| Micah
BOOK
: Micah
Description
: A
fairly small book of prophecies against the wrongs of Israel.
Author:
unknown
Date
written : Somewhere sometime
between 750 and 686 B.C.
Chapters
: 7
Brief
Synopsis:
•
Prophecies “during the reigns of Jotham,
Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah ”
•
These prophecies
•
Are largely against Samaria but also
against Jerusalem
•
Face the divided nation with its sins
•
Declare punishment (judgments) that
will come
•
Yet holds out hope for the future
•
Of a Messiah figure to come
•
Of a great end role for Israel.
Outline
:
Ch.1-3
Judgment against Israel and Judah
1:1,2
Introduction
1:3-7
The Predicted Destruction of Samaria (& Jerusalem )
1:8-16
Lamentation for the Destruction
2:1-11
Woe to the Unrighteous
2:12-13
Yet Hope for the Remnant
Ch.3
The Leaders (& prophets) Condemned
Ch.4-5
Hope for Israel and Judah
4:1-8
Last Days Restoration & Blessing
4:9-12
Anguish for Jerusalem 's exile and restoration
4:13
Israel 's future supremacy
5:1-6
Waiting through distress for the time of the Messiah
5:7-15
The remnant of Israel among the nations
Ch.6-7
The Lord's Case against Israel
6:1-5
The Lord's accusation
6:6-8
The Lord's requirement
6:9-12
The Lord's condemnation
6:13-16
The Lord's judgment
7:1-7
The prophet's misery
Ch.7
Gloom Turns to Triumph
7:7
The ground of our hope
7:8-13
The Lord will bring light again
7:14-20
The Lord will have mercy on Israel & forgive them
Key
Verses :
The
scope of Micah's ministry – timing & focus
1:1
The
word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of
Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah --the vision he saw concerning
Samaria and Jerusalem .
Prediction
of Samaria 's fall and reason for it
1:6,7
Therefore
I will make Samaria a heap of rubble, a place for planting vineyards.
I will pour her stones into the valley and lay bare her foundations.
All her idols will be broken to pieces; all
her temple gifts will be burned with fire; I will destroy all her images.
Prediction
of disciplining of Jerusalem as well
1:9,16
For
her wound is incurable; it has come to Judah . It has reached the very
gate of my people, even to Jerusalem itself…… Shave
your heads in mourning for the children in whom you delight; make yourselves
as bald as the vulture, for they will go from you into exile.
Yet
Jerusalem has a key role in the Lord's last days plans
4:1
In
the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established
as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and
peoples will stream to it.
From
Bethlehem will come the Messiah
5:2
But
you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of
Judah , out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel
, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times
Israel
will
spend time scattered among the nations
5:7
The
remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from
the LORD, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for man or
linger for mankind.
The
Lord's desire for His people is simple
6:8
He
has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require
of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your
God.
Our
hope is always in God
7:7
But
as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear me.
The
Lord is a God who forgives and redeems in His long term plans
7:18-20
Who
is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of
the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight
to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread
our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the
sea. You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged
on oath to our fathers in days long ago
•
Micah is a little bit like a roller coaster
– one minute you are hurtling downwards with guilt, condemnation and
promises of judgment, and the next you are flying upwards with great
hope for the future.
•
Micah has understood that the Lord is
a God of judgment of sins AND of forgiveness and cleansing, whose desire
is to restore His fallen people to something much greater than they
have known.
•
It seems probable that behind the prophecies
for that day there are also prophecies for the long term future of the
kingdom of God and the Messiah who creates a new worldwide people who
are exalted.
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