I’m super excited to walk through the Book of Micah with you. Micah was a prophet used by God around the same time as Isaiah and Hosea. Micah is known as a “minor prophet” only because his book is short. His three major themes of justice, peace, and the Messiah have made great impact. For me personally, my happy ending all began when attempting to dig into the meaning of this book twenty-five years ago.
My pastor husband, David, did his doctoral dissertation on the book of Micah. He has always been honored and grateful to God for being chosen for publication by Scholar’s Press. One of the first things I did during our courtship was to ask to read his book on Micah. I had never met a published author before! While I found it to be “way over my head” in terms of my literary understanding, I was enthralled, and a bit intimidated, by David’s intellect and great faith. I was able to overcome my feelings of “not being enough” thanks to David’s great love and devotion to me. I see that Amazon still has a few copies of his book published back in 1988, if you’re interested!
Micah doesn’t introduce himself in terms of his familial connections as we often see, but rather hails his hometown affiliation. It appears he was a native of the Southern Kingdom, however God was going to use him to bring messages to both the northern and southern kingdoms. The capital cities of those kingdoms were Samaria and Jerusalem, respectively. The dates of destruction of these two cities would be 130+ years apart.
Micah says, “Attention! Let all the people of the world listen!” We’ll be able to glean some takeaways from Micah’s messages, too, because this is inclusive language. To be sure, the words are directed to Micah’s first audience. They are the ones who have angered God–this time. Yet, we, as future generations, are all called to hear God’s message through all Scripture, not just the “feel good” parts.
Micah grabs our attention with this statement: “Look! The Lord is coming! He leaves his throne in heaven and tramples the heights of the earth.” When the ancestors of these same people were rambling around in the wilderness, the idea of being in God’s presence was frightening because it often meant death. If God was coming, that was serious. What do you think the people thought?
I couldn’t help thinking about Jesus. He left his throne on high, too, took on flesh, lived as one of us, and then died an excruciating death to redeem us. His coming was much different than the coming Micah speaks of. Micah speaks of the mountains melting underneath his feet. Micah used word pictures like this pointing to certain destruction, God coming to bring an intervention.
As we look around our world today, we can still see people rebelling against God. This isn’t a new phenomenon. What surprises me is that we don’t seem to learn. Isn’t being wise learning from the mistakes of others?
Does Jesus give us immunity to the ravages of sin in our world? We know Jesus came to bring forgiveness and life eternal. Trusting in Jesus and letting the Holy Spirit open our hearts while reading Scripture will definitely set us apart from those lost in sin. As believers, we have many promises of protection.
We know that Jesus is coming again. That is a promise we can cling to. Personally, I would love to see the sky open up and have Jesus descending to usher us home. But only God knows when he will come again. If you ever start to doubt God or his timing, commit Psalm 18:30 to memory. “God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.”
Let’s pray. Lord, just as you came to bring your wrath on the disobedient people Micah was speaking to and again to redeem us on the cross, I look forward to your return. There is much work to be done before that day. Use me to help focus your people on you. I know that’s a big offer, but I know you will equip me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
