The Prophet Micah Speaks Today

The Prophet Micah Speaks Today

Introduction Twelve years ago at a friend s wedding the order of service informed us that the couple had their favourite Bible reference engraved on the inside of their wedding rings: Micah 6:6-8. The most famous section of this reference reads: He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. For the last ten years, the Micah Challenge organisation has built itself around this verse, as their website states: If our lives are to be characterised by God's command in Micah 6:8 "to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God", then we must consider what we will do with the opportunities God has placed before us. For this reason, and for this verse, Micah is one of the most well-known and loved prophets in the Old Testament. However, there s a lot more to Micah than this one great verse. The book of Micah is full of scathing rebuke (Your rich people are violent, your inhabitants are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully 6:12), terrifying judgements (I will destroy the cities of your land and tear down all your strongholds 5:11) as well as a beautiful picture of restoration (He will judge between many people and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore 4:3). Over three weeks we will investigate this fascinating prophet, what Micah says to God s people of his day, and what this book means for us today. The purpose of this handout is to provide a resource for you to use both during the sermons (if you wish) and in your own personal reflective time during the week. It will provide questions to reflect on as you read through Micah. During the three weeks, consider reading the book of Micah one chapter each day (7 chapters in 7 days), and reflect on the words day by day. Micah the prophet Micah was an 8 th Century BC prophet who came from Moresheth Gath (Micah 1:1, 14). Micah s hometown was in Judah, about 35km south-west of Jerusalem, and was part of fortifications that protected Jerusalem against approaches from

Egypt. Micah s name literally means who is like the Lord? a phrase that the prophet uses in 7:18 in describing God s merciful character: Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? Micah prophesied during the period that God s people was divided into Israel and Judah, primarily to the southern kingdom of Judah and its capital Jerusalem. His ministry took place between about 740-690 BC, during the reigns of three southern kings, Jotham (745-735), Ahaz (735-715) and Hezekiah (715-687). More can be read about these three kings in 2 Kings 15:32 16:20 and 18:1 20:21. While Jotham s reign was mixed, and wicked king Ahaz probably ignored Micah altogether, the prophet seemed to have a good relationship with the godly king Hezekiah (who was also wise enough to listen to Isaiah see 2 Kings 19:20-37). In the only significant reference to Micah outside his own book (Jeremiah 26:17-19), Micah is praised in Jeremiah s defence as an example of a prophet who prophesied bad news, but was listened to and respected by king Hezekiah. History The time of Micah s prophesy was a tumultuous time in the history of God s people. Domestically, this was a period of both abundance as well as wicked decadence in Israel (northern kingdom) and Judah (southern kingdom). While the north was engaged in more significant wicked practices than the south, being led by a more regularly wicked succession of kings, the south by no means had clean hands, something that Micah was only too quick to point out (Micah 1:3-5, 9). Internationally, both kingdoms were being harassed by the increasingly powerful empire of Assyria. Under the Assyrian kings Tiglath-Pileser III (744-727), Shalmaneser V (726-722), Sargon II (721-705) and Sennacherib (704-681), the superpower exacted both fealty and finances from Israel and Judah, who seesawed between trusting in Egypt for assistance in rebellion, and accepting vassal status as under-states of Assyria. In 722, both God s and Assyria s patience had run out with the northern kingdom, and it was invaded, the capital Samaria was taken, and the people of Israel were exiled. In the following decades, Assyria pushed deep into the southern kingdom, and even sieged Jerusalem in 701. However, God was merciful to Jerusalem because of Hezekiah s faithfulness, and destroyed the Assyrian army, saving Judah from annihilation (2 Kings 19:35-37). The following century (600s BC) would see a descent into greater wickedness by Judah. With the exception of Josiah (2 Kings 22 23:30), each king after Hezekiah

practiced evil and abandoned God. During this time, and particularly from 630-610 BC, Babylon took over Assyria as the superpower in the east, and would eventually invade Judah and Jerusalem and exile its people in 597. Micah foresaw this eventual exile and warned Judah about it (Micah 4:10). Main themes in Micah As with many of the writing prophets, Micah s book balances itself between two big themes: 1) God s upcoming justice against his people for their wickedness in the form of exile 2) God s promised restoration of his people in the land In Micah, God highlights five main areas of wickedness among his people: False worship, market exploitation, military violence, falsehood and lies, and injustice, mainly focused on bribery among judges and leaders. Micah confirms that God s punishment against his people for these practices will be attack from foreign nations and eventually exile. However, Micah also passes on God s promised restoration of a remnant of the people back into the land, a restoration that looks forward to God s eventual final restoration of all God s creation. In this context, our famous verse, Micah 6:8 provides a critique of the practices of God s people. While they were busily practising wickedness, the Israelites tried to buy God off with gifts, offerings and even abhorrent child sacrifices (6:6-7). However, God sought what he had asked of his people all along; justice in action, a desire to grant mercy, and a humble faithfulness to God himself.

Talk One: Hearing the Word of the Lord Micah 1:1-2, 2:6-11 What voices do we listen to today? How does God speak to us today? What are the difficulties in hearing God s voice today? What messages do we like to hear? What are some dangerous false messages today?

Talk Two: God s Judgement, then and now Micah 3:1-12 Where do we see the sins of Micah s time today? How is God s attitude towards sin the same? What has changed between Micah s time and now? How does grace fit in alongside God s judgement of evil?

Talk Three: Restoration and the Power of God Micah 4:1-13, 7:8-20 How has God defeated his enemies today? How does this show God s power today? How is God s restoration today different from Micah s time? What does this mean for us today?

Prepared by Paul Pallot (Associate Pastor, Kew Baptist Church) 2015