Micah 1:1

The Bible says in Micah 1:1-4, “The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.[2] Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.[3] For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.” Where did the words come from that we are reading? The words came from God. They are not Micah’s words. They are God’s words. This is an important truth to remember. The Bible is God’s Word. Every word of the Bible came from God. That is one of the things that makes it different from all other books. That is why you should love the Bible and read it and try to live by it. That is why you should pray that you might understand it better. It says in Second Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” It also says in Second Peter 1:16-21, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.[17] For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.[18] And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.[19] We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:[20] Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.[21] For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” Jesus said in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” God gave His Word and somehow God has preserved His Word. That means that the Bible is without error. You may not be able to describe exactly how God preserved it through the centuries, but He did: you can be sure of that. Therefore, remember that no matter how you define the Bible, always define it with this in mind: the Bible is God’s Word without error. God has preserved His Word for all generations. If anyone (no matter how many seminar degrees they have) even slightly implies that the Bible has errors that need to be corrected, they are wrong. They study the Bible and the manuscripts as if the Bible is just another book, but they are wrong. The Bible is not just another book written by man. All of the words of this great book come from God, and God has miraculously preserved them.

In the first part of Micah 1:2 the Bible says, “Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is.” The Bible is God’s truth and God’s message, not just to believers, but to all of the human race. God loves everyone equally, and He wants everyone to have the chance to hear the truth and to be saved by faith in Christ. Everyone needs to know the principles of the Bible so they will know how to live on this earth. One of the worse things that ever happened in America was when they took the Bible out of the public schools. People need to hear about law and grace as the Bible defines them. The law will lead people to Christ, and grace will take people to heaven. Make sure that you have made the Bible as part of your daily life. You need to hear from God every day. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

What was the message that God wanted not just the Israelites but all the people of the earth to know? The message had to do with the fact that God had something against them because God is Judge of the whole earth. People will have to stand before God one day and give an answer. Things are not going to continue always the way we seem them today. Something is going to change: “the LORD cometh forth.” That is what Micah said in verse 3.

Every human being has a problem: they must be ready to meet the Lord. That is a problem because God is holy and we are sinners. When you stand before the Lord, and that day is coming, what will you say to Him about your sins? The biggest advantage of being a Christian is that you will be able to say something like this, “Yes, I am a sinner, but Jesus is my Savior.” It will be a dark day for those who cannot make such a statement at their judgment.

The Bible says in Micah 1:5, “For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?” This verse about Israel and Judah is important to keep in mind because we see a similar problem in our country today. Notice especially that the capital cities are mentioned. Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel and Jerusalem was the capital of the kingdom of Judah. The main problem in both countries was in the capital city: it was a moral failure in leadership. We see that same thing. We would have a much better country if Washington was a better city. The leaders in Washington are part of the problem and not the solution. That is one of the sad realities of the system of government that we have. Unfortunately the best politicians give in the temptation to lie or to say what people want to hear in order to get elected. Those kinds of people make the worse leaders. We really need leaders who are practically-minded and who know what is best for all the people of America. Unfortunately the best politicians often do not make the best leaders. There are two things that might help us: 1. Pray and ask God to give us better leaders. 2. Have better people run for office. Yes, the good people often get crushed in politics. But that just means we need more of them to run. Eventually, by the grace of God we will get some to run for office who are good in the political arena and who will be good leaders for our country. It has not happened recently, but it can happen.

The Bible says in Micah 1:6-7, “Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.[7] And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.” Verse 7 shows the fact that God is very disturbed about false religion. God mentions the “graven images” and the “idols” of the Israelites. Because of the false religion, God called them “an harlot” twice. That’s because God created human beings to worship Him. Marriage between a man and a woman symbolizes the unity of a believer and his or her Savior. Israel was the bride of Christ because they were given that unique relationship with God. To depart God to a false religion was spiritual immorality. Israel should have had only one lover: God. Someone who has multiple lovers and who does it for financial gain is a prostitute. Some believers have committed spiritual prostitution. You can determine of you are one of them by asking these questions, “Who has your heart,” and “What or whom do you love at any moment?” Jesus said in Mark 12:30 that the greatest commandment is, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”

The Bible says in Micah 1:8-11, “Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.[9] For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.[10] Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.[11] Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Beth-ezel; he shall receive of you his standing.” The most important spiritual principle of these verses has to do with the godly response that is given in regards to the impending judgment on these people who turned away from God. We want people to be saved and not to be punished. That is what God wants too. In thinking about what would happen to Israel, Amos said in verse 8, “I will howl and wail.” And he said, “I will make a wailing.” Amos also mentioned “mourning” in verse 8 and in verse 11. It is such a sad thing that people could easily be saved and could enjoy heaven forever through Christ, but they just will not turn to Him. If you think about it, it really is so very terrible and so very sad. Of course, Jesus had this emotion when He said in Matthew 23:37, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.”

The Bible says in Micah 1:12-16, “For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the LORD unto the gate of Jerusalem.[13] O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.[14] Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moresheth-gath: the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.[15] Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel.[16] Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.” Everyone hopes that good things will happen to them, and that there will be a good outcome to their plans and desires. These people of “Maroth” were no different. They “waited carefully for good.” But good did not happen because they were not right with God. In the end, this is always the case. If you go God’s way, things will ultimately turn out very, very well. If you do not go God’s way, then things will not work out. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

Notice that it says in Micah 1:12, “evil came down from the LORD.” All things are of God. It says in Romans 11:36, “For of him, through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.” Our Jesus is the all-powerful God. He has created all things, He controls all things, and He uses all things for His own glory. God created a world with a potential for evil, and man chose evil. But God can withhold evil whenever He wishes, just like He does today by keeping the antichrist out of power until the time is ready. Especially if you are a believer, anything that comes into your life, God allowed. More than that: if we use the language of Micah 1:12, we can say that God brought it. God brought the evil. Now the question is: why? And what does He want you to do about it. In the case of the Israelites, He wanted them to repent of their sins and turn to Him.

In Micah 1:13, God pronounced a judgment against Lachish because “the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.” One of the ways of knowing what will probably happen to our country is to simply ask the question: do we see a pattern anywhere in history that we might be following? Are there any parallels that would give us an indication of what might happen to us too? Yes, unfortunately, there is a very close parallel in the nation of Israel. Israel was a nation blessed of God that became powerful and prosperous because they served the Lord. But when they wickedly turned away from the Lord, they brought judgment upon themselves and they lost everything. They were conquered by their enemies. They were destroyed and enslaved for one reason: they did not turn back to God. If you believe in Jesus and you care about your nation, your prayer needs to be: O Lord, please bring our nation back to God before it is too late.”

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