Day 35 · Micah 1; 3; 5–6
Old Testament · Phase 4 · Divided Kingdom & The Assyrian Shadow
Micah warns Jerusalem; Prophecy of Bethlehem’s ruler
Micah 1
Section titled “Micah 1”Judgment to Come
1This is the word of the LORD that came to Micah the Moreshite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah — what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem:
2Hear, O peoples, all of you;
listen, O earth, and everyone in it!
May the Lord GOD bear witness against you,
the Lord from His holy temple.
3For behold, the LORD comes forth
from His dwelling place;
He will come down and tread
on the high places of the earth.
4The mountains will melt beneath Him,
and the valleys will split apart,
like wax before the fire,
like water rushing down a slope.
5All this is for the transgression of Jacob
and the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the transgression of Jacob?
Is it not Samaria?
And what is the high place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6Therefore I will make Samaria
a heap of rubble in the open field,
a planting area for a vineyard.
I will pour her stones into the valley
and expose her foundations.
7All her carved images will be smashed to pieces;
all her wages will be burned in the fire,
and I will destroy all her idols.
Since she collected the wages of a prostitute,
they will be used again on a prostitute.
Weeping and Mourning
8Because of this I will lament and wail;
I will walk barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
and mourn like an ostrich.
9For her wound is incurable;
it has reached even Judah;
it has approached the gate of my people,
as far as Jerusalem itself.
10Do not tell it in Gath; do not weep at all.
Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah.
11Depart in shameful nakedness,
O dwellers of Shaphir.
The dwellers of Zaanan
will not come out.
Beth-ezel is in mourning;
its support is taken from you.
12For the dwellers of Maroth pined for good,
but calamity came down from the LORD,
even to the gate of Jerusalem.
13Harness your chariot horses,
O dweller of Lachish.
You were the beginning of sin to the Daughter of Zion,
for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14Therefore, send farewell gifts to Moresheth-gath;
the houses of Achzib will prove deceptive
to the kings of Israel.
15I will again bring a conqueror against you,
O dweller of Mareshah.
The glory of Israel will come to Adullam.
16Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair
in mourning for your precious children;
make yourselves as bald as an eagle,
for they will go from you into exile.
Micah 3
Section titled “Micah 3”Rulers and Prophets Condemned
1Then I said:
“Hear now, O leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of the house of Israel.
Should you not know justice?
2You hate good and love evil.
You tear the skin from my people
and strip the flesh from their bones.
3You eat the flesh of my people
after stripping off their skin
and breaking their bones.
You chop them up like flesh for the cooking pot,
like meat in a cauldron.”
4Then they will cry out to the LORD,
but He will not answer them.
At that time He will hide His face from them
because of the evil they have done.
5This is what the LORD says:
“As for the prophets
who lead My people astray,
who proclaim peace
while they chew with their teeth,
but declare war against one
who puts nothing in their mouths:
6Therefore night will come over you without visions,
and darkness without divination.
The sun will set on these prophets,
and the daylight will turn black over them.
7Then the seers will be ashamed
and the diviners will be disgraced.
They will all cover their mouths
because there is no answer from God.”
8As for me, however, I am filled with power
by the Spirit of the LORD,
with justice and courage,
to declare to Jacob his transgression
and to Israel his sin.
9Now hear this, O leaders of the house of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel,
who despise justice
and pervert all that is right,
10who build Zion with bloodshed
and Jerusalem with iniquity.
11Her leaders judge for a bribe,
her priests teach for a price,
and her prophets practice divination for money.
Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying,
“Is not the LORD among us?
No disaster can come upon us.”
12Therefore, because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,
and the temple mount a wooded ridge.
Micah 5–6
Section titled “Micah 5–6”A Ruler from Bethlehem
1Now, O daughter of troops,
mobilize your troops;
for a siege is laid against us!
With a rod they will strike the cheek
of the judge of Israel.
2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come forth for Me
One to be ruler over Israel—
One whose origins are of old,
from the days of eternity.
3Therefore Israel will be abandoned
until she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of His brothers will return
to the children of Israel.
4He will stand and shepherd His flock
in the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD His God.
And they will dwell securely,
for then His greatness will extend
to the ends of the earth.
5And He will be our peace
when Assyria invades our land
and tramples our citadels.
We will raise against it seven shepherds,
even eight leaders of men.
6And they will rule the land of Assyria with the sword,
and the land of Nimrod with the blade drawn.
So He will deliver us
when Assyria invades our land
and marches into our borders.
The Remnant of Jacob
7Then the remnant of Jacob will be
in the midst of many peoples
like dew from the LORD,
like showers on the grass,
which do not wait for man
or linger for mankind.
8Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which tramples and tears as it passes through,
with no one to rescue them.
9Your hand will be lifted over your foes,
and all your enemies will be cut off.
10“In that day,”
declares the LORD,
“I will remove your horses from among you
and wreck your chariots.
11I will remove the cities of your land
and tear down all your strongholds.
12I will cut the sorceries from your hand,
and you will have no fortune-tellers.
13I will also cut off the carved images
and sacred pillars from among you,
so that you will no longer bow down
to the work of your own hands.
14I will root out the Asherah poles from your midst
and demolish your cities.
15I will take vengeance in anger and wrath
upon the nations that have not obeyed Me.”
The Case against Israel
1Hear now what the LORD says:
“Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
2Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s indictment,
you enduring foundations of the earth.
For the LORD has a case against His people,
and He will argue it against Israel:
3‘My people, what have I done to you?
Testify against Me how I have wearied you!
4For I brought you up from the land of Egypt
and redeemed you from the house of slavery.
I sent Moses before you,
as well as Aaron and Miriam.
5My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled
and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal,
so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”
6With what shall I come before the LORD
when I bow before the God on high?
Should I come to Him with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?
7Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8He has shown you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you
but to act justly, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God?
The Punishment of Israel
9The voice of the LORD calls out to the city
(and it is sound wisdom to fear Your name):
“Heed the rod
and the One who ordained it.
10Can I forget any longer,
O house of the wicked,
the treasures of wickedness
and the short ephah, which is accursed?
11Can I excuse dishonest scales
or bags of false weights?
12For the wealthy of the city
are full of violence,
and its residents speak lies;
their tongues are deceitful in their mouths.
13Therefore I am striking you severely,
to ruin you because of your sins.
14You will eat but not be satisfied,
and your hunger will remain with you.
What you acquire, you will not preserve;
and what you save, I will give to the sword.
15You will sow but not reap;
you will press olives but not anoint yourselves with oil;
you will tread grapes but not drink the wine.
16You have kept the statutes of Omri
and all the practices of Ahab’s house;
you have followed their counsel.
Therefore I will make you a desolation,
and your inhabitants an object of contempt;
you will bear the scorn of the nations.”