Discover the Basics of the Book of Micah
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Discover the Basics of the Book of Micah
This introductory course is designed to provide key insights into the book of Micah by pulling together a number of key resources: overview videos from The Bible Project, helpful contextual information from The ESV Study Bible, commentary recommendations from The Gospel Coalition, a single sermon that sums up the book from beginning to end by Mark Dever, and much more. By watching, listening to, and reading these resources, you’ll be better prepared to read, study, teach, or preach the book of Micah.
Micah comprises a series of oracles (prophetic pronouncements) delivered in a variety of historical and political contexts. The overall genre is prophecy. While Micah uses a variety of forms such as disputation (Mic. 2:6–11) and lament (Mic. 1:8–16), the two leading prophetic forms in Micah are the oracle of judgment (Mic. 2:1–4) and the oracle of salvation or redemption (Mic. 5:2–5). The oracles of judgment follow the rules of satire: they have one or more objects of attack, a vehicle in which the attack is embodied, a stated or implied norm by which the criticism is conducted, and a prevailing tone that is either biting or laughing. Some of the oracles of salvation picture a future golden age (which can be taken either as messianic visions of the first coming of Christ or as apocalyptic visions of Christ’s second coming). Much of the book’s content is embodied in poetical language, requiring the reader to unpack the meanings of images and figures of speech such as wordplay (see ESV Study Bible note on Mic. 1:10–15), metaphor, and simile (Mic. 1:4, 8; 2:12; 3:3, 12; 4:9–10; 5:8; 7:1, 4).
Taken from the ESV® Study Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2008 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For more information on how to cite this material, see permissions information here.
The theme of Micah is judgment and forgiveness. The Lord, the Judge who scatters his people for their transgressions and sins, is also the Shepherd-King who in covenant faithfulness gathers, protects, and forgives them.
Micah writes in order to bring God’s “lawsuit” against his people (Mic. 3:8). He indicts Samaria and Jerusalem for their sins (Mic. 1:2–7), with both Assyria (Mic. 5:5–6) and Babylon (Mic. 4:10) looming as instruments of the divine sentence.
Free from Assyrian interference in the first half of the eighth century, the reigns of Jeroboam II of Israel (782–753 B.C.) and the Judean kings Uzziah and Jotham (see Date) witnessed the emergence of a wealthy upper class. Yet this brought with it significant corruption. As Amos had condemned the economic and legal injustices prevalent in the northern kingdom in the first half of the eighth century (Amos 2:6–7; 5:10–12; 6:4–5), so Micah catalogs specific sins of both the northern and southern kingdoms. These sins included idolatry (Mic. 1:7; 5:12–14); the seizure of property (Mic. 2:2, 9); the failure of civil leadership (Mic. 3:1–3, 9–10; 7:3), religious leadership (Mic. 3:11), and prophetic leadership (Mic. 3:5–7, 11); the belief that personal sacrifice satisfies divine justice (Mic. 6:6–7); and corrupt business practices and violence (Mic. 6:10–12).
The reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, along with the increasing threat of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, provide the broad background for Micah. First, Ahaz stands out among the three Judean kings for his idolatry (2 Kings 16:1–4; Mic. 6:16) as well as for the help he sought from the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III (745–727 B.C.) in the face of Syro-Ephraimite aggression against Jerusalem (2 Kings 16:5–9; 2 Chron. 28:16–21). Second, Samaria, the northern Israelite capital, experienced exile as it fell (2 Kings 17; Mic. 1:6–7) to the Assyrian Shalmaneser V (727–722 B.C.). Finally, Sennacherib (705–681 B.C.) captured numerous cities and villages of the Shephelah controlled by Hezekiah (1:10–16), but ultimately failed to capture Jerusalem in 701 (2 Kings 18:13–19:37).
In every age God wants his people to respond to his love by doing justice, practicing loving-kindness, and walking humbly with God (Mic. 6:8). This is genuine humanness, and by it Israel was called to commend God’s goodness to all mankind. Israel and Judah in Micah’s day were corrupted by their refusal to embrace God’s purpose, and thus would suffer judgment; but there would yet be a remnant who would experience God’s forgiveness and be part of his plan to bless the world through the Messiah’s rule.
Taken from the ESV® Study Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2008 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For more information on how to cite this material, see permissions information here.
The current arrangement of the text permits a number of possible outlines. One that has garnered much support, and that is followed here, centers on the pattern of judgment and salvation found throughout the book. In each of three large units, the use of the plural imperative “hear” begins a major section on judgment, and each unit moves toward hope and deliverance (Mic. 1:2–2:13; 3:1–5:15; 6:1–7:20).
Taken from the ESV® Study Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2008 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For more information on how to cite this material, see permissions information here.