Introduction to Micah

Authorship and Date of Micah

Micah prophesied during the reigns of three kings of Judah: Jotham (750–735 BC), Ahaz (735–715 BC), and Hezekiah (715–687 BC). He was a contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah.

The major threat at this time was the Assyrian Empire. Eventually, in 722 BC, the Assyrians destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

Outline of Micah

• Superscription (1:1)
• The First Cycle of Judgment and Restoration (1:2–2:13)
  • The coming destruction (1:2–16)
  • Woe to the oppressors (2:1–11)
  • God’s promise to gather the remnant of Israel (2:12–13)
• The Second Cycle of Judgment and Restoration (3:1–5:15)
  • Present leaders—rulers and prophets—denounced (3:1–12)
  • The mountain of the LORD as a magnet for the nations (4:1–5)
  • In spite of exile, the former kingship shall be restored (4:6–13)
  • The Shepherd-King arrives and the remnant is restored (5:1–15)
• The Third Cycle of Judgment and Restoration (6:1–7:20)
  • The LORD’s covenant lawsuit against Israel (6:1–8)
  • The coming punishment (6:9–16)
  • There is no one upright among mankind (7:1–6)
  • But God will redeem his people, forgive their sins, and vindicate them (7:7–20)

Themes (ESV Study Bible)

1. The character of the sovereign LORD and the sins of the people demand judgment (1:2–5; 2:3; 6:1–2, 9–11). The sentence of God’s “lawsuit” comes in the form of an oppressor (1:15; 4:11; 5:1, 5–6) and by means of covenant curses (6:13–15), rendered for covenant unfaithfulness (6:16).
2. A Shepherd-King gathers and delivers a remnant (2:12–13; 4:6–8; 7:14, 18). This deliverer, functioning as a new David, will come from the very region under Assyrian control (5:2–5a).
3. Covenant faithfulness consists not merely in ritual but in the proper expression of the primary forms of love: justice, mercy, and faithfulness (6:8; cf. Matt. 23:23).
4. The LORD is the focus of worship. The nations will no longer “flow” to false gods (cf. Jer. 51:44), but to Zion to learn of the true Lord and to live in peace (4:1–5; 7:12; cf. Isa. 2:2–5).
5. The liberating light of grace flowing from the LORD’s steadfast love (7:18–20) overcomes the ominous sentence due to sin (7:8–9). Forgiveness is grounded in God’s faithfulness to his promises (7:20).
6. God’s saving acts in the past (6:4–5; 7:14–15) are interpretative analogies for his saving acts in the future (7:19–20).

Covenant Lawsuit

rîb — rendered “indictment” or “controversy”

A covenant lawsuit is part of a suzerainty treaty between a great king (the suzerain) and a vassal king. In it, the suzerain brings legal charges against a rebellious vassal, warning that the curses listed in the treaty are about to come.

The prophets were YHWH’s messengers who prosecuted the covenant lawsuit against disobedient Israel.

Examples: Jeremiah 2; Hosea 4; Micah 6.

The Micah 6 Covenant Lawsuit

1. Appeal to the vassal to listen, and a summons to the earth and sky to act as witnesses (vv. 1–2).
2. Accusation of rebellion—implied in the form of questions (v. 3).
3. Recitation of past benefits bestowed on the vassal by the suzerain (vv. 4–5).
4. Futility of seeking help in religious ritual (vv. 6–8).
5. Statement of offenses by which the vassal has broken the treaty (vv. 9–12).
6. Threat of coming judgment (vv. 13–16).

Micah Quoted in the New Testament

Micah	New Testament
5:2	Matt. 2:6: “And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”
5:5	Eph. 2:14: “He himself [= Christ] is our peace.”
6:8	Matt. 23:23: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.”
7:6	Matt. 10:35–36: “For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.” (cf. Matt. 10:21; Mark 13:12; Luke 12:53)
7:20	Luke 1:55, 72–73: “… as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever … to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham.” Rom. 15:8–9: “For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.”

Favorite Passages in Micah

1. Micah 4:1–5 — The Gentiles flowing to the mountain of the LORD — fulfilled in the calling of the Gentiles as recorded in the book of Acts.
2. Micah 5:1–4 — The Bethlehem prophecy concerning the Messiah.
3. Micah 6:6–8 — What does the LORD require?
4. Micah 7:8–9 — “Rejoice not over me, O my enemy.”
5. Micah 7:18–20 — God will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.