Jesus christ referred to micah when he visited the book of mormon peoples after his resurrection. In hebrew the book is titled hkym after the prophet to whom it was given. A reading resource on micah for ministers and teachers. Micah, a prophet, wrote the book in order to warn the sinful nations that judgment was coming from god.
Welcome to a rich, challenging, and wonderful study of the book of micah one of the books of the lords word. The micah who speaks in this prophetic book knows the tradition that zion is the lords chosen place, but he is critical of the popular view that this election ensures the citys security 2. Much of micah s book revolves around two significant predictions. The latest material comes from the postexilic period after the temple was rebuilt in 515 bc, so that the early 5th century bc seems to be the period when the book was completed.
The theme that resounds throughout this book is the mercy of which gods people are assured despite their faithlessness, especially the faithlessness of their. Micah was from moresheth gath, located some 25 miles southwest of jerusalem on the border of judah and philistia, near gath. Book of micah, the sixth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, grouped together as the twelve in the jewish canon. Like isaiah, micah told his people to repent of their sins and return to god. The book of micah is the sixth of the twelve minor prophets in the hebrew bible old testament. Judgment and restoration inspire fear and hope, two ideas wrapped up in the final sequence of micahs prophecy, a courtroom scene. Many scholarly books and articles on micah have been published since. Micah intro to micah biblica the international bible society. His ministry, unlike that of amos or hosea, overlapped the fall of the northern kingdom. He prophesied the fall of israel and lived to witness it. Micahs career began a little later than his contemporaries, isaiah and hosea isaiah 1. Living in this village, micah came into daily contact with the people who suffered most from the system of land tenure against which isaiah protested. The main theme of the book is gods judgment and redemptionboth are there. The message of the prophet micah contains dire warnings, but also hope of restoration for israel and all nations.
Remember the chapter divisions are artificial but even still the diagram enables us to get a good overview of the book and gods purpose. During the time of the minor prophets, the nation of israel had divided into two separate countries, each with its own government. This question is the note on which the prophecy of micah ends, and it is also a rough translation of the very name micah. It seems that the name micah has been shortened from the longer whykm. The savior uses micah to show the future gentiles what would happen if they did not repent. On the one hand, the prophecies announce judgment upon israel for social evils, corrupt. The book of micah is the sixth book of the 12 minor prophets. For example, micah taught that the sins of the leaders of israel would result in the destruction of jerusalem see micah 3. The message of the book of micah is a complex mixture of judgment and hope. Micah s career began a little later than his contemporaries, isaiah and hosea isaiah 1. Micah lived around the same time as the prophet isaiah, who lived in the much larger and more important city of jerusalem.
The central passage in the book is micah s central message of hope for the future d. The contribution of the book of micah is at least threefold. Here again, you can see the emotion of god through the prophets words. The prophecy attests to micahs deep sensitivity to the social ills of his day, especially as they affected the small towns and villages of his homeland. This book makes clear from its opening verse to its closing verse that everything that is shared in this prophecy is from the lord alone. The book of micah chapter 1 was written near the time of the demise of the northern kingdom in 722 b. Micah 4 commentary, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, by the leading authority in the church of christ, presents a verse level look at the bible. Micah prophesied during the days of jotham, ahaz and hezekiah, kings of judah micah 1. Micah 1 kjv the word of the lord that came to micah bible. The mountains will melt under him and the valleys will be split, like wax before the fire, like water poured down a steep place. Micah has many prophecies of jesus christ concerning christs birthplace he was a prophet of hope looking forward to the messiah, when he will reign and peace will cover the earth. Top 5 commentaries on the book of micah ligonier ministries. On the one hand, the prophecies announce judgment upon israel for social evils, corrupt leadership and idolatry. In greek the book is titled micaias again after the prophet to whom it was given.
The theme that resounds throughout this book is the mercy of which gods people are assured despite their faithlessness, especially the faithlessness of their leaders. This is part of a series on micah and the hope that he pronounced. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. The lord, the judge who scatters his people for their sins, is also the shepherdking who in covenant. The book of micah was likely written between 735 and 700 b. Chapter 1 verse 5 says micah was from moresheth a town in southern judah. The book of hosea consists of fourteen chapters, which was the record for a minor prophet until zechariah tied it a couple centuries later. He lived in a small village named moresheth, not far from the city of gath, which was destroyed by the assyrians when they invaded judah. Scholars believe it was written by micah the prophet, about 700 years before jesus was born. Micah 1 kjv the word of the lord that came to micah. Israel, the northern country consisting of ten tribes, and judah, the remaining two tribes in the south.
Micah 4 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on. Micah 1 king james version kjv 1 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. An advent service plan focused on introducing the book of micah with not only the judgment, but also the hope and grace pronounced by micah, which we are reminded of during advent. Micah 1, new international version niv the bible app. The prophecy attests to micahs deep sensitivity to the social ills of his day, especially as they affected the small towns and villages of. First, it provides a point of comparison with the major prophetic book of isaiah. Micah prophesied during the reigns of the judean kings jotham 750735 b. Commentary on the book of micah by matthew henry old. Micah presented these messages of hope to motivate his audience towards repentance and encourage their faith in yahweh.
The first stage was the collection and arrangement of some spoken sayings of the. Let the lord god be witness against you, the lord from his holy temple. Micah 3 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on. With this additional short summary of the book of micah you can discover the people, places and stories detailed in this holy scripture. See more ideas about bible verses, word of god and bible. For example, micah taught that the sins of the leaders of israel would result in the destruction of. Micah 1 niv bible the word of the lord that came to. Micah 1 niv bible the word of the lord that came to micah. Micah 4 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on the. Rvic2000 american revised version, improved and corrected micah 700 the book of micah 1. Micah also prophesied christ as king and christ reigning in righteousness. Micah is sixth in order of the twelve minor prophets. This hope for future restoration is strengthened by the next most prominent passage in the book, the final passage a. This summary of the book of micah provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of micah.
Following the fall of the northern kingdom, micah prophesied to the southern. The ministry of the prophet micah began during the reign of the judean king jotham 750732 and lasted until the reign of hezekiah 729686. Judgment and restoration inspire fear and hope, two ideas wrapped up in the final sequence of micah s prophecy, a courtroom scene. The prophet micah and the remnant scripture thoughts. That is, the book of micah is not the same thing as the person micah. The book of micah synthesis and highlights of the book i. All of her idols will be smashed, all of her earnings will be burned with fire and all of her images i will make desolate, for she collected them from a harlots earnings, and to the earnings of a harlot they will return. However, micah also eloquently stated that heavenly father hears the prayers of his children and that jesus christ is an advocate for and a light unto all see micah 7. Some, but not all, scholars accept that only chapters contain material from the late 8th century prophet micah. Little is known about the prophet micah beyond what can be learned from the book itself and fromjer 26. Micah s writings address the themes of judgment and hope. Transcribed and edited by david sielaff, july 20 read the accompanying.
The following diagram shows how many times and where in micah words of comfort and hope are used compared to words of warning and judgment. The theme of yahwehs relationship to his people as the metaphor of. Welcome to a rich, challenging, and wonderful study of the book of micahone of the books of the lords word. The author of the book of micah was the prophet micah micah 1. Intro to micah biblica the international bible society. Much of micahs book revolves around two significant predictions. Micah was no doubt a prophet of god in eighth century bc israel. Micahs writings address the themes of judgment and hope. The literary structure highlights micahs main themes of israels social sins, the moral. This book also contains a significant messianic prophecy 5. This chapter is composed of three brief sections exposing the sins of the rulers of the people, the princes and judges micah 3.
Micah was from the town of moresheth, probably moresheth gath in southern judah. The central passage in the book is micahs central message of hope for the future d. This summary of the book of micah will help with many different forms of bible study. Facebook is showing information to help you better understand the purpose of a page. This was about the same time as hosea and isaiah, though micah may have served somewhat later. Ostensibly, it records the sayings of micah, whose name is mikayahu hebrew. In micah 5 it is further called the remnant of jacob and so we think of the weakness of the man jacob, but also of the great covenant promises to abraham, isaac and jacob. Micahs name encapsulates the theme of the book, who is like yahweh.
Jotham and hezekiah were good kings, but ahaz was very wicked. The author, micah, was of the town called moresheth which. Through the prophetic voice, the lord announces the impending punishment of gods people by means of military defeat and exile. He lived during the reigns of yehotam, ahaz and hezekiah, roughly 750700 bc. The book of micah is the sixth in order of the socalled minor prophets. This would date his ministry generally to the time 7 bc, and the writing of the book just before the invasion and destruction. As an outline will show, the message varies between condemnation for the present sins and gods purpose of ultimate. Following the fall of the northern kingdom, micah prophesied to the southern kingdom of judah.
Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of. According to the superscription, this judaean prophet was active during the last half of the 8th century bc. The book of micah contains three prophecies concerning the remnant. Little is known about the prophet micah beyond what can be learned from the book itself and from jer 26. As is usually the case, we should keep in mind that there is a difference between a prophet and a prophetic book. It is next to the last of those prophets who prophesiedin the period of the assyrian s upremacy, which would be from the 9th. The book predicts the fall of samaria, which occurred in 722, but concerns more especially the sins and dangers of jerusalem in the days of hezekiah around 700. The fifth of the minor prophets, dating from the late 700s b. Mar 14, 2009 the ministry of the prophet micah began during the reign of the judean king jotham 750732 and lasted until the reign of hezekiah 729686. Book of micah overview insight for living ministries. Book of micah simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
587 991 193 677 1183 1470 873 810 626 769 151 120 865 1442 551 1334 303 731 239 635 950 1432 565 474 42 509 983 201 771