1 The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it,
and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
3 For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place,
and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. – * Sounds like the Incarnation!
4 And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open,
like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place. – * sounds like the second coming! (Zech 14:4 – On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two.)
5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria?
And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? – *The reason for God coming for a second time?
6 Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards, and I will pour down her stones into the valley and uncover her foundations.
7 All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces, all her wages shall be burned with fire, and all her idols I will lay waste, for from the fee of a prostitute she gathered them, and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.
8 For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make lamentation like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches. – A question- Is the ‘I’ in verses 7 & 8 referring to the same person? I think v8 is a repentant interjection by the people of Judah.
9 For her wound is incurable, and it has come to Judah; it has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem.
10-15 …… a tale of woe for the cities of Judah because they have deserted God!
16 Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair, for the children of your delight; make yourselves as bald as the eagle, for they shall go from you into exile. – This is a command to mourn/repent! Was it to be done immediately, as the prophecy was read and heard or later when the mountain splits?
Comment: In some ways I’m tempted to call Micah the mixed up Prophet. Not because he’s got it wrong, rather I think that he has got it all right. But his prophecy is a bit like a jig-saw puzzle. You are given all the pieces but they are scattered through out the book and with God’s help (after all He is the author!) we have to put it all together. Over the next few days I think you will see what I mean,
Zech 14:4 – On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two.
Prayer: Father thank You for giving us glimpses into the future. And thenk You that it is under Your control!
As I read it! 