63 lines
12 KiB
HTML
63 lines
12 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
|
|
<html><head>
|
|
<title>Blue Letter Bible: Text Commentaries</title>
|
|
<script src="../../../js/basepath.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
|
|
<script src="./js/nav.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
|
|
<script src="./js/MainHeader.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
|
|
<script>
|
|
currentBook = 'Mic';
|
|
currentChapter = 1;
|
|
PriorBook = 'Jonah';
|
|
PriorBookURL = './Comm/david_guzik/sg/Jon_1.html';
|
|
PriorChapter = 'Jonah 4';
|
|
PriorChapterURL = './Comm/david_guzik/sg/Jon_4.html';
|
|
NextBook = 'Nahum';
|
|
NextBookURL = './Comm/david_guzik/sg/Nah_1.html';
|
|
NextChapter = 'Micah 2';
|
|
NextChapterURL = './Comm/david_guzik/sg/Mic_2.html';
|
|
Title = 'Study Guide for Micah 1';
|
|
</script>
|
|
<script src="./js/Comms/DG.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
|
|
<h2><a onclick="return mV('Mic',1,'all');">Mic 1</a> - Coming Judgment on Israel and Judah</h2>
|
|
<p>A. Coming judgment on Israel.</p>
|
|
<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Mic',1,1);">1</a>) Introduction to the prophecy of Micah.</p>
|
|
<p class="c2">The word of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, <i>and</i> Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Mic of Moresheth</span></b>: The city of <b><span class="c3">Moresheth</span></b> (also called <i>Moresheth Gath</i> in <a onclick="return mV('Mic',1,14);">Mic 1:14</a>) was about 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem on the border lands between Judah and the Philistines. This means that the prophet <b><span class="c3">Mic</span></b> was like the prophet Amos, a man from the country sent to the city to bring <b><span class="c3">the word of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. We really don't know anything about Micah's background or call, but we do know that he had a strong sense of his own calling as a prophet, and he says so in <a onclick="return mV('Mic',3,8);">Mic 3:8</a>.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">In the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah</span></b>: This means that Micah ministered as a prophet some time between the years 739 <span class="c6">b.c.</span> (the start of the reign of <b><span class="c3">Jotham</span></b>) and 686 <span class="c6">b.c.</span> (the end of the reign of <b><span class="c3">Hezekiah</span></b>). Since Hezekiah was a noted reformer, we can surmise that the sin Micah confronted mainly concerns the time before the important reforms of Hezekiah (<a onclick="return mV('2Ki',18,'1-20');">2Ki 18-20</a>).</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Concerning Samaria and Jerusalem</span></b>: The city of <b><span class="c3">Samaria</span></b> was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, and <b><span class="c3">Jerusalem</span></b> was the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah. Micah looks to both the northern and southern kingdoms in his prophecy.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. In Judah during this time, King <b><span class="c3">Ahaz</span></b> was a particularly evil ruler. In Israel, there were a succession of evil kings.</p>
|
|
<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Mic',1,'2-5');">2-5</a>) The <span class="c6">Lord</span> comes to judge Israel and Judah.</p>
|
|
<p class="c2">Hear, all you peoples! Listen, O earth, and all that is in it! Let the Lord <span class="c6">God</span> be a witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple. For behold, the <span class="c6">Lord</span> is coming out of His place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth. The mountains will melt under Him, and the valleys will split like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place. All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What <i>is</i> the transgression of Jacob? <i>Is it</i> not Samaria? And what <i>are</i> the high places of Judah? <i>Are they</i> not Jerusalem?</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">The <span class="c6">Lord</span> is coming out of His place</span></b>: With vivid images, Micah sees the <span class="c6">Lord</span> descending from heaven to earth, and coming with judgment. If the <b><span class="c3">mountains</span></b> and <b><span class="c3">valleys</span></b> cannot stand before Him, what hope does sinful, rebellious man have?</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel</span></b>: This dramatic, powerful descent of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> is only because of the <b><span class="c3">sins of</span></b> His people.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. It is easy to imagine that the people of Judah and Israel thought this was unfair. They looked around at the pagan nations surrounding them and saw that they were even more corrupt than themselves. Nevertheless, the principle stands: <i>For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God</i> (<a onclick="return mV('1Pe',4,17);">1Pe 4:17</a>). However, we also do well to remember the second part of that verse:<span> </span><i>And if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?</i></p>
|
|
<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Mic',1,'6-7');">6-7</a>) Samaria left desolate in judgment.</p>
|
|
<p class="c2">"Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the field, places for planting a vineyard; I will pour down her stones into the valley, and I will uncover her foundations. All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces, and all her pay as a harlot shall be burned with the fire; all her idols I will lay desolate, for she gathered <i>it</i> from the pay of a harlot, and they shall return to the pay of a harlot."</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the field</span></b>: Micah prophesies the coming judgment on <b><span class="c3">Samaria</span></b>, the capital city of Israel. This was fulfilled in 722 <span class="c6">b.c.</span> when Samaria fell to the Assyrians and was completely destroyed.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">All her pay as a harlot shall be burned with the fire</span></b>: Micah combines the ideas of idolatry and spiritual adultery. Money spent on idols and their worship will be brought to nothing when the mighty army of the Assyrians destroys Samaria.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. "Golden images, of such monetary value yet so spiritually and politically worthless, were constructed from the wages of cult prostitutes. The conquerors will break them up and use the money to repeat the same cycle. Only the heart of depraved man could worship gods like that!" (Waltke)</p>
|
|
<p>B. Coming judgment on Judah.</p>
|
|
<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Mic',1,'8-9');">8-9</a>) The agony of announcing judgment on the nation of Judah.</p>
|
|
<p class="c2">Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like the jackals and a mourning like the ostriches, for her wounds <i>are</i> incurable. For it has come to Judah; it has come to the gate of my people; to Jerusalem.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">I will wail and howl</span></b>: Micah can't prophesy in a dispassionate, detached way. When he sees judgment coming upon his people, it makes him <b><span class="c3">wail and howl</span></b> like <b><span class="c3">the jackals</span></b>.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. Micah didn't just announce judgment and then yawn. He cared so deeply that he wept with God's people. The preacher's duty is more than to just announce judgment and to walk away. He has to <i>care</i>. "Many who have rejected a Christian's logic have been won by his tears." (Boice)</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">For her wounds are incurable</span></b>: Our only <b><span class="c3">incurable</span></b> wounds are the ones we refuse to bring to God. With Him, all things are possible (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',18,27);">Luk 18:27</a>), but when we refuse to bring our sin to Him, then our <b><span class="c3">wounds are incurable</span></b>.</p>
|
|
<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Mic',1,'10-16');">10-16</a>) The shame of Judah's judgment is evident among the nations.</p>
|
|
<p class="c2">Tell <i>it</i> not in Gath, weep not at all; in Beth Aphrah roll yourself in the dust. Pass by in naked shame, you inhabitant of Shaphir; the inhabitant of Zaanan does not go out. Beth Ezel mourns; its place to stand is taken away from you. For the inhabitant of Maroth pined for good, but disaster came down from the <span class="c6">Lord</span> to the gate of Jerusalem. O inhabitant of Lachish, harness the chariot to the swift steeds (she <i>was</i> the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion), for the transgressions of Israel were found in you. Therefore you shall give presents to Moresheth Gath; the houses of Achzib <i>shall be</i> a lie to the kings of Israel. I will yet bring an heir to you, O inhabitant of Mareshah; the glory of Israel shall come to Adullam. Make yourself bald and cut off your hair, because of your precious children; enlarge your baldness like an eagle, for they shall go from you into captivity.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Tell it not in Gath</span></b>: The city of <b><span class="c3">Gath</span></b> belonged to the Philistines, and it hurts Micah to think that the Philistines will rejoice at the pain of God's people.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">In Beth Aphrah roll yourself in the dust</span></b>: Following to the end of the chapter, Micah uses puns and plays on words to talk about the judgment coming upon the cities of Judah. These towns are clustered in the <i>Shephelah</i> - the lowlands between the coastal region and the mountains of Judah.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. Though Micah uses puns, this isn't about clever word games - it goes back to the ancient idea that a name isn't just your "handle" but describes - sometimes prophetically - your <i>character</i> and your <i>destiny</i>. In showing how the name of these cities is in some way a prophecy of their destiny, Micah shows how our character becomes our future.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Beth Aphrah</span></b>: To Micah, <b><span class="c3">Aphrah</span></b> sounds like the Hebrew word for <i>dust</i>, so he told the citizens of <b><span class="c3">Beth Aphrah</span></b> to roll in the dust in anticipation of coming judgment.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Shaphir</span></b>: The name of this town sounds like the word for <i>beautiful</i>. It won't be beautiful for long, and Micah warns the citizens of <b><span class="c3">Shaphir</span></b> to prepare for judgment.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">Zaanan</span></b>: The name of this town sounds like the Hebrew word for <i>exit</i> or <i>go out</i>. When the siege armies come, they won't <i>exit</i> at all - they will be shut up in the city until it falls.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">f. <b><span class="c3">Beth Ezel</span></b>: The name of this town means <i>the nearby city</i>. When the army of judgment comes, it won't be near and helpful to any other city.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">g. <b><span class="c3">Maroth</span></b>: The name of this town means <i>bitterness</i>, and when the army of judgment comes the citizens of <b><span class="c3">Maroth</span></b> will know plenty of bitterness.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">h. <b><span class="c3">Lachish</span></b>: The name of this town sounds like the Hebrew word for <i>to the horses</i>. <b><span class="c3">Lachish</span></b> was an important fortress city, and they should go <i>to the horses</i> to fight, but ironically they will go <i>to the horses</i> to flee the army of judgment.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">i. <b><span class="c3">Moresheth</span></b>: The name of this - Micah's hometown - sounds like the Hebrew word for <i>betrothed</i>. Here he speaks of giving the city wedding gifts as she passes from the rule of one "husband" (Judah) to another (the invading army).</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">j. <b><span class="c3">Aczib</span></b>: The name of this town sounds like the Hebrew word for <i>deceitful</i> or <i>disappointing</i>. This city will fall so quickly it will be a deception and a disappointment for Israel.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">k. <b><span class="c3">Mareshah</span></b>: The name of this town is related to the Hebrew word for <i>possessor</i> or <i>heir</i>. The invading army will soon possess this city.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">l. <b><span class="c3">Adullam</span></b>: The was the place of refuge for David when he fled from King Saul. It will again be a place of refuge for the high and mighty among Israel, when they are forced to hide out in <b><span class="c3">Adullam</span></b>.</p>
|
|
<script src="./js/Comms/DG_Footer.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
|
|
<script src="./js/MainFooter.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
|