Micah Ch1 Cont...
Notes
Transcript
Micah chapter 1
Micah chapter 1
Verses 8-16
Micah is considered to be a minor prophet, can you tell me why he was considered a minor prophet?
Just the length of the book, major prophets have more chapters, longer works that minor....
Thinking about an introduction to the book, what do we know?
So who is Micah?
While most books tells us a little about the family, as with the prophet Jonah who is the son of Amittai ( Jonah 1:1) or with perhaps Isaiah, who is the son of Amoz ( Isaiah 1:1)
We do not get that information with Micah, we do not know who His father is, rather we are told where he is from… Why? We do not necessary know exactly, but this is what God ultimately wants us to see...
Micah of Moresheth, in chapter 1, verse 1 and then 14 we see Moresheth-gath.
Both refer to the same place, we are not sure why gath is added to the end of the word, but nonetheless, we know this town is about 22 miles Southwest of of the city of Jerusalem.
It is in an area known for its lowlands.
So this is the home or the origin of the prophet Micah whose calling is not recorded like Isaiah and some of the rest of the prophets are, instead we are simply told His power or work is attributed to the “Spirit of the Lord...”.
The name Micah is special as well, like a lot of people whose names had a special meaning … His name refers to “Who is like Yahweh?”
So when does this all take place, the date for Micah is thought to be 750 to 735 BC, why can we say that with a measure of certainity? We know God has sent him during the reigns of the Judean kings of Jotham, Ahaz and finally Hezekiah.
These facts help us understand the context of the book and times Micah ministered in....
Theme
When we look at the scope of the book, the theme of Micah is judgment and forgiveness. The Lord who is the righteous Judge who scatters his people for their transgressions and sins is the same God who is a Shepherd King, who in covenant faithfulness gathers, protects and forgives His people.
Now as we begin today, we are going to look at verses 8-16, but lets look at verse 8 right now...
8 For this I will lament and wail;
I will go stripped and naked;
I will make lamentation like the jackals,
and mourning like the ostriches.
So remember verses 6-7 speak to the capture of Samaria by Assyria. Remember in verse 6, God says I will make Samaria a heap… For this.... Micah says because of their downfall I will lament, weep in a sense
To be stripped and naked, means they will be barefoot and without clothing… lamentations refers to mourning like jackals, loudly, cries in the night for what has happened to Samaria.
Also, going barefoot, stripped, naked is a sign of mourning in that time. Now naked isn’t bare skin, it is down to your undies/loincloth
And it is really a for shadow of the things to come, just as Samaria suffered, in the next two decades we know historically that Jerusalem and Judea will also suffer, they will experience a similar downfall.
Micah is broken thinking about about the sorrow of Samaria. Friends, it should remind us that sin always has a price
Now verse 9
9 For her wound is incurable,
and it has come to Judah;
it has reached to the gate of my people,
to Jerusalem.
But his real grief is tied to his own people. for is Samaria falls, Jerusalem isn’t far behind.
The wound is incurable, it brings death…Just as judgment overtook Samaria, so Jerusalem and Judah are about to experience the same. It is like a cancer, it has spread from the Northern kingdom to the Southern Kingdom.
Listen to the words of Isaiah as God told him about the Southern Kingdom...
5 Why will you still be struck down?
Why will you continue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
and the whole heart faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head,
there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
and raw wounds;
they are not pressed out or bound up
or softened with oil.
King Sennacherib of Assyria first attacked Jerusalem, in 701bc, and while not successful, by 586bc Nebuchadnezzar is raised up and he is successful.
When God says it has reached the gate, the meaning here is the “city” the city is vulnerable, the people in danger.
There was a long line of offenses against the people of God. The violated the law, sought after false gods, they didn’t let the land rest, they treated each other with contempt. etc....
Verse 10
10 Tell it not in Gath;
weep not at all;
in Beth-le-aphrah
roll yourselves in the dust.
Here begins Micah’s description of Sennacherib’s destruction and capture of several cities or towns in Judah. Most of them were just a few miles from Micah’s own town of Moresheth.
So in these next few verses we are given a picture if you will of the path of this armies destruction.
Verse 10 begins with a quote from David lament over Saul and Jonathan.
20 Tell it not in Gath,
publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
The reason maybe to relate the anticipated fall of the city of David. And Micah may have not wanted the Philistines to hear of the sorrow that is to come. The philistines would have rejoiced over the destruction of Israel and or Judah. Tension for many, many years between the two peoples.
Telling those how live in Beth-le-aphrah to roll in the dust. It is again kin to a lament of covering oneself in sackcloth and ashes. It reveals the full expression of their loss.
Verse 11
11 Pass on your way,
inhabitants of Shaphir,
in nakedness and shame;
the inhabitants of Zaanan
do not come out;
the lamentation of Beth-ezel
shall take away from you its standing place.
Today we don’t know the location of these three cities, They are called to leave in nakedness and shame, it is like being marched out as a prisoner in shame stripped of most of their cloths, showing defeat and anguish.
The city Shaphir, the name means pleasant but sadly there is nothing pleasant about what is happening, Sennacherib took some 200K prisoners.
The city Zaanan, its meaning is “come out” but in fear and trembling and they will not come out.
The full meaning of the verses is Those in Shaphir come out and be taken without your clothes, those in Zaanan will come out to help them and the people in Beth-ezel will sob, for they are unable to help keep you or anyone for that matter safe.
Verse 12
12 For the inhabitants of Maroth
wait anxiously for good,
because disaster has come down from the Lord
to the gate of Jerusalem.
We are also uncertain about the present day location of this city, but nonetheless the inhabitants of Maroth wait for goodness, but it doesn’t come. The sins of the people and their failure to return to the Lord has sealed their fate. The Lord will bring suffering upon his people
The phrase “has come down” in the Hebrew is actually prophetic, it hasn’t happened yet according to Micah, but ole it is coming.. We know it was around 701bc when Sennacherib was almost ready to break through to the city.
It is said htat Hezekiah was in there like a bird in a cage, but it wasnt time for the city to fall. But in 15 years, 586bc it will fall under Babylon Nebuchadnezzer.
V 13
13 Harness the steeds to the chariots,
inhabitants of Lachish;
it was the beginning of sin
to the daughter of Zion,
for in you were found
the transgressions of Israel.
The people of Lachish are called to places harnesses on the horses for chariots in order to escape the onslaught of Sennacherib. Lachish was one of the largest cities in Judah, about 30 miles SW of Jerusalem and 6 miles SW Moresheth.
Rehoboam, Solomon’s Son had fortified the city so that it guarded the main approach to the Holy City from that particular area. It was in lact one of the last of the 46 cities that fail under Sennacherib advance in 701bc
The last part of the verse is revealing of their pride. They trusted in their might, their power and my friends that was the beginning of their sin, they were called to trust the Lord not self.
Who do your trust… Your ways, your abilities or God’s
The wrong things that Israel did, you did as well oh Jerusalem.
v 14
14 Therefore you shall give parting gifts
to Moresheth-gath;
the houses of Achzib shall be a deceitful thing
to the kings of Israel.
Therefore is important, it connects those thoughts. Because Judah and Jerusalem had adopted the evil practices of the Northern Kingdom, they stand judged as well.
Giving the parting gifts refers to Hezekiah attempt to bribe Sennacherib with silver and gold in an attempt to get him to stop attacking the city.
The houses of Achzib, the cities name sounds like the Hebrew word for deceit or deceitful. They are like a stream that looks plentiful but has dried up so they, the city of Achzib can offer no help to stop the approach of Sennacherib.
V 15
Micah 1:15 (ESV)
15 I will again bring a conqueror to you,
inhabitants of Mareshah;
the glory of Israel
shall come to Adullam.
God now directly speaks through the prophet. I will again bring a conqueror to him...
The conqueror is Sennacherib, and if God can raise him up, can he not take them all… of course.
But they will not follow the Lord and repent. Repent is an important word, it means to change direction.
The glory of Israel speaks to its leaders, its officials, they will be unable to help, in fact they will run and hide, Addullam is a place where a cave is and people have hid out there in the past OT words
and the last verse 16
16 Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair,
for the children of your delight;
make yourselves as bald as the eagle,
for they shall go from you into exile.
Ultimately Judah is being addressed here. But the idea is they all of them will shave their heads in mourning. Make yourselves bald, increase your mourning but repentance is to late, you stand judged.
Their children will go into exile, this brings mourning. Nebuchadnezzar when we first came to Judah, he carried off all the young ones, princes and royalty and those of stature.
he carried them off to train them, so that they could lead their own people who are coming into exile, Daniel and the 3 Hebrew children are some of those who were carried off
How heart breaking to know your actions caused such heart breaking circumstnaces....