The Believer In A Time of Judgment

Micah 7:1-20

“Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.” (Micah 7:1)

Micah describes himself like a hungry person in fall after all the crops have been harvested.  Birds and animals had already gathered the gleanings of grapes and other fruit, and there was nothing with which to satiate his hunger. 

“The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.  That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.  The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.” (Micah 7:2-4)

The entire culture was rotten and no one tried to do what was right.  They were constantly killing and taking advantage of each other.  The evil was accepted , with corrupt politicians and judges accepting bribes and powerful men able to get almost anything they want done.  The best and most honest will take advantage if given an opportunity, like carrying a piece of rose bush in your pocket.  The guardians and policemen will be troubled  by the things that happen

“Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.  For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.  Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.” (Micah 7:5-7)

One dared not trust the advice they were given, even by friends.  Secrets one told a friend or mate were likely to be used against him.  The sons had no respect for their fathers, and the daughters constantly rebelled and blamed they mothers for their problems, even suing or killing them.  Mothers in law and daughters in law made no effort to get along, and the worst enemies were members of one’s own family. 

“Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.  I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.  Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.” (Micah 7:8-10)

Though he served the Lord, Micah lived among the wicked people and would be affected by the things that they experienced.  When those things happened, his enemies should not think he was as bad as the rest.  Even at the worst times he would have the Lord as his light.  Knowing his own sin he would accept God’s judgment, trusting him to deliver him.  Those enemies that have made fun of his trusting God will be destroyed and he will survive to see it.   Micah was a figure for what Israel could expect. 

“In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed.  In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.  Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.” (Micah 7:11-13)

One day God’s judgment will be ended, and Jerusalem rebuilt.  People will come back from all the countries they have been driven to when that that happens.  In the meantime, however, the land of Israel will be deserted and unoccupied as a result of the behavior of the people. 

“Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.  According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I show unto him marvellous things.” (Micah 7:14-15)

Micah prays that God would deal with Israel like he did when they came out of Egypt.  They had gotten used to living on their own land and not answering to God.  They needed to experience the struggles before they took the land, conquering the Land of Gilead and taking the Land of Bashan. 

“The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.  They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee.” (Micah 7:16-17)

When Israel sent the spies to Jericho, Rahab told them all the people were terrified because they knew God was going to give Israel the victory.  When the Lord returns as King and reclaims Jerusalem, the nations of the world will have that same awareness of His power.  They will do everything in their power to escape his judgment, fearing the consequences of drawing his attention, like a snake hiding in the dust or a worm crawling out of a hole to get something to eat. 

“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.  He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.  Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.” (Micah 7:18-20)

There is no other God who is willing to forgive deliberate sins and not hold the actions of our ancestors against us.  He doesn’t hold grudges, because he loves to give mercy.  He will consider our feelings and bring our sins under control, taking them away and sinking them into the deepest sea.    He will keep the promises he made to Abraham.   

While this prophecy was specifically to Judah, it relates to Christian today, as Galatians 3:6-9 explains.  “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.  Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.  And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.  So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.”

Seeking Reconciliation

Micah 6:1-16

“Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.   Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD'S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.” (Micah 6:1-2)

For hundreds ofyears, Israel had done as they pleased, worshipping other Gods and ignoring God’s commands, ignoring his efforts to work things out and denying any responsibility for the problems.   In a final effort to get their attention, God is publically declaring his complaints against Israel to the mountains and nations around them in an effort to work things out.     

“O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.  For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.  O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.” (Micah 6:3-5)

What has God done that they found other gods more attractive?  What are they so upset about?  What God remembers is freeing them from slavery in Egypt, and using Moses and his siblings to teach them.  They need to remember how Balak wanted Balaam to curse them and Balaam told him he couldn’t because God loved them and was determined to bless them.  They were like a dissatisfied wife who has forgotten why she married her husband.  All they remembered were the problems. 

“Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?  Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?  He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?  The LORD'S voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.” (Micah 6:6-9)

Reconciliation was not going to require sacrificing their children or giving up everything they had.  He wouldn’t even be pleased with them giving thousands of rams or a lot of money.  His demands were not excessive.   All he is asking is that they do what they agreed to do.  They need to treat other people fairly, to show mercy, rather than being vindictive, and to put away their pride and recognize God’s authority.  They don’t need to worry about losing their identity, because God will make others to recognize them. 

“Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?  Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?  For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.” (Micah 6:10-12)

Reconciliation in marriage requires that they guilty party put away pictures of other man or woman, and gifts they have given and stop staying out late, going to bars and dances without the mate.  In the same way, God was saying they needed to get rid of the reminders of those other Gods and stop doing the things they did when with them.  They would have to stop cheating their customers.  They’d have to quit using intimidation and violence to get their ways, and stop lying.

“Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.  Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.  Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.” (Micah 6:13-15)

Their insistence on continuing those things would result in God refusing to give them the things they wanted.  The food they received would not be satisfactory, and they would be repeatedly shamed in front of others.  Their efforts to make things happen will fail, and what they get will be taken from them.  They will put out all the effort to make things better, but it will not happen. 

For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.” (Micah 6:16)

Instead of doing what God had commanded, they were keeping the commands of king Omri, and copying the actions of Ahab.  They were following the advice of these wicked kings, completely ignoring God’s instructions and the agreement with him.    As a result, God is going to withdraw and leave them alone.  Other people will point at them as failures, and they will held responsible for Israel’s breakup.

Christ’s Earthly Kingdom

Micah 5:1-15

“Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.” (Micah 5:1)

God had brought Israel under attack and they would be defeated, It would strike a blow against the rulers of Israel. 

“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.  Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.”  (Micah 5:2-3)

This is the prophecy the priests quoted to tell Herod where Jesus would be born.  Though they would be taken captive along with the rest, it would be rebuilt at the time of Messiah’s birth.  All of the Jews will come back to Israel, when Messiah establishes his kingdom at the end of the Tribulation. 

“And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.  And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.  And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.” (Micah 5:4-6)

When Christ establishes his earthly kingdom, he will stand in the power of God.  As we learn from various prophecies in Daniel (Daniel 2, 7,8,11),a coalitions of ten countries will take world power, but a separate leader will overthrow three of those countries an take control.  When they do, they turn on the ancient kingdom started by Nimrod, later controlled by the Sumerians, and in Micah’s day by the Assyrians.  Later it would be conquered by the Babylonians, and Revelation 17-18 describes the destruction of Babylon near the end of the Tribulation.  

“And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.  And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.  Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.” (Micah 5:7-9)

In that day, the Jews will be a blessing to lands where they dwell.  Christ will rule with a rod of iron, and attacks on the Jews will be put down aggressively.  Those who hate the Jews will be destroyed. 

“And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots: 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 5:10-15)

For centuries, Israel depended on military might for their protection, rather than on the Lord.  In that day, he will take away all their military might.  Horses and chariots, the forerunners of modern tanks and armored cavalry, will be melted down and made into things for peace time use.   Their forts and military bases will be decommissioned and destroyed.  Mystics, psychics, and shamans will be executed.  The idols and false religions will be destroyed along with their centers of worship.  While the focus of the Tribulation will be on the Jews, other nations will be judged in ways they have never imagined.  

Restoration To Come

Micah 4:1-13

“But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.  And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (Micah 4:1-2)

At the time of the Lords return, Jerusalem will be established as the capital of Christ’s kingdom.  Isaiah 65 and Revelation 20-21 also describe a time when the world will flock to Jerusalem to worship God, and to learn what he commands.    Jesus Christ will be the king. 

“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 pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.  But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. For all 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.” (Micah 4:3-5)

Isaiah 11:10 makes it clear who the king will be in that day, and that the people turn to him.  “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. “  Revelation 19:15-16 describes how he keeps things undetr control.  “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”  There will no longer be the power struggles we see today. 

“In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.  And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.” (Micah 4:6-8)

Israel would be carried away from their land, but eventually God will bring them back.  Isaiah 11:11-13 describes what will happen.  “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.  And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.  The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.”  For centuries, competition between the northern and southern kingdoms had interfered with their serving God.  In that day even the internal conflicts will be ended.

“Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.  Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.” (Micah 4:9-10)

As the Assyrians took Israel, they invaded Judah as well.  Instead of trusting God, Judah first tried to buy the Assyrians off, which the Assyrians took as a sign of weakness.   God was still there and willing to help them.  The troubles they were going through were to help them understand God wanted to help.   Because of their refusal to trust they would be taken captives by Babylon, where God would protect them and bring them back after seventy years. 

“Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.  But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.  Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.” (Micah 4:11-13)

Nations that didn’t understand God’s love were crying for the total destruction of Israel.  Like many ungodly people today, they didn’t understand God’s punishment was to correct Israel, assuming it was done out of hatred rather than love.  When it was done, God would gather them into his arms like a father does a repentant child.  The people who had tried to capitalize on their punishment would be destroyed, and the things they had claimed would be given to God.  

Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

Micah 3:1-12

“And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?  Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.  Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.” (Micah 3:1-4)

The political, religious , and business  leaders of Israel were responsible for the moral and ethical standards in the nation.  They should not think they were immune to judgement for their sin.  They hated those who did what was right, and protected the evil, ripping off everything the good people had and leaving them destitute and starving, with no more concern than a person cutting up a piece of meat to cook it.  When God’s judgment falls, and they are calling for help, God will not listen to their pleas any more than they have for other people.      

“Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.  Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.  Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.” (Micah 3:5-7)

The preachers and religious leaders were teaching the people to sin.  When they took advantage and hurt them, they blamed them for getting upset, and anyone who didn’t donate to them freely was attacked.  As a result, things would get so confused they couldn’t make their plans or predict what was going to happen.   Their errors would become known and people would lose confidence in their recommendations and promises.  They will reach a point where they are afraid to make predictions, because God doesn’t do what they expect. 

“But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.” (Micah 3:8)

Though they didn’t want to hear him, Micah was full of God’s Spirit, empowered to teach them about justice, or fair play,  and to warn them about their sin and disobedience to God. 

“Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.  They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.  The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.” (Micah 3:9-11)

The leaders hated real justice and fairness.  They deliberately perverted the laws, favoring one side over the other.  They allowed or caused people to be killed to gain power and depended on sinful enterprises to keep them in power.  Laws, political decisions and court rulings depended on bribes and lobbying efforts.  The churches and religious organizations adapted their practices on what got people to give the most, and the preacher’s messages were based on what the people wanted to hear.   All of this was based on their claims to be serving God, and statements that God was going to protect them so that nothing bad would happen to them. 

“Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.” (Micah 3:12)

Because of their attitude and sin, Zion, the political and religious district of Jerusalem would be plowed like a field.  The main part of Jerusalem would become a ruin with heaps of rubble everywhere.    The temple mount would be as barren as God had made the places of idolatry in the forests.  

Judgment Results From Their Sin

Micah 2:1-13

“Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.  And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.” (Micah 2:1-2)

God’s law provided specific guidelines to protect the ownership rights of the Jewish people.  As time passed the Jews had become more focused on obtaining wealth.  They plotted ways to bypass those protections so that they could appropriate land they wanted, like Jezebel plottong to seize Naboth’s vineyard in I Kings 21.  They used fraud, unfair lending practices, unfair laws, and even murder to take people’s family property away.    God was angered by their actions. 

 

“Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.  In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.  Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the LORD.” (Micah 2:3-5)

Because of their disregard for God’s commands and the rights of other people, God was bringing punishment on Jacob’s descendants.  They will not be able to escape, and will be shamed by people talking about how God has taken away their lands and given them to other people.  They will reach a point where there is no one left to settle disputes. 

“Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.  (Micah 2:6

They had reached a point where  they banned people telling them what God had said because they didn’t want to be embarrassed by being reminded that what they were doing was wrong.

“O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?” (Micah 2:7)

They needed to look back and remember how good things had been when they kept God’s laws.  The people who had obeyed him had been blessed, but the further they got from following God’s plan the worse things became. 

“Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war.  The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever.” (Micah 2:8-9)

Criminals assaulted and robbed people because the people had become so opposed to war they would no longer defend themselves.  Widows and orphans had their property seized and were driven from their homes because they had lost respect for God.   

“Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.” (Micah 2:10)

This was not the kind of world God had promised Israel, but if they stayed in it, it would destroy them right along with everyone else.    

“If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.” (Micah 2:11)

They would follow a man who played on their emotions even when what he proclaimed was obviously a lie, accepting his statements without question.  One con artist said, “the bigger the lie, the more people will fall for it.” 

“I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.  The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.” (Micah 2:12-13)

The house of Israel had been broken up and were being scattered and driven away, with their king being led away captive, leaving their land.  It will affect the entire nation, even the areas that had been taken by other nations, and God will show his power in humiliating them.  

The Judgment of Samaria

Micah 1:1-16

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.” (Micah 1:1)

Micah prophesied in Judah between about 720 and 680 BC.  Over the years Syria and Assyria had gradually take most of Israel’s land.   Finally, about 700 BC, the Assyrians captured the government center in Samaria and Israel collapsed.    Micah explained why these things were happening, as they happened.   

“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.  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.” (Micah 1:2-4)

The people of Judah needed to be warned about what was happening.  God was going to bring Judgment on nation.  He would come out onto the earth, stepping on the high places where they had been worshipping.  The mountains would melt at his step and the valleys would break open like wax in a fire, flowing like water down a steep slope. 

“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?  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.  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.”  (Micah 1:5-7)

The Judgment will come because of the sins of Jacob’s family, both Judah and Israel.  Samaria, the capital of Israel had deliberately led them in worshipping idols on the high places.   Judah had been more discrete in their idolatry, hiding it in Jerusalem next to the temple.   Because their sin was o open, god will deal with Samaria like a pile of dirt and rubble in the middle of a field being prepared for a vineyard.   He will haul the rocks away and dump them, until the pile is eliminated and the natural soil is exposed.   The stone idols will be smashed, and the money that was given as sacrifices to obtain their blessings will be burned.   The shrines and altars will be barren and unused.  Like a prostitute, Israel has served who ever offered quick rewards, and they will continue to do so. 

“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.  For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.” (Micah 1:8-9)

When Israel was destroyed, there would be no recovery or second chances.   The destruction of their sister nation would be an upsetting event for the nation of Judah, and especially as the Assyrians would come up to very gate of Jerusalem before God turned them back    II Kings 18 describes the events including Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah. 

“Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.   Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Bethezel; he shall receive of you his standing.  For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the LORD unto the gate of Jerusalem.”  (Micah 1:10-12)

Sennacherib’s army conquered the smaller cities in Judah, including the Philistine cities the controlled.  Those cities had counted on Judah and the God of Judah to protect them even as they turned to the idols of the people around them, with the army even preparing to attack Jerusalem itself.

“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.  Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moreshethgath: the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.” (Micah 1:13-14)

Lachish had adopted the goddess of war with her chariot hitched to a flying beast, and worshipped al  the other idols that were worshipped in Samaria.  They had spread their idolatry and influenced the kings, of Judah, especially Ahaz.

“Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel.  Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.” (Micah 1:15-16)

Despite their sin and God’s judgment, descendants of those cities will one day return to the land of Palestine.  In the meantime they will go through a prolonged period of sorrow and regret.    For a time their descendants will be taken into captivity.