ALTHOUGH he did not begin his ministry in the time of Uzziah, Micah was contemporary with Isaiah, exercising his prophetic office during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah in Judah. It was a critical time for God's people, and the prophets Hosea, Amos, Obadiah, and possibly Joel (Prophets and Kings, p. 108) had been sent along with Isaiah and Micah to prepare Israel for the Assyrian invasion and captivity of the northern kingdom. Of this group Micah seems to have been the youngest.
He was probably a native of the village of Moresheth-Gath, which was located between the Shephelah and the Philistine plain. Well known to Christians today, especially for his prediction that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), he nicely complements the work of his contemporary, Isaiah, and presents a strong emphasis on ethical standards, just as Isaiah did in the earlier part of his book.
One contrast with Isaiah, how ever, is that, whereas Isaiah is thought to have been a member of the royal family, Micah comes from a rustic background. Micah seems to be more interested in the common man and the everyday concerns of people. Frequently he uses figures of speech and plays on words. Unfortunately, his plays on words such as "Tell it not in Tell-town" (Micah 1:10) are lost in translation.
Micah is a poet, a lover of nature, and a man of strict integrity whose sternness toward sin is mellowed by a sympathetic and loving interest in the sinner. His themes of condemnation, threatening, and judgment are counterbalanced with promises of deliverance and expressions of God's love and mercy.
Quimby suggests that "in his spiritual thinking and ethical concepts Micah reached the highest norm of Old Testament idealism and parallels that of the New Testament writer James."—P. E. Quimby, Messages of the Prophets, Pacific Press, 1947, p. 139.
Three "Hear Ye's"
Following the introduction in chapter 1:1, it is natural to divide Micah's messages into three divisions, each of which is introduced by the words "Hear ye." The first of these is found in chapter 1, verse 2, and is addressed to all nations. The whole world is invited to contemplate the meaning of the coming destruction of Samaria and Jerusalem and to witness what happens to nations who refuse to follow God's plan for them.
The second "Hear ye" is found in chapter 3, verse 1, and is directed specifically to the rulers and leaders in Israel. Specific sins of princes, false prophets, and priests are clearly denounced. These leaders are informed that they are largely to blame for the judgments that are soon to fall on Israel and Judah.
The third "Hear ye" is addressed to the people themselves in chapter 6, verse 1. All of creation is called upon to witness on God's behalf to the goodness and justice of His dealing with His people. He recalls His mercies to His people and sets forth what He should rightfully expect in return. But they do not measure up to His expectations, and the result of their lack of response will inevitably be the punishment He pronounces.
Eschatological Applications
Micah's description of the judgment to be visited upon Samaria and Judah is so overwhelming and cataclysmic that it must have eschatological or last-day over tones. The use of the intensive and reflexive in the Hebrew verbs of verse 4 indicates catastrophic earthquakes and volcanism. This is the kind of physical upheaval that will take place at the time of Christ's second coming (The Great Controversy, pp. 636, 637).
Mention of the remnant (chaps. 2:12; 4:7; 5:7, 8; 7:18) always makes Adventist interpreters think of an application to the final remnant (Rev. 12:17). Since the might-have-beens to Judah and Israel will not take place owing to their rejection of the Messiah, these promises must apply ultimately to the remnant designated by John the revelator.
The phrase "in the last days" in chapter 4, verse 1 is another clue to an eschatological application. Verses 1-5 are almost identical with Isaiah 2:2-5, which is often recognized as eschatological. The fact that Isaiah 2:1 introduces this section with the statement, "The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem" leads me to conclude that this vision was originally given to Isaiah and that Micah, his contemporary, is quoting it. Micah adapts it, however, to fit his own context, transposing the terms "peoples" and "nations." Verse 4 of Micah 4 is not in Isaiah 2 but certainly reflects Isaiah 65:17-25, another clear, eschatological passage.
This section of Micah follows a pronouncement of doom (Micah 3:12) and counterbalances it with a promise of eventual restoration. It is interesting that, after citing Micah 4:2, Ellen White in Counsels to Parents and Teachers, pages 455 and 456, indicates there are very definite practical lessons for us today in these Old Testament passages. She goes on to mention that they contain "great encouragement" for us.
Prophets and Kings, pages 537 and 538, describes the final day of earth's trouble and points to the deliverance promised in Micah 4:10-12.
Messianic Prediction
The eschatological development of the fourth chapter naturally leads into the Messianic prophecy of the fifth. When the Wise Men from the east came to Herod with their inquiry as to the whereabouts of the newborn king, he turned to the Jewish teachers for his answer. "And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet." They then quoted Micah 5:2.
Jesus also must have had this text in mind when He solemnly announced to the Jews, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58).
We are told what happened in these words, "Silence fell upon the vast assembly. The name of Cod, given to Moses to express the idea of the eternal presence, had been claimed as His own by this Galilean Rabbi. He had an nounced Himself to be the self-existent One, He who had been promised to Israel, 'whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity.' Micah 5:2, margin."—The Desire of Ages, pp. 469, 470.
One of the most interesting features of Micah's book is found in the development of the seventh chapter. Many commentators interpret this section as the prophet speaking in behalf of Israel. There are those, however, who under stand this passage in the light of the prophet's own experience. Personally, I sympathize with this latter view, while recognizing that it could also serve the broader application.
In his characteristic manner of using figures of speech, Micah portrays his experience as being as dried up and barren as the vineyard after the harvest. He cries out "Woe is me!" just as Isaiah did in his time of discouragement. We see the humanity of the prophets portrayed in the midst of their prophetic thunderings. It is not easy for a man to have to continually point out the sin of his fellow men, as Micah was commissioned to do. In chapter 3, verse 8, he relates that he has been given the power of the Holy Spirit "to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin."
After years of this kind of minis try, any man's heart would tend to dry up. Micah is so disillusioned that he proclaims the total disappearance of the good man from the earth (Micah 7:2). He sees men as so eager to work iniquity that they "do evil with both hands" (verse 3).
In what might be a commentary on our day, he tells how "the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul" (verse 3, R.S.V.).
In his disillusionment he cannot trust anyone, not even the members of his own family. In what seems to be the height of cynicism he cautions, "Keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom" (verse 5). As we read this we cannot help wondering what kind of wife he had.
When Isaiah was discouraged by the lack of response to his warnings, the Lord gave him a vision of His great majesty and holiness that enabled him to turn his mind away from the sins of the people and recognize that he, too, was a sinner in need of a Saviour. Micah's experience seems to parallel this, for he concludes, "But as for me, I will look to the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me" (verse 7, R.S.V.).
The result of this experience can also be compared with that of Isaiah. They both seemed to be come more sympathetic and effective preachers. The last notes of the prophecy of Micah are happy and hopeful ones. "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea" (verses 18, 19).
