Micah 1:1-16
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The Wrath of God- Against the “Children of Disobedience!”
The Wrath of God- Against the “Children of Disobedience!”
A quick review over the last few weeks of Sunday School lessons:
Micah is a prophet of God that ministered to Jerusalem in the 8th century BC.
He ministered during the time of Isaiah!
Isaiah ministered to the royal family which Micah seems to minister to the commoners of that day!
Micah is quoted in the New Testament!
For example: Micah 5:2
But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah,
Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel;
Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Is quoted in Matthew 2:5-6
And they said unto him, In Beth-lehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Beth-lehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
For the son dishonoureth the father,
The daughter riseth up against her mother,
The daughter in law against her mother in law;
A man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
Is also quoted in Matthew 10:35-36
For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
The outline of this book consists of three prophetic oracles! These oracles start with the statement or the invite to the audience to listen!
Hear, all ye people;
Hearken, O earth, and all that therein is:
And let the Lord God be witness against you,
The Lord from his holy temple.
The word “hear” is the Hebrew word that gives us the outline! It reveals that an oracle is coming!
Remember we said “all you peoples” is a prophetic oracle to the entire earth. In other words this is a testimony for the whole earth to learn!
Who is the witness against Israel and Jerusalem?
The holy one of God! Yahweh out of His holy temple! The one that is sitting on His judgement throne!
And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob,
And ye princes of the house of Israel;
Is it not for you to know judgment?
Hear ye now what the Lord saith;
Arise, contend thou before the mountains,
And let the hills hear thy voice.
I. A Warning Message: Judgment is Coming (1:1-2:13)
1. The Judge Appears & Has issued Judgement (1:1-5)
The Lord appears, out of His heavenly temple! Tread - this term is used in the sense of trampling or stomping out the high place!
The high places of the earth - God is going to tread out the idolatrous places!
Yahweh is omnipotent and destroys the places that are suppose to be God’s place, but used for the wrong purposes.
The result of God’s appearance? Micah 1:4
And the mountains shall be molten under him,
And the valleys shall be cleft,
As wax before the fire,
And as the waters that are poured down a steep place.
“The Mountains melt” - the whole topography of the earth will change when Yahweh descends from heaven.
For the transgression of Jacob is all this,
And for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria?
And what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?
Why does Yahweh descend?
Because of the “transgression of Jacob! Jacob is used as a synonym for the people of Israel!
Genesis 32:28
And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
2. The nations Judged (1:6-16)
A. Samaria (Israel) Judged (vs. 6-9)
Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 1
Samaria was situated on a large oblong hill about six miles northwest of Shechem. The city was built by King Omri, who made it his capital. Omri named the city after Shemer, the previous owner of the hill (
B. Judah judged (Micah 1:10—16)
Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all:
In the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.
Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked:
The inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Beth-ezel;
He shall receive of you his standing.
For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good:
But evil came down from the Lord unto the gate of Jerusalem.
O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast:
She is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion:
For the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.
Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moresheth-gath:
The houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.
Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah:
He shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel.
Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children;
Enlarge thy baldness as the eagle;
For they are gone into captivity from thee.
3. The sins that have come home to roost! (2:1-11)
Verse one reminds us that the people of God have been thinking only on evil! Now their thoughts are becoming actions against the Lord! These actions speak against them!
A. Because of covetousness (lust for land/power grab/land grab/money grab).
B. Because of listening & giving ear to false prophets (Micah 2:6-11)
They were purposely listening to prophets that shared their same views and didn’t correct anything they did or said.
Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy:
They shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.
O thou that art named the house of Jacob,
Is the spirit of the Lord straitened?
Are these his doings?
Do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?
Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy:
Ye pull off the robe with the garment
From them that pass by securely as men averse from war.
The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses;
From their children have ye taken away my glory for ever.
Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest:
Because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.
If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying,
I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink;
He shall even be the prophet of this people.
4. Hope for the remnant. (Micah 2:12-13)
A Remnant like eating food/cookies the blessing of having the remnants left behind.
So also the Remnant is the group of people that God has preserved to Himself for hope to be experienced.
I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee;
I will surely gather the remnant of Israel;
I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah,
As the flock in the midst of their fold:
They shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.
The breaker is come up before them:
They have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it:
And their king shall pass before them,
And the Lord on the head of them.
Before we quickly condemn the culture of Israel let us do some cultural investigation.
* The Society in Judah was changing. It was changing from a farming community to that of an urban society.
The law of Moses forbids monopolies much like the US, but they ignored the law purchased much land and forced the little owners out. Micah championed the rights of the small business. (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?
Now that we have noticed the outline of chapter one and started to give information about the sins of Israel and Judah.
Let us consider chapter one with a little more detail.
God was witness—nothing is hidden from God according to all of scripture.
He sees all, knows every heart, and knows the depth of mans sins (1 Cor. 3:10-13).
According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1. From His Holy Temple—God sees!
That is from Heaven (1 Kings 8:30; Ps. 11:4; Jonah 2:7; Romans 1:8 God sees and response!
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord:
And my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
The Lord is in his holy temple,
The Lord’s throne is in heaven:
His eyes behold,
His eyelids try, the children of men.
And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.
2. God not only sees but treads upon the high places of the earth.
Meaning He will destroy the great defenses of man! (De. 32:13;33:29)
Happy art thou, O Israel:
Who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord,
The shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency!
And thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee;
And thou shalt tread upon their high places.
He made him ride on the high places of the earth,
That he might eat the increase of the fields;
And he made him to suck honey out of the rock,
And oil out of the flinty rock;
**How does God do this—when mans fortresses are strong, and their will is even more strong & wicked?
God has power over the earth with which we draw strength!
A. They can’t not trust in the security of the earth
* volcanic problems and earthquakes or the rumbling of the earth will destroy the power of man’s defenses.
Man has never tried to fight against the Almighty God! (vs. 4)(Judges 5:4)
“Lord, when you went out from Seir,
when you marched from the region of Edom,
the earth trembled
and the heavens dropped,
yes, the clouds dropped water.
B. We will melt! “As Wax” possibly not just the earth but the sun too!
The Earth and Outer space or galaxy will destroy the work of man!
Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field,
And as plantings of a vineyard:
And I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley,
And I will discover the foundations thereof.
And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces,
And all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire,
And all the idols thereof will I lay desolate:
For she gathered it of the hire of an harlot,
And they shall return to the hire of an harlot.
Therefore, because of this (the implications of the sins of Israel and Judah) have come upon the whole nation!
What sins?
Idolatry - And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces,
These might have started as idols of the heart, then led to the idols of life!
Paul calls it Romans 1:18-31
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Those that were ruled by the flesh have no moral code!
These actions broke the covenant of God and promote the god of this world!
The sins of the leaders caused the people to sin and break the covenant of God.
They were once a free people living the blessed life from God, now being judged by God and destroyed from within and without!
Does this sound like our nation?
If we can learn anything from this Micah’s pronoucements - if we don’t repent of our sins we commit the same sins, and if we done say anything we will be tempted to commit the same sins!
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
What lessons did we learn from this text?
Correcting sin in yourself and others is actually restoration!
* But do it in the right spirit! (attitude).
2. Help those with a burden so you can fulfill the law of love!
3. Think honestly, simply, and humbly! Because someone is always better!
Self deception is one of the highest sins of all.
Why? Because it involves one of the deadliest sins!
The sin of pride!
You may be struggling with the 'little' idols in your home, perhaps a screen addiction or materialism that’s distracting your family. This week, take a day to do a family audit. Gather everyone and list things or habits that consume your thoughts and time. Discuss how these may be affecting your relationship with God and with one another. Then, commit as a family to reduce time spent on these distractions and replace it with intentional family activities, like prayer or a family game night.
When navigating public life, especially social media, it's easy to idolize public opinion or the pursuit for likes and validation. If you recognize this in yourself, make a commitment to lower your usage for a week. Instead, dedicate that time to reading the Bible or volunteering for a local charity. Allow yourself to be reminded that your true worth comes from God, not the approval of others, and reflect on how you can use your voice in public to glorify Him.
