Old Testament
Micah
7 chapters
Start reading: Micah 1About this book
Micah was a country prophet who spoke to the leaders of Jerusalem and Samaria and did not flatter them. He names the sins of the powerful: seizing land from families, bending the courts, bribing priests and prophets, and building cities on bloodshed. Judgment is coming, he says, and no wealth will shield anyone from it. Yet the book keeps turning toward hope. In the last days the nations will stream to the Lord's house to learn his ways and beat their weapons into tools for farming. A ruler will come from small Bethlehem, a shepherd whose greatness reaches the ends of the earth, and the New Testament sees Jesus in that promise. Micah also gives one of Scripture's best-loved summaries of what God wants: to act justly, love faithfulness and walk humbly with him. The book closes with a confession of trust and a wonder-filled question about a God who pardons sin, throws it into the sea and keeps his old promises to Abraham and Jacob. Readers return to Micah for its mix of hard truth and stubborn hope.
- Author
- The prophet Micah of Moresheth, a village in the hills of Judah.
- Date
- Eighth century BC, in the days of kings Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah; some scholars think later editors shaped the final form.
- Audience
- The people and rulers of Judah and Israel, especially those who held land, wealth and judgment seats.
Themes
Outline
- 1:1–1:16The Lord comes against Samaria and Judah
- 2:1–3:12Greedy landowners and false leaders
- 4:1–5:15Peace in the last days and the ruler from Bethlehem
- 6:1–6:8The Lord's case and what he asks
- 6:9–7:6A broken society mourned
- 7:7–7:20Waiting in hope on a pardoning God
Key verses
Chapters of Micah
- 1Micah 1Micah, from the small town of Moresheth, hears the Lord summon the whole earth as witness: he comes down from his temple and the mountains melt beneath him.
- 2Micah 2Woe to those who lie awake planning evil and carry it out at dawn because it is in their power.
- 3Micah 3Micah rebukes the leaders of Israel who should know justice but hate good and love evil, tearing the skin from the people like butchers.
- 4Micah 4In the last days, the mountain of the Lord's house will be raised above the hills, and many nations will stream to it to learn God's ways and walk in his paths.
- 5Micah 5Micah turns to a ruler from Bethlehem Ephrathah, small among the clans of Judah, out of whom will come one who will rule Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.
- 6Micah 6God brings a lawsuit against his people before the mountains and hills.
- 7Micah 7Micah laments that the godly have vanished from the land: everyone lies in wait, officials demand gifts, judges accept bribes, and even neighbors, friends and family cannot be trusted.