Micah Chapters 6-7
6:1 “Hear now what the Lord is saying”: “When God speaks, the highest duty of humankind is to listen, i.e., obey’ (Smith p. 341). Here is a clear claim that God was speaking through Micah, and either the Biblical writers were speaking the Word of God, or they were liars, there is no middle ground. “Plead your case before the mountains”: “As the mountains and hills have witnessed the whole of Israel’s history, so now Jehovah calls upon the nation to present their cause before these as before a jury. They have witnessed both the nation’s ingratitude and Jehovah’s goodness” (Hailey pp. 212-213). 6:2 The term case is a technical one for a formal controversy between two parties. The mountains are called the enduring ones, for they had stood where God had stationed them at the founding of the earth. All of us should take special notice of this section of Scripture, for this is how God judges, and this is the type of examination that the unfaithful will face at the last day. God doesn’t look the other way, neither does He excuse the lack of faithfulness on the part of His people. Grace just doesn’t automatically cover the disobedient, rather, for the unfaithful, and God is a prosecutor. God has a dispute with these people, which is a word that means to “argue” or “litigate”. Clearly, God is an aggrieved party. 6:3 “My people, what have I done to you, and how have I wearied you? Answer Me” God is asking, “What have I done to deserve your neglect, ingratitude, and defiance?” “Some hint of Judah’s complaint against Yahweh is found in the second question which Yahweh asks His people, ‘How have I wearied you?’ The verb ‘wearied’ suggests to weary the patience of a person by demands of too great severity, or by failing to perform one’s promises” (Smith p. 1
343). God is still kind when He drags His own people into court. Observe how He pleads and reasons with them. Today people claim that the Bible is too strict, and that it contains an unrealistic moral standard, yet God denies that He expects too much. Today people complain that God didn’t come through for them, failed them, or let them down, yet God also denies this accusation. On the Judgment Day are we planning on making one of the above arguments to justify our own lack of commitment? Apparently, like today, many in Israel were complaining of God’s strictness, but God challenges them to offer proof. 6:4 God offers His own proof. The first proof is liberation. “Was liberation boring? Does release from years of servitude make you yawn? Is the Exodus story wearisome” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 123). Israel cannot complain that God has treated them unfairly. It was He that brought them up out of the foreign land by redeeming them from slavery to His service. Israel must remember that the Exodus was not merely the migration of people from one land to another, such as was common in the ancient world. The coming out of Egypt was an act of redemption. In addition, He gave to them such noble leaders as Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. The redeemed people were not left leaderless. Thus the second proof the provision of leadership. “Are you upset because I didn’t leave you to wander aimlessly?” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 123). 6:5 “Remember”: The third example is that of protection. When we become ungrateful, we have ceased to remember what has really happened in our lives. Ungrateful people are often people who have rewritten their past and have omitted the great things that God has done for them. When Balak the king of Moab, tried to employ the services of Balaam, in order to curse Israel and prevent them from entering the Promised Land, God turned Balak’s curses into blessings through the mouth of Balaam (Numbers 22-24). Shittim, which means “Acacia meadow”, was the lasting resting place of Israel before crossing the Jordan (Joshua 3:1). Gilgal was the first camp after crossing the river (Joshua 4:19). “God calls upon Israel to remember His deeds between the two: the battle with the Midianites in which Balaam was killed (Numbers 31:8), the conquest of the land east of the Jordan, and the crossing of the Jordan at flood period. Call to mind all the righteous acts of Jehovah, and then find one thing of an evil nature that
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could be charged against Him. This is Jehovah’s challenge before the court” (Hailey p. 213). “To remember involves the same; it is not mere recollection; remembrance refers to what grips you and moves you and drives you” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 125). The People’s Response 6:6 “With what shall I come to the Lord?: Apparently the people are convicted of their guilt and Micah portrays the nation speaking as one individual. Yet the questions in this section reveal a tremendous amount of ignorance on the part of the Israelites. “With yearling calves”: Was a very valuable offering. Smith feels that the people don’t really recognize their sins, but that they feel that God is the one with the problem, that is, something must be done to change His attitude towards Judah. “They actually thought that they could bribe God with gifts to change His attitude toward them” (p. 345). Laetsch notes that the people offer no recognition of their wickedness; there is no plea for mercy or forgiveness. “They are convinced that they can merit God’s good will by their own efforts. They are willing to bargain with God, as if He were a bargainer like themselves. They are ready to buy His favor” (p. 279). 6:7 “Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams?”: Quantity is the essence of this question. Can just a whole bunch of sacrifices or good deeds make up for their sins? Can they simply do a ton of extra credit? “But in all these questions they indicate a willingness to do anything except what Jehovah required” (Hailey p. 214). Many people today are like this, they will make tremendous sacrifices for God, but not the sacrifices which God has commanded, they will do all sorts of things in the name of God, but not the things which God wants done. “Shall I present my first-born for my rebellious acts?”: “At the same time an undercurrent of impatience and dissatisfaction runs through their bargaining, as if God were a greedy, bloodthirsty tyrant, hard to satisfy, punishing people who are willing to make great sacrifices, as if they were unworthy criminals” (Laetsch p. 279). Remember, recent kings in Israel’s history had reached this abyss (2 Kings 16:2-3; 2 Kings 21:6). “Micah was not preaching in some hypothetical
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dreamworld” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 127). The firstborn represents the most precious thing one could give to God. But it was still something outside the individual; it wasn’t the individual’s will, heart, mind, or soul. The sacrifices that God had always wanted were a broken and contrite heart, a heart that was truly humbled, sorry, and repentant (Psalm 51:16-17). 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good”: God had not kept the nation in ignorance. There is no guesswork here. God had not left anyone in doubt with regard to His expectations. Today, people have the same attitude, “The Bible is just too hard to understand”, “It is too confusing”, “Too idealistic”, “Everyone has their own interpretation”, “We will just have to wait and see who is right and who is wrong”. God could say the same thing to our modern society, He has already told us plainly and clearly what He expects. “But to do justice”: That is, to uphold the will of God and implement it in our dealings with others. The Word of God will be the final authority in how to treat each other and in distinguishing between good and evil, right and wrong. This means that the final standard of what is just, must be the Bible, rather than some sort of invented human standard. “To love kindness”: Can also be translated, “mercy” or “loyal love”. That is, to practice the type of love described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Again, not what man calls mercy or “love”, but the mercy and love demanded by God. This would include, a warmhearted compassionate love towards others. It is one thing to go through the motions of trying to be kind; it is another thing to actually love kindness, and to have the burning desire to express that kindness to others. But do we resent God’s insistence that we be kind to others? 6:8 “And to walk humbly with your God?” “Is to recognize the absolute holiness and righteousness of God, and to walk in humble and submissive obedience to His desire and will” (Hailey p. 214). “One who would please God must not presume to go his own way. Rather he defers to the way and will of God as revealed in the word” (Smith p. 347). This would include refusing to add or subtract from the Scriptures, or of elevating human wisdom over the Bible. This is the attitude that admits its own ignorance, that God is always right, that we are blind without the Bible, and that the Scriptures have all the answers that we need. Respecting the silence of the Scriptures is all about walking humbly with your God.
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Application How about us? When we gather on the first day of the week to worship, could Jesus say something like, “Is this boring? Have I failed to interest you? Have I not stretched your mind, stirred your gratitude, excited your wonder, met your real needs? Was the cross not dramatic enough for you? Does the empty tomb make you yawn?” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 129). The Lord’s Judgment Because of Sin The judgment of God is coming (6:9-16) because the requirement of God (6:6-8) has not been met. 6:9 “The Lord’s voice as it sounds forth in the oral and written message of the prophets cries loudly to the city” (Laetsch p. 281). The phrase call to the city signifies the cry of alarm that is heard when disaster threatens a city. The true test of wisdom is whether or not a man or woman has a healthy respect for God. People who are willing to place their will, opinions, attitude, and life under God’s will, will find true wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). “Who has appointed its time?”: God has appointed this judgment. This verse can also be translated, “Obey the rod and Him who has appointed it”. The rod or club that God would use to punish His people would be the Assyrians. 6:10 “Treasures of wickedness, and a short measure?” God is going to judge the nation because of ill-gotten gains, the people have not repented, and they are still gaining wealth by corruption. Businessmen had not changed their ways; many were still using dishonest weights and measures in selling and buying goods. Similar language is also found in Deuteronomy 25:14-16 and Proverbs 20:10. 6:11 As in modern times, many people see no connection between dishonest business practices and their relationship with the Lord. “They graduated from the school which taught, ‘Let the buyer beware’” (Smith p. 349). Grace will not unconditionally cover evil that is practiced and not forsaken.
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6:12 “Were I to use such tactics, you would be the first to condemn Me. Yet not only the rich, but also the entire nation is a band of oppressors and deceivers! How can you hope to escape God’s judgment?” (Laetsch p. 282) Note that God doesn’t excuse wickedness by saying, “These people didn’t have a good home”, or, “They are people who are hurting and misguided”. “The society of Micah’s time was characterized not only by violence but by lying and deceit. False promises were uttered and claims made that were not fulfilled” (Gaebelein p. 438). It appears that the oppressed were just as wicked as their oppressors. 6:13 “To make the nation sick is to deprive the nation of its civic wellbeing” (Smith p. 349). In 701 B.C., God would bring the Assyrians against Judah and a tremendous amount of suffering would be inflicted. However, this was only the beginning of God’s smitings, which would eventually result in the total destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Increasing Futility 6:14 Here is a graphic picture of what happens when people refuse to repent (Psalm 32:1ff; Romans 2:1-4). God had already forewarned Israel, centuries before, about this very thing (Deuteronomy 28:30-31, 38-40). They would experience hunger and not have enough to eat. Some see this as applying to people who are so greedy that they never feel that they have enough. They would try to hoard and save, but this would all be in vain. “One should note that the form of judgment in the experience of futility. God’s judgment may come not via a blazing inferno, but through a whimpering disappointment” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 138). 6:15 They will work the land, but they won’t enjoy the fruits of their labors. 6:16 The people had exchanged the worship of the true God for the false worship of Baal, which had been introduced by Omri and his son Ahab. The examples set by these two kings in the northern kingdom were also followed by kings in the southern kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 8:18; 16:3-18). False worship only brings God’s judgment (Matthew 15:8-9).
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Chapter 7 7:1 “Woe is me!” Here Micah bemoans his position in the midst of a people who were totally godless. He lamented the evil times in which he lived. He felt like a person who goes into the field to pick fruit, but finds it all gone. “In his preaching Micah felt frustrated” (Smith p. 353). The firstripe fig was noted for being sweeter than those, which ripen later in the year. What Micah faces here is what we often feel. He is grieving over his spiritual isolation. “What is it like for a remnant believer living in a society and nation that are going to pot?” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 140). 7:2 “The godly person has perished from the land”: The good people were like the first-ripe fig, which Micah craved, and all the good people were gone! The vineyard had been stripped bare and only godless people were left. Note that the godly are called upright. “One displays loyalty to God by consistently respecting the rights of all of God’s people” (Smith p. 353). Apparently, many of these people had been persecuted and killed. 7:2 “Each of them hunts the other with a net”: A good number of people would love to live in a society with no rules, where each person basically did what they wanted to do without interference. But here is the reality when that really happens. In the absence of God’s rules being respected, people do not become more tolerant and loving, rather, they become predators and selfish. Here is the future reality if society would adopt an anarchist mindset. People, who often argue about their “rights”, probably have their eye on your rights. 7:3 “Concerning evil, both hands do it well”: The only thing that the people could do well was sin! “Their hands are eager to do only evil and do it thoroughly” (Laetsch p. 283). “The leaders of the land skillfully dabbled in all kinds of evil” (Smith p. 354). The rest of the verse informs us that the entire society was corrupt, including those at the top. Both princes and judges were constantly asking for bribes. The rich and powerful would make their desires known to the judges and such desires would then be implemented for a price. Hence, the powerful, princes and judges worked together and perverted justice to gain their desired ends.
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7:4 So completely had virtue, a love for truth and honesty vanished from the land, that the most upright was like a briar or sharp thorn. That is, injuring and entangling all who came in contact with them. If the best of them is no better than this, then judgment was in order. “The day when you post a watchman”: Or, the “day of your watchmen”, refers to that judgment day of which the prophets had forewarned. “God was about to visit them in or with His wrath. When this blow finally falls, the people of Judah would not be able to explain it…Nothing flattens the inflated egos of clever schemers more than the unexpected intervention of God in the affairs of men” (Smith p. 354). We should pause and express thanks for God’s judgments, which are recorded in the Bible, for such judgments prove the popular concepts in modern society to be in error. God’s judgments prove: 1. Sin is serious. 2. God does punish disobedience to His word. 3. There is a wide path and a narrow path (Matthew 7:13-14). 4. One can forfeit their salvation. 5. Doctrinal error is a serious matter. 6. False prophets have always preached a message of false love, false tolerance, and false acceptance. Thus Micah has described the world in which he lived: Its loneliness (7:1-2), its danger and injustice (7:2-4), the fact that it’s wobbling on the edge of judgment (7:4), the betrayal that it brings (7:5-6) (Dale Ralph Davis p. 148). Treachery in the Private Realm 7:5 Judah is so corrupt, that a person can’t even trust their neighbors and family members. One must even be careful what one says to a spouse! 7:6 In such a society, children are in rebellion to their parents, and in-laws are treated with disrespect. “Gone is the God-fearing home, where children were brought up in keeping with God’s command (Deut. 6:6ff.)” (Laetsch p. 284). “It manifests a time of complete social rebellion against constituted authority and natural relations. The paragraph reads almost like the daily newspaper of twentieth century United States” (Hailey p. 218). Micah’s Confidence in God
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7:7 “But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord”: Micah refuses to conform to this world (Romans 12:1-2), he will not compromise or give up in despair. Even though the nation is in terrible shape he would continue to watch for God’s judgment. Do we have the same confidence? Instead of getting discouraged about the evil of our times, do we wait for God’s judgment? Do we really believe that evil will not go unchecked, and that God rules in the kingdoms of men? Such waiting is the most powerful form of help for those who feel helpless. 7:8 Micah believed that God would vindicate the faithful. Yes, we are often ridiculed by the world, both secular and religious. We are ridiculed by our own apostate brethren for not going along with the flow, but God will demonstrate sooner or later, that we were on the right path. “Unbelievers might explain Jerusalem’s plight as being due to the power of her enemies. Yet the faithful few knew they were in reality in the hands of God” (Smith p. 359). 7:9 Micah and the faithful few confessed that they too had sinned against God and they are prepared to humbly bear the judgment coming upon the nation as a whole. They had faith to believe that out of the coming calamity will come blessings. 7:10-13 When God brings the people back from captivity and has Jerusalem rebuilt, then the enemies of God’s people will be humiliated and proven wrong. These verses might also have application when people from all nations will come to God’s household, the church (Micah 4:1). “While from all parts of the earth the spiritual ones come to Zion, in which is the presence of God, the rest of the earth remains bleak and desolate…This desolation is the fruit of the world’s behavior and its rejection of Jehovah and His Messiah” (Hailey p. 219). (Micah 5:15). “This is the mockery that galled the Lord’s servant in Psalm 42:3,10. It implies the helplessness of Yahweh, insinuates he is useless to deliver” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 153). Prayer and Response 7:14 Micah calls upon God to shepherd His people. This is a request for protection, care, and guidance. This prayer is certainly related to the
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promise found in Micah 5:3 of the Messiah who would go forth from Bethlehem to shepherd the flock of God. This prayer, then is an appeal for the Messiah to come. Micah prays that God’s flock in the future would enjoy prosperity and peace as they had in Bashan and Gilead in former times. These two areas east of the Jordan River were fertile grazing grounds for sheep and cattle. Notice that God’s flock dwells by itself. Separation from the world has always been God’s will for His people, whether in the Old or New Testament (Numbers 23:9; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 Corinthians 6:17). 7:15 God responds that He would show them marvelous things. The redemption of Israel from Egyptian bondage, was a type of the redemption to be found under the Messiah (1 Corinthians 10:1). When Jesus came to establish His church, God worked amazing wonders through Him and His apostles (Hebrews 2:3-4; Acts 2:22). 7:16 People from the nations would be convicted by the Gospel message. Compared to the miracles of Jesus and the power in the gospel message to change people’s lives, their own power would look small and insignificant. The nations have vast amounts of money, secular educational resources, and so on, but none of this can bring deliverance from sin! In this section, Micah prays for their frustration, their consternation, their humiliation, and their intimidation. 7:17 Individuals in the various nations would come trembling before God. Like serpents and crawling creatures, they will lick the dust, that is, prostrate themselves before God. “The stunned Gentiles would recognize that their strongholds, whether physical or spiritual, would ultimately fall before the power of the Lord. Hence they would desert these fortifications as quickly as snakes which come under attack” (Smith p. 364). The fear under consideration here is not the fear of the criminal seeking refuge from the law, but the fear of the one who realizes he or she has experienced a narrow escape. Converted sinners realize that apart from the grace of God they would face eternal condemnation. What a Great God!
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7:18 How glorious and wonderful are these promises to the faithful. Note, God will forgive the remnant, the faithful few, but God isn’t going to unconditionally forgive the unrepentant. There is none to compare to the God whom we serve! Do we view ourselves as extremely blessed, or deprived? 7:19 Here is the promise of the forgiveness of sins (Psalm 103:12; Jeremiah 31:34; Acts 3:19). 7:20 All of these blessings will be the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3).
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