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1. Intro
a. The Lord speaks before major events (Amos and Hosea sent to Northern Kingdom prior to fall of Samaria to Assyrians)
b. Micah is sent to the Southern Kingdom during end of Jotham’s reign and during Jotham’s reign (co-regents 743-735 BC).
c. Lord prepares His people for ministry of prophets (same time as Isaiah)
d. From Gath (Goliath’s former town) and travels 25 miles to Jerusalem)
e. With Micah – clear example of prophets as Covenant Lawyers and pressing charge against God’s people
2. Chapter 1 – Announces judgment summons witnesses against Samaria and Judah
a. Verse 1 – Word of the Lord came to Micah
b. Verse 2 – Micah summons the Kingdoms and calls the earth as a witness
c. Verse 5 – Calls Judah a high place (comparing idolatry)
d. Verse 8-9 – Goes on to grieve (Micah – I will lament and wail)
i. Not dispassionate reporting
3. Chapter 2 – Woe to Oppressors
a. Woe to those who devise wickedness (v1)
b. V2 – covet fields and oppress a man and his house
c. With idolatry comes economic injustice
d. V3 – I’m devising disaster against this family from which you will not escape
e. V8 lately my people have risen up as an enemy; you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly
f. Hope – v12 – I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob…remnant of Israel
i. Remnant – first time mentioned
4. Chapter 3 (Chapters 3-4 – wickedness of the leaders)
a. 1 – Hear you heads of Jacob and rulers of Israel
i. Is it not for you to know justice?
b. V2 – you hate the good and love the evil and tear skin off my people…
c. V4 – They will cry to the Lord and he will not answer them
d. V5 – Prophets preach peach where there is no peace
e. V6 – it shall be night without vision – darkness without divination
f. V11 – heads give judgment for a bribe, priests for a price, prophets practice divination for money
i. They lean on the Lord and say “Is not the Lord in the midst of us?…”
g. V12 – Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem a heap of ruins
i. Predicting destruction around 726 (about 140 years prior to fall of Jerusalem)
5. Chapter 4 – Hope for Future
a. V1 – house of the Lord shall be established at highest of mountains
b. V2 – many nations shall come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord…that he may teach us his ways.”
c. Micah 4:3 (ESV) — 3 He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore;
i. Covenantal
d. V6 – In that day, I will assemble the lame and gather those driven away
i. Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion
6. Chapter 5 (restoration of Zion Chapter 4-5)
a. Micah 5:2-3 (ESV) — 2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. 3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.
b. Restoration of Zion – v8 – remnant of Jacob among the nations
i. Like a lion among flocks of sheep
7. Chapters 6-7 – Invitation to repentance
8. Chapter 6
a. V3 – what have I done, how have I wearied you? … for I brought you out of Egypt and redeemed
b. V4 – I sent before you Moses…
c. V6 – shall I come before him with burnt offerings…? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams…?
d. V8 – he has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require..justice and mercy
e. Deut 27-28 – Plagues foretold
f. V15 – you shall sow but not reap
g. V16 – for you have kept the statutes of Omri, and works of house of Ahab…and walked in their ounsels
i. All is meant to invite them to relationship
9. Chapter 7
a. V16ff – Lord will forgive his people
i. Nations shall see
ii. God will revive them and they shall bless the nations
iii. Who is God like you…does not remain angry forever
Micah 7:18-20 (ESV) — 18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. 19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.