by Stephen Rodgers

MICAH IN 10 WORDS OR LESS

“Israel and Judah will suffer for their idolatry and injustice.”

TITLE

Like the majority of the other prophetic books, Micah is named for the prophet who gave the prophecy that bears his name.

Per the MSB:

The name of the book is derived from the prophet who, having received the word of the Lord, was commissioned to proclaim it. Micah, whose name is shared by others in the OT (e.g., Judg. 17:1; 2 Chr. 13:2; Jer. 36:11), is a shortened form of Micaiah (or Michaiah) and means “Who is like the LORD?” In Micah 7:18, Micah uses a play on his own name, saying “Who is a God like You?”

AUTHOR & AUDIENCE

It is somewhat interesting to note that Micah is identified by his location (Micah 1:1, 1:4) rather than his  lineage (Joel 1:1; Jonah 1:1). Both the MSB and the NET overlap in their introduction of him, but each provide a bit of extra information.

Per the MSB:

The first verse establishes Micah as the author. Beyond that, little is known about him. His parentage is not given, but his name suggests a godly heritage. He traces his roots to the town of Moresheth (Mic. 1:1,14), located in the foothills of Judah, approximately 25 mi. SW of Jerusalem, on the border of Judah and Philistia, near Gath. From a productive agricultural area, he was like Amos, a country resident removed from the national politics and religion, yet chosen by God (Mic. 3:8) to deliver a message of judgment to the princes and people of Jerusalem. 

Per Constable:

The name “Micah” is a shortened form of “Micaiah,” which means, “Who is like Yahweh?” A different Micaiah, the son of Imlah, served as a prophet in the Northern Kingdom during the reign of King Ahab of Israel (874-853 B.C., 1 Kings 22:8-28; 2 Chron. 18:3-27). Micah’s hometown was Moresheth-gath, which stood about 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem in Judah (Mic. 1:1). It was called Moresheth-gath (Mic. 1:14) because it was fairly close to the Philistine town of Gath. Moresheth-gath was also about six miles northeast of Lachish, an important Judean town in Micah’s day because it stood on an international trade route. Since Moresheth-gath stood only about a day’s walk west of Tekoa, Amos’ hometown, these prophets, who were roughly contemporary, may have known each other. Amos prophesied during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah (Amos 1:1), and Micah prophesied during the reigns of Kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah, who followed Uzziah (Mic. 1:1).

DATE

Micah clearly falls into the sub-category of the pre-exilic prophets, albeit as a somewhat unusual one since he prophesied to and against both Israel and Judah.

Per the MSB:

Micah places his prophecy during the reigns of Jotham (750–731 B.C.), Ahaz (731–715 B.C.), and Hezekiah (715–686 B.C.). His indictments of social injustices and religious corruption renew the theme of Amos (mid-eighth century B.C.) and his contemporaries, Hosea in the N (ca. 755–710 B.C.) and in the S Isaiah (ca. 739–690 B.C.). This fits that which is known about the character of Ahaz (2 Kin. 16:10–18) and his son Hezekiah prior to his sweeping spiritual reformations (2 Chr. 29; 31:1). His references to the imminent fall of Samaria (Mic. 1:6) clearly position him before 722 B.C., at approximately 735–710 B.C.

BACKGROUND & SETTING

In many ways, the closest match to Micah (both personally and thematically) is Amos. Like Amos, Micah was a rural prophet sent to an urban center to bring a message of God’s impending judgment as a result of social and spiritual injustice and idolatry. Some have theorized that they might even have known each other (Leon Wood, The Prophets of Israel).

Per Constable:

Micah ministered to the people of Judah, the Southern Kingdom. He predicted the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians and warned the Judeans that God would discipline them too for their sins. As in all the prophetical books, the standard by which God measured His people was the Mosaic Covenant. If they obeyed, they would enjoy blessing, but if they disobeyed, they could expect punishment (cf. Lev. 26; Deut. 28). Micah, too, pointed out how the Israelites had broken the covenant and that judgment was inevitable, but he also promised ultimate restoration in view of God’s promises to the patriarchs. Micah never used the word “covenant” (Heb. berit), but it is clear from what he wrote that thoughts of the covenant were always in his mind.

In a similar fashion, Micah is never explicitly addressed as a “prophet,” but the source of his power is explicitly attributed to the “Spirit of the Lord” (Mic. 3:8; cf. 2 Pet. 1:20–21).

HISTORICAL & THEOLOGICAL THEMES

There are three major themes that run through the book of Micah:

• Judgment Against Oppressors. Micah focused his anger on both idolatry and social evil, but the most extensive and harsh comments were reserved for those who used their power to oppress those weaker than themselves. Those in power had conspired to do evil (Micah 2:1; 7:3), coveted and defrauded (Micah 2:2; 6:10), stolen and plundered (Micah 2:8), hated good and loved evil (Micah 3:2), oppressed the poor (Micah 3:3), despised justice and distorted truth (Micah 3:9), accepted bribes (Micah 3:11; 7:3), used their religious positions for profit (Micah 3:11), engaged in dishonest business practices (Micah 6:11), acted with violence and deceit (Micah 6:12), and murdered their own people (Micah 7:2). As punishment for this, Micah prophesied that God would bring judgment upon both Samaria (Micah 1:6-7) and Jerusalem (Micah 1:12; 3:12; 4:10).
• Restoration. Micah declared that after judgment God would mercifully forgive and restore His people (Micah 7:9), bring them back from Babylon (Micah 4:10), and restoring Jerusalem’s dominion (Micah 4:8,13).
• Justice. Micah asks a seemingly simple question, “What does the LORD require of you?” The answer in Micah 6:8 (made famous by a Christian praise song in the 80’s), is not used simply a cute chorus of noble activities. It was explicitly a lack of these qualities for which Israel was condemned.

INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGES

There is a minor interpretive issue related to Micah 4:2-3 and Isaiah 2:2-4.  The question is typically framed as follows:

• Did Micah quote Isaiah, or
• Did Isaiah quote Micah, or
• Did both Micah and Isaiah quote some third source?

LITERARY FEATURES

Per the ESVSB:

Micah comprises a series of oracles (prophetic pronouncements) delivered in a variety of historical and political contexts. The overall genre is prophecy. While Micah uses a variety of forms such as disputation (Micah 2:6–11) and lament (1:8–16), the two leading prophetic forms in Micah are the oracle of judgment (Micah 2:1–4) and the oracle of salvation or redemption (Micah 5:2–5). The oracles of judgment follow the rules of satire: they have one or more objects of attack, a vehicle in which the attack is embodied, a stated or implied norm by which the criticism is conducted, and a prevailing tone that is either biting or laughing. Some of the oracles of salvation picture a future golden age (which can be taken either as messianic visions of the first coming of Christ or as apocalyptic visions of Christ’s second coming). Much of the book’s content is embodied in poetical language, requiring the reader to unpack the meanings of images and figures of speech such as wordplay (see note on Micah 1:10–15), metaphor, and simile (Micah 1:4, 8; 2:12; 3:3, 12; 4:9–10; 5:8; 7:1, 4).

OBJECTIONS

Some have objected that the prophetic “cycles” of Micah which alternatively warn of judgment then foretells of redemption and salvation are not unified enough to be the work of a single author. This overlooks the obvious counter-objections that 1) the book is unified as an overall whole, and 2) other prophetic authors juxtaposed judgment/salvation prophecies.

The majority of scholars do not consider this claim to be a significant objection to Micah having a single author.

NOTABLE QUOTABLES

• Micah 5:2
• Micah 6:8

DID YOU KNOW?

• Micah gets quoted often elsewhere in the Bible.  In the OT, we first see Micah 3:12 quoted in Jeremiah 26:18, showing that Micah was known and apparently canonical by Jeremiah’s time. Micah 3:10 is also quoted in Habakkuk 2:12.  In the NT, Micah 5:2 is quoted by the priests in Matthew 2:6, and Christ quotes Micah 7:6 in Matthew 10:35-36.
• To sit under one’s own vine and fig tree was a proverbial picture of peace, contentment, and security (Micah 4:4).
• “Seven…even eight” is a figurative expression for “an indefinite number” (Micah 5:5).

Other Works Referenced

• Apologetics Study Bible, “Micah”
• Archaeological Study Bible, “Introduction to Micah”
• ESV Study Bible, “Introduction to Micah”
• MacArthur Study Bible, “Micah”
• NET Bible, Micah
• NIV Study Bible, Micah
• Reformation Study Bible, “Micah”
• The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook, “Micah”
• Dever, The Message of the Old Testament
• Driscoll, A Book You’ll Actually Read On the Old Testament
• Knight, The Layman’s Bible Handbook