Read
1 I am Micah from Moresheth. And this is the message about Samaria and Jerusalem that the Lord gave to me when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah.
Judgment on Samaria
2Listen, all of you!
Earth and everything on it,
pay close attention.
The Lord God accuses you
from his holy temple.
3And he will come down
to crush underfoot
every pagan altar.
4Mountains will melt
beneath his feet
like wax beside a fire.
Valleys will vanish like water
rushing down a ravine.
5This will happen because of
the terrible sins of Israel,
the descendants of Jacob.
Samaria has led Israel to sin,
and pagan altars at Jerusalem
have made Judah sin.
6So the Lord will leave Samaria
in ruins—
merely an empty field
where vineyards are planted.
He will scatter its stones
and destroy its foundations.
7Samaria's idols will be smashed,
and the wages
of temple prostitutes
will be destroyed by fire.
Silver and gold from those idols
will then be used by foreigners
as payment for prostitutes.
Judah Is Doomed
8Because of this tragedy,
I go barefoot and naked.
My crying and weeping
sound like howling wolves
or ostriches.
9The nation is fatally wounded.
Judah is doomed.
Jerusalem will fall.
10Don't tell it in Gath!
Don't even cry.
Instead, roll in the dust
at Beth-Leaphrah.
11Depart naked and ashamed,
you people of Shaphir.
The town of Bethezel mourns
because no one from Zaanan
went out to help.
12Everyone in Maroth
hoped for the best,
but the Lord sent disaster
down on Jerusalem.
13Get the war chariots ready,
you people of Lachish.
You led Jerusalem into sin,
just as Israel did.
14Now you will have to give
a going-away gift
to Moresheth.
Israel's kings will discover
that they cannot trust
the town of Achzib.
15People of Mareshah,
the Lord will send someone
to capture your town.
Then Israel's glorious king
will be forced to hide
in Adullam Cave.
16Judah, shave your head
as bald as a vulture
and start mourning.
Your precious children
will be dragged off
to a foreign country.
Punishment for Those
1Doomed! You're doomed!
At night you lie in bed,
making evil plans.
And when morning comes,
you do what you've planned
because you have the power.
2You grab any field or house
that you want;
you cheat families
out of homes and land.
3But here is what the Lord says:
“I am planning trouble for you.
Your necks will be caught
in a noose,
and you will be disgraced
in this time of disaster.”
4When that happens,
this sorrowful song
will be sung about you:
“Ruined! Completely ruined!
The Lord has taken our land
and given it to traitors.”
5And so you will never again
own property
among the Lord's people.
Reflect
An Old Testament time line is needed in order for us to make sense of where Micah fits into the story. The book offers no personal data about the prophet whose name means, “Who is like Yahweh?” (See the “play on his name” in 7:18). The text begins (1:1) by identifying Micah with the small town of Moresheth, 35 to 40 kilometres south west of Jerusalem in the region of Shephelah among the foothills of Judah. It was part of a nucleus of fortified towns identified in the paragraph. The same verse creates the historical parameters with the inscription that he lived in the days of three kings, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. Prior to the reign of the first king, Uzziah had ruled for 52 good years. After the death of his father by leprosy, Jotham became king. His story (742-735 BCE) is recounted in 2 Kings 15 and 2 Chronicles 26-27. His reign was marked by economic and political stability, although the foreign power, Assyria was on the rise. The reign of King Ahaz in Judah (735-715 BCE) is found in 2 Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 28. It was marked by weakness, injustice, corruption and a lack of godly spirituality. Finally, the text states that Micah prophesied throughout the reign of Hezekiah (715-687 BCE) whose exploits are recounted in 2 Chronicles 29-32, 2 Kings 18-20 and in the historical sections of the book of Isaiah.
Micah’s prophecy is to call the leadership back to the LORD, to the covenant, and to its obligations to the poor. Nothing escapes the notice of our God.
Respond
LORD God, thank you that you are the God who intervenes in the affairs of men and women and the affairs of nations. We honour you today. Amen.
Glenn Smith
Dr. Glenn Smith is married to Sandra and together they have three daughters, Jenna, Julia and Christa and two granddaughters They are the pastors of a missional community network in their church in Montréal – a multi-site congregation in five locations. Glenn did his graduate studies at the Université d’Ottawa and his doctoral thesis at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Chicago. He was the Executive Director of Christian Direction in Montreal 1983 – 2018. He is the Dean of the Faculty of Practical Theology at Presbyterian College at McGill University and the the Institut de théologie pour la francophonie, accredited by Université Laval. He also teaches in Haïti. Publications: co-author of Espoir pour la ville; Dieu dans la cité (Hope for the city, God in the city); Following Jesus: God invites us to transformative discipleship and author of City Air Makes You Free.