II.    Theme

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

1.       Proclaimed judgment (1:1-7)

 a.      (v1). An introduction to the era when Micah was called to be a prophet and his hometown. The messages he proclaimed was for Judah and Israel. The main targets are the leaders of two kingdoms, Jerusalem and Samaria. The main point of the message is about sin, destruction and the rise of Israel.

 b.      (v2). “The earth” represents kingdom and the “holy temple” represents heaven. (1 Kgs 8:30; Isa 63:15; Hag 2:20). It means God is calling from above. Every people of every tribe shall learn the warnings from the judgment of God on Israel. The time of judgment has come (Rev 14:7).

 c.      (v3). God descends from heaven to judge the entire land.

 d.      (v4). God’s coming and judgment is described as fearful as earthquakes and volcanic eruption (Ex 19:16-18; 1 Kgs 19:11, 12; Zech 14:4; Isa 24:19; Rev 16:18-20).

 e.      (v5). The judgment is the result of their sins. The sin of the Northern kingdom centers on the capital—Samaria. The capital of the Southern kingdom is Jerusalem. Those two cities are the centers of idol worship (Gen 13:13; 18:20; Jer 5:1; Rev 18:2).

 f.       (v6). Samaria will be totally destroyed as a heap of rubble. The city indeed was destroyed in 721 B.C.by the king of Assyria.

 g.      (v7). “The wage of a prostitute”—Worshipping idols is an act of infidelity towards God. The Bible calls idolaters prostitutes and adulterers (Ezek 23:7, 10, 37, 49). This means that the wealth Israel gained from worshipping idols will be seized by the Assyrian army and taken to the Assyrian temples. A greedy person is the same as an idolater (Eph 5:5; Col 3:5).

2.       Prophet’s weeping (1:8-16)

 a.      (v8). “Barefoot and naked” means wailing and shame (1 Sam 15:30; Isa 20:2-4; Job 30:28-30). The prophet wept loudly for Samaria’s inevitable destruction and the threat of invasion against Judah.

 b.      (v9). This verse points out Samaria’s inevitable punishment. At the same time, many cities of Judah will also fall. Were it not for God's wondrous deliverance, Jerusalem will also fallen into the hands of the enemies (Isa 37:36)

(a)     The cities in 10-16 were located southwest of Judah or near Philistine. The prophet foresees that the Assyrian army, who has already conquered Israel, will soon go down to Egypt and all the cities between Judah and the Philistine border. Therefore, the prophet issues warnings when he sees their fate from the cities’ names.

 c.      (v10). “Beth Ophrah” means house of dust. It means, “Do not spread word about Judah’s trouble and sorrow to the enemy’s city (cf. 2 Sam 1:20).

 d.      (v11). “Shaphir”—pleasant. The pleasant city’s people will bear shame and exile to a foreign country. "Zaanan"—a crowded land (cf. Josh 15:37). The people will not come out in fear of the enemy. Therefore they will not be able to escape. “Beth Ezel”—the house of protection. The people there will have no place to hide.

 e.      (v12). "Maroth"—bitter. The people of a bitter city yearn for sweet news but they will wait in vain. The disaster has come from God to the gates of Jerusalem (city of peace).

 f.       (v13). "Lachish"—difficult to conquer. It was a city near Judah and Egypt (cf. Isa 36:2; 37:8). It will prepare to run! The people of Judah are relying on Egypt, receiving Egypt’s chariots and horses, and mimicking the Egyptian's religion to worship idols (cf. Isa 31:1; Jer 44:12-14).

 g.      (v14). Judah will give "Moresheth Gath"—winepress. (Micah's hometown) as parting gifts. (It means the people of this city will be taken to Assyria.) "Aczib"—Deception. It means the kings of Israel will be deceived and they would lose hope.

 h.      (v15). "Mareshah"—Hill. The people of the hill! God would allow the Assyrian army to invade this land. The glory of Israel will diminish.

 i.        (v16). The people of Judah shall mourn! (Amos 8:10) Your beloved children will be captured and leave you.

3.       Sins rebuked and their punishment received (2:1-11)

 a.      The prophet’s warning (2:1-5)

(a)     (v1-2). The prophet rebukes the wealthy landowners. Their greed has led them to seize their weaker neighbors’ wealth so they could expand their own real estate. They plot at night. They take away people’s rights to redeem their properties, using false witnesses and fake contract to seize people’s inheritance. Their targets are usually widows, orphans, or those who are unable to retaliate.

(b)     (v3). God proclaims his plan of revenge through the prophet. He will allow Israel to be under other countries’ yoke (cf. Jer 27:12).

(c)     (v4). In the days of disaster, people will ridicule Israel, making lamentations to taunt them. Their land will be taken by their enemies like the rich taking from the poor. They will be totally pillaged.

(d)     (v5). Those who took from the weak by force will not have any offspring to divide the land by lot in the future (cf. Josh 13:6, 7, 18:2-6; Ezek 47:21, 22). Judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful (Jas 2:13).

 b.      False prophets’ reply (2:6, 7)

(a)     (v6-7). The false prophets tell Micah not to speak pessimistic prophesies and stop him from rebuking. They said, “God is not easily angered. He can’t do such cruel things.” They claim to be righteous children and that God would forbid disasters from falling on them. Evildoers rarely admit their own guilt and they hate light (Jn 3:20).

 c.      God’s proclamation (2:8-11)

(a)     (v8). They rise up and attack God’s people like enemy. They rip off rich robes from the peaceful (cf. Ex 22:26, 27).

(b)     (v9). They seize widows’ homes and take away orphans’ inheritance. Do not take advantage of widow or an orphan (Ex 22:22-24).

(c)     (v10). “Get up, Go away!”—The land of Cannon was given to Israelis as a land of rest (Deut 12:9-10). However, their sins have defiled the land so they will be chased out of the land (cf. Lev 18:24, 25, 28). There is no peace for the wicked (Isa 48:22, 57:21; Ps 95:11).

(d)     (v11). If a deceiver lied, saying “I am here to tell you about wines and drinks,” he will be just the kind of prophet this people like.

(i)       God's prophet should be touched by God’s calling, filled with the Spirit of God, bravely rebuke sins, and please the Lord in all things (Mic 3:8; Gal 1:10; 2 Cor 5:9; 1 Kgs 22:13, 14)

4.       Promise of revival (2:12, 13)

 a.      (v12). God promises to gather the Israel family and bring together the remnant of Israel (Isa 10:20, 21, 11:11, 12). He will lead them as sheep in a pen, like sheep in its pasture (Ezek 34:11-16, 31). Although only a few of them will return, they will become great. Their marching sound will be like a mighty army (cf. Ezek 36:10-11; 37-38)

 b.      (v13).  “One who breaks open the way”—Messiah. The people who are imprisoned in the city will be freed when the gate breaks open. They will return to their own land. This means that under the leadership of one Savior, they will return from the captive land. (Isa 45:2, 43:6, 40:20, 52:12; Jer 31:9-14; Rom 11:26)

(a)     Moreover, those two verses are speaking in a spiritual sense (Lk 4:17-19; Jn 10:16)