Survey of the Bible - Micah
Text: Micah 7:7-20
I. Background
A. Micah is from Moreseth. It is in southwest Judah on the border of Philistia near the city of Gath - Micah 1:14
B. His name is a shorten form of michayahu which means “Who is like God?” - Micah 7:18
C. He was a prophet during the reigns of three Judean kings: Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
1. Uzziah, Jotham’s father had a prosperous reign, as did his son Jotham. But were considered to be basically good kings, though idolatry was spreading under their reigns.
2. Ahaz was a wicked king, who was followed by Hezekiah who was an unusually good king.
3. This makes Micah a contemporary of Isaiah (who prophesied in Jerusalem) and Hosea (who prophesied in Israel).
4. Scholars figure the book dates somewhere between 735 and 710 B.C., about the time of Israel being taken off into Assyrian captivity.
D. Important prophecies
1. Micah prophesied at the height of Assyrian power and Judah was constantly threaten by the Assyrians.
a. This makes Micah’s prophecy of a Babylonian captivity notable since it could not be predicted - Micah 4:10
2. The birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem - Micah 5:2
3. The establishment of the church - Micah 4:1-2
4. We ought to listen - II Peter 1:19-21
II. Theme
A. Micah is seen as the prophet focused on the poor and downtrodden.
B. God is coming in judgment and His cause is just
C. But God severity is to bring change not to permanently remove His enemies
III. Outline
A. There are three sections to Micah, each beginning with “Hear”
B. The case against the people - Micah 1-2
1. God is coming in judgement - Micah 1:2-7
a. It is for both Israel and Judah, but the condemnation is particularly focused on Israel - Micah 1:6-7
2. Micah mourns the necessity of it - Micah 1:8-16
a. There is no hiding from the shame of it - Micah 1:8-9
3. Reasons for the judgment - Micah 2
a. Wickedness and oppression - Micah 2:1-2
(1) God’s response - Micah 2:3-5
b. Not wanting to hear they are wrong - Micah 2:6-7
c. Mistreatment of their own - Micah 2:8-10
d. Preference for lies - Micah 2:11
e. Hint at captivity from which God will free them - Micah 2:12-13
C. The case against the leaders - Micah 3
1. The sins of the rulers, reversing morality and abusing their own people - Micah 3:1-3
a. God’ response is to not listen when they are in trouble - Micah 3:4
2. The sins of the false prophets, saying whatever benefits them - Micah 3:5
a. God’s response, they won’t know what is going on - Micah 3:6-7
b. Micah knows exactly what is happening - Micah 3:8
3. The sins of the judges, civil, religious, and prophet
a. Bribery is the main problem with the violence that results - Micah 3:9-11
b. Result is that disaster will not be averted - Micah 3:12
D. The future - Micah 4-5
1. God will establish His house (the church) and people will want to follow God - Micah 4:1-7
2. To get there, Israel will have to go through the sufferings of childbirth - Micah 4:8-11
3. Others won’t understand that God plans on restoring His people - Micah 4:12-13
4. The coming Messiah - Micah 5:1-5a
5. Assyria will fail - Micah 5:5b-15
a. Assyria will invade - Micah 5:5b-6
b. But Israel will be rescued and overcome their enemies- Micah 5:7-9
c. All of Assyria’s idols will not help them - Micah 5:10-15
E. God’s judgment - Micah 6-7
1. God’s complaint: Why has Israel become bored with God? - Micah 6:1-5
a. Micah’s answer: We have live righteously, not just following rites - Micah 6:6-8
2. God’s complaint: How can I put up with such behavior? - Micah 6:9-16
a. Micah’s answer: There isn’t anyone living righteously - Micah 7:1-6
3. Micah’s answer is that there isn’t a way to avert the looming disaster that will justly come upon Israel.
4. Micah is willing to wait - Micah 7:7-10
5. God will save His people who are in all nations - Micah 7:11-20
IV. Lessons learned
A. God is both good and severe - Romans 11:22
B. God means what He said - Hebrews 2:1-4
