Micah Overview

It’s a bit about how God uses calamity to reconcile or sinful natures with his promises.

It alternates condemnation of how utterly self serving and corrupt Judah has become with promises of future blessing.

Bad leaders, corrupt prophets who tell lies for reward rather than truth. Compared to the remnant, the ignored but sincere few on whom the future will be built.

The empty religious practices compared to lives that display actual justice, humility and mercy.

The city of Jerusalem, which will be destroyed, compared to the new Jerusalem, to which all peoples will be invited.

God, speaking through Micah, links this series of contrasts, saying one is needed for the other. He puts himself on trial to argue why he must bring destruction on the corrupt society in order that the promise of the covenant to Abraham, of a vast outpouring of blessing, could be kept.

It’s an argument about God needing to be cruel to be kind… Or is it using the cruelty to bring about kindness? Strongly messianic, rather like a mini Isaiah. Though the scene of God arguing his own case seems rather unique to this book.

I thought a lot about the siege mentality of the modern church, responding to losing its influence by trying to wrest the power and prestige back, rather than accepting that from the remnant comes the blessing, Jerusalem has to be destroyed to be rebuilt, in a paradigm we won’t recognise. From tiny Bethlehem comes the King.

1 A prophesy to the southern kingdom, Judah. They have been worshipping Samaritan Gods. This asserts the power and might of Jehovah to melt the ground like wax if he wishes.

2 the easy part verses the narrow path, those who like the shallow populist prophets, some particularly evil and exploitative people.

3 Judah is a corrupt kingdom. They follow the shape of religion, bit the people are starving from inequality. I muse on God’s use of kingdoms.

4 let God make Christianity great again, not us. A vision of Jerusalem as God sees it, a comfort that all is not lost though the present is so uninspiring.

5 a further vision of Judah laying waste to the Assyrians.. a wonderful promise, a change of power. And it comes from Bethlehem, a wonderfully prescient vision.

6 be just, love mercy, walk humbly. It’s like God puts himself on trial to ask if he is loving

7 sweetness and sorrow longing for summer fruit when the people are like briars and thorns, lacking kindness, everyone for themselves. Micah decides to wait for God instead, queue messianic visions.