Welcome to Bible Books of Hosea & Micah

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Understand the Context (Hosea 4:1-7:16)

The words of Hosea’s prophecy concerning Israel is clearly going in the direction of documenting evidence on Israel’s failure to keep her commitment with God. Hosea was called to keep Israel’s evil in the face of her people in hope that they might repent and be true to God. It was made more difficult by the priests.  They were specifically appointed to care for the Temple, but were encouraging evil among the people. They were charged with consistently breaking five of God’s Ten Commandments and encouraging the population to do so, as well. Generally, the priests were doing nothing in the direction of teaching God’s people to know Him. They rejected God’s Law through their daily life, and they completely abandoned any reasonable devotion to Him. When Hosea commented on the resulting actions of the people, he could only say that they were idol worshippers and were committed to the worst form of sexual debauchery. Recall that the worship versions of both Baal and Ashtaroth had drugs, alcohol and sex as parts of their fertility practices. They also practiced infant sacrifice. Josiah made a specific end to the sacrifices when he destroyed the altars to those false gods (2 Kings 23:4-10). Somehow the people of the time thought these acts would bring them good fortune, but actually brought them shame ending in their captivity.  

 Hosea wrote of God’s final judgment for all these sins beginning with the priests and including all those who participated. Somehow, they thought their living in promiscuity and arrogance were hidden from the Lord’s view by their ritualistic sacrifices and offerings. But the evidence against such thoughts was undeniable. They complained of seeking the Lord but not finding Him. Further, God promised He would rip them apart like a lion would tear his prey until the people realized and acknowledged their guilt, and sought a renewed relationship with Him. God was looking for that kind of “coming to oneself” that David experienced when he said, “For thou delightest not in sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psa 51:16-17).  

Return (Hosea 6:1-3)

Hosea’s message is short, simple and to the point, “Come, and let us return to the Lord” (Hos 6:1a). This is a plea from a prophet of Israel unto the people. “Come” is said as if the leader is saying follow me, I can show you the way back to where we once were, and we will return to the person of the Lord, for He is where we belong. Hosea also wants the people to know that he acknowledges the facts that God, in past times, has tried to get their attention but tearing and sniting them in order to lead them back to Him, but now, he says, the Lord is offering healing and binding for them to recover from the punishment and to be restored to wholeness (Hos 6:1c-d). In verse 2, Hosea wants to show the brevity of time associated with the process of returning. He says in or for two days He will revive them. Today and tomorrow He will celebrate their return to Him, while on the third day, He will lift them up (spiritually) to where He is. The time of preparation is short and much of that time will be spent in celebrating reunion with the Lord. The time of perseverance is also short, but the result is returning home with Him. For the present, being with Him will mean in the spirit and truth. In the longer term, it means to join with Him in His physical presence where He is, close enough to Him to be seen of Him.   

The result of these things, or “then” as the lead word for verse 3 says, “Then shall we know.” Now, here is the first conditional statement. Immediately after the “Then shall we know” are the words “if we follow on to know the Lord.” In other words, after the period of revival, and after the period of being raised up to where He is, and after being with Him in His sight, we must still “follow on to know Him.” The same concept might be understood through Paul’s admonition to Timothy, his protégé, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). It is not the superficial familiarity level of knowing Him that God is interested in, rather, it is the in-depth understanding level He seeks. And, if we will work toward and achieve that level, we will find He is as refreshing and sufficient as the former and latter rains are for bringing forth the best crops. He will be there as fresh as the morning to shower on us the rain after planting and the rain for the harvest.

Loyalty (Hosea 6:4-6)

But then Hosea documents that frustration of the Lord saying, “O Ephraim (Israel), what shall I do unto thee? (and) O Judah what shall I do unto thee?” It almost sounds like our parents asking what else they can do to try to reach us and save us from ourselves. God explains the frustration in the rest of verse 4 saying that our goodness or righteousness is just like the clouds in the morning sky or the dew that appears in the early day. They both evaporate quickly and leave little evidence behind that they were ever present. “Therefore.” Hosea reports God to say, “I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces – to slaughter you with My words, with judgments as inescapable as light” (Hos 6:5, NLT). In other words, because of the temporary nature of your repentance, goodness and righteousness, God has used His prophets to express pungent reminders of His words to lengthen our focus on His messages.  

 God’s description of how He delivers and reenforces His messages to His people is documented in verse 5 but explained in verse 6. We saw this same methodology when He sent Nathan to tell King David the story of the rich man who had a guest he wanted to feed (2 Sam 12:1-5). The rich man had hundreds of sheep, but his neighbor had only one ewe lamb who ate from his table, drank from his cup and slept with his family in bed. When the time came to feed the guest, the rich man stole and butchered the poor man’s only lamb rather than one of his hundreds. The King was enraged and said that rich man would pay with his life because he killed that lamb and because he had no pity on his neighbor.  Nathan turned to David and said, “Thou art the man.” Nathan was saying to the king that while he had hundreds of wives and concubines, his neighbor had only one wife, Bathsheba. He told David that he stole that wife and killed her husband. God told David he would pay with the death of their first child. David tells of his pain in Psalms 51 as quoted earlier. Here, the same truth that David learned is written again, “For (God) desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings” (Hos 6:6). God wants to see the reaction of out hearts, the change in the depths of the being, not the simple acts of ritual so easily forgotten. 

Judgment (Hosea 6:7-11)

Instead, however, “they have transgressed the covenant: there they have dealt treacherously against me” says the Lord (Hos 6:7). In the New Living Translation, the verse says, “But like Adam, you broke my covenant and betrayed my trust.” The contrast between what God wants for us and what He must do because of broken covenants and betrayed trust is consistent from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. Sin has consequences, and in this context, as in earlier ones, judgment will always respond to sin. God gives Hosea the words to say about the environment He sees from His vantage point. 

Gilead, which once held the animals when Joshua led the armies of Israel into the first battles to occupy the Promised Land, has become a city of sinners and is polluted by the blood of those who walked there (vs. 8). Making things even worse, it is not just bands of robbers and thieves who wait there to take advantage of travelers, but the bands are at least partially comprised of companies of priests who murder people out of their own wills (vs. 9). 

And worse, Hosea is told by God that He has seen a horrible scene within the House of Israel (vs. 10). He says there is the “whoredom of Ephraim” there, and Israel is defiled. He reports that His people are prostituting themselves to false gods. The exact opposite of the first of the Ten Commandments that Israel shalt not have any other gods before her (Ex 20:1-3). So, while God has the plans for Israel, He reveals to Hosea earlier in this chapter, that their most severe rejection of Him and His Law leaves Him in a situation where judgment must come before any forgiveness or restoral. The very thing that breaks the covenant and betrays God’s trust is being practiced by Israel while God is planning mercy and restoral for them. However, God also makes sure Hosea understands that there can be no forgiveness or restoral before there is repentance and recommitment (Hos 6:11). Captivity will be God’s judgment against Israel for their rejection of everything He has given them. In 722 BC, Assyria will successfully overtake Israel (the Northern ten tribes). Assyria’s standard practice of controlling and dominating the defeated country is to take out the leadership and most promising young men, and replace them with men from other nations. 

Understand the Context (Hosea 8:1-10:15) 

Last session, Hosea was presenting evidence of Israel’s guilt and sure conviction of their sinful past, especially in connection with worshiping false gods. In this session, we find Israel standing “guilty as charged,” and Hosea sounding the alarm of their coming judgment just like the watchmen of old would sound the alarm warning the city of impending attack. At the announcement of this alarm, however, Israel immediately called out to God as if they knew Him and were enjoying a close relationship with Him. The problem was that they had spent decades involved in worshiping false gods as substitutes for the Lord so, calling on Him now seemed a little disingenuous, at best.   

As points of fact, they worshiped the calf idol which seems to be the same one they turned to at the foot of Mount Sinai while Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments. Recall that the punishment for that folly was severe, yet they are still drawn back to pit. Recently, they have built many new altars throughout Israel multiplying their error. Second, they were installing new kings to their thrones with no consideration of God’s wishes, and third, they were making alliances with heathen, godless nations for protection rather than trusting in God for that protection. And now, they want to call on Him? 

Not only did God refuse to provide them the help they needed, He also announced judgment upon them in response to their long history of abusing their relationship with Him. Adding insult to injury, the people issued complaints against God when He caused their harvests to fail. It was a clear case of God registering His displeasure with them. Further, it was God’s way of pointing to an impending famine which would result in their lack supplies for sacrifices to their false gods. God had sent many prophets (including Hosea, Micah, Jonah, Amos and Isaiah) to warn them of the results of their disobedience, but Israel rejected each of them. Finally, God sent Hosea with the reminders of how things could have been; the past glories they enjoyed but now rejected. 

False Religion (Hosea 10:5-8)

While our study picks up at verse 5, verses 1-4 offer some setting of context. In verse 1, Hosea refers to Israel as an empty vine (KJV), but Israel was enjoying prosperity at this time. The case was that Israel was using every increase they received to build more altars to the calf idol. The better the harvest, the greater the increase in altars or pillars for shrines. God promises through Hosea that He is coming to break down their altars and spoil their images. The people will blame God for not supplying a proper king for them but every selection they have made was a king not interested in the cause of the Lord. So, in a last ditch effort to find favor with God, they began making false promises, covenants and oaths. The people knew when they spoke them that they were false and they never intended to keep them.

So, at verse 5, Israel is now in fear the something bad is about to happen to their calf idol. God cause Hosea to refer to Beth-El, the city of God, as Beth-Evan, the city of evil. The people are mourning over the idol in fear of it being taking away to Assyria for a present to King Jareb. All of this was not for fear of its loss but for fear that the Assyrian king would expose their dedicated worship of the calf as foolish and vain – a complete humiliation and shame to all Israel. Israel would be ashamed of her own teaching and dedication to gods of folly.

As for at home in Israel, their king would be no more than the foam on the surface of the sea. He would fade away as the little bubbles would burst at the sun’s first appearance (vs. 7). Hosea turns to the altars (high places) Israel spent all their increase on. The shame of their foolish worship of the non-god would result is the abandonment of the centers for calf worship. They would be so desolate that the weeds (thorns and thistles) would overtake any beauty that may have once existed there. They would be wasted relics of Israel’s humiliation and their rejection of the one true God of the universe. Recall in Revelation 6:16 how the people so feared the Lamb of God that they prayed for the mountains and rocks to fall on them to hid them.  Here, they are praying for the mountains, rocks and hills to fall on them to cover their humiliation for worshiping nothingness. 

Misplaced Trust (Hosea 10:9-10)

God brings to memory an event which was thought of as the worse sin ever.  A mob of drunken men of Gibeah insisted on taking the concubine of a Levite visitor for shameful abuse from which she died (Judges 19:22-30). But God says here that Israel has continued to sin shamefully from that day until the present. He says they have made absolutely no progress and their continued sin until this day is as bad or worse than that sin. Hosea finishes by asking if it would not have been right for those wicked men to have been attacked for what they did? 

Recall that God used an extremely strong allegory to show how He felt about what Israel has been doing to Him. In chapter 1, He had Hosea marry a prostitute who had children of her prostitution. In a society where women were held in high esteem for their virtue and chastity, the choice of Gomer as his wife would have been shamefully distasteful. But it served well to show the pain God felt as His people, His bride, if you will, wondered outside her holy relationship with Him over and over again. The illustration continues with the picture of the repetitive misuse of the Levite’s concubine by the Gibean mob. His illustrations are strong and painful, but certainly make His point vividly. 

So, the Lord says, therefore, whenever it fits into My plan, I will attack you for your increased and repeated sin of worshiping gods that required the abuse of those over which you have control. God says He will call out the armies of the nations against Israel to punish them as seriously as the mob of Gibeah. Israel had continued its sin against God and God’s people for hundreds of years after the sin of Gibeah and even multiplied sin. Now, God pledges that He will come after Israel for their multiplied sin every bit as strongly as those avenging the sin of Gibeah. God assures Israel that their mistrust and abuse of Him will be punished quickly, thoroughly and completely. 

Earlier in the Scriptures God told Abraham what He was going to do to Sodom and Gomorrah that very day (Gen 18). Abraham pleaded with God asking if He would withhold that destruction if there were even ten righteous men there. God said He would. There is no mercy left for Israel. 

What Could Have Been (Hosea 10:11-12)

Hosea 10:11-12 stands as a welcomed interlude between the gross pictures of sin to which we have been exposed and the judgments that stand in future against Israel. By extension, both the descriptions of the gross sin of the past and the judgments of the future are directly applicable to our journeys through this life. Verse 11 shows a young heifer which has been trained to tread out the corn fields and loves to do that work. But God places a heavy yoke upon her tender neck making the plowing of the field more difficult and less satisfying for her. Ephraim (Israel) is shown as the additional burden God places on the beast as he rides her while she treads out the field. Then God adds Judah as the one using the reigns of the heifer to further burden the animal’s natural path as he guides her to plow the field she once loved to plow. And last, God places Jacob in the field just ahead of the heifer in order to break up the big clots of earth before the plow runs over them so the final rows of plowed earth will be even and ready for seeding.  

The beginning of the verse provides a clue as to how it should be interpreted. It says, “Ephraim is as a heifer.” When one thing is described as being like something else, it is called a simile. The form is that one thing is like or an example of the other thing. The NLT interprets it as, “’Israel’ is like a trained heifer treading out the grain - an easy job she loves” (Hos 10:11a, NLT). But God will add three conditions that might influence Israel’s joy of doing her work. First, He plans to add a heavy yoke to her tender neck. The yoke will be the weight of Israel riding on her while she does the work she loves. Second, He will have Judah pull the plow for plowing the field. Now that Israel and Judah will both have a part of plowing the field, there will be the added weight of coordinating their efforts. Third, God say He will add Jacob to go ahead and break up the clots of earth to allow the plow to maintain straight rows. Some commentators say that using the names Israel and Jacob causes ambiguity, but not so. God always uses the name Israel when He is talking about the obedient, blessed one and Jacob whenever He is talking about the deceiving, cursed one. So, the blessed one will be riding on the heifer while the cursed one will be breaking up the clots of earth for Judah’s plow.  

The actual interpretation is found in verse 12. Israel is to sow seeds of righteousness for herself (all Israel).  Jacob is to modify his habits to break up the hard ground to support Judah’s plowing of the earth. They will work together to “seek the Lord until He comes and accept the former and latter rains of righteousness and blessings from the Lord God of Israel as they jointly prepare for the great harvest of the Lord.”  

Understand the Context (Hosea 11:1-14:9)

This is the final study in Hosea and as such, a survey of the remainder of the Book is in order. Hosea does what most of us would do at this point. He considers the writing of the entire Book and recalls the relationship God has enjoyed (or endured) with Israel across the entire period. In Chapter 11, he begins that summary report by characterizing God as the loving Father, deliverer, healer, guide, provider and protector. Notice that Hosea does not include characteristics like judge, deliverer of wrath or punisher. God inspired Hosea to set up a comparison of the great things God had done for Israel contrasted with their consistently evil responses.  He begins that list by stating that Israel had rebelled against God by worshiping false gods (Hos 11:1-4). Earlier, Hosea had mentioned that Israel’s priests were breaking at least five of God’s Ten Commandments as routine. Of course, the first Commandment listed in Exodus 20 is forbidding of the worship of any other gods before Him. Nevertheless, this rebellion against His commandments is the very definition of sin. Hosea stated God’s character, God’s perseverance and God’s patience. 

Here, God announces that His method of punishing Israel will be to allow Assyria to overcome them and become their very harsh taskmaster (11:5-7). God revealed Himself as a loving Father who must discipline His children but would do so reluctantly, having no pleasure in it. He went on to reveal that He would not utterly destroy Israel, i.e., completely annihilate them forever, rather, He would show them mercy and even promised to restore them (11:8-11). 

In verses 11:12 thru 13:16, God spreads the charges against Israel to include Judah, as well. He specifies Israel as deceitful and Judah as the worshiper of false gods. One of His key complaints against them was that they made alliances with ungodly nations for protection from their enemies instead of trusting God to protect them. I think we can all feel the hearts of Israel and Judah as they realized how evil and disloyal they had been to God.  They probably feared He would not come to their rescue under those circumstances. Could it be that they believed God smaller? 

Understand the Context (Hosea 11:1-14:9, Cont.) 

Here God reminds us of the power in the names He chose to use when mentioning Israel and Jacob. Jacob was Israel’s birth name. In his youth, Jacob was deceitful and dishonest. He even fought with God and did physical battle with one of His angels at Peniel (Gen 32:30). It was there that Jacob’s thigh was permanently damaged and resulted in a life-long limp as a reminder. When we see Israel referred to as Israel, we see the chosen of God, those who carry the permanent blessing of God, those who own the Promised Land perpetually. But when God refers to Israel as Jacob, it is as that deceitful, dishonest, renegade of a man and a nation. Recall it was Jacob who found God at Beth-el (the house of God) but Israel (acting like Jacob) that turned it into Bath-Aven (the house of wickedness). Israel needed to turn her eyes to God just as Jacob did at Peniel. She needed to repent of her evil and hear the promises of God when the man Israel was there (11:12-12:6, & Gen 28:13).  

 But for the short-term, Israel would behave like Jacob and refuse to repent because of his hardened heart. Instead, Jacob acted out the role of harlot as he rejected God for Baal (12:7-13:16). Regardless of all the times that God came to the rescue of Israel, she would never recognize the love, mercy, dedication, faithfulness and perseverance He had for His chosen. Recall just before God destroyed the world with water, He said, “My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years” (Gen 6:3). Adam lived 930 years, Seth lived 912 years, Enoch had live for 365 years and Methuselah had lived for 969 years, but now, God announced the lifetime of man would be 120 years (Gen 5 & 6:3).  

True Repentance (Hosea 14:1-3)

Hosea speaks God’s invitation to Israel. Notice that after all Israel has done, the lifestyle of rebellion they lived, the rejection of God for pieces of wood or rock they built with their own hands, God is reaching for them. They had decades of looking toward these man-made gods for protection and safety. They worship them instead of the one true and holy God, Jehovah. God says that their sins have brought them down (vs. 1b). So far, God is general in His charges: Israel has sinned, and it has caused their fall. The Hebrew word avon carries perversity, moral evil and personal fault. It is not that kind of fault that one slips or slides into by accident, but rather, Israel has “fallen” by their iniquity. They are fully guilty with no hope of pleading some extenuating circumstances that forced their error. No, this time the error is fully and completely owned by them. Hosea implores them to consider their words of confession so that they will be received as reflecting the deepest statements of their beings. Hosea knew they had confessed and repented many times before. He knew (as they did) that they had been offering sacrifices to their false gods for years with no care of what God might feel by that display of total disrespect. Could they see the model God used in the marriage of Hosea to Gomer, the prostitute who had been in the business for years and had children of her labors, each of whom had different fathers, none of whom were her husbands. In Hosea’s approach to Gomer to take her where she was and put all those sins behind, Hosea speaks God’s wish to have Israel come back. Gomer lived with Hosea for years and had children with him, but she returned again to prostitution until God told Hosea to go buy her out of the cheapest part of the slave market. Hosea bought her for the cheapest price. She was worthless for any business she once had. And so was Israel at this point. They were not a holy nation of righteous believers God could look at with pride. They had hit the bottom years earlier.

God knew His wrath and judgment of Israel was on the way. But Hosea says they should say to God, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you our praise” (Hos 14:2, NLT). Hosea says they must tell the Lord they now know and understand that Assyria cannot save them. Why, they cannot even save themselves. The warhorses and other devices of war offer no salvation for us. Their strength is but a vapor in God’s world. And Hosea adds most importantly, say to God, “Never again will we say to the idols we have made, You are our gods. No, in you alone do the orphans find mercy” (Hos 14:3, NLT). The word “fatherless” and “orphan” expresses what Israel must acknowledge to God. In short it means simply “we know we, like Gomer, have nothing left to offer You except the knowledge that we are your totally unworthy chosen ones. We come seeking only mercy for we have nothing left.” This is the “stuff” of true repentance. It is that place the created of God must reach to grasp that real surrender of all that he or she is. The emptiness of “this glass” is fit to be filled with God’s forgiveness and blessing. Notice there are no deals or conditional promises to be made with God. Think of Gomer’s knowledge of her personal worth at this point in her life. No owner would buy her because there was no profit in owning her anymore. Invitation hymns like “I Surrender All” and “Just As I Am” come to mind. That is the place God is causing Hosea to write for us.

True Forgiveness (Hosea 14:4-7)

So, the people have responded to the Lord’s offer and have repented in earnest. They have acknowledged their sins and the specifics of each charge against them to the Lord. They have come to the Lord with humility and a spirit of repentance. They are believing in their hearts that the Lord is their God and coming to Him directly with confessions of their sins (Rom 10:9-10). They are practicing the tenets of faith in God and submitting to His will. Now, we look for God’s response to Israel’s obedience to His call for repentance and respond He does. God had said come and I will hear. 

He starts by saying He will heel their backsliding. Regardless of the depth of their sin (or ours), and whether that sin is corporate or individual, they were pulling back from the original commitment they made to the Lord.  That defines backsliding or losing ground in God’s work to make us more like Him. God says He will hear and heal that sin. He adds that He will love them freely and His anger is turned away from him. 

Verses 5 – 7 describe the results of Israel’s repentance. God says He will be like the dew unto Israel. All of us understand the freshness of the morning dew on the grass and trees. It seems to wash what was there and make it new, fresh and clean. God says Israel will grow as quickly as the lily and spread his roots out as quickly and as far as the giant trees of Lebanon.  As the branches of His chosen grow and spread, they will show the beauty and honor of the olive tree. The olive tree has been the symbol of Israel throughout both Testaments. The freshly forgiven and restored Israel will perfume the world around Him just as the scent of the forests of Lebanon. The nations of the world will once again seek out Israel and come under the blessed shadow of its branches as they once did. The revived Israel will grow out as rapidly as the corn, spread its influence as quickly as the grape vine spreads and return to being the source of the sweet smell of God’s love for them and through them to all other nations. Their faith in God and God’s blessings of them will draw many other people and nations to Him.  

Understand the Context (Micah 1:1-3:12)

The Book of Micah begins with much of the background information included in verse 1. Like his contemporaries, Amos, Jonah, Hosea and Isaiah, Micah prophesied during the reigns of Rehoboam II in Israel, and Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah in Judah (Micah 1:1). The series of kings and the active prophets places the time for Israel’s fall just a few years away in 722 BC. The instrument of that fall would be Assyria, and we will see that unfold in the pages of Micah. Because Micah prophesied mostly in Judah, we will also see the Fall of Judah is nor far behind. They will have a short period of alignment with God and His plan under Hezekiah, but God’s judgment was already laid for their fall to Babylon in 586 BC.  

Verse 1 also identified Micah's hometown as Moresheth-Gath in Judah, about 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Micah says the visions God gave him were for Samaria and Jerusalem, the capitols of Israel and Judah, respectively. He was serving in the role of prosecutor as he heard and brought the charges against them to light. Samaria would be little more than a city of ruin by 725 BC with its defeat and captivity three short years later in 722 BC (Micah 1:2-6 & 2 Kings 17:5-6).  

Understand the Context (Micah 1:1-3:12)

Micah 1:7-16 documents the spirit of great grief Micah felt as he announced doom to the nation of Israel. He thinks of the carved images to gods he did not know nor worship, and the great burned treasure that would also be lost as they were judged and taken into captivity. He felt that he was to be a victim, as well.

In Chapter 2, Micah describes the corruption and graft that were a part of his grief. He realizes that many will be sleepless because of those losses and worried because of possible inabilities to earn them back again. He sees the future land grabs and other corrupt acquisition of the lands by strangers who do not understand that this is land that was given them by the God of heaven. The greed of the people to get many of the possessions only to see them taken over by the Assyrian attackers. The Assyrians had no investment in those possessions and will not appreciate their value.

Micah also condemned the acts of opposing his efforts to announce the messages God had given him for the people. They were trying to silence the prophet and prevent him from announcing the future messages. They were offering gifts of intoxicating liquids to any who would oppose the prophet’s message. Micah presses forward in Chapter 3 to condemn the civil and spiritual leaders for limiting the free speech. of their subjects.   

Self-Serving Leaderships (Micah 3:1-4)

Chapter 3 begins with Micah demanding the attention of those who held leadership positions in Israel. He adds the words, “I pray you” to show he is begging for that attention even though he is authorized to demand it through the office of the Prophet of God. Notice the combined address of “Heads of Jacob” and “princes of the house of Israel.” In this somewhat duplicative address, Micah establishes the deceitfulness and ungodliness of Jacob as well as the honored of God’s selected in Israel. The point of the address is direct with the question, is it not appropriate for you to experience God’s judgment? He feels it is appropriate because they are supposed to know right from wrong and lead the nation in the proper behaviors under God (vs 2, NLT). In the King James Version, he accuses the leaders of hating the good and loving the evil. He equates their gross leadership as “skinning the people.” That is, to remove their skin while they are still alive, to separate it from their bones, cut it into pieces and prepare as if for a meal (vss. 2-3). Chapter 2 provides some of the details for how leadership is “skinning the people.” It speaks of the leaders taking the land of the people and robbing the inheritance of the land from the children of those being robbed (Mic 2:1-2). Verse 2:3 assures those doing evil to His people that their evil will be rewarded with evil. Micah quotes the Lord as saying they will have none of their current pride left to them, rather, they will find their necks in inescapable nooses of punishment for their actions.   

 Verse 4 predicts that the leaders will find themselves crying to the Lord in the latter days, but God will not hear them. Further, God even hide His face from them in that day because they had behaved themselves ill or inappropriately toward His people. Doctor R. G. Lee preached the sermon “Payday Someday” over a thousand times describing King Ahab and his evil wife, Jezebel plotting to lay false charges against the vineyard owner who refused to give his vineyard to the king. Dr. Lee describes how the death sentence was given to that vineyard owner, but the story did not end there because God revenged his death on the king and the queen in front of entire kingdom. Likewise, God is saying here to the evil leaders in Micah 3:4, “There is a Payday Someday and yours is soon to come.” The evil advantage the rulers took in skinning God’s people who soon come to proper recompence through God Himself. There would indeed be a “Payday Someday” for these leaders. God says, “You will seek Me, but I will not be found. You will speak to Me, but I will not hear.” Instead, you will find a Payday Someday. Dr. Lee’s sermon can be heard here Dr. Robert G. Lee - Pay-Day Someday - Bing video.  

Corrupt Prophets (Micah 3:5-8)

Now, the Lord turns His sights in the direction of those being called prophets of the land. They claimed to be called of God and spoke only what He gave them to speak, but they knew every bit as well as God knew, they were not prophets of God, but nothing more than seers and cheap fortune tellers. They were every bit as fake as the leaders were, and it was time for an accounting to God. So, the Lord addressed them in verse 5 as, “You false prophets are leading my people astray! You promise peace for those who give you food, but you declare war on those who refuse to feed you.”  In other words, He addressed them as hirelings who worked their prophecy for whomever would pay for it; no doubt giving them the prophecy they wished for their money. In verse 6, He begins with “therefore” giving the signal that because they were acting like mere hirelings, they would receive their just due, He told them their visions were now cut off, darkness would be their abode and there would be no more prediction from Him to them. He says the sun had set and their days as prophets had come to an end. It was all over for those prophets. 

Further, He promises shame for the seers and disgrace for the fortune tellers. They would have to cover their faces from those seeking their advice for there would be no responses coming to them from God. Like the false prophets above, their days had come to an end. “But as for Me,” He says in verse 8a, “I am filled with power – with the Holy Spirit of the Lord.” He is “filled with justice and strength to boldly declare Israel’s sin and rebellion” (Mic 3:8b). God is holy and righteous and can still rightfully judge the state of Israel’s sin. 

Responsibility Declared (Micah 3:9-11)

So, God returns to the same address He gave to those of Micah 3:1, “Ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel” signifying that His initial message to them was not yet complete. He says again, “Hear this, I pray you, you who hate judgment and pervert all equity.”  In other words, they hate justice and twist all that is right (Mic 3:9, NLT). They are erecting Jerusalem on a foundation of murder and corruption (Mic 3:10, NLT). Just as stated earlier, they are skinning God’s people and claiming to improve the City of God through the death of its people and the totally corrupt system of practices they have created to rescue their personal welfare.  

Just as the Lord suggested earlier regarding the false prophets delivering desired prophecy for cash or favors, God says the rulers are making decisions based on bribes, priests teach God laws for a price and prophets only prophecy when they receive their rewards (Mic 3:11a). “Yet,” the scripture continues, “will they lean upon the Lord, and say, ‘Is not the Lord among us? None evil can come upon us.” (Mic 3:11b). In other words, as rulers, priests and prophets do their work for cash and favors, they claim they still depend on the Lord for their work and that nothing bad can happen to them because God will protect them. The is a disingenuous comment in at least two ways. First, if they are receiving bribes for the results of their work, they are definitely NOT depending on God for the work they do, rather, they are depending in the payments they receive. Second, they are falsely suggesting that because they are doing God’s work that He will protect them. Instead, they should be praying that God is not among us; if He is, He will not bless anyone for lying about what God is saying to His people or taking bribes for saying what they want to hear. 

Understand the Context (Micah 4:1-5:15)

Understanding the context of verses Micah 4:1 – 5:15 requires seeing Micah’s description of how God will reign as King over the universe by replacing all secular kings with the one true King, Jesus Christ (Micah 4:1-8). The King will reign over His entire Kingdom from Mount Zion in Jerusalem. This bullet might cause some confusion in the minds of those recalling the destruction of the Temple just before Babylon took Judah into captivity in 586 BC. Many Old Testament believers would believe God reigned from the Jerusalem’s Temple. He promised He would meet with the High Priest on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) each year to give him instructions to be passed on to all Israel. In the near term, upon the restoral of Israel from Babylon (Persia) beginning in 445 BC, the King will reign from the reconstructed Temple (Neh 2:6). The longer term, eschatological fulfillment of this prophecy will take place when Jesus rules the entire universe from Jerusalem for His thousand-year reign (Rev 20:6). Even later, in the New Heaven and the New Earth, the final fulfillment of from where the King rules, there will be no need for a temple because “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of” the new Jerusalem (Rev 21:22).

So, in the context of Micah 4 – 5, the Temple at Jerusalem will be reconstructed as the remnant of Jacob returns from the Babylonian (Persian) captivity. There the King would negotiate a peace with all nations of the world and gather all kingdoms to Himself. Many would be wounded and broken from the battles of life but restored through the power of the King (Mic 4:1-8).  

Notice that Micah prophesizes the struggles of people of Zion and how they are freed from “Babylon” while Assyria is the empire which will soon overtake Israel. This is a subtle reference to Micah vision of Babylon overcoming Assyria before 586 BC and becoming the place of captivity for Judah.  It will be Babylon from which God delivers them out of their captivity to return to Zion. Chapter 5 provides the details Micah is given for that restoral and the prophecy of the coming Ruler that will follow. Micah 5 begins by announcing the place of birth of that new King to be in Bethlehem-Ephratah. Then the remnant of Jacob will return to her land as fresh as the morning dew and stand as a lion stands among all other beasts of the forest: strong and supreme. Then will God eliminate all idols and avenge Israel upon the heathen.

In That Day (Micah 4:6-8)

The opening reference in verse 4:6 to “in that day” goes back to verse 4:1 describing a future day when God will pull together those who are lame, those who have been in exile and those who have been afflicted by God over the years. Verse 6 does not mention those to say that only people who are lame, exiled or afflicted will be allowed, but that even these will be called back by God. This specification is particularly important because imperfections were seen as signs of punishment by God for the sins of people. Here God says none of these imperfections or even any others will prevent their inclusion in God’s calling. Verse 7 provides examples of God’s intended healings for those who have such imperfections. Those who are lame will be a part of the remnant, the exiled will be part of the strong nation and the afflicted will be drawn into God’s reign over Mount Zion. And this time, it will be a limitless time that starts with the word “henceforth” (from now on) and finishes as “even forever” (vs. 7).

In verse 8, the King James Version might allow the subject to be moved from the last word to the third word to start off, “And thou, Jerusalem” to make it earlier obvious that it is Jerusalem who is the “tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion.” To Jerusalem shall return the first dominion, that is, God’s Kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem (vs. 8). It suggests a justification for the “Jerusalem, the City of God” label of the centuries. 

One Will Come (Micah 5:1-3)

Just as verse 4:8 ends with referring to Jerusalem as the Daughter of Jerusalem, verse 5:1 begins with referring to Jerusalem as the daughter of troops and instructing her to muster her troops together. It is clearly intended to suggest the military calling of the troops into a formation ready for orders to march. It is a response to a so far unnamed enemy. Whoever that enemy is, it is the “he” who will lay siege against Jerusalem and the “they” who will smite Israel’s leader on the check with a rod. These pronouns cannot refer to attack on Samaria or Israel because the cities mention are all located in Judah. No, here we have switched our attention to Judah. Jerusalem must muster her troops for protection from attack on Judah. Therefore, it is Babylon who was assigned the “he” and Babylonians assigned the “they” of verse 1. Babylon will lay siege to Judah and the Babylonians will be the “they” who strike the face of Judah’s leader with a rod. Anyone watching will see the personal insult and humiliation of such an action. Smacking a fellow nobleman on the check with a glove would set the challenge to a dual. 

But again, inside of Judah comes the prophetic announcement that Bethlehem-Ephratah, while it is exceedingly small and insignificant among the cities and towns of Judah numbering in the thousands, will be the birthing place of a leader in Israel. It is this leader whose goings forth has been told from everlasting. The mentioning of this Promised One has been predicted as far back as the Garden of Eden and is called the Messiah of the Hebrew text and the Christ of the Greek text. As great as He is, He will find His birthing place in Bethlehem, the City of David. But for now, the bringing forth of this Great One will be delayed until the time is right. The time when “she which travaileth has brought forth” (5:3). The reference is to a birthing of this Holy One, and what a birth it shall be. It will be announced to young woman who is barely a woman. A woman who has never know a man. A woman betrothed to a descendant of King David, a mere carpenter named Joseph. And no one less than a Caesar of Rome will force this man to take his well pregnant wife to Bethlehem to fulfill this prophecy. At that time according to verse 3, the last of her countrymen will return from exile to their own land (vs. 3). Yes, we know this Holy One’s name will be Jesus of Nazareth who was born in His earthly father historic home, Bethlehem. 

One Will Come (Micah 5:4-6)

Some might ask from where does the power of this Coming One originate? Micah states that He will stand and feed in the strength of the Lord (Hebrew: Jehovah), in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God (Hebrew: Jehovah Elohym). This One who stands and feeds in the name and majesty of God our Creator abides or continues forever because He shall be great across the entire planet (vs. 4). 

Verse 5 starts out by saying “this man shall be the peace.” Notice Micah does not say that this man will establish the absence from war; he says He is the peace. Paul says, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” He is the peace that passeth all understanding (Phil 4:7). Micah says when the Assyrians shall come into our land and tread the halls of our palace we shall raise against them seven shepherds and eight principal men. Micah is saying that with the power of the almighty God and His Christ with us, we can achieve peace by sending the full count, the number used to show holy completion, seven shepherds, seven who can give us the peace of overwhelming the Assyrians to do battle with them. Look at what history tells us: when Assyria took Israel into captivity and turned toward Judah as their next victory,  2 Kings 19 says Assyria under King Sennacherib was already in Judah and ready to take it completely, but Judah’s King Hezekiah prayed for his defeat and an angel of the Lord came that night and killed 185,000 Assyrian troops. Sennacherib ordered a full retreat and such was the peace of God established in Judah. This is what is meant by sending “seven shepherds.” Note also the second part of Micah’s response that says he will send even more men (8 is greater than the complete number 7) of principal men. These are the choice men of greatness. When Hezekiah prayed, God sent a single angel which was the equal of 7 watchmen and 8 great men, and eliminated 185,000 mighty fighting men. 

Verse 6 says these powerful resources will be all we need to defeat Assyria. If need be, they will draw their swords and enter the land of Nimrod (Assyria) at the very entrances of their strongholds and deliver us from them. And last, Micah says, “thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders” (Mic 5:6). I would say killing 185,000 choice Assyrian soldiers and causing King Sennacherib to withdraw his entire fighting force for fear of losing the rest of them is a full deliverance of Judah.   Notice also that the Prophet Isaiah was active in prophesy of this event and quoted by Micah (Isa 37). 

Now, this supernatural victory and associated deliverance did not erase the centuries of national and personal sin Judah had committed against God by worshiping false gods. God had set into motion that while Assyria would never succeed in harming Judah, Babylon would take them captive in 586 BC, as scheduled.