The prophet Micah has a warning for God’s people, and the warning was that God was going to punish them for their sinfulness because they were listening to the lies of the false prophets.
This wasn’t how God intended things to be; God was to be their teacher, and God wanted peace between the nations. God goes on to promise that He will send a leader for them who will be born in Bethlehem. We know Him today as Jesus, the Christ.
In the meantime, God accused His people of sinfulness and refused to receive any gifts from them. He simply wanted them to humble themselves and do what was right in His eyes. However, because of their stubborn hearts, God would end up punishing them.
The good news is that when His people finally did humble themselves and turn to serve the Living God, then God would make them into a great nation once again.
The very first verse of Micah tells us that Micah wrote this book, Micah 1:1. Not much is known about Micah other than what is mentioned in this book, but we know his name means ‘Who is like God’. He was from Moresheth on the border of Judah and Philistia, which was the main road leading to Egypt. His contemporaries were Isaiah and Hosea.
He is mentioned by Jeremiah, Jeremiah 26:18 and other prophets also validated the authorship of Micah by quoting from his writings, Isaiah 41:15 / Ezekiel 22:25 / Zephaniah 3:19.
While Isaiah was able to mix with nobles and court people, Micah was able to mix with ordinary people, and some say he is overshadowed by Isaiah, but his words are in no way inferior to Isaiah’s words.
The closing verse is quoted in the song of Zacharias, Micah 7:20 / Luke 1:72-73. The prediction regarding the place ‘where Christ should be born,’ one of the most remarkable Messianic prophecies, Micah 5:2 is quoted in Matthew 2:6.
There are a few other references to this book in the New Testament.
a. Micah 5:2 is quoted in Matthew 2:6 / John 7:42.
b. Micah 7:6 is quoted in Matthew 10:21 / Matthew 10:35-36.
c. Micah 7:20 is quoted in Luke 1:72-73.
Because Micah prophesied during the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, who were kings of the Southern Kingdom, and since he began his ministry before the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722/21 B.C., and he continued his prophecy into the reign of Hezekiah, Jeremiah 26:18, we can conclude, therefore, that the book was written in 735 B.C.
Halley’s Bible Handbook says the following.
‘Micah’s message was to both Israel and Judah, addressed primarily to their two respective capitals, Samaria and Jerusalem. Its three main ideas were: their Sins; their Destruction, and their Restoration. These ideas, in the book, are mixed up, with abrupt transitions between Present Desolation and Future Glory.’
Judah will fall because of the same thing that is going to cause the Northern Kingdom to fall, that is, idolatry and forsaking the law.
Micah prophesied during the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, who were kings of the Southern Kingdom, Micah 1:1 / 1 Peter 1:11 / 2 Peter 1:21. He received a vision concerning Samaria and Jerusalem, Micah 1:1. Samaria was the capital of the Northern Kingdom and was on the verge of being destroyed. Why? Because of idolatry.
The destruction will come fourteen years later in 721. He speaks of sin as if it were a disease that is spreading to the capital of the Southern Kingdom, that is, Jerusalem, whose destruction will not be far behind. All the people of the earth and the earth itself are about to bear witness to God’s upcoming judgment, Malachi 1:2.
Micah sees God coming from heaven to earth, and coming with judgment, Micah 1:3. We must note that Micah 1:3-4 are highly figurative and so, when God is pictured as coming from His holy temple, His dwelling place, it’s not referring to Jerusalem but heaven itself, Psalms 11:4 / Isaiah 26:21.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following concerning Micah 1:3-4.
‘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, Revelation 6:14-17 / Revelation 11:19 / Revelation 16:17-21, etc. The mention of such phenomena here definitely indicated that the judgment about to be executed against Samaria and Jerusalem is typical of that ultimate judgment upon all mankind, hence the propriety of demanding that ‘all nations’ hear it, Micah 1:2.’
Gill, in his commentary, says the following concerning Micah 1:3-4.
‘As Sinai was when he descended on it, and as all nations will be at the general conflagration but here the words are to be taken, not literally, but figuratively, for the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and for the kings, and princes, and great men in them, that lifted up their heads as high, and thought themselves as secure, as mountains, yet when the judgments of God should fall upon them, their hearts would melt through fear under him, as well as all their glory and greatness depart from them, and they be no more what they were before, but levelled with the meanest subject.’
Allen, in his commentary, says the following concerning Micah 1:3-4.
‘Although directed primarily against Samaria, and ultimately against the southern capital, the prophet sets his pronouncement against a vast backcloth of world judgment. Micah’s God is no provincial deity but the universal Overlord to whom all nations must render account.’
God is coming in judgment against Israel and Judah because of their sinfulness, their idolatry, Micah 1:5 / 1 Peter 4:17. Samaria would end up being a heap of stones in the field and the city’s walls would be torn down to such an extent it would expose its foundation, Micah 1:6. This was fulfilled in 722 B.C. when Samaria fell to the Assyrians and was completely destroyed.
The idols which were made of gold and silver would be broken and melted down and taken back to Assyria as plunder, and all their treasures would be taken away too, Micah 1:7.
Waltke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Golden images, of such monetary value yet so spiritually and politically worthless, were constructed from the wages of cult prostitutes. The conquerors will break them up and use the money to repeat the same cycle. Only the heart of a depraved man could worship gods like that!’
Because Samaria had given themselves over to spiritual prostitution, Romans 1:23, all the wealth which they had gathered because of their prostitution would be taken away, Micah 1:7. All of Samaria’s wealth was taken away by the Assyrians, 2 Kings 17:4-6.
Archer, in his commentary, summarises these verses as follows.
‘The Assyrian troops of Sargon would smash her idols and destroy the dedicated treasures and votive monuments, the harlot’s hires from her false lovers, the heathen gods, in her temples. All the materialistic gains and advantages, such as the political alliance with Phoenicia engineered by Jezebel’s marriage to Ahab, will be wiped out, or carried off as spoil by the enemy.’
It’s difficult to determine whether this is God speaking or Micah, but it doesn’t really matter. The words carry with them a sense of mourning. They roam about barefoot and dressed only in a loincloth, Micah 1:8, which speaks of the spiritual state of Israel.
Those who have heard the howl of jackals, Micah 1:8, tell us that it’s an especially bloodcurdling scream. The noises made by owls also convey a sense of grief and horror, Micah 1:8.
They had gone too far, and they couldn’t be cured; they cannot do anything about it, Micah 1:9 / Luke 18:27. Israel had turned away from God and forsaken Him, and as a result, they would be handed over to the nations.
Not only did Micah mourn over the Northern Kingdom, but he also mourned over the Southern Kingdom, that is, Judah, which was also infected with the same sinfulness, Micah 1:9.
Notice the whole nation will be affected, in Gath, a Philistines city, Micah 1:10, where stories were told, would become silent as there would be no one around to speak, 2 Samuel 1:20.
Beth Ophrah, Micah 1:10, which means the house of dust would roll about in the dust, Joshua 7:6 / Job 16:15 / Isaiah 47:1 / Jeremiah 25:34. Saphir, which was a beautiful city, would walk in shame, Micah 1:11. Zaanan, the town of marching, would no longer be marching in pride, Micah 1:11.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following concerning Zaanan.
‘Inhabitants of Zaanan, a town name that sounds like the Hebrew word translated ‘come out,’ would not be able to come out of their town to escape.’
There would be nowhere for a foothold in the city of Beth Ezel on the hillside, Micah 1:11. They would lament because the Lord would remove its support. Maroth, the town of bitterness, would wait for something good, Micah 1:12. Lachish, the horse town, would cease to exist, Micah 1:13. In the law, they were forbidden to have horses but were to depend on God, Deuteronomy 17:16.
Lachish should give her parting gifts to Micah’s hometown, Moresheth in Gath, Micah 1:14. Micah sees his people fleeing, Micah 1:15, as David did from Saul to Adullam, 1 Samuel 22:1-5.
Because they were told to shave their head, Micah 1:16, implies this was a time of mourning, Leviticus 19:27 / Deuteronomy 14:1. Their children were about to go into exile, Micah 1:16. The vulture or eagle, KJV, appeared to be bald because its head was white.
Deane, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This cannot refer exclusively to the Assyrian invasion but must look forward to the Babylonian deportation in Micah 4:10. The latter calamity alone is parallel to the destruction of Samaria announced in Micah 1:6-7.’
Archer, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This prophecy of captivity to the event of 586 B.C. The exile here foretold is more likely to be the Babylonian, Micah 4:10, than the Assyrian, which involved only the provinces and not Jerusalem itself. It is possible that both invasions, 701 and 586 B.C., are in view.’