seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Micah 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.
2 Hear, you peoples, all of you,
listen, earth and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
listen, earth and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
3 Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling place;
he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth.
4 The mountains melt beneath him
and the valleys split apart,
like wax before the fire,
like water rushing down a slope.
5 All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,
because of the sins of the people of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression?
Is it not Samaria?
What is Judah’s high place?
Is it not Jerusalem?
he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth.
4 The mountains melt beneath him
and the valleys split apart,
like wax before the fire,
like water rushing down a slope.
5 All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,
because of the sins of the people of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression?
Is it not Samaria?
What is Judah’s high place?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6 “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.
7 All her idols will be broken to pieces;
all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
I will destroy all her images.
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,
as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”
a place for planting vineyards.
I will pour her stones into the valley
and lay bare her foundations.
7 All her idols will be broken to pieces;
all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
I will destroy all her images.
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,
as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”
8 Because of this I will weep and wail;
I will go about barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
and moan like an owl.
9 For Samaria’s plague is incurable;
it has spread to Judah.
It has reached the very gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem itself.
10 Tell it not in Gath[a];
weep not at all.
In Beth Ophrah[b]
roll in the dust.
11 Pass by naked and in shame,
you who live in Shaphir.[c]
Those who live in Zaanan[d]
will not come out.
Beth Ezel is in mourning;
it no longer protects you.
12 Those who live in Maroth[e] writhe in pain,
waiting for relief,
because disaster has come from the Lord,
even to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You who live in Lachish,
harness fast horses to the chariot.
You are where the sin of Daughter Zion began,
for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts
to Moresheth Gath.
The town of Akzib[f] will prove deceptive
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring a conqueror against you
who live in Mareshah.[g]
The nobles of Israel
will flee to Adullam.
16 Shave your head in mourning
for the children in whom you delight;
make yourself as bald as the vulture,
for they will go from you into exile.
I will go about barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
and moan like an owl.
9 For Samaria’s plague is incurable;
it has spread to Judah.
It has reached the very gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem itself.
10 Tell it not in Gath[a];
weep not at all.
In Beth Ophrah[b]
roll in the dust.
11 Pass by naked and in shame,
you who live in Shaphir.[c]
Those who live in Zaanan[d]
will not come out.
Beth Ezel is in mourning;
it no longer protects you.
12 Those who live in Maroth[e] writhe in pain,
waiting for relief,
because disaster has come from the Lord,
even to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You who live in Lachish,
harness fast horses to the chariot.
You are where the sin of Daughter Zion began,
for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts
to Moresheth Gath.
The town of Akzib[f] will prove deceptive
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring a conqueror against you
who live in Mareshah.[g]
The nobles of Israel
will flee to Adullam.
16 Shave your head in mourning
for the children in whom you delight;
make yourself as bald as the vulture,
for they will go from you into exile.
a. Micah 1:10 Gath sounds like the Hebrew for tell.
b. Micah 1:10 Beth Ophrah means house of dust.
c. Micah 1:11 Shaphir means pleasant.
d. Micah 1:11 Zaanan sounds like the Hebrew for come out.
e. Micah 1:12 Maroth sounds like the Hebrew for bitter.
f. Micah 1:14 Akzib means deception.
g. Micah 1:15 Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew for conqueror.
While I would encourage anyone to use the easy English commentary this morning.... it is too long and involved to post here. I did learn a lot reading it.... but the enduringword.com was more concise.
Micah of Moresheth: The city of Moresheth (also called Moresheth Gath in Micah 1:14) was about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Jerusalem on the border lands between Judah and the Philistines. This means that the prophet Micah was like the prophet Amos, a man from the country sent to the cities to bring the word of the LORD.
In the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah: This means that Micah ministered as a prophet some time between the years 739 B.C. (the start of the reign of Jotham) and 686 B.C. (the end of the reign of Hezekiah). Since Hezekiah was a noted reformer, we can suppose that the sin Micah confronted mainly concerns the time before the important reforms of Hezekiah (2 Kings 18-20).
Concerning Samaria and Jerusalem: The city of Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, and Jerusalem was the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah. Micah looked to both the northern and southern kingdoms in his prophecy.
In Judah during this time, King Ahaz was a particularly evil ruler. In Israel, there were a succession of evil kings.
Tell it not in Gath: The city of Gath belonged to the Philistines, and it hurt Micah to think that the Philistines would rejoice at the pain of God’s people.
In Beth Aphrah roll yourself in the dust: Following to the end of the chapter, Micah used puns and plays on words to talk about the judgment coming upon the cities of Judah. These towns were clustered in the Shephelah – the lowlands between the coastal region and the mountains of Judah.
Though Micah used puns, this wasn’t about clever word games – it went back to the ancient idea that a name wasn’t just your name but that it described your character and your destiny, sometimes prophetically. In showing how the name of these cities was in some way a prophecy of their destiny, Micah showed how our character becomes our future.
Beth Aphrah: To Micah, Aphrah sounded like the Hebrew word for dust, so he told the citizens of Beth Aphrah to roll in the dust in anticipation of coming judgment.
Shaphir: The name of this town sounded like the word for beautiful. It wouldn’t be beautiful for long, and Micah warned the citizens of Shaphir to prepare for judgment.
Zaanan: The name of this town sounded like the Hebrew word for exit or go out. When the enemy’s siege armies would come, the Jewish people would not exit at all – they would be shut up in the city until they fell.
Beth Ezel: The name of this town means the nearby city. When the army of judgment comes, it won’t be near and helpful to any other city.
Maroth: The name of this town means bitterness, and when the army of judgment comes, the citizens of Maroth will know plenty of bitterness.
Lachish: The name of this town sounded like the Hebrew word for to the horses. Lachish was an important fortress city, and they should go to the horses to fight, but ironically, they would go to the horses to flee the army of judgment.
Moresheth: The name of this – Micah’s hometown – sounded like the Hebrew word for betrothed. Here he spoke of giving the city wedding gifts as she passed from the rule of one “husband” (Judah) to another (the invading army).
Aczib: The name of this town sounds like the Hebrew word for deceitful or disappointing. This city would fall so quickly it would be a deception and a disappointment for Israel.
Mareshah: The name of this town is related to the Hebrew word for possessor or heir. The invading army would soon possess this city.
Adullam: The was the place of refuge for David when he fled from King Saul. It would again be a place of refuge for the high and mighty among Israel, when they would be forced to hide out in Adullam.
I wonder.... when Micah was tending the sheep and taking care of the crops.... did he play word games in his head? He sure had a lot of puns ready.This little summary is from Bibletrack.org.
As a contemporary of Isaiah, here's the same song with a different tune, so to speak; this chapter is written as Hebrew poetry. It's the familiar prophetic theme declaring that, because of the sin of heathen worship, Israel and Judah were going to fall into captivity. Verse 5 clearly identifies the Northern and Southern Kingdoms by naming their capital cities, Samaria and Jerusalem. In addition to being poetic, there is a considerable play on words with the cities mentioned at the end of the chapter. For example, the city named "Shaphir" also means "beautiful," and the city named "Zaanan" means "to come out." Read those verses with those substitutes and see the pun intended by Micah in this poetic prophecy.
You will recall that Israel's turning away from God happened immediately after Solomon's death - right from their beginning. Judah had periods of worshipping the one true God, but Israel never did. Israel fell to the Assyrians in 721/722 B.C. during the reign of King Hoshea of Israel (II Kings 17), and virtually all of Judah fell shortly afterwards. Jerusalem itself, however, managed to hold out through the Assyrian assaults, finally falling to the Babylonians in 586 B.C. (II Kings 24-25). Micah's prophecy specifically mentions certain cities in Israel and Judah that would experience the Assyrian assault. The list of cities is not meant to be comprehensive; they probably had particular significance to contemporaries of Micah that escapes us now.
These prophets are interestingly different. This is from the easy English site.God sent many prophets to Judah and Israel. Some prophets were priests. Other prophets were farmers. Some prophets were rich and they advised the kings. Other prophets lived much more simply. Some prophets wrote down the things that they taught (their prophecies). Many other prophets did not do that. But all the prophets taught the people. They taught about right judgements in the courts. They taught about how people should be fair to other people. They taught that people need to trust God for help.
Many prophets warned that the people would suffer defeat. Their enemies would take them away to different places abroad. That would happen if they did not start to obey God again. Some prophets had dreams from God about future success. They also dreamed about future punishments. They understood God’s plans for their nation. They looked forward into the future. They looked forward to the time when a new king would come. He would rule the nation. Some prophets saw that this king would come from David’s family. The new king would lead God’s people. He would lead them into a wonderful new age. Some prophets described how this king would then rule always. Other prophets saw that he would also be a servant. He would suffer many things. The things that this king suffered would cause his people to come back to God.
But all the prophets saw that this king would be the Messiah. He would be the man that God had chosen. The Messiah would bring his people into the new age.
Lately.... My computer wants to know if it should "translate" the page. It's quite helpful on one of the sites I use for sewing ideas and techniques because there are people from all over the world on facebook and sometimes I do need a translation. While reading this chapter and the commentary.... it seems that God knows the people will need someone to "translate". Obviously they don't understand what God said. Obviously they did not read the instructions God gave them.... because the lives they have constructed for themselves does not match the instructions at all.
