Micah 7

“the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night”; and then, in light of this fact, he asks, “Therefore … what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?” (2 Peter 3:10, 11 nkjv) Future hope ought to produce present holiness.

Are we ready for His return?

The prophet had delivered two of his three messages: a message of warning (chaps. 1—2) and a message of promise (chaps. 3—5). His third message was a challenge for the Jews to trust the Lord and obey His will, for only then could the nation escape terrible punishment and fulfill God’s purposes in this world.

As you read Old Testament history and prophecy, keep in mind how important it was for Israel to be obedient to the Lord. God had raised up the nation to bring blessing to the whole world (Gen. 12:1–3), for it was through Israel that the Savior would come. “Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). When the Jews began to adopt the practices of the godless nations around them, it defiled them and made them less able to do the work God had called them to do. It was because they despised their high and holy calling that the nation had to be chastened so severely.

Micah’s first message was presented as a courtroom drama, and so was this third message. The Judge declared the indictment (Mic. 6:1–8), pronounced the sentence (6:9—7:7) and then graciously promised mercy (7:7–20)! Micah used these three factors—guilt, punishment, and mercy—as arguments to plead with his people to repent and return to the Lord. “Trust the Lord, not in spite of these things but because of these things!” is his closing message; and it’s a message we need to hear today.

For the second time in this message, Micah cried out to the people, “Listen!” (vv. 1, 9 niv). Like the crowds that Jesus taught, these Jews had ears to hear His words, but they couldn’t hear God’s truth in those words (Matt. 13:9, 43). They lacked spiritual discernment.

God speaks about sin and its consequences (6:9–16). The Lord called to the people of Jerusalem to fear His name and heed what He had to say; for without the fear of the Lord, they could have neither knowledge nor wisdom (Prov. 1:7). God specifically condemned the merchants of the city for being deceptive in their business practices (Mic. 6:10–12). They used weights and measures that were dishonest so that customers didn’t get full value for their money (see Lev. 19:35–36; Deut. 25:13–16).

Why did this sin grieve the Lord so much? Because by doing these illegal things, the businessmen were exploiting and abusing the poor and needy in the land for whom God has a special concern (Amos 8:4–10). The Mosaic economic system provided for the care of the poor and needy, but the wealthy merchants in Micah’s time had abandoned the system. They robbed the poor of both justice and the necessities of life, a sin God could not overlook.

Moreover, along with making their own weights and measures and bribing the courts, the rich were openly violent (Mic. 6:12; also see 2:2; 3:1–3). They forcibly evicted people from their houses and lands and left them helpless, without homes or any source of income. When the poor tried to protect themselves through the courts, the rich merchants lied about the situation and convinced the officials that their actions were right.

But God has ordained that people reap what they sow, whether good or evil (Hos. 8:7; Gal. 6:7–8). Therefore, judgment had to fall on the “robber barons” of the land. Indeed, God warned about two different kinds of judgments (Mic. 6:13–16). The first (vv. 13–15) was already in progress, slow and secret, but very thorough. “Therefore, I have begun to destroy you, to ruin you because of your sins” (v. 13 niv). This judgment was the collapse of their economic system, including their crops (stolen farms), their investments (stolen money), and even their enjoyment of all that they had accumulated. Everything these merchant thieves had amassed for their pleasure would disappear, and whatever they tried to enjoy would bring them no pleasure at all. (See God’s covenant warnings in Deut. 28:15ff.)

The second judgment (Mic. 6:16) would be sudden and open: the total ruin of the nation by the hand of Babylon. That Micah should point to Babylon as the aggressor (4:10) is remarkable, because Babylon wasn’t a major power on the international scene at that time. It was Assyria that everybody feared, and Assyria did ruin the northern kingdom in 722 and did do great damage to Judah in 701. But by the time Babylon was finished with Judah and Jerusalem, the nation would be in ruin and the people in derision. The people’s sins found them out.

The Lord tried to use the judgment on the northern kingdom to awaken and warn the people of Judah, the southern kingdom, but they wouldn’t listen. Their defense was “It can’t happen here. We have the temple!” But they weren’t obeying God’s law or honoring His house. Instead, they were following the godless ways of two kings of Israel, Omri and Ahab, both of whom “did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and did worse than all who were before [them]” (1 Kings 16:25; see v. 30 nkjv). They should have followed the godly ways of King David, because it was for David’s sake that God held back His judgment for so long (11:13, 32, 34, 36; 15:4).

The prophet speaks of his sorrow (7:1–7). The prophets not only declared God’s message with their lips, but they also felt the burden of the people on their hearts. Jeremiah wept over the sins of the nation in his day and wished he could weep even more (Jer. 9:1ff.), and Micah lamented because there were no godly people left in the land. Looking for a godly person was as futile as looking for summer fruit after the harvest was over.

Micah compared the evil officials to hunters who wove clever nets and threw them over the helpless and trapped them. These officials and judges were skilled at weaving their nets (perverting the law so they could rob the unwary), but they weren’t skilled at obeying God’s laws. They were like briars and thorns that hurt people, when they should have been like concerned shepherds who helped people.

“The day of your watchmen” refers to the day of judgment when the watchmen on the walls would see the enemy approaching and call out to warn the people. God’s prophets were His watchmen (Ezek. 3:18–21), constantly warning the nation, but the leaders wouldn’t listen. They preferred lies to truth and this brought about a “time of … confusion” (Mic. 7: niv).

This confusion reached into every level of society. Not only was Micah grieved at the corruption of the officials, but also he was grieved at the unfaithfulness of the common people of the land (vv. 5–6). You couldn’t trust anybody! When truth is no longer the standard for society, then everything starts to fall apart; for faithfulness to our word is the cement that holds society together. It had come to the place where neighbor couldn’t trust neighbor and friends couldn’t trust each other. The basic unit of Jewish society, the family, was quickly falling apart. (In fact, Jesus quoted Mic. 7: in Matt. 10:36.)

In the light of the terrible condition of the land and the judgment that was impending, wouldn’t it have been a wise thing for the people to turn from their sin and trust the Lord? Would it not have been a smart thing for them to claim 2 Chronicles 7: and seek God’s face so that He might heal their land? But sinners don’t do wise things, because their eyes are blinded as they walk in the darkness (John 3:19–21).

The prophet reached a turning point when he looked away from the sins of the people and meditated on the faithfulness of the Lord. “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me” (v. 7 niv). He would “watch and pray” and put his trust only in the Lord. This verse is the “bridge” that connects the sections on sin and judgment with this closing section on hope.

In this final section of Micah’s third message, we must distinguish several voices: the nation (vv. 8–10), the prophet (vv. 11–13), the Lord (vv. 14–15), and the prophet again (vv. 16–20). We must also realize that Micah is looking down through the centuries with prophetic vision to the time when Israel will come through great tribulation to come, “dress rehearsals” as it were. But the future will bring victory to God’s people, not defeat, when the Lord fulfills His promises and establishes the kingdom.

The voice of the nation (vv. 8–10). Perhaps the prophet is speaking on behalf of the remnant as he expresses their faith and courage. The enemy gloated over the defeated Jews and asked in derision, “Where is the Lord your God?” (v. 10 niv; see Ps. 42:3, 10; 79:10; 115:2). But the people trust God and have confidence that, though they were in darkness, they would see light; and though they had been defeated, they would eventually conquer their enemies and trample them like mud in the streets.

Since these events did not occur after the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions, they must be assigned to a future time. According to Jesus, the Jewish nations will experience great tribulation and become the target of all the Gentile nations in the end times (Matt. 24:15–31). In the end, however, Christ will return and give His people great victory.

The voice of the prophet (vv. 11–14). Micah speaks to the city of Jerusalem and assures her that, though she had been attacked and destroyed, she would one day be rebuilt. The prophets speak in glowing terms of Israel having a new city and temple (Isa. 2:1–5; Ezek. 40—48). Not only that, but also the boundaries of the nation would be expanded to include more territory than she had before.

In the light of this great promise, the prophet lifted his heart to the Lord in prayer (Mic. 7:14) and asked Him to be the faithful Shepherd of Israel and care for His people (see 5:4; Isa. 40:11; Ps. 80:1). Micah longed for “the good old days” when the land was fruitful and peaceful and the people were like obedient sheep who followed their Shepherd.

The voice of the Lord (v. 15). God replied to His faithful servant and assured him that He would indeed watch over His flock and care for them, just as He had when they had departed from the land of Egypt. The “exodus” image is sometimes used in Scripture to point to the “exodus” of the Jews in the end times from the nations of the world to their own land (Isa. 11:15— 12:6; 35:8–10; 43:14–20; 51:9–11). God will perform great wonders for His people at a time in their history when the nations are united against them.

The voice of the prophet (vv. 16–20). When Israel departed from Egypt and God opened the sea, the other nations heard about it and feared (Ex. 15:14–16; Josh. 2:8–11). But the wonders the Lord will do for Israel in the last days will startle the nations even more. The Gentiles will see the power of God and be ashamed and unable to act. They will come out of their hiding places to submit to the Lord. It will mean total victory for Israel.

But the most important event will not be Israel’s victory over her enemies but God’s victory over Israel. The prophet was confident of the unchanging character of God. “Who is a God like you?” (Mic. 7: niv) reminds us of the meaning of Micah’s name, “Who is like the Lord?” He is a God who pardons sin, forgives transgressions, and delights in showing mercy. He shows compassion to His people and deals with their sins with finality. Some students see Israel’s exodus experience illustrated in verse 19: The Egyptian army was buried in the depths of the Red Sea and ended up in the mire.

Micah knew that God would not go back on His promises or His covenant agreements with His people. The people weren’t always true to Jehovah, but He will be true to His people (2 Tim. 2:12–13). What He promised to Abraham, the father of the nation, He will fulfill in his many descendants. Micah could have sung, How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word.

In the coming of Jesus Christ to this world, God fulfilled some of the promises He made to the Jews (Luke 1:72–73), and He will fulfill the rest of His promises as well. “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ” (2 Cor. 1: niv).

Few passages in Scripture contain so much “distilled theology” as Micah 7:18–20. We see in them a reflection of what God told Moses on the mount (Ex. 34:5–7). The better we know the character of God, the more we can trust Him for the future. The better we know the promises and covenants of God, the more peace we will have in our hearts when things fall apart. When Micah wrote this confession of his faith, the future seemed hopeless; yet he had hope because he knew God and fully trusted Him.

No matter how dark the day, the light of God’s promises is still shining. No matter how confusing and frightening our circumstances, the character of God remains the same.

N A H U MYou have every reason to trust Him!

A. God declares His anger—1:1–8 B. God speaks to Nineveh—1:9–11, 14 C. God encourages Judah—1:12–13, 15

A. The invaders appear and advance—2:1–4 B. The city is captured—2:5–10

C. The conquerors taunt their captives— 2:11–13 A. Her ruthless bloodshed—3:1–3

B. Her idolatry—3:4–7 C. Her pride and self-confidence—3:8–19 E s t h e r J e r e m i a h J o n a h J o b L a m e n t a t i o n s M i c a h

N a h u m P s a l m s E z e k i e l P r o v e r b s D a n i e l H a b a k k u k E c c l e s i a s t e s H o s e a Z e p h a n i a h S o n g o f J o e l H a g g a i S o l o m o n A m o s Z e c h a r i a h I s a i a h O b a d i a h M a l a c h i

Nahum in His Time Little is known about Nahum except that he came from the town of Elkosh (whose location we can’t identify with certainty) and that he was a prophet of God who announced the fall of Nineveh, capital city of the Assyrian Empire. He mentions the capture of the Egyptian city of Thebes, which occurred in 663 BC, and he predicted the fall of Nineveh, which took place in 612 BC; so these dates place him in Judah during the reigns of Manasseh (695–642) and Josiah (640–609). His contemporaries would have been Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and Habakkuk.

His name means “comfort” or “compassion,” and his message of Assyria’s doom would certainly have comforted the people of Judah, who had suffered because of Assyria. The Assyrians had taken the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 and dispersed the people, and then they tried to take Judah in the days of Hezekiah (701), but they were defeated by the angel of the Lord (Isa. 37). Assyria was always looming over the tiny kingdom of Judah, and having these ruthless people out of the way would have greatly bettered Judah’s situation.

Jonah had annouced Nineveh’s doom over a century before, but God had relented because the people had repented. The Lord was certainly longsuffering to spare the city that long, especially since the Assyrians had returned to their evil ways. While Nahum’s message was directed especially to the Assyrians, he was careful to encourage the people of Judah as well.