Book of Micah Chapter Two Commentary by
Ron Beckham
Audio Bible Study - Micah 2:1-5
Verse 1. "Woe to those who scheme
iniquity, who work out evil on their beds! When morning comes, they do it, for
it is in the power of their hands."
The Book of Micah can be viewed as prophesy, which it is
- God was revealing His concerns and His intentions about a people who had
rebelled against His legitimate rule over them. It is also a historical book.
The people and events of the Book of Micah are a part of the history of mankind
and we are supposed to learn from the mistakes of the past. Additionally,
it is like a
courtroom experience - we find from these verses that God places individuals and
nations on trial for their sins against Him.
In the Book of Amos, God, through the prophet,
presented irrefutable evidence that He had a contract with Judah and Israel for
specific performance. He would do good for them and they were to respond
in kind. He revealed that He had indeed done great things for them, but
their response was to rebel against Him. The Book of Micah is in much the
same style as Amos.
This is a people who are literally on trial for their lives. God gives more than we know to all people and we are expected to answer by our
faith in Him, in doing
good to and for one another, in accordance with His will.
When He says, "Woe to those who
scheme iniquity, who work out evil on their beds," He is speaking to you
and me. He has given groups and individuals within mankind a great deal of
freedom. As He says in this verse, "it is in the
power of (our) hands." He will reward
us, now and/or in eternity for responding to His will and caring for our
neighbor,
but we will be judged for our sins when we exhibit unbelief and harm others. Jesus
essentially gave us one command: "This is My commandment,"
He said, "that you love one another, just as I have loved
you" (John 15:12). But if we "work out evil"
instead, we will be judged for what we have done.
Verse 2. "They covet fields and then
seize them, and houses, and take them away. They rob a man and his house, a man
and his inheritance."
The Lord God, Maker of heaven and earth, has delegated
great authority to mankind. We have been given the freedom to bless, to
curse, to help others or to harm them. For those who have been born into
wealth, the money was a gift, not merely for themselves, but much more for the
helping of others who are in need. Those who have earned their money
through cleverness were able to do so because God is the One who gave them
cleverness, along with intelligence and leadership abilities.
Then the next step is, what will you and I DO with what
we have been given? The Law teaches the world to not "covet" that which is not given to us by God (Exodus
20:17). The Lord also says: "Do not withhold good from
those to whom it is due" (Proverbs 3:27). A man's (or woman's) "house" and "his inheritance"
are theirs, not yours or mine. We must become people who are quick to pray
and slow to take someone to court. No matter how favorable the law may be to your legal position, God will not be pleased if you "seize" that which
in HIS sight, belongs to someone else.
Verse 3. "Therefore, thus says the Lord,
'Behold, I am planning against this family a calamity from which you cannot
remove your necks; and you will not walk haughtily, for it will be an evil
time.'"
Notice in the preceding verse that Exodus 20:17 was
cited. In that verse we find we are not to "covet;"
we are not to focus upon and desire that which God has given to someone else, whether it is
persons, places or things that they have. In other words, God will judge
you not only for your bad actions, but also for any greedy thoughts inside you. And He DOES know what we are thinking. That's what David
revealed in Psalm 139:2 - "...You understand my thought
afar off."
God KNOWS that we are all sinners in need of redemption,
and He intends to HEAL us of what we are. In every case He has a PLAN to
bring us back, to restore us from our ruined condition. Many times His
plan includes what is called God's JUDGMENT, and it will always be appropriate. "This family," the whole of Israel and Judah at the time,
had become proud, arrogant and mean-spirited. God would allow
circumstances, "an evil time," to come into their
lives so that they would "not walk haughtily"
anymore.
Verse 4. "On that day they will take up
against you a taunt and utter a bitter lamentation and say, 'We are completely
destroyed! He exchanges the portion of my people; how He removes it from me! To
the apostate He apportions our fields.'"
"That day" is the "evil time" mentioned in Verse 3. Israel and
subsequently Judah would be overrun by enemies. Many of the survivors,
particularly the leaders and the most wealthy among the people, would be taken
away as slaves. This proud people would become a laughingstock. They
would be taunted by their captors and could do nothing about it, except "utter a bitter lamentation" about what had happened.
He would apportion their "fields" to the "apostate," a people with no regard for God at all.
Disasters of this magnitude can happen to any of us.
Wars, the collapse of government, economic reversals and severe illnesses can come
even to those who, like Israel and Judah, felt it could not happen to them.
If such disasters are NOT part of your life, it's time to thank God every moment
of every day. Yes, trouble can come to anyone, but don't add to the danger
of life by turning against God. He wants ultimate good for you and He
will "apportion" your "fields" to someone else, if your possessions are a
barrier to a higher good for your life.
Verse 5. "Therefore you will have no one
stretching a measuring line for you by lot in the assembly of the Lord."
God continues addressing the Jewish people of that time
through the prophet Micah: "Therefore," He is saying, because they "scheme iniquity" and "work out evil
on their beds" (Verse 1); because they "covet
fields and then seize them, and houses, and take them away;" because "They rob
a man and his house, a man and his inheritance"
(Verse 2), they would lose their own inheritance in the land. No longer would a
servant
be "stretching a measuring line" for their
properties, because they wouldn't have either servants or lands anymore.
Most people, at one time or another, have cried out that
God is not "fair." "How could He do this?"... "How could He allow this?"
"Is there no justice in the universe...?" The answer is: Oh yes, there IS
justice, but it is deeper and more subtle than we can truly grasp. Most of
us think we are somehow "good," but Isaiah, a contemporary of Micah, pointed out
that God looks at us more accurately than we see ourselves. He said, "All our righteousness is as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6).
We need the Lord, who will use our circumstances in great and small ways to change us for the good.
Father, we do want safety for ourselves and our loved
ones, but even more we want to do Your will. Help us to WANT You and to
trust in You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Micah 2:6-10
Verse 6. "'Do not
speak out,' so they speak out. But if they do not speak out
concerning these things, reproaches will not be turned
back."
"Do not speak
out," or it is "prophesy ye not"
in some translations. God's prophets filled the land of
Israel. They dressed oddly, spoke in a manner that was
considered strange by those who heard them and acted in a
way that caught the people's attention. But there were other
"prophets" as well; those who did NOT speak the words of
God, but instead said comforting words that tended to
support the status quo, the way things already were in that
land.
It was the latter group who shouted
in response to God's true prophets, "Do
not speak out." But God's men did speak anyway. They
spoke out in faith. The people were being drawn into sin
against God by their leaders and the false prophets who were
paid by those leaders, but God's men loved the people and
wanted them to be saved from disaster. Like the people of
Nineveh were saved from destruction through the words of the
prophet, Jonah, God extended salvation to Judah and Israel.
If God's prophets were kept from speaking, the "reproaches (in relation to that people would)
not be turned back."
Verse 7. "Is it
being said, O house of Jacob: 'Is the Spirit of the Lord
impatient? Are these His doings?' Do not My words do good to
the one walking uprightly?"
Nobody likes to have bad things said
about them. We like to think of ourselves as the "heroes" of
our lives. Many have stayed away from evangelistic crusades
because the speaker is likely to utter words that would
cause us to feel badly about ourselves. No one wants to
think or him or herself as a "sinner," but we are. As John
the Baptist would say to the religious people of his day, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"
(Matthew 3:2). The truth is that we all need to "repent" for we are not as "good" as we think we are.
The people of Israel and Judah were
privileged to be who they were. They had been gifted by God
as a nation, but they responded with pride and arrogance, as
though they had done the work themselves. The various
branches of the Church have acted in a similar manner. The
false prophets asked: "Is the Spirit
of the Lord impatient (with Israel and Judah)" as
this prophet asked? These words and actions of the prophets,
"Are these (God's)
doings?" God is now answering
through Micah: "Yes they are, and here is the proof: The
words of God" 'do good to the one
walking uprightly.'" The Word of God only offends you
if you are a sinner in need of repentance.
Verse 8. "Recently
My people have arisen as an enemy - You strip the robe off
the garment from unsuspecting passers-by, from those
returned from war."
The nation of Israel contained many
of God's people, but the wealthy of the land and the
nation's leaders, treated them as though they were an "enemy." The issue of how God could have a people
within a people, consisting of those who trusted in Him and
those who didn't, was later addressed by the Apostle Paul.
He asked, "Has God cast away His
people?" and he answered, "Certainly
NOT!" (Romans 11:1). Paul spoke of a "remnant" that has always existed within the nation
Israel (Romans 11:5). And ultimately, "all Israel will be saved" (Romans 11:26) through the
grace and mercy of God.
At the time the words of Micah were
written, many had simple, clean faith in the Lord, including
Micah himself, Isaiah his contemporary, and more. But there
were those who "strip(ped) the robe" from others, apparently because debts had
not been paid. This was the great robe, a costly garment,
the possession of a lifetime. This practice was expressly
forbidden in the Law: "If you ever
take your neighbor's garment as a pledge (for a
debt), you shall return it to him
before the sun goes down" (Exodus 22:26). We must
watch what we do to others, for God is watching you and me.
Verse 9. "The women
of My people you evict, each one from her pleasant house.
From her children you take My splendor forever."
Philip Yancey, in his book, "The Bible Jesus Read" (page 134), told of a time
when his wife, Janet, came home angry about a janitor who
was tyrannizing the residents of a senior citizens'
building. He would use his master key to enter widow's
apartments, then beat them and steal their money. The man
was in a position of trust, in which he was supposed to help
others. Instead, he used his position to cause great harm.
The group that was called "My people" in this verse and those who are God's
people right now, are in that position of trust. We have
been rescued by God, not merely for ourselves, but so we can
use His strength, His abilities, and His resources to help
others. Just as that janitor was given income and a special
master key, we are given saving faith and the gifts of God
for the benefit of those around us. Take care that you do
not "evict" His people and "take (God's) splendor"
from those you serve.
Verse 10. "Arise and
go, for this is no place of rest because of the uncleanness
that brings on destruction, a painful destruction."
Have you noticed the RESTLESSNESS
that fills the world. For the average person, if you have a
little, you want more. There is a kind of "uncleanness" in our attitudes that makes the typical
person want more-and-more - endlessly. Insurance policies,
promotions, inheritances, investments, commissions,
salaries, bonuses, properties, and so on. There's no end to
what people want in order to feel SAFE, but it's never
enough.
Are these things EVIL in themselves?
Not really; no, they're not. But Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and
all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew
6:33). Look to the Lord FIRST in life, first in everything.
He will decide what you need and He will give you enough.
When you place Him first in your life, you will find what's
really important. To ignore Him and what He offers will lead
to "a painful destruction."
Father, help us to identify,
welcome and assist those You have sent to help others in this
world. Give us discernment and also give us Your love for
one another. Thank You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Micah 2:11-13
Verse 11. "If a man walking after wind
and falsehood had told lies and said, 'I will speak out to you concerning wine
and liquor,' he would be spokesman to this people."
Isaiah the prophet was speaking words to the people in
the same country and at the same time as Micah. Idolatry had become rampant at
that time and place, and false prophets spoke in defense of sinful practices.
Isaiah said of such men, "They are all worthless; their works are
nothing; their molded images are wind and confusion" (Isaiah 41:29). And
life has not changed much. If anything, today's "prophets" are even worse.
On television, radio, in magazine ads and on billboards,
millions of dollars, euros, rubles and every other kind of monies are spent "concerning wine and liquor." Wine and beer tasters abound, drug
sellers are on street corners and in alleys, and such individuals are each
considered a "spokesman" for the needs of many.
Much of what is valued in this world is precisely what this verse says: This
world is "walking after wind and falsehood."
Verse 12. "I will surely assemble all of
you, Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel. I will put them together
like sheep in the fold; like a flock in the midst of its pasture they will be
noisy with men."
Micah now abruptly changes his emphasis. He told them in
Verse 10 that their present lifestyle and attitude would lead the nation to a "painful destruction," and now, in Verses 12 and 13, he
gives them a glimpse of what would happen AFTER the national "destruction"
occurred. There was to be a "remnant" of Israel
to the north and the nation of Judah to the south. This people would not be
utterly destroyed, but instead some of them were to be brought back to the land once more.
In the 20th century, God would allow evil men like Hitler and
Stalin to cause the Jewish people to hunger for the land of Israel to a degree that
they would actually return to it. Notice that God through the prophet says in
this verse that HE would "assemble" and "gather" Jacob, also known as Israel. They indeed have
returned to the land on foot, in cars, by ship, airplane, and in many other
ways, but it was GOD who brought them "together like sheep
in the fold, like a flock in the midst of its pasture." The land once
more is "noisy with men," God's people, the nation
Israel.
Verse 13. "The breaker goes up before
them; they break out, pass through the gate and go out by it. So their king goes
on before them, and the Lord at their head."
"The breaker" in this verse
is a liberator, which did have partial fulfillment in men like King Cyrus of Persia.
Isaiah prophesied of him, before the man was even born: "Cyrus, he is My shepherd...
saying to Jerusalem, 'you shall be rebuilt,' and to the
temple, 'your foundations shall be laid'" (Isaiah 44:28). The liberator
may also include men like Zerubbabel, the leader of the Jewish exiles when they returned
from the land of the east. There are more, but none of them is the "king" mentioned in this verse.
Their "king" was further into
the future, the one that would be called the "Messiah," the anointed one of God.
He "goes up before them," rescuing them
from sin and leading His people into
the sheepfold of God. This looks ahead to the time when the Lord would remember
His little ones and "take away their sins" (Isaiah
27:9, Romans 11:27), by dying on a cross for the sins of the world. And it
looks ahead even further to a time when "all Israel will
be saved" (Romans 11:26).
Lord, be Thou our "breaker,"
our "king," who goes before us and leads us to
Your sheepfold once more. We repent of our sins and trust in You, now and
forever. We love you, Lord, and we praise Your Holy Name. In Jesus
Name. Amen.
