Micah—Introduction and Chapter 1

Introduction—We know almost nothing about the prophet Micah. Verse 1 says he was from the town of Moresheth, which is believed to have been on the west coast of Israel, near the Philistine city of Gath. Micah prophesied during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, which would have been from about 760 B.C. to 697. He was a contemporary of Isaiah; indeed, Micah 4:1-4 is almost a duplicate of Isaiah 2:1-4. He prophesied “concerning Samaria and Jerusalem” (1:1), mostly to the northern kingdom, but since Assyria took the north into captivity in 722/21, Micah would have, of necessity, shifted his message to the southern kingdom of Judah.

Chapter 1

The Lord is coming (vs. 1-5)—After a brief introduction of himself, Micah calls for the attention of Israel: “Hear, all you people!. Listen, O earth, and all that is in it!” (v. 2). The Lord, “from His holy temple,” has a message. And that is that “the Lord is coming out of His place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth” (v. 3). This coming is figurative, of course. As we have seen in earlier prophetic books, the “coming of the Lord” is a day of judgment against sin, and Micah’s statement must be understood that way as well. The prophet pictures this “coming” in graphic, calamitous terms: “The mountains will melt under Him, and the valleys will split like wax before fire” (v. 4). And why is the Lord doing this? “For the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel” (v. 5). He specifies both Samaria and Jerusalem as guilty of sin.

Punishment upon Samaria (vs. 6-9)—Because of her sins, Samaria will be “a heap of ruins in the field, places for planting a vineyard” (v. 6). In other words, the city will be so utterly destroyed that men will eventually be able to use the land for agriculture. Her destruction will be complete, all the way down to the foundation (v. 6). The graven images “shall be beaten to pieces,” and “all her idols I will lay desolate” (v. 7). Idolatry was the major sin of both Israel and Judah. There will be wailing, howling, and mourning (v. 8). “For her wounds are incurable” (v. 9). The cancer has spread so far that there is no hope of recovery. People can indeed reach a point where their spiritual situation is hopeless.

Widespread punishment (vs. 10-16)—This is a difficult section and many of the references are obscure and probably lost to us. Interestingly, most of the cities mentioned in these verses are in Judah. Again, Israel’s punishment would be first, but perhaps because “her wounds are incurable,” Micah turns his attention to the southern kingdom. Some of these statements, in the original, are plays on words. For example, in verse 10, Beth Aphrah (“house of Aphrah”, KJV) literally means “house of dust.” Thus, the “house of dust” was to “roll yourself in the dust.” In verse 14, the word “Achzib” means “lie” or “falsehood,” thus “the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.” In verse 16, making one’s self bald was a sign of distress, which the people should indeed feel, “for they shall go from you into captivity.”