Micah speaks a message from God to all the nations

An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of Micah

www.easyenglish.info

Les Painter

This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

Words in boxes are from the Bible.

A word list at the end explains words with a *star by them.

About the Book of Micah

‘People, the *LORD told you what goodness is. This is what the *LORD wants you to do. Be fair to other people. Love kindness. Live humbly with your God.’ (Micah 6:8).

Here are some facts about who Micah was.

·        He was the 6th in order of the minor *prophets. He was one of 12 minor *prophets. ‘Minor’ means that these *prophets wrote shorter *prophecies than the 4 greater *prophets. The greater ones were Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.

·        Micah is called the Morasthite. This word means that he was an inhabitant of Moresheth Gath, a small village. It was about 22 miles south-west from Jerusalem.

·        He was a *prophet when Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. They were kings from 756 to 697 *BC.

Micah’s name

Micah’s name means ‘Who is like Yahweh (God)?’ Yahweh is a *Hebrew name for God. And the answer to this question is that nobody is like God. Nobody is as wonderful as God is. Micah’s parents gave him that name. The name describes God’s wonderful character. In the end, God forgave his people. The end of Micah’s book describes this. The people sang a song to praise God (Micah 7:18). In *Hebrew, the song starts with the words ‘Who is like God?’ God is wonderful. There is nobody else like him.  He is the God who has forgiven his guilty people. So Micah uses a form of his own name here. His name describes God’s goodness. God pities his people. He is kind to them. He forgives their *sins.

About the nations called *Israel and Judah

In the year 975 *BC, King Solomon’s nation, *Israel, became divided. The nation had not obeyed God or his laws. But God did not destroy the nation. A long time before that he had given them a promise. He had promised to send someone who would save *Israel. This person would come by means of Abraham’s family. After Abraham, the plan would continue. It would continue by means of his *descendant David. Then it would continue by means of David’s *descendants. God’s plan would succeed. He would bring Jesus the *Messiah into the world. He would save the world from *sin.

There was a war between Solomon son, Rehoboam, and a servant of Solomon called Jeroboam. Solomon had blessed Rehoboam. He appointed Rehoboam to be the new king. But Jeroboam had more power with the army chiefs. In the end, Rehoboam ruled only the southern part of the nation. He called it Judah. Jeroboam formed his government in the northern part. He kept the name *Israel for that part. Each man had declared himself to be the king that God had chosen.

At first, only Judah’s family followed Rehoboam, the king of Judah. Then the larger part of Benjamin’s family followed him too.

What happened in Judah and in *Israel, the divided nation

After Rehoboam’s death, the disagreement continued. The northern 10 families called themselves *Israel. The southern families called themselves Judah. The modern word ‘*Jew’ comes from that name. Judah remained loyal to the *covenant. Kings from David’s family continued to rule in Jerusalem, Judah’s capital.

In the northern nation (*Israel), there were several dynasties (groups of kings from the same family). This happened because the people did not obey the *covenant. In various different periods, *Israel’s kings had different cities as capitals. The last capital was Samaria. The kings of *Israel became powerful rulers. They controlled the people by means of changes to their religion. They changed the ways in which people prayed. They chose new *priests. They built two new *temples. One was at Dan (on the northern border of *Israel). The other was at Bethel (on *Israel’s border with Judah). There were many wars between *Israel and Judah.

Micah especially mentions three kings who ruled over the southern nation, Judah. They ruled in Jerusalem. But he does not mention the kings that ruled the northern nation in the same period. These kings ruled in *Israel’s capital, called Samaria. Micah would not have respected the northern nation. Neither would other *prophets such as Isaiah and Hosea. The reason was that, in the northern nation, the people themselves had appointed their kings. God had not chosen these kings. That is how the *prophets might have seen the situation. Micah, however, uses the name *Israel for both nations.

The *prophets

God sent many *prophets to Judah and *Israel. Some *prophets were *priests. Other *prophets were farmers. Some *prophets were rich and they advised the kings. Other *prophets lived much more simply. Some *prophets wrote down the things that they taught (their prophecies). Many other *prophets did not do that. But all the *prophets taught the people. They taught about right judgements in the courts. They taught about how people should be fair to other people. They taught that people need to trust God for help.

Many *prophets warned that the people would suffer defeat. Their enemies would take them away to different places abroad. That would happen if they did not start to obey God again. Some *prophets had dreams from God about future success. They also dreamed about future punishments. They understood God’s plans for their nation. They looked forward into the future. They looked forward to the time when a new king would come. He would rule the nation. Some *prophets saw that this king would come from David’s family. The new king would lead God’s people. He would lead them into a wonderful new age. Some *prophets described how this king would then rule always. Other *prophets saw that he would also be a servant. He would suffer many things. The things that this king suffered would cause his people to come back to God.

But all the *prophets saw that this king would be the *Messiah. He would be the man that God had chosen. The *Messiah would bring his people into the new age.

*Israel’s and Judah’s enemies would destroy those two nations

Some very important events happened during Micah’s life.

God had warned *Israel’s people about things that might happen in the future. But they had not listened to him. So in 722 or 721 *BC, an army came from a nation called Assyria. That army fought against the people in *Israel’s capital, Samaria. The *Assyrians defeated the people in that city. They took the people from their homes. They took *Israel’s people away to various places all over the country called Assyria. Their relatives in Judah could not have communication with them any longer. The *Assyrians then brought foreigners to live in *Israel. *Israel’s *priests taught these people. The *priests taught them about the religion that Judah’s and *Israel’s people had followed. Therefore many foreigners tried to obey the *covenant. These people were called the Samaritans (2 Kings chapter 17).

Then the *Assyrians tried to control Judah. They defeated the people in much of that country. But God saved Jerusalem. The people there defeated the king of Assyria. He returned to his home, where two of his sons killed him. God had saved Judah (2 Kings chapter 19).

Judah continued to exist for over 100 years after the defeat of *Israel. But in the end the army from Babylon defeated Judah’s people.  The army led them away from Judah. So the people from Judah also became foreigners in another country.

Samaria

This city is 30 miles north from Jerusalem. It is on a hill that has steep sides. The hill also has a long flat top, which was difficult to reach then. King Omri chose that hill as the place where he intended to build a city. The city would be the capital of the nation called *Israel. Omri bought the hill from a man called Shemer. Omri paid two pieces of silver for it. He built a city on the hill. He named the city Samaria. That name came from the name of the previous owner, Shemer (1 Kings 16:23, 24). This happened in 925 *BC. The hill was called the hill of Samaria. The city called Samaria became the capital for the 10 northern families. And people also gave the same name to that northern nation.

The structure of Micah’s book

The book consists of *prophecy. We can divide it into 3 sections:

Section 1                      chapters 1-2

Section 2                      chapters 3-5

Section 3                      chapters 6-7.

Each section begins with the command ‘hear’ or ‘listen’. It starts with blame. It starts with things about which Micah warned. Each section then continues from judgement to hope. And it ends with a promise.

The first section has a magnificent start. It describes God’s punishment. God declares that he will punish *Israel and Judah because of their *sins. He will punish them because they *worship idols (verses 2-4). (An idol is something that people *worship instead of the one real God. It may be the sun, the moon, or any object or animal.) Then Micah describes how God will punish Samaria (verses 5-9). Its people will be slaves in another country (Micah 2:10). But immediately afterwards there is a promise about success and about a wonderful return (Micah 2:12-13).

The second section is especially for the rulers and leaders of the people. Their *sins are these: They have evil desire and they steal from other people. God blames them with strong words. First he *curses the people. Then he *blesses them. Then there is a promise that one day they will return to their country.

The last section is in chapters 6 and 7. God calls his people to a meeting with him. He argues with them. He speaks to them about urgent matters. His actions are right for his people. He has good reasons for his actions. His reasons are right and proper.

The book ends with a grand song that expresses happiness. God will rescue his people. A long time ago, God brought his people out of Egypt. It will be like that again. Everyone will agree with God. They will know that he is a kind God. He is a loyal God. He has done what he promised to do (Micah 7:16-20). The last verse is similar to what Zacharias the *priest later sang (Luke 1:72-73). Micah’s *prophecies are distinct and clear. He says that the Ruler (the *Messiah) will come. The Ruler will come from the town called Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Micah writes like Hosea and Isaiah. The words that he writes are strong and firm.

The messages in this book were especially for Samaria. This was the capital of *Israel. The messages were also for Jerusalem. This was the capital of Judah. God chose rulers to lead their nations. God intended that the rulers should *worship him. And they should obey him. Instead they led their people badly. They taught their people to *worship other gods. This was true about both nations. The rulers also cheated people. They robbed the poor people. God therefore had to punish *Israel and Judah.

However, God promised that things would change. The people in *Israel and in Judah would start to *worship him again. His people would live in safety and peace (Micah 4:3-4).

Sections in the Book of Micah

	1:1-2	Brief description of the book
Section 1	1:3-2:13	Punishment and Rescue
	1:2-16	God will punish the people in Samaria and Judah
	2:1-11	Evil leaders and false *prophets will suffer
	2:12-13	God will bring a *remnant back to Zion (another name for Jerusalem)
Section 2	3:1-5:15	Micah accuses false leaders. He promises that a good, fair King will come
	3:1-12	The false leaders of old Jerusalem will fail and that city will fall
	4:1-8	New Jerusalem will have a high position over the nations
	4:9-13	Zion’s (Jerusalem’s) people will suffer pains that will lead to the beginning of a new age
	5:1-6	The *Messiah’s birth and his future greatness
	5:7-9	The *remnant will rule the nations
	5:10-15	God will protect his new *spiritually clean nation
Section 3	6:1-7:20	Third series of *prophecies. God will forgive the *remnant of his people
	6:1-8	Micah accuses *Israel’s people because they have not obeyed the *covenant
	6:9-16	The *curses in the *covenant will all become true for Jerusalem’s people
	7:1-7	Jerusalem’s social structures will break apart
	7:8-20	The Song about Success

Section 1

Chapter 1

1:1-2 Brief description of the book

Verse 1

This description emphasises that Micah’s message came from God. It was ‘the *LORD’s message’. It was not ‘the *prophet’s message’. (Look at Isaiah 1:1-2; Jeremiah 1:1-2; Amos 1:1-3.) This message ‘came’ to Micah with great power. That was because the *LORD’s Spirit came into Micah. And the Spirit controlled and used him at that time (Micah 3:8). Micah refers only to the kings of the southern nation (Judah). The northern nation (*Israel) refused to obey God’s *covenant. Its people appointed kings without God’s agreement (Hosea 8:4). Micah’s book is God’s word.

There is another way in which God’s message came to Micah. Micah heard God’s voice and he understood God’s message. He also saw the things that God was saying. He saw God’s plans in a vision (dream). Micah understood the things that he saw in his vision. Some people do have this gift. They can see what God is saying. God causes them to see pictures and dreams.

Verse 2

Micah gives an order to all the people in Samaria and Jerusalem. The people in *Israel had a special relationship with God because they had made a *covenant with him. But they had not followed the rules in the *covenant. So God calls both *Israel and the other nations to a court of law. He asks them to defend themselves. Yes, God would punish Samaria and Jerusalem. But the whole world must hear this message. The *Lord will come to be a witness against *Israel and against the whole world. Everyone and everything in the whole world must listen to these words.

1:3-2:13                  Punishment and Rescue

1:3-16 God will punish Samaria and Judah

In verses 3 to 7, Micah describes how God will punish Samaria. Our God is the God about whom we learn in the Bible. He is the God who is alive. But many people take no notice of him. The people in Samaria forgot God. They prayed to false gods. The way that God punishes Samaria will teach all people something. Everyone in the entire world must listen to these words. All people must obey this message. God chose *Israel to be like an example for all the nations. God warns them in these verses.

Then Micah describes how God will punish Judah. The style of Micah’s message is like a sad song after a war. He uses the names of several cities. Each name has a meaning. And Micah uses these meanings to emphasise his message.  But the war had not yet happened. Perhaps Micah was hoping that the people might confess their *sins to God. They might change their behaviour so that God would forgive them. But, in the end, this did not happen. The people in Judah suffered greatly. Everything that Micah described happened.

Verses 3-4

‘High places’ and ‘valleys’ describes all places everywhere. It may mean strong, important institutions. People in other nations met together on the high places. They prayed to their gods there. God had ordered King Hezekiah to destroy such places (2 Kings 18:1-6). People feel safe as long as God stays in heaven. But he will come to the Earth. He will come to give judgement. He will come to punish *sin. Nations and institutions will melt when they meet God’s fire. They will realise that they must meet the holy God.

Verse 5

Micah accuses ‘Jacob’ (the northern nation from Jacob’s family) and he accuses *Israel (all *Israel). He accuses them about *sin. The people have not obeyed the *covenant that God made with *Israel. They have not obeyed God’s commands. ‘Those in Samaria’ (the northern capital) here means the bad leaders of the northern nation. ‘Jerusalem’ (the southern capital) refers to the bad leaders of the southern nation.

*Sin here means that the people decided to oppose God. They did that on purpose. God gave to them a purpose that they should live for. But they have failed to achieve that purpose. They have gone their own way. God has given his *covenant to them. This gives rules for them, to guide them. It is an agreement that God has made with *Israel. But they have made a decision. They have decided that they will not obey God’s *covenant.

Verses 6-7

‘Therefore’ links the crime to the punishment. Samaria’s people prayed to images. This showed that they did not understand God or his laws. Their evil religion did not teach good behaviour. In fact, it caused evil behaviour. It showed that they understood the world in a wrong way. When people serve images, there is a cause and effect in this. (Look at Romans 1:18-31.) It causes people to do bad things. And the effect is evil. ‘They said that they were wise. But they became fools. They exchanged the greatness of the God who can never die for images. They made these look like men, birds, animals and snakes’ (Romans 1:22-23). That is how Samaria’s leaders acted against God’s *covenant. As a result of their actions, the people did all kinds of wrong things. Among these things was when people used sex in the wrong way.

God was like a husband to the people in Israel. They had a special relationship (called the *covenant) with him. But they were not loyal to him. They were like *prostitutes, who leave their husbands to go with other men. The people in Samaria had become wealthy because of this wicked religion. But they would not keep their wealth. They had learned this behaviour from the other nations. And soon the other nations would control Samaria. The people in Samaria would become slaves. And the army from Assyria would take away their (Samaria’s) wealth.

Verses 8-9

Micah weeps as he speaks God’s judgement. He feels as God feels. Micah has seen what will happen to Samaria. He knows that the situation is hopeless. There is no remedy for Samaria’s problems. God’s judgement is certain. Punishments from God must happen. A wicked enemy will overcome Samaria. This is very sad. Micah and God both cry. They cry like jackals and ostriches. Jackals move together in groups. They seem to cry in a sad way. Ostriches cannot fly but they can run fast. Both jackals and ostriches give the impression that they are unhappy. The *sin is like a disease that has spread to Judah. Nobody can stop the disease. It has spread right into the centre of Jerusalem. The nature of *sin is that it spreads.

Verse 10

Micah is thinking about the army from Assyria. It would soon come to Jerusalem. The towns that he mentions are close to Micah’s home town, Moresheth Gath (verse 14). Without those towns, Jerusalem would not be a capital any longer. The *Hebrew word for each town becomes a message about the future. Gath sounds like the *Hebrew word for ‘tell’. In the *Hebrew language, ‘in Acco’ sounds like ‘weep’. Beth Aphrah means ‘House of Dust’. The message might be, ‘Do not tell it in Tell town. Do not weep in Weep town. Roll yourself in the House of Dust.’ The army from Assyria will defeat the people in those towns. Then Jerusalem’s rulers will ‘roll themselves in the dust’. This was a custom that showed complete despair.

In 701 *BC, King Sennacherib advanced towards Jerusalem. He attacked 46 towns and cities, and he took control of them. These included the ones that Micah mentions here. We can understand why Micah felt so much pain. Earlier, David wept and he spoke these same words. David said ‘Do not tell it in Gath’ after Saul and Jonathan died (2 Samuel 1:20).

Gath was a town where people called Philistines lived. Earlier, David did not want the Philistines to be happy about their success. It is the same for Micah. He does not want the enemies (the *Assyrians) to be happy about their success. *Israel is like God’s light to the nations. When the light becomes dark, the nations have no light and no hope.

Verse 11

Shaphir is the name of a city. Shaphir means ‘beautiful’. Shaphir was a beautiful city. But its people will soon be prisoners. The *Assyrians will take its people away to another country. They will make its people walk through the streets. Then those people from Shaphir will be naked and so they will be ashamed. Everyone will see their naked bodies. Their shame will be great. Their enemies will not care about them. But God sympathises. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, suffered the same shame.

Zaanan means ‘go forward’. But the people in the town called Zaanan will not go forward. They will not go to help their neighbours in the battle. Instead, they will hide behind their walls. Bethezel means ‘house where they take away’. Its people will ‘take away’ their help. It means that they will not protect Judah any longer.

Verse 12

Maroth means ‘bitter’. So Maroth is a town where the people are bitter. Bitter people need hope. They need to hope for something better. So the people in Maroth hope for something good. They hope for help and peace. But there is no help from Jerusalem’s people. Jerusalem is the city whose name means ‘peace’. The *Assyrians will march right up to the great gate of Jerusalem. God will use the *Assyrians to carry out his judgement. By means of them, he will punish the people in *Judah and Israel. These evil things have come from the *LORD. Severe punishment has come from him.

Verse 13

Lachish was an important town. It was the strongest place in the region. It was about 4 miles from Micah’s home. There was an army there. The army’s job was to defend the western hills. The men in the army used chariots and they used fast horses. A chariot was a very strong vehicle. They used a team of horses to pull it. Chariots were fast and powerful in a battle. Even brave soldiers were afraid of the chariots. The two words ‘horses’ and ‘Lachish’ sound similar in the *Hebrew language. Lachish might mean a team of horses. The people in Lachish would have trusted in their strong army. They would have trusted in their chariots.

The people thought that they were in no danger from the *Assyrians. But they were wrong. In Micah’s message, God is telling the people to leave this strong town. They must leave as quickly as possible. This command probably made the people very afraid.

The *Assyrians would soon defeat the people in Lachish. Lachish’s people had caused Jerusalem’s people to stop trusting in God. Lachish’s people did not trust God to defend them. They trusted their chariots. That was because of the *sin called pride. Pride causes us to think that God’s rules for our life do not matter. We believe that we can do as we choose. We think that we do not need God. We think that we can live very well without him. The people in Lachish had the same *sin as the people in *Israel had. This *sin was that they trusted their chariots instead of God. And Lachish’s people taught Jerusalem’s people to *sin. So the people in Jerusalem and Judah had that same *sin too. (The ‘Daughter of Zion’ is another name for Jerusalem, the capital of Judah.)

In our modern world, we too can be guilty of pride. Now we might trust machinery, computers and modern science. We might trust all those things when we should be trusting God.

Verse 14

In this message, the *Assyrians have defeated the people in Lachish. So the king must now pay money as gifts to the *Assyrians. Achzib is now under the *Assyrians’ control. Therefore, Judah’s rulers cannot receive taxes from the people in Achzib. Achzib means ‘cheat’. It was a wealthy town. There were many places where people could have jobs there. Now they will not be wealthy any longer. They will have nothing. That is the result of God’s judgement on the nation.

Verse 15

‘People in Mareshah’. The *Hebrew words here sound like ‘someone who takes possession’. It means the person that wins a battle. The result will be that only a few people will live. It was like that earlier at the cave of Adullam. This statement about Adullam refers to David. He ran away from Saul. David hid in the cave of Adullam. David was very weak at that time. Those who ran away with him were also weak. They were not important people (1 Samuel 22:1-2; 2 Samuel 23:13). However, the people in Mareshah were important people. They were men that had a high rank. They ran away from the *Assyrians and they hid from the *Assyrians.

However, all those references to the cave of Adullam mean the same thing. David’s companions were men in trouble. They were in debt. They were unhappy people. Those who ran from Mareshah were important people. But those two situations were alike, because there was little hope for improvement. In both events, it seemed that the end had come. There is a promise about a better future for Judah and *Israel. But it comes later in this book (Micah 2:12-13).

Verse 16

God gives more orders. These orders are for the people in Jerusalem. The children, like their parents, are important people. Parents love their children. The *Assyrians will take the children away to a foreign country. It will be a time when the parents are sad. God tells them to cut off their hair. He tells them to make themselves bald. So then they will be like a large bird that has no feathers on its head. The people had a custom. When they were ashamed and sad, they would shave all the hair from their heads. Then everyone would see how sad they were. Soon, Judah’s people and Jerusalem’s people would suffer terribly. And then they would follow this custom.

All good parents desire good things for their children. Unfortunately, many people do not love God. They do not obey his orders. Therefore their children suffer. In the previous verses, we see that God is the judge of towns, cities and nations. *Sin is a very serious matter to God. Because of his holy nature, he must be angry against it.

‘Trouble has come down from the *LORD’ (verse 12). ‘I will bring a person that will act against you’ (verse 15). The punishment comes from God. The events in these verses are the result of God’s direct action. These are serious matters for us today. We need to be aware of our own *sin. We should confess our *sin to God. He cares about us. He does not want us to suffer his punishment. And he will forgive us if we humbly invite him into our lives.

God did not want to punish the people in Samaria and Judah. He wanted them to serve him again. And he wanted them to obey his laws. But they refused to obey him. And so in the end, they suffered the punishment that Micah described.

Chapter 2

2:1-11 Evil leaders and false *prophets will suffer

Verses 1-2

These people plot evil things. God is against them. They will suffer a terrible punishment. Micah now gives real examples of these people’s *sins. He has referred to their *sins already in chapter 1 (Micah 1:5, 13). But Micah sees that it is necessary also to name particular *sins. Otherwise it is not clear what they are. These *sins begin as wrong ideas in the mind. Then the people carry out their plans. People’s wrong behaviour is against what God wants. Wrong actions affect our relationship with God. They affect our relationships with each other.

Thieves usually come at night, when it is dark. These rich people made their evil plans at night. In the morning, they did the bad things that they had planned. They had all the power over the poorer people. The rich people owned most of the land. They could do whatever they wanted. Nobody could stop them. They made plans against ordinary people. These ordinary people owned fields and houses. Maybe they had just one field and one house. It was all that they could pass on to their children. The evil people wanted fields. So they took them. They wanted houses. So they took them. That was not a good, honest occupation. Rich people were cheating the poor people. The rich people became richer. The poor people had nothing. But both God and Micah knew the rich people’s plans.

‘You must not be jealous of your neighbour’s house or land’ (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21). This is the 10th Commandment (law that God gave). God gave the 10 Commandments (his laws) to Moses on the mountain called *Sinai. Jealous attitudes like this are wrong. Such attitudes are a main cause of the wrong character that is inside us. People say, ‘I want it and I intend to get it.’ These words clearly express the nature of this evil behaviour.

Verse 3

God is planning trouble for the ‘family’. That means all the people in *Israel. Some people *sin. But the whole family suffers. The leaders especially are guilty. The army from Assyria will bring trouble. The enemy will put the people’s necks in a trap. They will squeeze the people’s necks in a lock. They cannot remove their necks from it. They cannot save themselves. They will not be proud people any longer. Micah’s strong words will not help them. Only God can deal with them so that they will not be proud. These rich people have brought trouble to the poor people. So God will send the *Assyrians to do the same thing to the rich people. God will deal with these proud, rich people.

Verse 4

The strong, rich people in *Israel were thieves. They had taken the fields from the poor people. Now, people that are stronger than the rich people will take those rich people’s fields. The poor people had lost everything. God owns all land everywhere (Psalm 24:1). God gave land to each family in *Israel (Joshua chapters 12 to 22). God intended that they should enjoy the land. There, the people could produce the food that they needed. But God still owned the land.

God gave that land to the people in *Israel. It was a part of his *covenant with them. But he gave certain rules about how to use the land. (Look at Leviticus chapter 23.) God could take the land from the people. He would do that if they did not obey his rules. He would give the land to their enemies (Leviticus 26:33; Deuteronomy 28:49-68).

The rulers will soon lose all their land. They do not recognise what God is doing. He is doing to them what they did to the poor people. Micah writes a sad song. He suggests that the *Assyrians might sing it. There is an example of a similar thing in Psalm 137:1-6. There, *Israel’s enemies would ask its people to sing a song from Zion (Jerusalem). This would be their reply. ‘We cannot sing the *LORD’ssongs while we are in a foreign country!’ The *Assyrians would consider Micah’s idea to be funny. They would see it as a joke. This is the song that Micah wrote.

‘He has ruined us completely! He took away our land. He gave it to other people. Yes, he took my land away from me. The *LORD has divided our fields. He has divided them among our enemies.’

The rulers had taken land from the poor people. But the rulers did not realise that really the land belonged to the *LORD.

Verse 5

When Micah uses these words, he is talking about a future time. It is a time when God’s people will come back to their country. Several centuries before, God had told Moses to measure the country. Moses had divided its land among the 12 tribes (families) (Numbers 26:55-56; Joshua 19:51). Some time in the future, God will do good things for his people, the nation called *Israel. God will again divide the land among *Israel’s families. But these present rulers that Micah mentions will have no part of it. They will not be part of God’s family. God will not allow them to live on that land. They will not be God’s people any longer. That will be a very severe punishment.

Micah spoke those hard words to the leaders. He was very bold. It was a dangerous thing to do.

Verse 6

God sent his *prophets to warn the people about their *sins. But these rich people did not want to listen to God’s message. Instead, they appointed their own *prophets (called the ‘false *prophets’) to advise them. But these false *prophets did not really speak God’s message. Instead they said whatever the rich people wanted them to say. And the false *prophets told the real *prophets not to declare God’s message. The false *prophets said that nothing bad would happen. They pretended that God was not really angry.

When people do bad things, they often try to find an excuse for their behaviour. They do not tell the truth. Micah, Hosea and Isaiah warn the rich people about their wicked deeds. So the rich people do not approve of these *prophets. But real *prophets must speak against lies.

But the rich people did not want the *prophets to talk about those bad activities. The rich people were traders and employers. Trade is about property, money and markets. The traders thought that the *prophets did not understand these things. The traders wanted their *prophets to speak about religion. The *prophet’s job should be to talk about religion, prayer and similar things. *Prophets understood such things. But they should not talk about people’s behaviour. Trade was not the responsibility of a *prophet. That is what the rich people said.

The rich people said that nothing bad would happen to them. They were confident about that. They were very proud people.

Verse 7

In Micah’s book, ‘Jacob’ refers to all *Israel. (Look at Micah 3:1.) The people were probably thinking about a verse from Exodus. ‘The *LORD is kind and gentle. He does not get angry quickly. He does not become impatient with us. He is full of great love’ (Exodus 34:6). But that is only part of the truth. The whole truth is this. God will do what he promised to the nation called *Israel. But he does good things only to those who do right things. It is true that God loves us. And he is kind to us. But the *prophets warn these people because they are not loyal to their *Lord. (See also Matthew 7:24-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.)

These rich people have cheated the poor people for a long time. The *prophet warns the rich people. It is not the first time that a *prophet has done this. If the rich people are sensible, they will listen to the *prophet’s words. They will stop their bad practices. They will not act unfairly towards the poor people any longer.

Verses 8-9

The rulers are thieves. They are as cruel as enemies. God accuses the rulers. Micah mentions 3 things of which the rulers are guilty:

·        They steal the fine clothing from people’s backs. Fine clothing gives people a sense of importance. It makes them feel happy. Micah gives an example. The people feel like soldiers. They have fought for their country. They have won the battle. They have returned to their homes. But then the rulers take their clothes from them. That behaviour is wicked.

·        The rulers force the nation’s women to leave their own pleasant houses. The ‘good things’ in verse 9 refer to a feeling that one is well and happy. They refer to the wealth that God gave to *Israel’s people. He had given good things to the women. He had given fine clothing to them. He had given expensive precious stones to them. He had given to them good food. And he had given them plenty to drink. Look at Ezekiel 16:9-14. Those verses show how rich *Israel was at that time. God had given every good thing to them to enjoy.

·        God gave his blessings (good things) to the children too. He intended the children to be well and happy. He intended that they should enjoy plenty of good things. He intended that they should live happily. God had given all those good things to the children. But the rulers had robbed them. The rulers had taken the children’s happiness from them. And they had ruined the future for the children.

This is a terribly evil situation. The rulers are attacking the way in which families live. The result is this. Husbands are losing their jobs. Wives have to leave their lovely houses. Children lose their safe and happy homes. God was doing good things for the parents’ children, but the rulers stopped him. The children had lost God’s good things. They would not be able to pass God’s good things on to their children and grandchildren.

Verse 10

‘Place where you can rest’ seems to refer to peace and safety. Ordinary people were happy and they were content with their situation. Then the evil rulers took away the place where they rested. God would now remove the rulers. He would take the rulers from the place where they rested. The rulers were *spiritually unclean (unholy). They had made the country *spiritually unclean. And they had made the people *spiritually unclean. The rulers were not good enough to be there. God would remove them.

Verse 11

This is Micah’s message. If he *prophesies any more, he will be wasting time. The evil rulers, traders and employers listen to the false *prophets. But they do not ask whether those *prophets are real *prophets or false ones. The employers do not ask who gave those *prophets authority to be *prophets. The employers only want to listen to *prophets who promise future happiness.

*Prophets should speak God’s message. But these people have refused to listen to Micah’s message. They do not want to know what God has said. They do not want to hear what they need to hear. These people want to hear things that please them. They want to hear about things that they really enjoy. The people want a God like this. They want God to give to them anything that they ask for. This includes things like wine and alcohol. So, this message from a false *prophet would please these people. They have said to Micah, ‘Do not talk to us about God. And do not tell us about what he wants.’

2:12-13 God preserves a *remnant in Zion (Jerusalem)

Together, verses 12 and 13 both tell us about an event. However, they do not just refer to one event. That same passage actually refers to two events. The first event is when Judah’s people return from Babylon. Later there will be another event. God will gather together all people that believe in Jesus the King. That will be when Jesus returns. The *prophets did not see when these events would happen. There would be a long period between the two events. The *prophets did not know that. But they could clearly see that the *Messiah would come. That gave hope to the people. It helped them stop their *sin.

Verse 12

Micah has spoken hard things to *Israel’s people. The army from Assyria will soon come to kill them. That army will even destroy the land. God has told the people to get up. He has told them to go far away. They must leave their *spiritually unclean (unholy) country. This seems to be the end. There seems to be no hope.

However, this first section of this book ends with a promise. *Israel’s God is a king. He is also like a *shepherd. In this special description, it is as if his people are his sheep. They are like his flock (group of sheep). There are other references to God as a *shepherd. Some references are in the *Old Testament (Psalm 23; Ezekiel 34:1-31). There are also some references in the *New Testament (John 10:1-30).

There will always be some people that love God. But there will not be many people like that. The Bible calls these few people the *remnant. God will gather these together. His people will be like sheep that are afraid. They will be in a strange, foreign country. He will be like a *shepherd to them. He will gather his sheep (people). He will bring them to a safe place. There will be a large crowd of people. They will be noisy. They will be happy. They will all come home. This is a promise. They can be sure that it will happen.

The phrase ‘you all’ here is difficult to understand. God will cause the people in *Israel to scatter to other countries. He will then gather together the few people that remain. ‘You all’ refers to the *remnant. These are the few people that have kept their belief in God. And God will rescue the whole *remnant.

Verse 13

The *Assyrians will rule God’s people. God’s people will be in a foreign country. They will need a strong leader to rescue them. Only the *LORD can do that. Their escape happens in three parts:

1)  The people try to escape from the city where they are. But they cannot get through its gate. It is as if there is a wall in front of the gate. God is like *Israel’s *Shepherd. And he is their King. He goes forward. He breaks through the gate.

2)  The crowds break out. They pass through the opening in the gate.

3)  Their King takes the position that is his right. It is at their head.

*Israel’s kings from the Earth failed. Their King from heaven will succeed.

Section 2

3:1-5:15              Micah accuses false leaders. He promises that a good, fair King will come

Chapter 3

3:1-12 The false leaders of old Jerusalem will fail and that city will fall

*Israel’s rulers are also judges. They are responsible for the law. They must use it in the right way. The rulers must not use the law for their own benefit. They must protect weak people and poor people. The law included everything that people did daily, in every detail.

In these 12 verses, Micah tells about 3 terrible events. These will happen to Jerusalem. For each event, there are 4 verses. Micah speaks about how people should be fair. Micah first speaks to the judges (verse 1). He then speaks to the false *prophets (verse 5). After those two groups, he talks to evil *priests (verse 11).

Micah then describes a time in the future when the situation will be better. One day, the people from *Israel will come back to their country. This will affect the whole world (Micah 4:1-8).

Verse 1

The rulers of *Israel had not brought the people together. (They were like *shepherds that had not gathered their sheep together.) The rulers had caused the people to scatter in many directions. They had destroyed the way in which families lived. There was no peace in their neighbourhoods. So Micah speaks an urgent message to the leaders of Jacob’s people. Here ‘Jacob’s people’ and ‘*Israel’ include Judah and its capital Jerusalem (Micah 3:12).

There was a law for every situation. The words ‘be fair’ here refer to the law. That means the law that God gave to Moses (Exodus 21:1-23:19). It also referred to decisions that the *priests made (Deuteronomy 17:8-11). And it was about fair decisions (1 Kings 3:28; 7:7). Earlier, there was a case when two mothers argued about a baby. This baby had just been born. The king himself settled that argument (1 Kings 3:28). Many people have responsibilities that have a relationship to the law. Judges have a lot of responsibility in their job. They should be very serious about their responsibilities.

All rulers and judges should know how to be fair. They should know the words that the law contains. But ‘know’ here does not only mean knowledge in the mind. When someone has done something wrong to another person, the judge should have sympathy for this other person. He must make things right. He must punish a person if that person is guilty. He must make a fair decision. The person that suffered will then feel content.

Verses 2-3

Good leaders have delight in God’s law (Psalm 1:2; 19:7-11). But the leaders at the time when Micah lived were different. They hated God’s law. Micah understood the problem. These leaders did not any longer behave as God’s special people. They had forgotten God’s *covenant with them. They needed new desires towards God. And these desires would come only from a new birth (John 3:3-8). This is the only solution to moral failures. Leaders have benefits. They should use them to help poor people and weak people.

But the leaders and judges used their positions wrongly. They lived in luxury. They robbed poor people in order to become rich. The people were very poor. They were very hungry. They died at an early age. God wanted the leaders to look after the poor people, like *shepherds who look after sheep. Instead, the leaders decided to act like butchers, who kill sheep. So these leaders used their power to make poor people suffer. The leaders did not care what happened to the poor people. The leaders only wanted to make themselves more wealthy.

Verse 4

These rulers have hated good things and they have loved evil things. This has happened for a long time. They are now asking God for help in their troubles. Probably they have often met to pray to God. But that has not helped them. They are in great trouble. They know God’s promises. They know this one for example: ‘He will hear those that cry to him. He will rescue them from their troubles’ (Psalm 107: 6, 13, 19, 28). The message in these verses is for all people. All people have done wrong things. God promises to forgive people. But he forgives them only when they are sorry for their wrong actions. People must repent (turn away from their evil behaviour). And they must trust God. So this promise in the Psalms will not become true for these evil rulers. This is because they have not stopped their evil deeds. They have not sincerely repented.

The poor people have asked the judges (the rulers) for help. And God was speaking to these rulers by means of the poor people’s cries. But the rulers did not understand that. So the rulers did not listen to the poor people’s cries. Now God will deal with the rulers in the same way. He will not listen to them. He will act like someone who hides his face from them. There is a verse in Proverbs about this. ‘A man shuts his ears to the cry from the poor people. He too will then cry out to God. But God will not answer him’ (Proverbs 21:13).

We might ask why God would not answer these rulers’ prayers. It was because they had done evil things. The rulers had behaved badly. This had continued for a long time. It was their habit to do evil things. The rulers knew God’s demands. They understood the law. They understood the reasons for the law. The rulers knew about legal decisions. They knew the difference between right and wrong decisions.

These rulers had done evil things for such a long time that it had become a normal habit for them. In the Book of Hebrews, the writer describes their situation well (Hebrews 10:26-31). Their evil behaviour controlled their lives. They knew what God wanted them to do. But they refused to change their behaviour.

Micah has dealt with the greedy rulers. Now he deals with the greedy *prophets. The systems of religion and politics join with each other. Both systems protect the criminals. And the criminals do wrong things to the people, who then suffer.

Verse 5 Micah speaks God’s message. The *prophets are false. They lie to the people. The things that they teach are wrong. In the Book of Deuteronomy, its writer warns about that (Deuteronomy 13:1-5). False *prophets hope to please kings. Kings will give a rich reward to them. These *prophets hope to please political and legal leaders. These *prophets hope that leaders in business will praise them. This is what the leaders say. ‘Tell us what we want to hear. Then we will pay you well. Speak a message that comforts us. Then we will feed you well.’ God has given to these *prophets the gifts that they need. But they have no courage. And they have no moral strength.

In the *Hebrew text, Micah says that the *prophets ‘bite with their teeth’. They eat the food that people give to them. But they are even more greedy. It is as if the *prophets bite like snakes. A snake will kill and eat a man. And these *prophets are as terrible as snakes! These evil *prophets would do anything in order to get money from people. So, these evil *prophets speak in order to get money. Micah makes that plain. They also speak to get food for their mouths. The political rulers pay the false *prophets. They pay them for a message that the rulers wish to hear. They pay money for lies. There is no truth in the nation any longer. There is no fair practice in business either.

Therefore, the rulers pay money to the *prophets. In that way, the rulers are feeding them. Then the *prophets speak this message. ‘Life is wonderful. There is peace for everyone.’ But if the rulers do not pay money to the *prophets, the rulers do not feed them. So the *prophets then change their message. They even prepare war against people. They promise war instead of peace.

Sometimes God sends a message about war. It is the right message for that time. But then the false *prophets speak to the people about peace. Or sometimes the right message is about peace. But then the false *prophets speak about war. However, Micah’s message is the truth.

These false *prophets cause the people to behave in wicked ways. But these *prophets do not speak any message about punishment.

Verse 6

*Prophets have dreams. The dreams often come at night. God speaks to *prophets in this way. It is God’s gift to them. But God now takes away that gift from these *prophets. So they do not receive money for it any longer. It is like Samson earlier. He tried to free himself from his enemies, who were called the Philistines. But he could not do it. Samson had lost the strength that God had given to him before. But he did not know that the *LORD had left him (Judges 16:20).

Darkness can mean that people lose knowledge (Psalm 82:5). The *prophets are receiving messages. But the messages do not come from God. God does not allow those messages. It is as if the sun has set on the false *prophets. Their days will be like night.

Verse 7

Some people try to know the future. They try to discover things that God has hidden from us. But God does not allow that. There are some things that God does not allow us to know about. Some people try to discover things by magic. It is a very wrong practice (Deuteronomy 18:10-13). There are accounts about several such practices in the *Old Testament. People practise them even today. One such practice is to try to contact dead people. Another one is to try to get advice by means of the stars. God does not allow people to use such methods. Such behaviour is very dangerous. Any answers that people receive come from evil spirits. Other nations served false gods. Those nations followed their own ways to do things. And the *prophets in *Israel were imitating them. But God opposed their practices.

There is no answer for the *prophets from God. He has declared the *prophets guilty. They will be ashamed. Everyone will see their shame. The *prophets will be *spiritually unclean (unholy). And everyone will see it (Lamentations 4:13-15). The *prophets will be like people with skin disease. Like those people, they will try to hide from other people. Like them, they will cover their mouths. (Look at Leviticus 13:45.) It is as if their mouths have caused the *prophets’ shame. They have used their mouths to say wrong things. Therefore they will not want people to see their mouths. So they will hide their faces.

Verse 8

This verse starts with the word ‘but’. In this way, the writer emphasises that there is a big difference between Micah and the false *prophets. Micah is a real *prophet. He works by the power of God’s Spirit. He is full of *fairness and power. The false *prophets work by their own wicked thoughts. Micah speaks about *sin and punishment. He does not speak about peace. He wants to see people introduce *fairness into his country. That is his great desire. It might happen. It would be good evidence that God has filled him with the Spirit.

Micah speaks about the *sins that the people in *Israel have done. It is the only way that people will understand. They will understand that God is warning them. Micah warns about God’s punishments. But Micah is in great danger. People do not want to hear his message. It is often like that with a real *prophet.

God has shown his truth to Micah. Micah’s greatest desire is to speak that truth. Also, he wants to obey it completely. When Micah speaks about *fairness, he speaks with great power.

Verses 9-10

Micah calls together the wicked leaders and rulers. ‘Leaders’ means all types of leaders in *Israel. Isaiah gives examples of what kinds of people these might be (Isaiah 3:2-3). They include strong men and soldiers, judges, *prophets and skilled workmen. Micah accuses these leaders. The law is right, but they hate it. They hate *fairness. From their wicked hearts come wicked actions. They consider all good things as if those things were bad. Isaiah refers to this matter too (Isaiah 5:20). *Israel should be a nation that obeys God’s law. Instead just a few wicked men rule the people. They even say that good behaviour is wicked.

But God is good. He is kind. He shows his love. He appeals to these wicked people and he asks them to listen.

The 10 commandments were 10 laws that God gave to Moses. He gave them on the mountain called *Sinai. The commandments gave 4 rights to everyone:

·                      the right to live. (You must not murder.)

·                      the right to a protected (safe) home. (You must not have sex with a person that is not your husband or wife.)

·                      the right to property. (You must not steal.)

·                      the right to a reputation (the fact that people will consider you as a good and honest person). (You must not say false things about people.)

*Israel’s leaders should have given those rights to the people. But they did not care about the people. They only cared about their own wealth and importance. They built great buildings in Jerusalem. They said that they were making Jerusalem stronger. But in fact they were making God’s people weaker.

The leaders did not care about the rights that God had given to the people. So the leaders stole land to build their great buildings. They killed people who opposed them. They cheated and they lied.

Verse 11

God himself was the real king (ruler) of *Israel. He chose to teach his words (his law) by means of the leaders. These were in three groups.

1)                      The rulers. They were the judges. They used the law in practice. It was their responsibility to give fair decisions in the courts.

2)                      The *priests. They taught the law (Deuteronomy 17:8-10).

3)                      The *prophets. They brought messages from God.

Together these groups were responsible for the people’s safety and security. But all the leaders loved money. That was their main problem. Paul mentions this problem in his letter to Timothy. ‘When people love money, that love causes all kinds of evil things’ (1 Timothy 6:10). The judges made decisions in the courts. They demanded money from anyone who came to them. The person would pay. Then the judge would give a favourable decision. The *priests taught, but only for money. The *prophets told about the future. And they would demand money for that service.

It seemed that everything was well in Jerusalem. Its people had wonderful buildings. They were rich. Trade was good. The *Temple (God’s house) was in the centre of everything. It was on the mountain called Zion, which was also called the holy hill. That is why the people often gave to Jerusalem the name Zion. The *Temple was the most holy place. The leaders prayed there. They sang *psalms. The leaders made sacrifices. (They burnt animals that they had killed.) They offered those animals to God. The leaders tried to control God. They performed *religious duties. So they thought that God would help them.

However, they did crimes against the people. They praised God when they were in the *Temple. But they did evil things in their daily actions elsewhere. They lived in two different ways. They could not see the difference between those two ways. ‘The heart is more wicked than anything. It is very evil. Nobody can understand it’ (Jeremiah 17:9). They could not understand these things.

So all is not right. The rulers do all those evil things. Then they expect God to help them. They say, ‘God is our help, so nothing bad will happen to us.’ They live in an evil way. But they still believe that God will help them. They believe that he will protect their nation. They have forgotten that God made rules. And his protection depends on right behaviour. (Look at Deuteronomy chapter 28.)

In this message, Micah warns God’s people in every age. On Sundays we go to church. We praise God and we sing songs. Most days we are at work or we are at home. But it makes no difference where we are. Our behaviour should always be the same. We should live the same way on Monday as we do on Sunday.

There is a right way to trust God. We trust him because of his kindness and *forgiveness. We trust him for strength. We trust him to guide us. (Look at Psalm 71:5-6.) But Micah is speaking about something different. These people said that they were trusting God. But they were not obeying God. They said that they had security. But God would not protect them. They said that God was with them. But in fact, they were wicked and God was opposing them. Because of their wicked deeds, God would destroy Jerusalem.

Verse 12

God’s punishment will therefore be as serious as the crime. ‘Because of you’ refers to the rulers (the judges). They were proud of their buildings. But they had made the buildings unholy. Soon, the hill with its *Temple would not still belong to the *LORD. That would make it *spiritually unclean and unholy. It would become a heap of rubbish. Wild animals would occupy it. *Israel’s Holy God would leave his holy *Temple. Jesus said the same thing about the *Temple in Jerusalem. He accused the *religious leaders. They had not used the *Temple in the right way. They had used it for their own honour and profit (Matthew chapter 23). Jesus spoke about a time when enemies would ruin the *Temple (Matthew chapter 24).

But we need to take notice of this message today. We must not use Christian things in the wrong way.

Certain people remembered what Micah had said. This was nearly a hundred years later. This is what happened. *Religious leaders planned to kill Jeremiah. Then some other leaders spoke to the people. All the people listened. These leaders reminded the people about Micah’s message (Jeremiah 26:16-18). The result was that these leaders saved Jeremiah’s life.

Hezekiah, the king of Judah, did not kill Micah. Neither did anyone else. King Hezekiah listened to what the *prophet said. The king began to respect the *LORD very greatly. The king asked for God’s help. God heard his prayer. God had said that he would make something evil happen to that country. But it did not happen at that time. God saved Jerusalem because of King Hezekiah’s prayer. But after Hezekiah’s death, the rulers, the judges and the other important people became even more evil. In the end, enemies destroyed Jerusalem, as the *prophets had warned.

Chapter 4

4:1-8 New Jerusalem will have a high position over the nations

There is a big change now in Micah’s *prophecy. He has just dealt with the old Jerusalem. Because of evil leaders, its people would suffer. And its enemies would destroy it. Micah now describes the new Jerusalem that someone will build in the future.

The end of chapter 3 and the start of chapter 4 are very different. In the last verse of chapter 3, the writer describes very sad, terrible things. In the first verses of chapter 4, there is a wonderful happiness. The old Jerusalem suffered bad things because of wicked leaders. But there will be a new Jerusalem. The *Messiah will be there. He will overcome all his enemies. He will rule over them. However, only a few people will remain. The *Messiah will save them. They will love God and they will obey him.

Verse 1

In the first sentence, Micah uses the phrase ‘in the last days’. This phrase appears many times in the *Old Testament. It does not refer to any particular future date. It means a long period. The situation may have stayed the same for many years. But then it will change. Everything will be different. It may mean ‘in the days that will come’. Centuries before, Moses had spoken to *Israel’s people. He had warned them that they must continue to obey God. Otherwise, terrible things would happen. God would force them out of their country. He would send them into other countries. ‘There will come a day (a special time) when you will be in great trouble. All these things will have happened to you. Then you will start to *worship the *LORD your God again. This will be in later days (at a later time). You will then obey him’ (Deuteronomy 4:30).

In the *New Testament, the phrase ‘the last days’ means something new. It refers to all the results of the time when Jesus Christ came to the Earth the first time. The phrase here may refer to that period (Hebrews 1:1‑2). Peter spoke to the people on the special day called Pentecost. (On that special day, God sent out his Holy Spirit onto people.) Peter repeated these words that the *prophet Joel had written. ‘In the last days (last period), God will send out his Spirit onto all people’ (Acts 2:17). At the end of time, there will be a new heaven and a new earth (2 Peter 3:12-13; Revelation chapters 21-22).

So Micah was looking forward into that future time. Only future events could show that his message was accurate. These events might happen over a long period. ‘Days’ might mean years or even centuries. The rest of this section (Micah 4:1-5:15) may describe ‘the last days’. Micah’s *prophecy would include the few people that returned from Babylon (Micah 4:9, 10). It would include the *Messiah’s birth (Micah 5:2). It would include his rule. This would never end. It would be a time when there is peace. This too would never end (Micah 4:1-4; 5:3).

As Micah looked forward into the future, he saw several events. In ancient times, people used to build *temples on mountains. In *Israel, the people built God’s *Temple on the mountain called Zion. They said that this mountain was higher than all other mountains. But it was not actually the highest mountain. In the *Psalms, however, this is how the writer referred to it. The writer described it as the highest mountain because of its importance. This was the mountain where people *worshipped the real God. And God chose to rule from this mountain (Psalm 11:4; 68:16-17).

After enemies destroyed Jerusalem, the place would be like a field. It would then be fit only for rubbish and wild animals. But Micah saw into the future. He saw a great change. He looked beyond the stones and rubbish that would be on the mountain called Zion.

People used to walk by the River Euphrates in Babylon. They went to *worship the false god called Bel. The people in Babylon were very proud about their religion. They even said that Babylon’s hill was the entrance into heaven. But Micah saw beyond that. He believed that the situation would change. (Look also at Jeremiah 51:44.) Micah saw that the people from many nations will go to the mountain called Zion (the Jerusalem from heaven) (Psalm 87). The *LORD’s house will be there. People will come to *worship there. The *LORD, *Israel’s God, will be the God of the other nations too. All false gods will lose their power over the people. There is a big difference between Jerusalem and Babylon. In Babylon, there will be confusion. In the new Jerusalem, there will be peace.

Verse 2

At one time, only *Israelites went to Jerusalem. They went there to *worship God. In the future, there will be a magnificent country. It will be the Jerusalem from heaven. The *Messiah will be the ruler. There will be a great movement of the world’s nations. Many powerful nations will go to Jerusalem. They will *worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:21-24). There will be good *priests there. They will teach people God’s ways to live. People will want to know God’s law. They will want to *worship God. They will want to do what God says. They will want to know his way to live. And because their *worship is sincere, they will also do good deeds. The benefits in verses 3 and 4 will follow. All other gods and *temples will disappear.

Verse 3

There is a very great difference between the old Jerusalem and the new Jerusalem. Often in the old Jerusalem, the rulers and *priests were evil. They did not teach people the right way to live. God’s message did not reach into society. Just a few people were loyal. But there is hope. In the end, God’s message will reach the nations. And so the people will hear his message about the right way to live. This will bring great changes in society.

God’s law will become the law for the nations. People will live by his laws. God will be active among the nations. He will be the judge in quarrels between many people. He will settle the arguments of strong nations. This will happen all over the world. Leaders will ask God for wisdom and instruction. He will be their authority. There will be no evil judges any longer. God will be the most important person at the courts. The judges in the courts will study the Bible, the book that tells about God’s law. They will check it when they are making their decisions. God will therefore be the judge. He will make the decisions.

Jesus Christ, God’s Son, will have authority over the nations. He will be their king. This will affect the governments of strong nations. These distant nations will not need to fight each other. They will not need arms for war any longer. The people will destroy the arms that they had intended for war. ‘Swords’ and ‘spears’ (like long thin swords) refers also to all military arms. The people will use hammers to make their swords into ploughs. They will make their spears into tools to cut plants. Nations will not want to fight each other any longer. They will have no need to train for war. The nations will use rare materials for good, proper purposes. They will use them to give life rather than death.

Verse 4

People will not love money any longer. They will not desire the goods that belong to other people. (Look at Micah 2:2.) They will not need to fight in wars to obtain them. They will not need arms for war any longer. They will have no enemies. So they will not be afraid that an enemy might kill them. The earth will produce enough food and fruit. There will be enough fruit trees for each person. Each person will sit under his own fruit trees. The word ‘sit’ gives the impression that there is peace. People will be content with what they have. They will not want more than they need. That is one main thing that Micah writes about (Micah 2:2; 3:1-3, 11; 7:3). Each person will sit in peace under his own fruit trees.

Nobody will make the people afraid. It will be like that in the new Jerusalem. People will come to see the new city. That city will be a model for other cities. People will come from all over the earth. They will get to know the new way that people live there. There will be new towns and cities all over the earth. They will be like the new Jerusalem.

There will be no fear any longer. There is fear that comes because of God’s punishment. But that fear will disappear. The nations will trust each other. Then they can destroy the arms that they had used for war. People will lose their great desire for other people’s possessions. All this can happen only when God is the king over all.

What a wonderful world that will be! We might ask how we could be certain about this. Perhaps it is only the dream of a confident *prophet. Micah is confident. But there is only one reason why he is confident. The *LORD who has all power (God) has said those things. He has said that they will happen. The *LORD who commands armies (God) has spoken it with his (the *LORD’s) mouth. That is the reason why Micah is so confident. Micah uses a special name for God here. It is like a name that people would use in war. He calls God ‘the *LORD who has all power’. It can also be ‘the *LORD who commands armies’. The powerful God is speaking. God gave the promise. And it is God who is important. Micah emphasises that fact, rather than the promise itself.

Verse 5

We now look again at the situation when Micah was alive. Only a few people remain loyal to God. They are waiting for God to perform his promises. In the meantime, they will ‘walk in the name of the *LORD’. The Bible often uses the word ‘walk’. Often, as here, it means to ‘be firm’. It means to ‘have a sense of purpose’. It means to ‘go on and not stop’. In other words, those people get stronger as they walk. The loyal people promise to be true to the *covenant. God gave that *covenant to Moses on the mountain called Sinai. Those people will be loyal always, for all time. The promise comforts them when they are sad. It keeps them from wrong deeds when the devil tests them. It gives strength to them for the future.

Other people get their strength from their religions. All the nations are now living ‘in the name of their gods’. (They are living by their belief in their gods.) Micah states his belief. ‘But we will walk (live) in the name of the *LORD, our God.’ We will continue this walk (this way to live) always, for all time. This means that we recognise the *LORD as our God. He is the only God. We do not give attention to other gods. We do not obey them. God has promised a new Jerusalem. To mix all the gods (religions) is not the answer. The nations must serve the one real God and they must obey him. When that happens, the promise will become true. The one real God is the God and Father of our *Lord Jesus Christ. That state of affairs will be permanent. It will continue always, for all time.

Verses 6-7

‘At that time’ refers to ‘the last days’. It is the same as in verse 1. It is a day in the very distant future. ‘The *LORD declares’ means that God has said it. It is therefore true. God is the *Shepherd and he is the King. He will gather the people who are unable to walk. He has hurt his people and he has punished them. But he will bring them together again. He remembers the people that he caused to scatter into Babylon. He will bring them back again.

In this verse, Micah describes the *remnant. They are the people that God has caused to scatter into Babylon. They are those that God has hurt. They are those that he has punished. It was as if God threw them away. Micah refers to a scene where there is terror. The people have no hope and they are weak. The *LORD has brought trouble to his people. But the same *LORD is responsible for them. He will gather his people together again. He will be like a *shepherd who gathers his sheep.

These weak people are those that will become the *remnant. God will make them into a strong nation. This description may be a reference to Jacob. He struggled with God. God struck his leg. When God left him, Jacob had a permanent injury (Genesis 32:22-32). But then Jacob became like a new man. His attitudes had changed. God was able to teach him. He became humble. God could then use him.

It will be similar with Jacob’s *descendants. God is allowing his people to become weak. But he will make them into a strong nation. It will be difficult for them to walk, as it was difficult for Jacob. They will always have this disadvantage. But the result will be that they will trust in the *LORD. They will live in the ways that he wants them to live. This will be so different from what Jerusalem’s leaders were like then (Micah 3:11). God gave to Jacob a new name, *Israel. That happened after Jacob’s experience when he struggled with God. And one day, Micah’s *Israel will become a new nation. Its people will not trust in their own strength. They will be humble. God will then be able to teach them. He will be able to use them. *Israel will become ‘the *Israel of God’ (Galatians 6:16).

The *LORD will bring his people back to Jerusalem (verse 7). He will then make them into a better people. He will make them into a *remnant. And they will become a strong nation that is loyal to the *LORD. They will declare that the *LORD is their God. They will promise to obey him always, for all time. The *LORD will rule over them always, for all time. The people in *Israel will not *worship the other nations’ gods. They will *worship only the one real God (Romans chapter 11). Many other nations did not continue to exist after their wars and troubles (Amos 1:8). God did not preserve a *remnant for those nations. But God’s plan for *Israel was different. God forced his people to leave their homes, because of their *sin. But he will bring them back. He will make them pure (holy). They will become a strong nation (1 Peter 2:9). They will become a nation in whom God’s Spirit lives. Christians will be a part of this strong nation (1 Peter 2:9-10).

The *LORD will rule over that *remnant. This was not true for Micah’s Jerusalem. Its leaders opposed any rule. But at that time, God will rule by means of the *Messiah (Micah 5:2-4; Acts 2:32-36). The *Messiah will rule from the throne (the highest seat, the place that shows the ruler’s authority). He will rule from the mountain called Zion. His rule will last from that day and for always (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Verse 8

God speaks another *prophecy about Zion (Jerusalem). He calls the new capital a *watchtower. This is a tall building. It is in a *vineyard. Men watch from it to guard the *vineyard. These men carry weapons (arms like the ones that people use for war). When *shepherds are looking after their sheep, they watch. They watch to see if there are wild animals. They watch in case someone would steal their sheep. The sheep are like the nation’s citizens. These are the people to whom Micah refers in verses 6 and 7. The former rulers stole from the people (chapter 3). But in the new age, God will protect the people. He will do this by means of the *Messiah (Micah 5:1-6).

God speaks to Zion (Jerusalem) as if it were a strong building. The *Hebrew word for this building also means ‘a hill’. (The same *Hebrew word appears in 2 Kings 5:24.) Zion is an old name for Jerusalem. It was a hill to the east of Jerusalem. There used to be strong men there. They possessed all the military arms that people needed for war. This old name (Zion) linked the hill with David. He was the strong king of *Israel. From his *descendants, the *Messiah would come. God had often promised to David that the rule of David’s *descendant (the *Messiah) would never end. We find that promise in many *psalms. (See Psalms 46 and 48. Look also at Psalms 76; 84; 87 and 122). The old name for Jerusalem (Zion) made people remember David’s previous greatness. That would encourage the *remnant. The city would again have the power and glory (greatness) that it had in the past.

The nation called *Israel would belong to the ‘Daughter of Jerusalem’ (Micah 4:6-8). In the *Hebrew language, the word for ‘city’ is a female word. Jerusalem is therefore called a ‘daughter’. The small group of people in Jerusalem can look back. They can look back to the great period in the past. They can then look forward to the wonderful period in the future. They will again be under the rule of the king (who will then be the *Messiah).

At the time when Micah was alive, the people were not able to see these things happen. But Jesus, the *Messiah, has now come to this Earth. Now people from all the nations ask him to help them. They recognise him as their *Saviour and *Lord. They do not still *worship any other gods. They get to know the power of God’s Holy Spirit (Isaiah 61:1-4). But more is still to come.

Jesus, the *Messiah, is the great *Shepherd of the sheep. Nobody can steal the sheep out of his hand (his care) (John 10:28). He promises to be with his people always. He will be with them until time has ended (Matthew 28:20).

4:9-13 Zion’s (Jerusalem’s) people will suffer pains that will lead to the beginning of a new age

The *prophecy develops in two parts (verses 9-10; 11-13). Both parts start from the word ‘Now’. ‘Now’ means the time when the present troubles are happening (verses 9, 11). The second part refers to a wonderful future. In it, Micah uses the phrase ‘Daughter of Zion’ (Jerusalem). That means the people in Jerusalem. In the *Hebrew text, God tells the people that they must shake themselves about. They have to shake themselves because they are suffering so much pain (verse 10). This refers to a mother’s pains when her child is born. Later, God tells the same people to ‘get up’. And he tells them to ‘break these people (the enemies)’ (verse 13). For that, the *Hebrew has a special description, like a picture. It means when people break wheat to separate the inner grains from the rest. After that, Micah describes what the future will be like.

Verse 9

God says to the people in *Israel, ‘Now you are crying very loudly.’ God trusted *Israel. He trusted the *remnant. He trusted those people to bring about his purposes in the world. But they have not obeyed God. In this verse, he blames the people that are in *Israel. God blames them because they do not believe him. So now he is sending them into Babylon.

‘You think that you have no king’ This shows why they are crying. The *Assyrians will defeat *Israel in war. Afterwards, God will send *Judah’s people into Babylon. The people in the ‘Daughter of Jerusalem’ have every reason to be in pain. But these people must not forget their real King. They must not forget their Helper. It is the *LORD himself. He has not left them. He is still alive. They will spend a long period of time in Babylon. But God will be with them during that time. In the end, the message is a message that brings hope. These troubles will end. Afterwards something better, something new will come.

God the Helper has a secret plan. The ‘Daughter of Jerusalem’ (its people) must not forget their King, who is also their Helper. ‘Wise helper’ in *Hebrew also means ‘Adviser’, another name for God. The people’s pains will be like the ones when a woman gives birth. There is a reason for these pains. God plans to free Zion’s (Jerusalem’s) people by means of the exile (verses 9-10). (The exile is when God will send them out of their country.) The *Assyrians have attacked Jerusalem. But God has planned the defeat of the *Assyrians (verses 11-13). Certainly God will punish his people. But the punishment will not damage them for always. That is not God’s intention. He wants the punishment to help them. Punishment has a purpose. It will provide a way to bring the people back to God. Another *prophet, Jeremiah, also refers to a woman’s pains when she is having a baby. He does that to make his message clear (Jeremiah 4:31).

Jesus, too, used the same example (John 16:21). He was leaving this Earth to be with his Father. Because of that, his disciples (friends and helpers) would be sad for a while. So Jesus encouraged them. He promised to give the Helper (the Holy Spirit) to them as a gift. Then they would not be sad any longer (John 16:16-22). It is the same for us today. It may seem that people continue to suffer. It may seem that troubles never end. It may seem not to mean anything. But our King, Jesus, is with us. Our Helper, God’s Holy Spirit, brings strength and help to us. He supports us at the times when we need his help.

Verse 10

Only the *remnant will remain after enemies defeat Jerusalem’s people. God orders them to feel the pain. The pain is like when a woman is having her baby. These pains show to the *remnant that they must leave Jerusalem city. They must camp in the open field. They must go to Babylon. The word ‘Babylon’ also refers to the worst level of *spiritual darkness. In other words, it will feel as if God has left his people. But in fact, God still has a plan for them. He will be present with his loyal *remnant, even in Babylon. Micah repeats the word ‘there’. He uses it twice. This shows that it is important. The *LORD will save the *remnant ‘there’. ‘There’ he will save them from their enemies. These pains will last for a long time. But one day they will end. A new birth will mean the start of a new age, a new period in time. And that will happen only when the *remnant returns to Jerusalem.

This *prophecy became true. The *remnant returned to Jerusalem in 538 *BC (Ezra chapter 2). God’s kingdom (rule) comes by means of tests. So *Israel’s people must suffer these tests. The *remnant had left the safety that they had in the old city (2 Kings 25:2-7; Jeremiah 52:7). They had camped in the open field (Jeremiah 6:25; 14:18). The *remnant had gone to Babylon. But then they returned home. Later, the *remnant will become the new *Israel.

Verse 11

‘Now’ in verses 9 and 10 referred to the exile. The exile means the time when God will send the people out of their country. He will send them into Babylon. But ‘now’ in verse 11 refers to the present situation. It refers to the army from Assyria. These armies contain soldiers from many nations. The *Assyrians have paid those soldiers to fight. That payment came from taxes. And the taxes came from the nations that the *Assyrians have defeated. Those nations have paid these taxes to Assyria. Nations are attacking Jerusalem. *Israel is a nation that the *Assyrians have defeated. So its people themselves have helped to pay for this war.

Each army has its national flag. The armies surround Zion (Jerusalem). They look towards it with great pride. They talk about their enormous power. They are the present danger to Zion (Jerusalem).

The *Assyrians want to make the city *spiritually unclean (unholy). The armies want to break down its walls. These walls protect the holy city. This refers especially to the Most Holy Place in the *Temple. The armies want to destroy the holy furniture. Then the Most Holy Place would become *spiritually unclean (unholy). The people in Jerusalem city have declared that it is God’s city. God has intended *Israel to be like heaven on Earth. That is why the armies hate Jerusalem.

Some nations hate God. They will always oppose another nation that obeys his commands. They will try to destroy such a nation. Such events have happened often in history.

Verses 12-13

However, these armies do not understand what God is doing. They do not realise that God is using them. He is causing their defeat. They gather against Jerusalem. But it is the *LORD who gathers them. They plan to destroy the *Temple. But the *LORD will destroy them. They are part of God’s plan for *Israel (Isaiah 10:5-12). God defeated the devil by means of the wooden cross where Jesus Christ died (1 Corinthians 2:7-8). The world did not understand what that event meant. It is the same today.

God is gathering these armies together. They are like bundles of wheat. Someone has gathered the bundles and they have put them on the floor. And the *LORD has gathered those armies there. He will break them up like grains of wheat. People break up the wheat to separate the inner grains from the rest. In the Bible, this is a common way to describe punishment (Isaiah 21:10; Jeremiah 51:33; Hosea 13:3).

So Micah speaks to the few people that remain (verse 13). God has gathered them in Jerusalem. *Israel’s enemies have laughed at God. God orders his people to get up. And he orders them to go out. (Look at Micah 2:13.) *Israel’s enemies are also God’s enemies. So God orders the few people in Jerusalem to kill those enemies. In another picture or special description, a strong animal is pulling a big tool to cut with. This is like God’s people. It is as if they will have horns (sharp points on an animal’s head). And the horns will be of iron. That means that nobody can defeat them. They will have feet that someone has covered with a hard metal. These feet will break down the enemy’s proud attitudes. God orders the people to break these many nations. They must break these nations into many pieces. God’s enemies will be like grains of wheat. God will destroy their proud attitudes. He will kill the soldiers that oppose Jerusalem. He will cause the armies to scatter.

The *Assyrians have obtained their wealth by false methods. But the few people in Jerusalem that remain will get all this wealth back again. They will use this wealth. The people will use it in the *LORD’s *Temple. They will use it in the way that God chooses. God’s secret plan began to become true in 701 *BC. We find the report about it in 2 Kings chapter 19. The nations have taken wealth from God’s people. The soldiers have gained from it. But all wealth belongs to the *LORD. God will return it to his own people.

The *LORD (God) is the king not only over Jerusalem. God is the *Lord over all the Earth. His secret plan includes the fact that *Israel will win against all the nations. God’s plan has continued to become true as time goes on (Jeremiah 51:33; 1 Corinthians 2:7-8).

Chapter 5

5:1-6 The *Messiah’s birth and his future greatness

The main subject of Micah’s message now changes. He has spoken about the new Zion (new Jerusalem). He now speaks about kings that will come from King David’s *descendants. This section starts from the defeat that Jerusalem’s king will suffer (verse 1). But then Micah goes on to describe how a very special king (the *Messiah) will have success (verses 2-6).