THE BOOK OF MICAH
LESSON 1
INTRODUCTION

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Holy Lord,
Please send Your Spirit to guide me in the study of the Book of Micah. Your prophet's message is as important today as it was at the time he delivered Your words to the people of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms in the 8^th century BC. Help me, Lord, to remain obedient to the New Covenant in Christ and to do what is right as I walk humbly in the footsteps of Jesus my Savior.

Introduction

The Book of Micah is the sixth book of the twelve Minor Prophets in the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian canon of Sacred Scripture, coming after Jonah and before Nahum. However, in the Greek Septuagint, it is third after Amos and before Joel.

About the Inspired Writer

Micah was one of the 8th-century BC prophets of Yahweh. His name is an abbreviation for Mikayahu/Micaiah, which means, "Who is like Yahweh?" He came from Moresheth Gath, an unidentified town mentioned three times in Scripture (Micah 1:1, 14; Jeremiah 26:18).

Micah/Mica is the name of nine men in the Old Testament:

1. A resident of the hill country of Ephraim who set up a local pagan shrine (Judges 17-18).
2. A great-grandson of King Saul, grandson of Jonathan, and son of Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9:12).
3. The son of Imlah, an Israelite prophet during the time of Kings Ahab and Jehoshaphat (1 Kings 22; 2 Chronicles 18). His name appears as Micayahu/Mikayahu, Micaiah, and Micah —the long and short forms of the name.
4. The father of Achbor/Abon, a member of the delegation sent by King Josiah to the prophetess Hulda (2 Kings 22:12; 2 Chronicles 34:20 called Abon son of Micah).
5. The Holy Spirit-inspired writer of the Book of Micah.
6. A descendant of Jacob-Israel's son Reuben (1 Chronicles 5:5).
7. A descendant of Asaph, the son of Zichri, a Levite and father of Mattaniah and other Levitical residents of postexilic Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 9:15; Nehemiah 11:17, 22).
8. A Levite, the eldest son of Uziel (1 Chronicles 23:20; 24:24-25).
9. A Levite and one of the signers of the covenant established by Ezra in the postexilic period (Nehemiah 10:10-12).

Date of Micah's Prophetic Ministry

Verse 1 reveals that Micah's mission as Yahweh's holy prophet was during the reigns of Jotham (740-736 BC), Ahaz (736-716 BC), and Hezekiah (716-687 BC), kings of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. He was a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah, whose mission began earlier, during the reign of Uzziah (781-740 BC), and continued in the rule of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, although Micah and Isaiah had different backgrounds. Isaiah was a sophisticated and educated man of Jerusalem, while Micah, like Amos, was a man of the countryside.

Micah's message is predominately addressed to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, predicting the conquest of its capital of Samaria by the Assyrians (Micah 1:6). This information helps to date his prophetic ministry as before the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians in 722 BC. However, Micah also denounces the immorality and idolatry in the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The dual focus of his message places his mission before the fall of Samaria and before the civil and religious reforms of King Hezekiah of Judah. Most Biblical scholars date Micah's prophecies from 735 to 710 BC.

Structure

Like other prophetic books, the Book of Micah consists of short poems. The book can be divided into three major sections: the predictions of judgment (Micah 1:1-3:12), the prediction of restoration (Micah 4:1-14), and the plea for repentance (Micah 6:1-7:20).

Outline of Micah:

1. The Prediction of Judgment (1:1-3:12)
   1. Introduction to Micah (1:1)
   2. Judgment on the people (1:2-2:13)
   3. Judgment on the leaders (3:1-12)
2. The Prediction of Restoration (4:1-5:15)
   1. Promise of the Coming Kingdom (4:1-5)
   2. Prediction of the Captivity (4:6-14)
   3. Promise of the Coming King (5:1-5:14)
3. The Plea for Repentance (6:1-7:20)
   1. The First Plea of Yahweh (6:1-8)
   2. The Second Plea of Yahweh (6:9-7:6)
   3. The Promise of Salvation (7:7-20)

Themes

The book of Micah severely rebukes those who abuse the poor and disadvantaged or use social status and political power for personal gain. One-third of the book exposes the sins of his contemporaries, the second third describes Yahweh's coming punishment, and the last third addresses the hope of restoration of the people once they have repented and discipline has ended.

The destruction of the Northern Kingdom's capital of Samaria is certain. Without the people's repentance, Judah's destruction is also predicted. Yahweh promises to restore His covenant people and give them a just ruler who will lead them to victory. Still, that promise is on the other side of the divine judgment, which is coming because they failed to keep their covenant responsibilities as God's chosen people. Micah 6:8 sums up God's righteous demands: "You have already been told what is right and what Yahweh wants of you. Only this, to do what is right, to love loyalty, and to walk humbly with your God."

Importance to the New Testament

Two passages from the Book of Micah are quoted in the New Testament. The Gospel of Matthew quotes two Old Testament verses from Micah. Matthew 2:6 quotes Micah 5:1 on the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem, and Matthew 10:35-36 quotes Micah 7:6 about enemies being those from one's own household. However, fifteen other verses are referenced indirectly (cf. Micah 7:20 in Luke 1:73; Micah 6:8 in Matthew 23:23; etc.). The prophecy in Micah 5:2 that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem in Judah is one of the New Testament's most important Old Testament messianic prophecies. In addition, Micah 2:12-13; 4:1-8 and 5:2-4a offer vivid descriptions of the righteous reign of the Redeemer Messiah over the entire world!

All Scripture quotations are from the New Jerusalem Bible unless listed as from the Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English, Vol. III (IBHE), or the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE). The New Jerusalem Bible uses God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh with vowels), where it appears in the Hebrew text. Other translations replace the Divine Name with LORD or GOD in capital letters. Yahweh is the name by which we are commanded to petition the Lord in Exodus 3:15b, "This is my name for all time, and thus I am to be invoked for all generations to come."

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