The name Micah comes from the Hebrew word Micayehû, which means “who is like Yahweh?” indicating that men named Micah had parents who were devout believers in Yahweh (or Jehovah, translated “LORD” in our bibles).
Micah was the author of the book by the same name. He is described as being from Moresheth, a small but important town in southwest Judah near the Philistine territory. Micah was given a word from the Lord about the future of Samaria and Jerusalem (Micah 1:1). Micah was a prophet in Judah for 59 years, during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. He prophesied in Judah while Hosea and Amos prophesied in Israel, and he was a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah.
He is sixth in the order of those we call Minor Prophets, so called because their writings are comparatively short. It was the prophet Micah who foretold of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:6). His is a message of both hope and doom, declaring the lovingkindness of God toward those who repent and turn to Him (Micah 7:18–19). And Micah condenses God’s requirements into this familiar refrain: “He has showed you, O man, 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” (Micah 6:8).
Key Teachings about God
1. God’s Judgment is Pronounced
The prophet Micah reminds us that, despite God’s zero-tolerance toward our sin and those who plan it or premediate it.
1 Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. 2 They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance. 3 Therefore, the LORD says: “I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity. Micah 2:1-3 (NIV)
He is also ready and waiting to forgive and restore those who repent. Even in the midst of strong warnings to Judah, Micah includes the hope that God will relent on the promised judgment if they will turn from evil. He ends his book with this thought: “He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19). Christians can take comfort in those words as well. Because of the Messiah that Micah prophesied, Jew and Gentile can enjoy the benefits of God’s forgiveness when we turn from evil and “walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
2. God’s Kingdom is Proclaimed
Micah 4:2 contains an interesting prophecy that people from around the world will come to Jerusalem to learn about God. It reads, “Many nations shall come, and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’” Based on this verse, many have wondered if everyone will need to go to Jerusalem to worship God in the last days.
It is important to first identify when this prophecy will be fulfilled. When the Old Testament prophets speak of “the last days” (e.g., Micah 4:1), they usually refer to the tribulation period or the millennium (Deuteronomy 4:30; Ezekiel 38:16; Daniel 2:28; 10:14; Hosea 3:5). In Micah 4, the prophet shifts from the theme of judgment in the previous chapter to a theme of future blessing in Jerusalem when God Himself will rule (Micah 4:3). This would correspond with the millennial kingdom, during which the Messiah reigns from His throne in Jerusalem.
Micah 4:2 teaches that, during the millennium, people from many nations will come to “the mountain of the Lord”—a reference to Zion, or Jerusalem. People from all over the world will come to the temple (“the house of the God of Jacob”) to learn God’s Law and obey it.
The fact that people from every nation come to Jerusalem does not mean that everyone must travel to Jerusalem during the millennium. Most likely, people will be able to worship the Lord from anywhere in the world: “The earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).
To the Jewish people who saw themselves as God’s only people, the mention of people from many nations coming to the temple is significant. God had always made Himself known to people of all backgrounds who turned to Him (such as the Ninevites who repented in Jonah 3), but He was still the “Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 12:6). Micah’s prophecy highlights the fact that the millennial kingdom will consist of people of many cultures, races, and nationalities serving the King. The prediction foreshadows the Great Commission of Jesus Christ to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20).
Some say that today’s interest in Holy Land tours fulfills Micah 4:2. While a visit to Jerusalem can be an enriching and faith-building experience for believers, it does not fulfill Micah’s prophecy. It will take more than tourists and travel agents to bring in the millennium. It will take the Lord Himself coming in power and great glory (Luke 21:27) to establish His throne, comfort His people (Isaiah 51:3), and usher in worldwide peace (Micah 4:3).
Next, the perfect kingdom would need a PERFECT KING.
3. God’s Messiah is Promised
Micah 5:2 predicts, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” The verse clearly speaks of a coming king in Israel, but does it predict the coming of the Messiah?
Micah 5:2 makes a couple of predictions. First, the birthplace of this future “ruler of Israel” would be Bethlehem Ephrathah. Since there were two locations known as Bethlehem at the time of Micah’s writing, the addition of Ephrathah is significant. It specifies the Bethlehem in Judah, the portion of Israel in which the capital, Jerusalem, was located. Bethlehem was considered “little,” or insignificant, among the cities of Judah, yet would serve as the birthplace of this future ruler.
Second, the coming ruler of Jewish background was one “whose coming forth is from old, from ancient days.” What else could this refer to other than the Messiah? Only the Messiah fits the description of a ruler in Israel whose origin was from times past. In fact, “from ancient days” is sometimes synonymous with “eternal” (as in Habakkuk 1:12). Only the Jewish Messiah could be a ruler in Israel from eternity past.
This interpretation is strengthened by the fact that the Jewish religious leaders in the first century identified Micah 5:2 as a Messianic prophecy. In Matthew 2, wise men from the East visited King Herod in Jerusalem and asked where the king of the Jews had been born. Herod assembled all the chief priests and scribes, and “he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea,’” basing their answer on Micah 5:2.
Only Jesus Christ fits the Messianic claims of Micah 5:2. He was born in Bethlehem Ephrathah (Matthew 2; Luke 2:1-20). Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, the ruler of Israel (John 4:25-26). He also fits the description as being “from ancient times” or eternal (John 1:1; Colossians 1:16-17). No other ruler in Israel fits these requirements. Dozens of other direct prophecies in the Old Testament (some scholars cite hundreds) fit Jesus’ birth, ministry, and death.
Jesus told the Jews that the Law and the Prophets provided a clear witness that He was who He claimed to be. “These are the Scriptures that testify about me,” He said (John 5:39). Still today, those who investigate the prophecy of Micah 5:2 and other Messianic passages find compelling evidence that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.
Micah closes his book with talk about God’s forgiveness, and how when we are justified in Christ, God forgets our sins so completely that they might as well be buried at the bottom of the ocean.
Micah 7:19: “He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” Another verse, Isaiah 1:18, says that God will make our scarlet sins as white as wool. Psalm 103:12 expresses the thought in yet another way: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
In Christ, our sins are sent very far away from us, so that they can no longer affect us. It does not mean that we, as believers, no longer sin or that our sins are erased from God’s mind. It only means that our sins no longer have any bearing on our salvation. Jesus’ perfect life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection is the only means by which we are saved (Acts 4:12). When we trust in Christ, we come under a new paradigm. Although our sins still grieve God and cause ruin in our lives and in the lives of others, our salvation is secure (Romans 8:1, 31–39).
The fact that our sins are at the bottom of the ocean is a comfort. We are no longer judged by our sins (Romans 8:1), and that fact frees us to live life in a way that pleases God. When we fear judgment, ironically, we are tempted to sin even more, because we want to escape from the fear of judgment, and sin is often pleasurable for a time (see Hebrews 11:25). But, eventually, the fear of judgment returns. This is a vicious cycle. Spiritual growth requires that we recognize the total forgiveness that exists in Jesus Christ and that we rest in that forgiveness.
Many people do not believe they require salvation. They believe that they are good enough to reach heaven on their own merit, and they do not accept the truth about their own fallen state. These people are deceived, and they do not have a relationship with God (1 John 1:8, 10). Every person needs God’s forgiveness and salvation—a relationship based on dependence on His grace. If we admit that we are sinners and trust in Christ, He forgives and cleanses us (1 John 1:9). Our sins are no longer part of the equation and will not be remembered (Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:12).
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