Verses 1-2 Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. 2 Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD’S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.
The Prophet Micah is instructed by the LORD to hear what He is saying to him. The Hebrew word translated as “hear” is “shama” and it means to hear, listen to, obey, understand, give heed, to tell, to proclaim, and to cause to be heard. So this prophetic Word is to be understood by Micah and he is to cause it to be heard throughout the land in the hills and the mountains. God is going to hold court and plead with the people, and the mountains and the hills represent majesty and strength. The LORD had a dispute with the children of Israel and the LORD was going to present it to them. The Hebrew word translated as “plead” is “yakach” and it means to prove, decide, judge, rebuke, reprove, correct, to convince, to convict, and to reason together. The idea here is that God is going to present His argument and evidence in support of His controversy much as in a court of law where evidence is presented along with reasoning to support a point of view.
Verses 3-5 O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. 4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5 O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.
The Hebrew word translated as “wearied” is “laah” and it means to be weary, be impatient, be grieved, be offended, or to be tired of something. God asks the Israelites to present their case against Him of any wrongdoing, and to explain how He has offended them. In the vernacular, the question would be, “What have I ever done to annoy you?” God wants Micah to remind the people of the miraculous rescue from Egypt, the incident with Balaam, and the defeat of the king of Moab and the prophecy associated with that incident.
The story of Balaam the son of Beor and his prophecy is found in Numbers 24.
Application: God redeemed the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt and set them free. This involved miracle after miracle and the shedding of the blood of the Passover lambs. Today, people are still being redeemed through the miracle of the Holy Ghost and the shed blood of the LORD Jesus Christ, the Passover Lamb, and being release from the bondage of sin, death, and Hell. Just as the LORD was reminding the Israelites of the past from whence they had been rescued and redeemed, so every converted Christian believer needs to never loose sight of the past from whence he/she has come and remember and be thankful for the presence of the LORD in his/her life.
Verses 6-7 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
From God’s perspective, the people were claiming that He required too much from them. This was their argument against God. And this was not so as all their sacrifices and works was not what God wanted from them. All God wanted was obedience to His Word and faith in His promises.
Verse 8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
The prophet Micah counters the people’s testimony or argument and states exactly what God’s expectation of them really is. God had done only good for His people and He just wanted them to do as He had done, the right thing. He had set them an example to follow. They had no excuse.
Application: God doesn’t change. His requirement of His people or Church today is the same as those in ancient times: do what is right, love, and be merciful to others, and to walk with Him.
Verse 9 The LORD’S voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
Application: God never pronounces judgement upon a nation or an individual with the resultant punishment without warning first so that the nation or individual can choose to repent and come into right relationship with Him. Here the prophet Micah is saying that God’s voice is crying out in the city of Jerusalem through the voice of His prophets and that a wise man should recognize this and understand that the “rod” is coming and that God has determined and fixed the time of the punishment and it is inevitable. Today, the signs of the times are everywhere, yet wisdom appears to be lacking in most of mankind as true repentance and turning to God is lacking in societies today. As the people of the world are being poisoned, genocided, losing their wealth, and being marched into useless wars and conflicts that merely kill people and break things, most seem oblivious that although all the terrible events occurring today are being orchestrated by devil possessed men and women, God is allowing these events to happen in an attempt to save a few souls who are able to wake up and discern where mankind is on the time line. God’s Word is true and always comes to pass. What the Apostle Paul warned Timothy about in 2 Timothy 3:13 is here right now. “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” God is crying out to His people right now if they will only listen. The wise will hear His voice – in the mind with thoughts that are not original to that person, in current events, in the Bible, in miracles that are called “lucky” or “coincidences”, and in other believers. Are you, the reader, listening and hearing?
Verses 10-12 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? 11 Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? 12 For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
The prophet Micah again brings attention to the dishonest business practices of the Israelites which God views as “abominable” or abhorrent. The people are failing to “do justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God”. Through lies, deceit, and violence men have acquired wealth at the expense of others. They no longer have a conscience and they no longer believe God will intervene in their wickedness in any way.
Application: The wicked will not repent and will always cheat in their effort to gather wealth and power and influence. It is very difficult for rich men to see their need for Jesus and to repent as their trust is in earthly treasures rather than in the LORD God Almighty. They are never satisfied as they are driven by a spirit of lust, and they want more and more of the things Satan offers them in the world.
Verses 13-15 Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins. 14 Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword. 15 Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.
Essentially, the prophet Micah prophesies that everything these wicked people have acquired and built up will fall and come to nothing. They will lose their health, their financial empires and life will become bitter, eventually culminating in war and desolation.
Verse 16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people. (Micah 6)
Omri was the father of king Ahab, one of the wickedest kings of the northern kingdom of Israel. The saying, “like father like son”, was correct in this royal family. He is first mentioned in 1 Kings 16. He founded the city of Samaria which later became Israel’s capital and the name used synonymously with the name Israel. He lead the nation into worsened idolatry than the former kings of Israel which included child sacrifices to Molech, temple prostitution, and various blood letting rituals. In the verses above, God is saying that the people kept and followed the rules or laws set down by Omri and therefore violated God’s law. Therefore judgment was coming.
Application: God is righteous and cannot allow sin to persist. His nature requires He take action against those people rebelling against Him. Remember that the nation Israel was created by God. He chose the patriarchs and He provided the land, the system of religious governance, the law, and divine protection against enemy nations. Therefore, He had/has the right to chastise and punish as necessary. “Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.” Deuteronomy 4:39 “Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.” Deuteronomy 10:14 “He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.” 1 Chronicles 16:14 “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” Psalm 24:1 “For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” 1 Corinthians 10:26