The Prophet
Micah, the sixth of the Twelve Minor Prophets, was descended from the
Tribe of Judah and was a native of the city of Moresheth, to the south
of Jerusalem. His prophetic service began around the year 778
before Christ and continued for almost 50 years under the kings of
Judah: Jotham, Ahaz, and Righteous Hezekiah (721-691 B.C., August 28).
He was a contemporary of the Prophet Isaiah.
His denunciations and predictions were in regard to the separate
kingdoms of Judah and Israel. He foresaw the misfortunes threatening the
kingdom of Israel before its destruction, and the sufferings of Judah
during the incursions under the Assyrian emperor Sennacherib.
Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah and Amos and
Hosea. Some have even speculated that he might have been a student of
the prophet Isaiah --- there are certainly several similarities in their
two prophetic books (Isaiah 2:2-4 and Micah 4:1-3 are almost identical).
"Micah, however, was a rustic prophet with a rural ministry while
city-bred Isaiah devoted his prophetic efforts to the population and
court of Jerusalem" (Schultz, The Old Testament Speaks). "Hence he was
not in as close touch with international politics as was his
contemporary, Isaiah. His ministry was especially preoccupied with the
sufferings of the common people and of the peasants in the agricultural
areas who were exploited by rich and unscrupulous landed nobility. Micah
was the prophet of the poor and downtrodden who displayed the courageous
and fearless spirit of one who is indignant over the corruption and
heartlessness of inhuman rulers and time-serving religionists
To him belongs a prophecy about the birth of
the Savior of the world: "And thou, Bethlehem, house of Ephratha, art
too few in number to be reckoned with the thousands of Judah; yet out of
thee shall come forth to Me, one who is to be a ruler in Israel, and His
goings forth were from the beginning, even from eternity" (Mic. 5: 2).
From the words of the Prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 26: 18-19), the Jews
evidently were afraid to kill the Prophet Micah. His relics were
discovered in the fourth century after the Birth of Christ at
Baraphsatia, through a revelation to the Bishop of Eleutheropolis,
Zeuinos.
The name Micah is a shortened form of Micaiah
which means "Who is like unto the Lord?" The longer form of this name
appears (In the Hebrew text) in Jeremiah 26:18. In Micah 7:18 a word
play is made on his name. "Who is a God like Thee, who pardons iniquity
and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession?"
PURPOSE OF MICAH
"Stemming from the poorer, working class, Micah
was acutely aware of the injustices and avarice of the rich. While he
was interested in the political affairs of his nation, it was only as
they were connected with the religious and moral situation that Micah
spoke to them" (Zondervan's Pictorial Encyclopedia). Micah wants the
people to realize that true faith in God results in personal holiness
and social justice! He "emphasizes the integral relationship between
true spirituality and social ethics" (Expanded Open Bible). "Worship and
morality cannot be divorced from each other. They are two sides of the
same coin" (Jack P. Lewis).
"Keenly he realizes that no multitude of
sacrifices can adequately be substituted for righteousness in practice"
(Schultz, The Old Testament Speaks). "These people have been professing
much and performing little. 'God has been observing the contradiction
between creed and conduct,' says the prophet, 'and He will not tolerate
it anymore'" (D. Stuart Briscoe).
What does the Lord require of you?! Micah 6:8
answers the question --- "To do justice, to love kindness, and to walk
humbly with your God." "How will the world know that I am walking humbly
with my God? They will know by the way I treat people. Those who walk
humbly with their God have a passionate concern for justice being done
in society, and a deep concern to treat people lovingly and mercifully"
(D. Stuart Briscoe).
Micah is the first prophet to specifically
threaten Judah with the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple (Micah
3:12). He also threatens them with the failure of prophecy (Micah 3:6-7)
--- there would be no word from God; no guidance! Micah is also the
first to point to Bethlehem as the city from which the Messiah would
come (Micah 5:2). The chief priests and scribes referred back to this
prophecy when Herod asked where the Messiah would be born (Matthew
2:4-7). This passage also came up in a dispute among the multitude over
from where the Messiah would originate (John 7:40-44). Also, Micah
2:12-13; 4:1-8; 5:4-5 "offer some of the best OT descriptions of the
righteous reign of Christ over the whole world" (Expanded Open Bible).
And, Jesus quoted Micah 7:6 when He spoke to the Twelve about
discipleship (Matthew 10:36).
