26 Nov. Introduction to Micah’s prophesy
“During the time that Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings of Judah, the word of the LORD came to Micah, who was from Moresheth. He saw these visions about Samaria and Jerusalem.”
“Hear this, all you nations; listen, earth and all you who live on it. The Lord GOD will be a witness against you, the Lord from his Holy Temple.”
“See, the LORD is coming out of his place; he is coming down to walk on the tops of the mountains. The mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will crack open, like wax near a fire, like water running down a hillside.”
“All this is because of Jacob’s sin, because of the sins of the nation of Israel. What is the place of Jacob’s sin? Isn’t it Samaria? What is Judah’s place of idol worship? Isn’t it Jerusalem?”
“So I will make Samaria a pile of ruins in the open country, a place for planting vineyards. I will pour her stones down into the valley and strip her down to her foundations. All her idols will be broken into pieces; all the gifts to her idols will be burned with fire.”
“I will destroy all her idols, and because Samaria earned her money by being unfaithful to me, this money will be carried off by others who are not faithful to me.”
“I will moan and cry because of this evil, going around barefoot and naked. I will cry loudly like the wild dogs and make sad sounds like the owls do, because Samaria’s wound cannot be healed. It will spread to Judah; it will reach the city gate of my people, all the way to Jerusalem.”
(Micah 1:1-9)
The Book of Micah was written between 747 and 722BC, about the same time as the Book of Hosea. The prophet Micah warned that God would punish the people of Israel and Judah for the terrible social injustices of his day. On a more hopeful note, he also predicted the coming of a great king from the family line of David who would bring peace and justice to the troubled nation.
Micah - from Moresheth in southern Judah - prophesied during the reigns of Jotham (747-731BC), Ahaz (731-716BC) and Hezekiah (727-699BC), kings of Judah (see 2 Kings 15:32-16:20 & 18-20). During this time, Samaria and the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722BC (see 2 Kings 17:1-6).
Micah lamented the idolatry found in Samaria (the capital city of Israel) and Jerusalem (the capital city of Judah). He prophesied the destruction of Samaria and the downfall of Jerusalem (see Micah 1:2-16).
In Chapters 2 and 3, Micah denounced the leaders of Israel and Judah who oppressed the downtrodden and stole from the poor.
The photo (by Ilana Shkolnik) shows the Shephelah (the Judean foothills) near Moresheth, the home of Micah.
You can read more from Micah’s prophesy @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/biblejourney2/38-amos-hosea-amp-micah-pan-israel-amp-judah/micah-decries-social-injustice-in-israel-and-judah/