Bible Commentaries
Micah 1

Verse 1

Book Comments

Walking Thru The Bible

MICAH

INTRODUCTION

Micah was from among the common people in a little town in southwest Judah, Moresheth, who prophesied for about a thirty year span during the reigns of Jotham (750-732 BC), Ahaz (736-716 BC) and Hezekiah (716-687 BC).

Micah was a contemporary with Isaiah and was preaching the same message Isaiah was preaching, but Isaiah was God’s prophet to the royal court while Micah preached among the common people rather than the Jewish aristocracy.

The book of Micah is sometimes called a miniature version of Isaiah (cf. Micah 4:1-3 and Isaiah 2:2-4).

HIS MESSAGE

Micah preached a message of repentance to the people of Judah and looked forward to the day of the coming Messiah’s universal kingdom (Micah 4:1-3). The reign of Christ would offer salvation to all nations alike. He promised a peace and prosperity that has its fulfillment in the spiritual life of the kingdom of God and not in the affairs of civil states.

Like Isaiah, he condemned the meaningless ritual of their sacrifices and ceremonies (Micah 6:7-8). He emphasized that the people’s heart and conduct must match their professed allegiance and worship to God. They were performing their religious ceremonies but ignoring the kind of life their commitment to God expected from them.

The Lord’s expectation from his people is express in Micah 6:8 "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

MICAH Elsewhere In The BIBLE

Some important quotations from Micah are found elsewhere in the Bible. One saved the live of the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:18 from Micah 3:12). The priests and scribes quoted Micah 5:2 in answer to Herod’s question about the birthplace of the Messiah (Matthew 2:5-6). Christ quoted Micah 7:6 when He commissioned the disciples the first time (Matthew 10:35-36).

OVERVIEW of the Book of MICAH

Micah announced punishment from God against both Israel (Micah 1:1-7) and Judah (Micah 1:8-16). The reasons for this judgment are given (Micah 2:1-11), and the restoration of the remnant is promised (Micah 2:12-13). After describing the present sorry state of affairs (Micah 3:1-12), he speaks of the future glory to be revealed in Christ in the Christian age (Micah 4:1-5:15).

The book ends with a plea for repentance. God’s complaint against the people (6:1-16) leads Micah to lament the lack of righteousness in Jerusalem (Micah 7:1-6), confess the sins of the nation (Micah 7:7-17), and rejoice in the mercies of the Lord (Micah 7:18-20).

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Verse Comments