The Book of Micah

I.       Introduction

A.     Author

The name of Micah, the author, is “Whom is like the Lord?” There is no Biblical recording about his life besides Micah 1:1 and Jeremiah 26:18. Micah was a Morasthite. Morastha was a village located in a valley 48 miles south-west of Jerusalem. Since the village was close to the Philistine border and situated between Judah and Egypt, Micah clearly knew and showed much concern about any news regarding Judah and the foreign countries.

B.     Time

Micah was a prophet from the time of the kings Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. At that time, Amos and Hosea worked in Israel. Micah actually started working later than them. According to 1:1, he worked approximately forty-some years (745 BC to 700 BC). He was prophet at the same time as Isaiah also but started work later than him. Isaiah was a prophet in the royal court who stayed among the royalties and kings. Micah, however, was a prophet of the civilians. He worked closely with the people and his prophesies were considered important (Mic 3:12; Jer 26:18-19). When Jesus Christ was born, the wise men went to Jerusalem to meet King Herod. At that time, the priests and the scribes quoted Micah's prophesy (Mt 2:5-6; Mic 5:2). The Lord Jesus also quoted Micah 7:6 (Mt 10:35-36). These are all indications that he was a famous prophet.

C.     Place

Micah worked in Judah. However, the main subject of his prophesies was Israel. Therefore, he precisely explained in 1:1 that he prophesied concerning Samaria and then Jerusalem.

D.     Historical and social background

Micah worked during the time when the Assyrians rose up against Israel and Judah. Around the time of Jeroboam II, Israel was relatively strong. Judah, under King Uzziah, was very strong also. But under the mask of superficial prosperity lay much internal corruption. The leaders, the officials and the rich were extremely greedy, violent, and unfair. They treated the people with cruelty and seized their possessions (2:1, 2, 9; 3:1-3, 9-11; 6:12). Religious beliefs had also fallen to the point where even prophets and priests become greedy hypocrites (3:5, 7, 11).

The result of this internal corruption led the country to destruction when confronted by its enemy. It was during the final stage of the expansion of the Assyrian kingdom, (circa 745 BC to727 BC) Tiglath Pileser III conquered Damascus in 737 BC; but he died in 727 BC. when he was about to invade Israel. At the same time, Egypt was making alliance with other countries to defend against Assyria. Thus began the wars between Egyptians and Assyrians and also later the Babylonians. During this time, Assyria controlled Palestine's politics for half a century. Shalmaneser V conquered Israel’s outer defense line and then Samaria was finally conquered by Sargon in 721 BC.

During this time, Hezekiah began to reign as king of Judah after his father Ahaz until the year 696 BC. In 711 BC, he rebelled against Assyria. As a result, Sargon invaded Judah. Jerusalem was saved but came under danger again in 701 BC. At that time, Sennacherib surrounded Jerusalem (He reigned after Sargon in 705 BC) but the Lord saved Jerusalem (2 Kgs 18:13-19:37). Even then, Assyria’s power still existed and Judah still belonged to Assyria as a province. This was due to Ahaz's foolishness in the year 735 BC (2 Kgs 16:7, 8).

Later on, Assyria invaded the West again but this time Judah and Jerusalem weren’t bothered. However, every other surrounding country was attacked. This was the fruit of Isaiah's exhortation to the people. Many years of trouble and repeated warnings from the prophets prompted Hezekiah to religious reform (2 Kgs 18:3-6). The benefits of the religious reform became useless under the long reign of King Manasseh, who introduced many pagan traditions. This was the background on the history and society at the time of prophet Micah.

E.     Content

1.       God's judgment shall come to Israel and Judah (1:1-2:13)

 a.      Proclaimed judgment (1:1-7)

 b.      Prophet’s weeping (1:8-16)

 c.      Sins rebuked and their punishments received (2:1-11)

(a)     Prophet’s warnings (2:1-5)

(b)     False prophet’s reply (2:6-7)

(c)     God's proclamation (2:8-11)

 d.      Promise of revival (2:12-13)

2.       Rebukes against leaders, officials and false prophets’ sinful acts (3:1-12)

 a.      The sins of leaders and officials (3:1-4)

 b.      Discerning real and false prophets (3:5-8)

 c.      The sins of the leaders brought desolation to the country (3:9-12)

3.       Comfort (4:1-5:15)

 a.      The last days and the rebuilding of the kingdom (4:1-5)

 b.      Scattered Israelites will return (4:6-8)

 c.      The coming disasters and the victory of the chosen people (4:9-13)

 d.      The coming of the Savior (5:1-4)

 e.      The glory and victory of Israel (5:5-15)

4.       Accusation (6:1-16)

 a.      God’s accusation and exhortation (6:1-5)

 b.      The true worship (6:6-8)

 c.      Israel’s undeniable guilt (6:9-16)

5.       Forgiveness (7:1-20)

 a.      Prophet’s sighing (7:1-6)

 b.      The people’s confession and hope (7:7-10)

 c.      The rise of Israel (7:11-17)

 d.      God’s forgiveness and mercy (7:18-20)