Two Cities (Micah 1)

In verse 1 we are told when Micah ministered and about what he spoke. His ministry overlapped with that of Isaiah and the focus of his message concerned both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah (there is no hint that he actually went to the northern kingdom of Israel, but issues concerning it were of interest because they belonged to the same people as Judah). The reigns of the three kings of Judah that he mentions covered a period of decline in national power and the Assyrian empire had become dominant. But the rise of Assyria did not diminish the power of God or his ability to rule the world in his providence.

His messages came from God through visions (Micah saw them). Micah came from a small town about twenty-five miles from Jerusalem. This verse is an example of what the author of Hebrews says about the different ways by which God gave messages to his prophets to convey to their listeners. It is also a reminder that God can raise up spokesmen in days of declension.

We can observe four details from this chapter as an outline of its contents and then consider seven lessons that we can take from it.

The frightening presence of God (vv. 2-4)

The message of Micah is that the Lord is about to judge his people (vv. 2-4). God is depicted as leaving his place in heaven and marching across the hills and mountains. His presence will cause the creation to shake. It is not clear if there were literal disturbances in the natural order or if Micah uses a picture of the disruptions of the creation to indicate the awesomeness of God’s presence as comes in judgement. It will be so huge that all nations will see it. Indeed, God wants them to see it.

The high places could be a reference as well to pagan temples that were found on hills. God removed them. But the Lord did this not directly but indirectly through the people of Nineveh. Remember that Jonah had not wanted the people of Nineveh to be pardoned through his message because he knew that they would be a danger to his people in the future. Now it had happened.

Samaria is destroyed (vv. 5-9)

Why is the Lord coming in such a manner? Because of the sins practised in the capital cities of both kingdoms – in Samaria, the capital of Israel, and in Jerusalem, the capital of Judah (v. 5). Samaria is going to be judged first, and her judgement will result in the city being raised to the ground (v. 6). The sin of which the city is guilty is idol worship, but the false gods will not be able to prevent God’s destruction. As is often the case in the Old Testament, idolatry is likened as turning to a prostitute (v. 7), and we know that immorality was part of pagan worship.

How does Micah feel about the message he has delivered about Samaria? His responses are given in verses 8-16.  We can see from verse 8 that he is very distressed, and he weeps and wails because the judgement on Samaria is unavoidable – she cannot be cured (v. 9). If you wish, you can read about the destruction of Samaria by the Assyrians in 2 Kings 17. It took place in 721 BC.

Judah is attacked (vv. 10-15)

Micah emphasises the depth of his sorrow by not wearing clothes or shoes – prophets often did unusual things to highlight the importance of their message or what they thought of the message. He continues his message by mentioning eleven locations in Judah which will experience divine judgement (vv. 10-15). His comments on each place are connected to the meaning of the name of each town or village. A modern equivalent would be if a prophet said that Los Angeles was not a city of angels. Assyrian records say that when the Assyrians came to Judah twenty years after destroying Samaria they managed to destroy forty-six cities of Judah. Micah tells us here that the invasion even came to the gates of Jerusalem (v. 12).

Not even the fortified city of Lachish would save Jerusalem (Lachish had been given this role centuries before by Solomon as he arranged a defence system for the nation). Before Jerusalem could be captured, Lachish would need to be defeated. But Lachish was perceived as unconquerable, and its existence gave a sense of false confidence to the leaders in Jerusalem (this may be the sin that Micah refers to as the beginning of sin in Judah). But self-confidence is no defence against powerful enemies, especially when the Lord has raised them up to punish his people.

Realise the situation (v. 16)

Verse 16 is probably addressed to the people of Jerusalem or perhaps to Judah as a whole. They had seen what had happened to the inhabitants of the eleven places mentioned by Micah. Those who had survived had been taken into exile, and their children would suffer. They are urged to lament and to show their sorrow by cutting off their hair.

Lessons

What really matters is the message and not the messenger. How little Micah tells us about himself in his book. All he tells us are the names of the kings of Judah who ruled during his ministry and where he came from. Sometimes, the messenger can hide the message, but it is much better when the message hides the messenger, even when he is a prophet.

A second lesson is that God can use powerful nations as his instrument of judgement. As far as Micah was concerned, the enemy power was Assyria. It would be another century before another empire arose that would overwhelm Judah. That empire was Babylon. Yet it too was a tool that God used for his own purposes, and those empires thought they were advancing according to their whims. God can do the same today, and maybe he is doing it.

A third lesson concerns how we would describe the arrival of God. God himself is invisible, and it is very difficult to describe an invisible God. But Micah knew that God is invisible and still gave us a description of his coming. His coming shakes the foundations of what we think are solid and unmoveable. Is that not happening today? Things that we thought would not change – our energy systems, our food supplies – are rocking at the moment. What if God decides to make things worse?

A fourth lesson is the folly of self-confidence. There are two signs of self-confidence in the chapter from Micah – idolatry and confidence in the military set-up in Lachish. An idol is basically a god that we manipulate to suit ourselves, which means that we trust in our own wisdom. The military is the best type of power that a country puts together. Depending on one or both was folly for Judah.

A fifth lesson is that God can be angrier with his professing people than he is with the world. That was the case here. Judgement was going to begin at the house of God, to borrow Peter’s way of putting things.

A sixth lesson concerns the depth of our emotions. Do we think it unusual that tears at our communion seasons have disappeared at the same time as have tears over the fate of the lost? Micah was in anguish at the prospect of divine judgement that would not be suffered by him, but by those who had offended God. His religion made him feel. A religion that does not feel is worthless, whether it is responses to God such as joy or negative ones towards those who undergo his judgement.

A seventh lesson is that a nation can quickly be forgotten. In his brief introduction Micah chooses not to mention the kings of Israel who reigned during the years of his ministry. What would be the point of doing so since the country no longer existed? They had gone into silence.

We can remind ourselves of what happened when the Assyrians came to Jerusalem. Hezekiah had paid tribute to them, but the Assyrians still approached the city to attack it and sent a letter demanding surrender. Hezekiah took the letter to the Lord and prayed for divine deliverance, which was granted by the Lord. An angel came and killed 185,000 of the Assyrians in one night, and the Assyrian king and what was left returned home, where he was assassinated by his sons. Jerusalem was spared on that occasion. God can answer prayer far above what we can ask or think (2 Kings 18 and 19).