“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” 2 Peter 1:20 – 2:1
Verse 1 The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
The name, Micah, means “who is like God”. The prophet’s home town was Moreshethgath which was thought to be located somewhere between Jerusalem and Lachish in the foothills of Judah. The purpose of this book was to proclaim the Word of the LORD regarding Samaria or the nation Israel to the north and Jerusalem or the nation Judah to the south. Samaria was the capital city of Israel and Jerusalem was the capital city of Judah. The kings and ruling elite dwelt and governed the people from these locations, so the prophet Micah is using these names as they are synonymous with the nations. Jotham was the son of king Uzziah of Judah and he reigned for 16 years while king Pekah reigned in Israel to the north. Ahaz was the son of Jotham and the father of king Hezekiah of Judah. So the prophet Micah lived during the reigns of these three kings: the father, son and grandson of the royal line and house of king David.
Verse 2 Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
The Hebrew word translated as “hear” is “shama” and it means to hear, listen to and obey. So the people, all of them, were not to just hear what the prophet Micah was telling them, but were to obey also. To add emphasis, Micah uses the word “hearken” from the Hebrew word “qashab” which means to hear, be attentive, heed, and pay attention to. What did the people need to hear? That the LORD from Heaven was a witness providing testimony and evidence against them. In other words, they were in trouble.
Application: God’s people, the Church, need to hearken or pay attention also. How? By studying the Word of God and listening to what His Spirit is saying to them. No one is without sin so all have things a holy God could witness against in a holy court of law. And all would be found guilty. So the expedient thing to do is to examine the self every day and repent of any wrong doing, wrong thinking, or wrong speaking so that there is no need to appear before the LORD for judgement of unrepentant sins. Yes, Jesus paid (remission) for mankind’s sins, but that does not give the Christian believer a free pass to just keep sinning. So when the flesh, the world, and the Devil tempt the believer and sin happens, repentance will right the wrong and the believer will be in right standing in the Kingdom of God which is a Kingdom of righteousness. “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.” Hebrews 1:8
Verse 3 For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.
The warning from the prophet Micah is that God is going to visit these people and He is going to take action soon with power and might. When God says there will be a visitation, it usually is to judge and correct and punish unrighteousness. High places were places of worship in ancient days, usually witchcraft worship of idols and devils, and often places of human sacrifice. These places needed to be destroyed.
Application: Because no one could keep the law, God decided to have a visitation with the people of the Earth in the form of sending His Son, Jesus, not to condemn or punish, but to save and redeem. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:” Luke 1:68-70
Verse 4 And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.
This verse is a picture of upheaval or destruction, resembling an earthquake or a volcanic eruption. Remember that prophetic books in Scripture are full of metaphor or word pictures that reveal truth. So this picture of mountains being molten or melted/dissolved is a picture of the rulers and centers of power, which include religious centers, being brought down by God Almighty, mountains representing power and safety. When in a hand to hand battle like that which was fought in ancient days before aircraft and bombs, he who had the high ground usually prevailed and he who was in the valley was more easily slaughtered.
Verse 5 For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?
The Hebrew word translated as “transgression” is “pesha” and it means rebellion. The prophet Micah will explain what the “all this” is that Israel and Judah were guilty of that made them deserving of judgement from God. Notice that the prophet uses the name of Jacob (which means supplanter), who was the father of the 10 tribes that eventually made us the nation Israel and who was the father of the two tribes that eventually made up the nation of Judah. To supplant something means to supersede and replace it. What did the nations Israel and Judah do to transgress? They rejected the LORD and His law and His authority and put idolatry and the doctrine of devils in its place. Historically it is known that they were involved in all types of witchcraft which included human sacrifice. The leaders of these two nations failed to guide their people into righteousness.
Verses 6-7 Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof. 7 And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.
A holy God must take action against sin. Samaria was a very wicked city as was the rest of the nation Israel. Therefore, as a result of forsaking the one true God for false gods and goddesses and their related idolatry, Samaria was to be judged and destroyed and reduced to rubble. The pagan “churches” up in the hills and mountains were to be destroyed also. The man-made statues and other paraphernalia would be destroyed violently and all the income or money making schemes related to these false religions would be destroyed. And any “hires” or prostitutes working there would be burned up ( the exact manner not known) in God’s anger. God sees false religion as a harlot for hire, so the meaning of verse seven above could be both literal or figurative. If figurative, the false religious system would be spiritually destroyed.
Josiah was the 16th king of Judah who reigned from approximately 640 to 609 B. C. and he began a reformation that is recorded in 2 Kings 22 that fulfilled the above prophecy of the prophet Micah. “And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.” 2 Kings 22:2
Application: Most pagan religions involve three aspects: the shedding of blood, sexual immorality, and money. When examining the archaeological remains of pagan cultures that have disappeared from the Earth, evidence of pagan religious practices is found to have proven the presence of these aspects. Since all pagan religions are of Satan, and since he demands the shedding of blood and sexual acts, these findings are not surprising. These three aspects were present in Samaria and Jerusalem, the capitals and representatives of the nations Israel and Judah, and so the two nations were religious harlots serving the enemy of God, Satan.
Verses 8-9 Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls. 9 For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.
The pronoun “I” in verses 6 and 7 above is referring to God Almighty as He is the one that is to have a visitation to His rebellious people inhabiting Israel and Judah. But the pronoun “I” in these verses refers to the prophet Micah. He sees in this vision terrible things and describes his distress. He is powerless to do anything and he is ready to mourn the calamity about to befall both Judah and Israel. He states that he will adopt rituals of mourning to express his great sadness at the vision he has received from the LORD. Notice that he states, “For her wound is incurable”. The Hebrew word translated as “incurable” is “anash” and it means incurable, desperate, desperately wicked, very sick, weak, and frail. So he is stating that this incurable situation will receive the judgement of God and that nothing is going to fix it because the LORD and righteous judgement was already at the gate and ready to come into the cities and unto the people. It was inevitable.
Verses 10-12 Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust. 11 Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Bethezel; he shall receive of you his standing. 12 For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the LORD unto the gate of Jerusalem.
The prophet Micah then goes on to list many cities throughout the region that demonstrated the widespread nature of the judgement to come. The name, Gath, means “winepress”. It was at one time one of the five royal cities of the Philistines and where the giant Goliath came from. Another Philistine city, Aphrah means “house to dust”. Saphir was a city located somewhere in Judah and the name means “fair”. Zaanan was also a city in Judah and the name means “pointed”. Bethezel was located in Judah and the name means “house of narrowing”. Maroth was located in the lowland of Judah and the name means “bitterness”. Why the prophet Micah chose to list these towns is not known, but since God was directing the vision and inspiring the writing of it by Micah, one can assume God wanted these towns to be listed. The meanings of the names do not inspire feelings of gladness and joy and seem to reflect the devastation that is to come.
Verses 13-16 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee. 14 Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moreshethgath: the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel. 15 Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel. 16 Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee. (Micah 1)
The town of Lachish was a city south of Jerusalem which Joshua conquered and gave to Judah. The name means “invincible”. The prophet Micah appears to be blaming Lachish for leading the inhabitants of Jerusalem into sin and idolatry which they got from Israel to the north. Achzib means “deceit”, and Mareshah means “crest of a hill”. Verse 16 appears to be describing mourning possibly due to the separation of families as a result of captivity.