the Almighty God and Israel. They will be so low that they will be licking the dust like a snake. They will crawl out of their hiding places in trembling and fear.

MICAH’S PRAISE TO GOD

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. Micah 7:18

Several commentators have noted that Micah begins his doxology by making a play on his own Hebrew name (Mi-ka-yah, Who is like God?). Our God pardons sin, even the gross sin of Israel, and also our own gross sins. His final pardon is through the shed blood of Jesus the Lamb of God. God delights to show mercy and his mercy is everlasting.

In the New Testament the priest Zechariah praised the Lord saying:

He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us – to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. (Lk. 1:69-75)

“You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be faithful to Jacob, and show love to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our ancestors in days long ago” (7:19-20). Through the centuries many Christians have felt that God is through with Israel and that all the blessings of Israel have now come to Christianity. This is the gross error of Supersessionism or Replacement Theology. Here we see again that God will forgive Israel’s sins just as he has forgiven us through his Messiah.

Utley comments: “On the afternoon of New Year’s Day, Orthodox Jews go to a place of running water and empty their pockets while reciting Mic. 7:18-20. This is called Tashlich or ‘thou will cast.’ It emphasizes not only the covenant responsibility (i.e., removal of all sin) but also the mercy of God!” ¹⁹ Now at the end of the ages we see the Gracious Lord answering all these thousands and millions of Jewish prayers.

All the gracious promises made to Israel over the many, many centuries would now all be fulfilled in the Messiah. Father Abraham and all his seed, both Jewish and Gentile can rest assured in them and enjoy them forevermore.

ENDNOTES

Several sources I have cited here are from electronic media, either from websites or electronic research libraries. Thus, in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead, I have cited the verse or verses in each book (e.g. v. verse 1:1 or vs. verses 1:5-6) about which the commentators speak.

INTRODUCTION

1 Charles F. Pfeiffer & Everett F. Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979), p. 851.

2 Charles L. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1990), p. 153.

3 Pfeiffer & Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 851.

4 John Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1998), p. 159.

5 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 153.

6 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 159.

CHAPTER 1

1 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 161.

2 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007), p. 1452.

3 Charles Ward Smith, Smith’s Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 1: 2. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/csc/micah-1.html

4 Bob Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 1:3, https://www.freebiblecommentary.org/old_testament_studies/VOL10OT/VOL10DOT_01.html

5 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 162.

6 James Burton Coffman, Commentary on Micah, v. 1:4. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bcc/micah.html

7 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 1:6.

8 Robert D. Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Micah, 1871-78, v. 1:7. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/jfu/micah.html

9 Quoted in David Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Micah, vs. 1:8-9. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/micah-1/

10 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, vs. 1:8-9.

11 Ibid.

12 D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer, A.M. Stibbs, D. J. Wiseman, The New Bible Commentary: Revised (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1970), p. 753.

13 Ibid.

14 Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Micah, vs. 1:10-16.

15 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 164.

16 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 1:11.

17 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 164.

18 Ibid.

19 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 156.

20 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 1:13.

21 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 164.

22 Peter Pett, Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, Micah, v. 1:14. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/pet.html

23 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 156.

24 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 164.

25 Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Micah, v. 1:15.

26 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 1:16.

CHAPTER 2

1 F.B. Meyer, F.B. Meyer’s ‘Through the Bible’ Commentary, Micah, vs. 2:1-16. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/fbm/micah.html

Guzik adds: “This could also be a reference to ancient legal practices. In the ancient world, law courts opened for business at morning light because the rising sun demonstrated light dispelling darkness. Micah saw the corruption of Israel’s law courts and explained that they practiced their theft and evil at morning light when the courts opened.” Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Micah, vs. 2:1-2.

2 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 158.

3 Pett, Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, Micah, v. 2:1.

4 Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT. p. 1453.

5 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 2:2.

“The pre-existence of the Messiah (i.e., as ‘Wisdom’ or ‘the Angel of the Lord,’ cf. Prov. 8:22-31; John 1:1,14-15; 8:56-59; 16:28; 17:5; 1 Cor. 8:9; Phil. 2:6-7; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3; 10:5-8).”

6 Pfeiffer & Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, pp. 2:1-5.

7 Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Micah, v. 2:4.

8 Albert Barnes, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible (1798-1870), v. 2:4. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bnb.html

9 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 166.

10 Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Micah, vs. 2:6-9.

Utley adds: “The term “speak out” is literally “to drip” (cf. Deut. 32:2; Ezek. 20:46; 21:2). It possibly denotes an excited speaking with spittle from the mouth (NET Bible).” Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 2:6

11 Barnes, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, v. 2:8.

12 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 2:9.

13 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 159.

14 Guthrie, et. al. The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 754.

15 Quoted in Coffman, Commentary on Micah, v. 2:11.

16 Pett, Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, Micah, v. 2:11.

17 Jim Gerrish, Does God Play Favorites (Minneapolis: Cornerstone Publishing, 2000, 2003), p. 112.

Note: A free copy of Jim’s book is available on his website. https://www.churchisraelforum.com/god-play-favorites/

CHAPTER 3

1 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p.168.

2 Coffman, Commentary on Micah, v. 3:1.

3 Barnes, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, v. 3:1.

4 Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Micah, vs. 3:1-3.

5 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 168.

6 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 3:5.

7 Gerrish, Does God Play Favorites?, pp. 310-313.

8 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 3:5.

9 Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT. p. 1455.

10 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 3:6.

11 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 164.

12 Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 3:8.

13 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 168.

14 Meyer, F.B. Meyer’s ‘Through the Bible’ Commentary, Micah, vs. 3:1-12.

15 Barnes, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, v. 3:9.

16 Smith, Smith’s Bible Commentary, Micah, vs. 3:8-11.

17 James H. Charlesworth, ed., Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls (NY: Doubleday, 1992), p. 238.

18 Ibid., p. 239.

19 Ibid., p. 240.

20 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 166.

21 Barnes, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, v. 3:12.

22 Ibid.

CHAPTER 4

1 Randy Alcorn, Heaven (Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004), p. 250.

2 Marvin R. Wilson, Exploring Our Hebraic Heritage, A Christian Theology of Roots and Renewal (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2014), pp. 37-38.

3 Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT. p. 1456.

4 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 170.

5 Meyer, F.B. Meyer’s ‘Through the Bible’ Commentary, Micah, vs. 4:1-13.

6 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 170.

7 Smith, Smith’s Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 4:3.

8 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 170.

9 Guthrie, et. al. The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 756.

10 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 169.

11 Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Micah, vs. 4:4-5.

12 Pett, Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, Micah, vs. 4:6-7.

13 Barnes, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, v. 4:8.

14 Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT. p. 1456.

15 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 4:8.

16 Ibid., vs. 4:9-13.

17 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 170.

18 Guthrie, et. al. The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 757.

19 Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Micah, v. 4:11.

CHAPTER 5

1 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 174.

2 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 173.

3 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 174.

4 Adam Clarke, Clarke’s Commentary, Micah, v. 5:2. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/acc/micah.html

5 Matthew Henry, Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible, vs. 5:1-6. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/mhn/micah.html

6 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, vs. 5:2-5a.

7 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 174.

8 Ibid.

9 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, pp. 174-175. (see also Phillips, 174-175).

10 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 175.

11 Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT. p. 1457.

12 Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Micah, v. 5:5.

13 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 176.

14 Gerrish, Does God Play Favorites?, pp. 203-218.

15 Dan Senor and Saul Singer, Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle (NY: Twelve Hachette Book Group, 2009), p. 30.

16 Ibid., p. 1.

17 Ibid., p. 13.

18 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 176.

19 Martin Gilbert, The Arab-Israeli Conflict, Its History in Maps, third edition, (London: Widenfeld and Nicholson, 1974), p. 69.

20 Goeffrey Wigoder, ed., Israel Pocket Library, Immigration and Settlement (Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House Ltd., 1973), p. 200.

21 Ibid., p. 202.

22 Quoted in, Charles F. Deloach, Seeds of Conflict (Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1974), p. 63.

23 Gerrish, Does God Play Favorites?, pp. 126-127.

24 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 5:10.

25 Guthrie, et. al. The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 758.

26 Quoted in Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Micah, v. 5:10.

27 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 5:11.

28 Coffman, Commentary on Micah, v. 5:13.

CHAPTER 6

1 Meyer, F.B. Meyer’s ‘Through the Bible’ Commentary, Micah, vs. 6:1-16.

2 Coffman, Commentary on Micah, v. 6:6.

3 Ibid., v. 6:7.

4 Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Micah, vs. 6:6-7.

5 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 179.

6 Ibid., p. 180.

7 Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT. p. 1460.

8 David S. Dockery, ed., The Challenge of Postmodernism, an Evangelical engagement (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995), p. 365.

9 Nancy Pearcey, Saving Leonardo, A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, & Meaning (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2010), p. 30.

10 David Kupelian, How Evil Works: Understanding and Overcoming the Destructive Forces That Are Transforming America (New York: Threshold Editions, 2010), p. 254.

11 Barnes, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, v. 6:15.

12 Newsweek Magazine, https://www.newsweek.com/hunger-stat-shames-america-1892071

13 Guthrie, et. al. The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 760.

CHAPTER 7

1 Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT. p. 1460.

2 Pett, Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, Micah, v. 7:1.

3 Quoted in Coffman, Commentary on Micah, v. 7:1.

4 ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Business/americans-lost-103-billion-internet-scams-2022-fbi/story?id=97832789

5 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, v. 7:3.

6 Quoted in Coffman, Commentary on Micah, v. 7:3.

7 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 183.

8 https://www.wealthysinglemommy.com/single-mom-statistics/

9 Bill Bennett, The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators: American Society at the end of the 20th Century (NY: Broadway Books, 1994), p. 23.

10 Quoted in Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 181.

11 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, vs. 7:8-13.

12 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 183.

13 DW News. https://www.dw.com/en/antisemitism-rising-dramatically-across-the-world-report-finds/a-69000456

14 Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 185.

15 Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 182.

16 Guthrie, et. al. The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 760.

17 Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Micah, vs. 7:4-15.

18 Guthrie, et. al. The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 760.

19 Utley, Free Bible Commentary, Micah, vs. 7:19-20.

Micah

MICAH:

ISRAEL’S SUFFERING AND FINAL GLORY

Notes

Scripture