The prophet responded to God’s message by acting like a grieving man at a funeral (v. 8; 2 Sam. 15:30). He was genuinely burdened because of what would happen to his people if they didn’t heed God’s Word and turn from their sin.
The ruin of Samaria (vv. 6–9). The capital city of the northern kingdom was situated on a hill that overlooked a fertile valley. The prophet Isaiah called the city “the crown of pride” with “glorious beauty” (Isa. 28:1) and predicted that God’s judgment would destroy the city (vv. 2–4). The Assyrians would turn the beautiful city into a heap of rubble, and her idols wouldn’t be able to protect the city from its enemies.
God destroyed the city and nation of Samaria because the people rebelled against His Word, and He destroyed the Samaritan temple because it housed a false religion that was nothing but religious prostitution. (Throughout the Old Testament, idolatry is compared to prostitution.) But God destroyed the temple in Jerusalem because the leaders had turned the true religion into a false worship of Jehovah and the gods of the nations. Jehovah is a jealous God who will not share worship or glory with another (Ex. 20:5; 34:14; Deut. 4:24; 5:9; 6:15). The covenant God made with His people at Sinai was like a marriage contract, and their breaking that covenant was like committing adultery or engaging in prostitution.
The destruction of the city of Samaria was begun in 722 under Sargon II, ruler of Assyria, who ordered many of the citizens to be taken captive or killed. Then he imported people into the land from various nations he had conquered; and as Jews and Gentiles intermarried, the result was a mixed race that the Jews despised. Even in our Lord’s day, the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans (John 4:1–9).
The ruin of Judah (vv. 9–16). The problem with Samaria was that she was toxic; her infection had spread to Judah. The prophet wept over his land the way you would weep over an incurable patient in the hospital (v. 9). Isaiah used a similar image to describe the plight of Judah (Isa. 1:5–6), and Jeremiah wept because the spiritual leaders in his day didn’t deal drastically with the sin sickness of the people (Jer. 6:14; 7:8; 8:11).
Micah describes the ruin of the southern part of Judah (the Shephelah) by the invading Assyrians in 701 BC (Mic. 1:10–16; see 2 Kings 18:7ff.). They swept through the land and took forty-six cities, but they could not take Jerusalem because God protected it. Micah used a series of puns based on the names of the cities similar in sound to familiar Hebrew words. For example, “Gath” is similar to the Hebrew word for “tell.” Thus he wrote, “Tell it not in Gath.” Beth Ophrah means “house of dust.” Thus he wrote, “Roll in the dust.” The people of Shaphir (“pleasant, beautiful”) would look neither beautiful nor pleasant as they were herded off as naked prisoners of war.
The roll call of cities goes on. The citizens of Zaanan (“come out”) would not be able to come out because of the danger. Beth Ezel means “house of taking away,” and the city would be taken away. Maroth is related to “mara/myrrh” and means “bitterness,” and the city would experience bitter calamity (“writhe in pain” niv). Since Lachish sounds like the Hebrew word for “team of swift horses,” he warned them to harness their horses to the chariots and try to escape.
Micah came to his own city, Moresheth, which sounds like a Hebrew word meaning “betrothed”; and brides were given farewell gifts. In other words, the town would no longer belong to Judah but would “leave home” and belong to the invaders. Since Aczib means “deception,” the connection is obvious; and Mareshah sounds like the word for “conqueror,” and the town would be conquered by the enemy.
The tragedy of this invasion is that it need not have happened. Had the people of Israel and Judah turned to the Lord in repentance and faith, He would have given them victory. Instead, they believed the false prophets, held fast to their idols, and sinned their way right into defeat. Sad to say, even the little children suffered and went into exile (1:16), all because of the sins of the parents.