Meet the Minor Prophets (Part Six)

Micah

The prophet Micah is another biblical enigma, as the only facts known about him come from his prophecy's first verse: He lived in "Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah." This places him southwest of Jerusalem at the second half of the eighth century BC, a contemporary of Isaiah, Amos, Jonah, and Hosea. Micah may have worked closely with Isaiah, as there are some parallel passages in their prophecies (PP) Micah 4:1-5 and Isaiah 2:2-4

Micah prophesied in Jerusalem against both Israel and Judah. His book is divisible into three sections: chapters 1 and 2; chapters 3 through 5; and chapters 6 and 7. Each part begins with the call, "Hear," and starts with a rebuke against the sins of the nation. As the section continues, the prophecy announces a coming judgment against the people and ends with a promise of regathering and blessing. Near the end of Micah's ministry, God sent the Assyrians to punish both Israel (which they conquered and carried many away into captivity) and Judah (which they destroyed except for Jerusalem; many Jews were also carried into captivity).

The book of Micah is thematically a great deal like Amos. Both of them, of course, warn against sin and the certainty of God's imminent judgment upon the people. However, they even use similar language to expose the kinds of sin that were rampant. In particular, they both condemn "social injustice":

(PP) Micah 2:2

(PP) Micah 3:2

(PP) Micah 6:11

Compare these to such passages as Amos 2:6-7; 4:1; 5:11; and 8:4-6.

(PP) Micah also pens one of the best known Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, since it is quoted to Herod in Matthew 2:6: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel (Micah 5:2). These words were proof that the Child born in Bethlehem, the One to whom the Magi were directed by His star, was indeed the prophesied anointed King of Israel, the Son of God.