Micah
Micah 1:2:
Hear, all you peoples;Listen, O earth, and all that is in it! Let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, The Lord from His holy temple |
The Lord saw what you have done.
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Micah 2:6-11
6 “Do not prophesy,” their prophets say. “Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us.” 7 You descendants of Jacob, should it be said, “Does the Lord become impatient? Does he do such things?” “Do not my words do good to the one whose ways are upright? 8 Lately my people have risen up like an enemy. You strip off the rich robe from those who pass by without a care, like men returning from battle. 9 You drive the women of my people from their pleasant homes. You take away my blessing from their children forever. 10 Get up, go away! For this is not your resting place, because it is defiled, it is ruined, beyond all remedy. 11 If a liar and deceiver comes and says, ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’ that would be just the prophet for this people |
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Micah 2:11:
If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophecy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people The people will find a prophet to feed their own appetite. |
The people were religious, but it was an empty ceremonialism. "Religion had become a matter of form; ceremonial observances were thought to meet all religious requirements. There was widespread misapprehension that as long as the external acts of worship were scrupulously performed the people were entitled to the divine favor and protection" (Homer Hailey). "The people have replaced heartfelt worship with empty ritual, thinking that this is all God demands. They have divorced God's standards of justice from their daily dealings in order to cover their unscrupulous practices"
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Micah 4:1-4:
In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid,for the LORD Almighty has spoken. |
Prior to the end of all things, man will have gained a glorious Sabbath rest on earth, one described over and over again by Isaiah (Is 63:17-25). The Sabbath rest here described has little to do with the pharisaic rules of modern Sabbatarians.
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Micah 4:3:
And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. |
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Micah 4:5:
"For all the people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever." |
To "walk in the name" means to walk in the power and authority of the person or authority named. The old expression, "Open, in the name of the king," or, "in the name of the law," reflects this. The Name or authority we can rightly claim determines our power. This is why we pray "in Jesus NAME," i.e., in His person and authority. If your god is yourself, or mankind, your authority will be a limited and poor one. The growing impotence of many churches is due to the nature of their god not resembling the biblical God. Their God is limited, sentimental, and incapable of judgment or true redemption. Their god is small, weak, and ineffectual. He can give advice but no government or deliverance.
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Micah 5:2:
“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose going forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” |
Christs kingdom was predicted to arrive in humility, far from the centers of human power. Jesus was to be a descendant of David. Bethlehem had been David’s hometown.
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Micah 5:11-15:
And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds: And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.
And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds: And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.
Micah 6:8:
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” |
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Micah spoke out against false holiness and stated clearly what true holiness is. God requires, of all men: justice, love of mercy, and humility.
A businessman's religion starts with justice. He determines to be right with God, right with men, right with self. This is the standard.
A businessman's religion starts with justice. He determines to be right with God, right with men, right with self. This is the standard.
![]() Notice what Micah didn’t say. He didn’t say God had told us what is good. Yes, God does tell us that again and again; but Micah used the word “shown.” By His own actions, God has set the standard for our lives, behavior, words, and attitudes.
As the Lord has shown us, so we should do—and this is the essence of biblical love. Let’s zero in on the three qualifiers of Micah 6:8. They represent God’s great expectations of us. They are His values in a nearly valueless world. -Dr David Jeremiah |
![]() Breakdown of Micah 6:8
Do justice. This doesn’t mean lock people up – it has nothing to do with criminal justice. It means treat others fairly. Make sure that people have what they need. Love kindness. This doesn’t refer to our feelings, it means to actually help other people be treated fairly. Be kind to them. Walk humbly with your God. This doesn’t mean deciding Jesus was wrong or being self-serving with what we do. It means being less than God and looking up to him as a guide. Our actions as followers of Christ demonstrate what following Christ means. It demonstrates not just to us, but to others. Words are just words, confusion in the spiritual realm, until the Spirit of God and experience in life convinces us of their validity. This is all a bit different than swearing some kind of allegiance to a “Christian nation,” with all sorts of self-serving and misled beliefs. This is what it means to be a Christian. -Dorian Scott Cole; New Generations Explore Faith |