Micah

Book summary

Micah was a prophet from humble beginnings that spoke against the rampant corruption in every level of society in the Kingdom of Judah, during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. The book of Micah can be divided into three main parts: judgment, hope, mercy.

Chapters 1-3 — Judgment against the nations

Ch 1:3-7 — Judgment against Samaria and Jerusalem
The mountains melt beneath him
and the valleys split apart,
like wax before the fire,
like water rushing down a slope.
All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,
because of the sins of the people of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression?
Is it not Samaria?
What is Judah’s high place?
Is it not Jerusalem? (Micah 1:4-5)
Ch 1:8-16 — The lament of the prophet
Because of this I will weep and wail;
I will go about barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
and moan like an owl.
For Samaria’s plague is incurable;
it has spread to Judah.
It has reached the very gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem itself. (Micah 1:8-9)
Ch 2:1-5 — Wicked deeds of the rich
Woe to those who plan iniquity,
to those who plot evil on their beds!
At morning’s light they carry it out
because it is in their power to do it.
They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them.
They defraud people of their homes,
they rob them of their inheritance. (Micah 2:1-2)
Ch 2:6-11 — False prophets
If a liar and deceiver comes and says,
‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’
that would be just the prophet for this people! (Micah 2:11)
Ch 2:12-13 — Deliverance promised
“I will surely gather all of you, Jacob;
I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. (Micah 2:12)
Ch 3:1-8 — Leaders and prophets rebuked
“Listen, you leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel.
Should you not embrace justice,
you who hate good and love evil; (Micah 3:1-2)
Ch 3:9-12 — Destruction of Jerusalem foretold
Therefore because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,
the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets. (Micah 3:12)

Chapters 4-5 — Message of hope and restoration

Ch 4:1-5 — The coming of law and peace
Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Micah 4:2)
Ch 4:6-13 — God reigns in Zion
The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion
from that day and forever. (Micah 4:7)
Ch 5:1-5 — A promised ruler from Bethlehem
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2)
Ch 5:6-15 — Deliverance and destruction
I will destroy your idols
and your sacred stones from among you;
you will no longer bow down
to the work of your hands.
I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles
when I demolish your cities. (Micah 5:13-14)

Chapters 6-7 — God’s case against Israel, followed by mercy

Ch 6:1-8 — God’s case against Israel
“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;
let the hills hear what you have to say.
“Hear, you mountains, the Lord’s accusation;
listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.
For the Lord has a case against his people;
he is lodging a charge against Israel. (Micah 6:1-2)
Ch 6:9-16 — Israel’s guilt and punishment
You have observed the statutes of Omri
and all the practices of Ahab’s house;
you have followed their traditions.
Therefore I will give you over to ruin
and your people to derision;
you will bear the scorn of the nations. (Micah 6:16)
Ch 7:1-7 — Lamenting Israel’s faithlessness
What misery is mine!
I am like one who gathers summer fruit
at the gleaning of the vineyard;
there is no cluster of grapes to eat,
none of the early figs that I crave.
The faithful have been swept from the land;
not one upright person remains. (Micah 7:1-2)
Ch 7:8-13 — Anticipating the restoration
Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be my light. (Micah 7:8)
Ch 7:14-20 — Micah’s prayer for the people
Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
which lives by itself in a forest,
in fertile pasturelands.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
as in days long ago. (Micah 7:14)