Micah now speaks of himself, he is mournful of all this and thinks he is all alone, Jeremiah 5:1. We have the people mourning over their fruitlessness. The godly and the upright have disappeared from the land.
The society is characterised by crime and violence. Society was in collapse, Psalm 37:35-38 / Proverbs 14:24 / Isaiah 5:15 / Jeremiah 17:10-11.
He comes back to the corruption of the leaders and the judges. The best amongst the corrupt are like a brier, a thorn hedge, they have no value. Justice no longer existed in the courts for decisions were made on the basis of how much the judge could be bribed, Isaiah 1:23.
The ‘Day of your Watchmen’ would be the day of judgment predicted by the prophets which have now come upon them.
We read of a breakdown of family and neighbourly relationships. Jesus spoke similar words in Matthew 10:21 and Matthew 35:36, the latter two verses being taken from Micah 7:6. He spoke these words in the response to His teaching of the generation in which He lived, Matthew 10:34-36 / Luke 12:51-53.
Micah made a commitment to trust in the Lord and looked to God for deliverance.
The book ends with confession and mercy. There is hope for the faithful when God seems to be only interested in judgement. He knows and cares for every single one of them, Romans 8:28 / 1 Corinthians 10:13. Micah totally trusted God for protection, Mark 6:48 / Acts 12:5-10 / Acts 23:11.
The faithful remnant looks to God for deliverance and there will be a future for God’s people. These enemies were mocking, they thought that Judah had fallen. Even in darkness and despair, God is still a light for the faithful.
We have an acknowledgement of sin and they know they deserve punishment, but there is an expectation of deliverance. God’s people will be vindicated as the enemies are trodden underfoot.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The true penitent accepts the punishment of his iniquity, Leviticus 26:41 / Leviticus 26:43, they who murmur against God do not yet know their guilt, Job 40:4-5.’
Micah speaks of the rebuilding of the walls and the extension of the boundaries after the deliverance has come. Israel looked for a day when their frontiers would be extended when her dominion would run from Assyria to Egypt.
There is a gathering of the faithful from all parts of the world. In contrast to the Messiah’s spiritual kingdom, the earth will be left desolate.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This sounds almost like a riddle and contradiction, ‘the walls built up’, ‘the people gathered in’, ‘the land desolate’. Yet it was all fulfilled to the letter. Jerusalem was restored, the people were gathered in, first from captivity, then to Christ, and yet the land was again desolate through the ‘fruit of their doings’ who rejected Christ.’
The land would be forsaken because the generation that was taken into captivity and had to bear the fruit of their sins, Galatians 6:7. Only their descendants would be restored to the land.
Micah says a prayer for the people, the Messiah will be a shepherd to them. Carmel was a land of great vineyards, Goshen and Gilead great pasture lands and were names associated with the former excellence and glory of the chosen people and by the use of this terminology, Micah solicited for his people the most wonderful of all God’s wonderful blessings. In other words, God cares over His flock wherever they are.
God answers this prayer by declaring that He will do again as He did when they came out of Egypt. He will show wonders of protection when He brought them back from their captivity. The nations who have been put to shame will turn to God.
Micah asks, who is like God? Exodus 15:11 / Psalm 89:6 / Isaiah 40:18-25 / Isaiah 46:5. We see that God is willing to forgive their sins, and read of the completeness of this forgiveness. This is the character of God, He doesn’t retain His anger but delights in steadfast love.
Micah finishes by saying that God will be faithful to the promises of Jacob and Abraham, they find their fulfilment in Christ. So the book ends with this promise of hope.