1What misery is mine!
I am like one who gathers summer fruit
at the gleaning of the vineyard;
there is no cluster of grapes to eat,
none of the early figs that I crave.
2The godly have been swept from the land;
not one upright man remains.
All men lie in wait to shed blood;
each hunts his brother with a net.
3Both hands are skilled in doing evil;
the ruler demands gifts,
the judge accepts bribes,
the powerful dictate what they desire—
they all conspire together.
4The best of them is like a brier,
the most upright worse than a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen has come,
the day God visits you.
Now is the time of their confusion.
5Do not trust a neighbor;
put no confidence in a friend.
Even with her who lies in your embrace
be careful of your words.
6For a son dishonors his father,
a daughter rises up against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.
7But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD,
I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear me.
8Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness,
the LORD will be my light.
9Because I have sinned against him,
I will bear the LORD’s wrath,
and establishes my right.
He will bring me out into the light;
I will see his righteousness.
10Then my enemy will see it
and will be covered with shame,
she who said to me,
“Where is the LORD your God?”
My eyes will see her downfall;
even now she will be trampled underfoot
like mire in the streets.
11The day for building your walls will come,
the day for extending your boundaries.
12In that day people will come to you
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates
and from sea to sea
and from mountain to mountain.
13The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,
as the result of their deeds.
14Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
which lives by itself in a forest,
in fertile pasturelands.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
as in days long ago.
15“As in the days when you came out of Egypt,
I will show them my wonders.”
16Nations will see and be ashamed,
deprived of all their power.
They will lay their hands on their mouths
and their ears will become deaf.
17They will lick dust like a snake,
like creatures that crawl on the ground.
They will come trembling out of their dens;
they will turn in fear to the LORD our God
and will be afraid of you.
18Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
but delight to show mercy.
19You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
20You will be true to Jacob,
and show mercy to Abraham,
as you pledged on oath to our fathers
in days long ago.
Original Meaning
BECAUSE COMMENTATORS DISAGREE on many issues related to the interpretation of this complex conclusion to the book of Micah, it is important for us to be aware of the options and the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. (1) The first problem arises because the one lamenting in 7:1 is not overtly identified. Three major hypotheses have developed. (a) Some see the lament as a response to the announcement of judgment on the city of Jerusalem in 6:9–16. Thus, the first-person verbs represent the collective sentiments of the city of Jerusalem (7:1, 7–9), while the pronominal suffix on “your God” in 7:10d (feminine singular) agrees with the word “city.”1
(b) Others see an individual righteous person (likely the prophet Micah) lamenting the anarchy of Judah in 7:1–6 and find the community lament of the city with answers of hope in 7:7–20.2 This reconstruction is better than the first view for it does not have the difficulty of explaining why the wicked and unrepentant people in the city of Jerusalem during the time of Manasseh are lamenting their own wickedness.
(c) A third approach suggests that the whole chapter was the personal lament of Micah, plus his intercession for the depraved people in Judah (cf. 1:8–16).3 This view is preferable, for it seems unlikely that the people of Israel would confess their own sins and look to God for help (7:8–11).4 It is more natural to imagine that a righteous person like the prophet Micah would lament about the evil in Judah. He would be the one disappointed about wickedness (7:1), mourn the loss of the righteous in Judah (7:2), confess the nation’s sins (7:8–9; cf. Ezra 9; Jer. 14:1–9; Dan. 9:1–19), and intercede for God’s grace and powerful deliverance (Mic. 7:14).
(2) A second problem relates to the date of this message. Willis believes the prophet is speaking as the nation’s representative but concludes that the hope section in 7:7–20 was given much earlier (around 725 or 721 B.C.), when Assyria conquered the northern nation of Israel.5 This oracle was adapted and added in the exilic period as the conclusion to Micah’s teachings long after his death. Others question any connection with the northern kingdom and conclude that this passage assumes the fall of Jerusalem; thus, it must have an exilic or postexilic date.6 Yet all the prophets predict the fall and restoration of Judah long before it happened, so I see no fundamental reason why Micah himself could not have received these words from God.
Chapters 6 and 7 fit well into the time of Manasseh, at the end of Micah’s ministry. He feels so discouraged because many people who have originally followed Hezekiah’s reforms turn against them (7:1–2). Thus, it seems as if there is not one righteous person left in the land (this certainly does not fit Hezekiah’s reign after his reform). Although Micah has experienced the joyous and great revivals under Hezekiah (2 Kings 18–20; 2 Chron. 29–32), during Manasseh’s initial years he witnesses the depressing reversal of Hezekiah’s reforms, a broad decline in morality, and an acceptance of pagan worship (2 Kings 21).
(3) The rhetorical purpose of this sermon at the beginning of Manasseh’s reign is to demonstrate the prophet’s deep sorrow and anguish over the terrible social and religious problems in Judah and to intercede with God for forgiveness. He also wants to give hope to the righteous who still listen to his old-fashioned message. The only thing they can do is to cry out in confession, look to God in their misery, pray for his help, and rejoice in the hope that he will fulfill his promises by restoring Judah sometime after its judgment. The few righteous people left need to focus on God, his love, his forgiveness, and his power rather than their hopeless situation or the mocking of their enemies (Mic. 7:10). God is faithful to his promises to Abraham and constant in his love, and he will fulfill his oath to their forefathers (7:20).
The structure of this sermon is complex, but there are similarities between certain lament psalms and this passage.7 This chapter is composed of a lament over the terrible state of the nation (7:1–6), a confession of trust and confidence in God for forgiveness and help (7:7–10), an oracle of salvation (7:11–13), a petition asking God to deliver them (7:14), another oracle of salvation promising victory over enemies (7:15–17), and a final response of praise to God (7:18–20). The two oracles of salvation (7:11–13, 15–17) are a direct response to the requests before them, and the final hymn of praise responds to God’s promise of hope in the salvation oracle.
Micah Laments Judah’s Decadent Social Situation (7:1–6)
THIS SORROWFUL PRAYER begins with a cry of disappointment and hopelessness. Using the common metaphor of a harvester going out to gather his crops, Micah expresses his frustration and disappointment with the fruits of his ministry. Like a farmer who works hard to plant and cultivate his field, Micah has labored faithfully throughout the years and seen a good measure of success during the reform of Hezekiah. But now as he enters the last few years of his ministry, he finds that the fruit of his labor has disappeared.
According to his analogy, both harvesters and gleaners walk to the field with their saliva glands working overtime, for in their imagination they can already taste the wonderful experience of biting into that first fresh grape. They expect to find gorgeous large fruit on the vines, but in this case they find nothing. Micah does not say why the fruit is missing, and it is unnecessary to speculate on the cause. The main point is the exasperation and disappointment people feel when they yearn for something special and get nothing.
In this vein, Micah has yearned to see more and more righteous people filling the villages of Judah, but after the fervor of Hezekiah’s reform wore off, Manasseh now allows the morality of the nation to decline. At the end of Micah’s life, when he hoped to look back with satisfaction on what the Lord has accomplished through him, he sadly finds that there is official opposition from the political and religious leaders and a decline in public morality. Like Elijah, who thought he was the only righteous person left (1 Kings 19:10), Micah feels as if there are no righteous people left in Judah (Mic. 7:2). If he were to search for one person motivated by honesty and steadfast covenant loyalty, he doubts he will find any; they have all disappeared from the face of the earth. As with Elijah, this is probably an exaggeration.8
Instead, “all men” (possibly another exaggeration) hunt down others with ambushes in order to kill them. The second half of verse 2 emphasizes the pervasiveness of these violent acts, the true intentions of the perpetrators, and the deceptive means of achieving these results. Instead of treating other Israelites as God’s chosen people, they are hunting them down like wild animals.
Micah continues to weep over this decadent social situation (7:3). He clarifies that the “all” he is talking about (v. 2) are the leaders, officials, judges, and powerful people in society (cf. 3:9–11). These “great” men (NIV “powerful”) are probably high government officials directly under the king,9 the judges who control the court proceedings, and the civilian and military officials. They use their powerful positions in the social structure of Israelite society to get what they want. They are skillful in doing this evil because they are in charge of the process and “conspire together” (lit., “weave it”) to benefit each other.
The verbs in verse 3 indicate why these leaders are successful. They sometimes have the gall to demand special bribes or financial rewards to grease the wheels of government. Their longings (quite in contrast to Micah’s in 7:1) motivate them to get what they want by whatever means necessary, no matter what laws are twisted or what people are sacrificed. Although the covenant law forbids judges from taking bribes (Ex. 23:8; Deut. 10:17; 16:19) and requires the people to care for their fellow members rather than take advantage of them (Deut. 15:7–11), these officials work for the purpose of enriching themselves, not serving others.
Micah compares the best and most upright of these oppressors to “briers” and “thorns” (Mic. 7:4), an ambiguous metaphor that is not explained. Perhaps they hurt people instead of help them, or they are thorny barriers to justice instead of God’s instruments of reconciliation. In any case, this is a strong negative characterization of people who are hard to get along with.
Having wept over the problems in Judah, Micah gives a brief prophetic prayer of confidence or an announcement of punishment in 7:4b.10 He reminds his audience that the day that God’s watchmen (the prophets in Ezek. 3:17) predicted will soon come on the nation; the evil they are enduring will soon come to an end.11 The time factor of “now” emphasizes that the disintegration of the present evil status quo will take place in the near future. Micah does not say how this will happen or what nation will wreak havoc on Judah to bring this about.
After this confident statement of divine retribution, Micah returns to lament how the present social upheaval has destroyed the normal peaceful and trusting relationship within the family and neighborhood (Mic. 7:5–6). He exhorts his audience to be cautious about whom they trust since deceit and disloyalty are destroying the solidarity within the most intimate relationships. People need to watch what they do and say at all times because a neighbor, a close friend, or even a spouse might turn against them.
This social reality indicates that the deceit and manipulation in the upper levels of government (7:2–4a) are filtering down to poison the most basic bonds of trust in the family. The dearest friend or relative might repeat something shared in confidence and get one in trouble, or a secret shared only in the bedroom might rise up to haunt one at a later date. When one member of the family tries to take advantage of another, there is a total breakdown in respect and order. Since Israelite culture emphasized the importance of the bonds of family loyalty, it is surprising to see it fall so far from this ideal. The moral depravity of such defiant rebellion against parental authority (7:6) is almost incomprehensible. This is a rejection of the fifth commandment about honoring parents and the opposite of all the admonitions in Proverbs. Children should not defy or attack a family member or an in-law; a relative should not be your worst enemy.
Confession of Trust in God (7:7–10)
THESE VERSES DEMONSTRATE an abrupt change of attitude and focus. Once the prophet moves his attention to God instead of the troubles all around him, a new sense of hope wells up inside. I interpret the “I” who is speaking in verse 7 as the prophet Micah. Beginning with verse 8 he is apparently confessing the sins of Jerusalem, not his own (cf. Ezra 9 and Dan. 9), and expressing hope for the nation.
Verse 7, then, becomes a key focal point for repositioning the prophet’s mental perspective on God’s sovereign control of life. Micah’s concentration on God rather than his problems enables him to see a ray of hope for the future. The “watchman”/prophet (7:4) will “watch” (7:7) for Yahweh his God, for there is no other possible source of life. He will wait, trusting that his saving God will act. God will hear his prayers and understand his situation, for he pays attention to his people when they cry to him for help. These statements describe the deep personal relationship Micah has with God, reveal his dependence on God, and demonstrate that his confidence is not just wishful thinking. Therefore, he can face the future with assurance, for God is there with him.
Knowing that God is a holy God and Judah is sinful, Micah immediately expresses confidence that God will deliver them from their fallen state (7:8), forgive them of their sins (7:9), and shame those who have mocked God (7:10). This refers to a time of hope after a period of national decline and mockery by the wicked. Those who date this section in the postexilic period believe this refers to the national defeat of Judah by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. and the mockery of the Edomites (Obad. 10–14). B. Waltke rejects this dating and believes this is a prophecy that Sennacherib will defeat Jerusalem in 701 B.C. during the time of Micah (he did not know that the nation would repent and avoid that defeat).12 If, however, this lament is given in the time of Manasseh, as I have suggested, we can date it some years after Sennacherib’s attack. If so, the prophet is pointing ahead to the Babylonian conquest (as he did in Mic. 4:9–10).
Micah accepts the inevitability of the nation’s judgment as a result of its sins (cf. 4:9–13), but in faith he believes that the nation will rise once again in the future (7:8). Darkness may come on them for a while, but light from the Lord will follow as surely as day follows night. Since God has a plan for the nation when he establishes his reign over the whole earth (4:1–4), no temporal defeat can annul his eternal purposes. This message of confidence provides hope in a time of hopelessness because the one praying knows that God will establish his eternal kingdom for his people in the eschatological future.
Yet the prophet does not expect this great transformation to take place without a change of heart on the part of the people of Judah. Since there is no evidence that Judah did repent, Micah confesses the nation’s sins for them (like Moses in Ex. 32:30–34), recognizing that their punishment is fully deserved (Mic. 7:9). He also knows that God is not only the Judge who punishes them but also the One who decides when justice is served and when it is time for reconciliation and restoration. Then God will fight for Judah and right the injustices she suffers during her persecution by her enemies, and Judah’s enemies will observe God’s glorious deeds for her (7:9).
Some may mock the faith of the righteous in Judah when she suffers defeat and ask: “Where is your God? Why does he not have enough power to deliver you? If he exists and cares about you, why does he not deliver you from your enemies?” These unbelievers will laugh at the trust of the faithful and despise the power of the living God of Judah, but those who question the sovereign power of the Almighty will not stand for long. When the majesty and power of God are at stake, God intervenes to vindicate his reputation. These enemies are not identified, but their defeat will be total and shameful.13 When these proud people are trampled into the dust of the earth, when their faces are shoved into the mud on the streets by their conquerors, they will totally submit in abject humility to a power much greater than their own.
Oracle of Salvation for Judah (7:11–13)
TO STRENGTHEN THIS picture of restoration after conquest, either Micah reminds his listeners of earlier restoration traditions about the rebuilding of Judah (traditions like Isa. 11:11–16; 27:12–13; 60:11; Amos 9:11) and the desolation of the earth (Isa. 24:1–5), or he receives a new revelation about the restoration of Judah in response to his confession of trust in God. These promises confirm that the expectations of the prophet (Mic. 7:8–10) are not just pie in the sky or ungrounded imaginations of a false prophet. The audience should be persuaded to believe Micah’s message of hope because it fits what God has already promised to do.
The coming “day” is left undefined (Micah does not say “in the last days” [4:1] or “in that day”14 [4:6; 5:10]), so one can connect it to a restoration soon after Judah’s defeat. Or perhaps it has the qualities that are similar to other references to that great eschatological day at the end of time.15 On that unspecified day three things will happen: Judah will be rebuilt, people from all nations will come to Judah, and the rest of the earth will become desolate.
The rebuilding of fences marking Judah’s boundaries (Mic. 7:11; not “city walls,” as in NIV16) implies that Judah will one day restore the domination of its territory. In fact, it will be so strong that it will even extend its boundaries beyond the borders that presently exist (cf. a similar promise in Isa. 26:15). Micah is reminded that God will return the nation to its Promised Land and give it military strength to control all its land, not just the smaller portion now ruled by Manasseh. Through these acts God will bring glory to his name (cf. Isa. 26:15).
Part of the reason why the borders will need to be expanded is that many people from other nations will come to Judah (Mic. 7:12; see 4:1–2). Some interpret this to mean Jewish exiles will return home from Egypt and Assyria17 (as in Isa. 11:11–16; 27:12–13; Zech. 10:8–12), but it seems unlikely that those Jewish exiles actually come from “sea to sea,” a rather universal description of their place of origin.18 Other passages give similar universal images of people from all nations coming to Jerusalem to worship God (Ps. 2:8–12; 72:8–11; Isa. 60:11–12; Mic. 4:1–4; Zech. 9:10). These promises end with a prediction of God’s judgment of all the nations of the earth who do not submit to his rule (Mic. 7:13). The fruits of their evil deeds will cause God to destroy those rebellious inhabitants (cf. Isa. 24:1–6; 26:21).
These traditions about God’s great plans for Judah’s restoration and exaltation in the sight of the Gentiles serve to legitimate Micah’s message of hope for his audience. As the prophet and his audience remember what God will do to their enemies, they are not so fearful about their present suffering under Manasseh and the Assyrians or their future oppression by the Babylonians (Mic. 4:9–10). God has not forgotten them; he is not impotent, and his purposes have not changed. Those who mock will be defeated and trampled into the dust when God annihilates the evil inhabitants of the earth.
Intercession for God to Act (7:14)
BEING REMINDED OF God’s glorious plan for his people, Micah breaks forth into a prayer of intercession for the nation. He pleads for God’s fulfillment of this great promise now. He does not enjoy the present state of the nation’s social disintegration under Manasseh, nor does he look forward to the coming conflict and exile of the people under the Babylonians (cf. Mic. 4:9–10). This petition, like David’s much earlier prayer (2 Sam. 7:25), requests that God, as divine Shepherd-King of his people, take charge of his own flock by graciously ruling over them with his scepter.
These images take one back to two similar references to God using shepherd terminology. In Mic. 2:12–13 God reveals to Micah that he is the King at the head of the nation; he will gather his people together like sheep in a fold. Later in 5:4 Micah talks about the Messiah, who will rule Israel and shepherd his people through the Lord’s strength. These figures of speech engender concepts of God’s care by giving provisions and his divine rule by his royal scepter. He will restore his intimate covenant connection with the people he has chosen as his possession. Although the people presently live in loneliness and deprivation in a scrub land (not “forest,” as in NIV)19 that has little fertility in these difficult years of Manasseh, there is a yearning for the lushness of the pastures of Bashan and Gilead (Num. 32:1–4; Deut. 32:14; Ezek. 39:18), which they enjoyed years earlier when they first were given the land (Num. 32:1–4).20
Oracle of Salvation (7:15–17)
SOME INTERPRETERS SEE these verses as a continuation of Micah’s prayer for God’s help in 7:14, but this interpretation requires one to change the first-person verb “I will show” into a jussive, “let us see.” If verses 15–17 are understood as God’s answer to Micah’s prayer in 7:14, the passage makes sense without changing the text.21 These three verses are a series of promises by God, reconfirming that he will accomplish his plans and do what he has promised.
The yearning for the ancient situation in Micah’s intercessory prayer (Mic. 7:14) may be the impetus for God’s response that recalls his marvelous deeds in the ancient past at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. God promises to answer Micah’s intercessory petition by performing great and awesomely powerful acts on behalf of his people. The “wonders” he will show them are not described, so it is useless to speculate if this refers to another series of plagues like the ones that fell on Egypt (Ex. 7–11), another miraculous deliverance like the dividing of the Reed Sea (Ex. 14–15), or something new and unique. All God promises is that he will accomplish an amazing deed of power to help his people. This will be necessary because the nation is incapable of freeing itself from the mire of its own sinfulness or the military strength of other nations.
The future will be different. When God miraculously intervenes on behalf of his people, the nations that oppress them will see his power and be ashamed of their own puny strength (Mic. 7:16). This response is similar to the trembling and dismay of the nations because of God’s great deeds against Egypt (Ex. 15:14–16) and the melting of the hearts of the people of Jericho (Josh. 2:9–11). Isaiah prophesies that when these nations see the power of God, they will be ashamed of their gods (Isa. 45:16–17, 24) and will tremble in fear when his presence shakes the heavens and the earth (64:1–3). The nations will be powerless, devoid of ability to stand against God; thus, they will fearfully bow in submission before the God of the universe (Mic. 7:16–17).
Because of the awe-inspiring presence of God, the nations will not say a word. They will be speechless and no longer mock the God of Israel (cf. 7:16 with 7:10). Their humiliation is described in terms of “licking the dust” as they come before God. Isaiah likewise knows of a day when all flesh will see and know that God is the Lord of all the earth (Isa. 49:23–26). Then all people will bow their knees to him, swear allegiance to him, and declare that real strength belongs only to the Lord (45:22–24). Micah and Isaiah both prophesy God’s ultimate victory, no matter how strong the enemy may be, no matter how distressed or weak the righteous may be.
Because God had already miraculously destroyed 185,000 Assyrian troops attacking Jerusalem (Isa. 37:36), Micah and his audience have good reason to believe what God says about the future. If he redeemed his people from Egypt and Assyria, certainly he can powerfully act on their behalf again.
This reminder of God’s mighty deeds (past and future) legitimates a new way of looking at the social disintegration of society in Manasseh’s reign (Mic. 7:1–6) and demands a transformation of the audience’s focus. What determines the future is what God has done and will do, not what the evil people in society are now doing. They may rebel against God and effectively destroy his kingdom for a time, but they will soon lick the dust in fear of God’s glory. Though difficulties will come, those who wait on God will rejoice because the Lord is their light and salvation (7:7–9). His promises do not fail, and his awesome power is unlimited.
Hymn of Praise to God (7:18–20)
MICAH’S TIME OF prayer ends (like many laments in the Psalms; see Ps. 13:5–6; 18:46–50; 21:13; 22:22–31) with words of praise to God.22 The process of lamenting naturally brings a person from bitter complaints at the beginning, through petitions for help, to statements of trust and confidence, so that at the end one can refocus on the character and power of God in words of praise. This structural design helps transform the helpless person into a new creature because of a new vision of God. Instead of looking at the world through the human eyes of crisis and disappointment, the righteous are able to realign their concept of reality by perceiving the true character and glory of the sovereign King who controls the nations, their lives, and the future. As Micah ends his prayer on this high note, his audience can hardly help but be impressed with the change that overtakes the prophet.
This hymn is made up of two parts: a celebration of God and what he has done (Mic. 7:18), and praise for what God will do (7:19–20). (1) The words of celebration begin with a rhetorical question: “Who is a God like you?” This comparative question draws attention to the uniqueness of Israel’s God.23 The obvious answer is: There is no other god who compares to Israel’s God. The proof of this claim is related to God’s unique way of dealing with sin; that is, he forgives his people. This passage juxtaposes several words for “sin” with several words for God’s reaction to sin. Sin may be iniquity, rebellion, or a fractured relationship, but it does not forever destroy all hope for having a peaceful relationship with God. Confession of sin and repentance make it possible for sins to be removed, for God’s anger at sin to be appeased, and for God’s steadfast covenant commitment to blossom again.
For the remnant who love God, past experience teaches them that only Israel’s God offers a solution to humanity’s fundamental problem with sin. The Israelites experienced this when they built the golden calf at Mount Sinai, where God did not destroy the nation (Ex. 32:9–14). Instead, after confessing the nation’s sins, Moses requested that God forgive them (32:32). After this episode God proclaimed that he is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love; he is willing to forgive all kinds of sins (34:6–7).
(2) Micah then turns to the future (Mic. 7:19–20) and proclaims that God will again act in compassion toward his people. He will totally remove the sin problem that threatens to destroy their relationship to God. “He” (not “you,” as in NIV) will not be angry forever, nor will he just wink at these sins by pretending they do not exist. He will deal with these sins by removing them and casting them in the depth of the sea (7:19—just as he handled his other enemies in Egypt) or by removing them as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12; Isa. 43:25; 44:22). God will trample down his enemy (sin), defeat its power, and remove all, not just some, sins.
The final stanza (Mic. 7:20) moves beyond the problem of sin to focus on the results of forgiveness. How will forgiveness affect the relationship between God and his chosen people? God will be a trustworthy source of help and will be faithful to his people. He does not change his loyalty from one group to another, based on their looks or behavior; he is a God characterized by faithfulness. When he makes an oath to establish an eternal covenant relationship with a people, he does not back out halfway along the road.
When God swore an oath to Abraham (Gen. 22:16; 26:3; Ex. 13:5, 11) and his descendants many years earlier, he did not speak lightly without considering the cost and commitment of his promises. His eternal plan to use the seed of Abraham to bless all the nations of the earth and to make of them a great nation (Gen. 12:3) is the only plan he has. He did not hold some cards in his back pocket in case things did not work out well but committed himself to bringing about his kingdom through this one people. For Micah and his audience, that plan may have seemed like a lost cause in the days of Manasseh, but through God’s love and forgiveness he will miraculously accomplish his will on earth. Micah’s bold hymn of faith in God’s victory over sin gives real hope for the future.
Bridging Contexts
IF A PASSAGE gives a clear prophecy of a future event, that event should be noted and the principle behind God’s actions identified so that a more general application can be drawn by people who do not live at the time of its fulfillment. Several dangers exist with this kind of text. One may fail to identify the specific event that is being prophesied, one may identify the event but fail to draw any theological principle from it, or one may overexegete a passage by illegitimately inserting New Testament information into the verse and consequently making the prophecy say things that are not revealed to the Old Testament author.
We can identify two general guidelines here. (1) We must not try to turn broad statements about what God will do in the future into prophecies about specific fulfillments that the Old Testament author does not know about. When there is specificity (e.g., the ruler will be born in Bethlehem [Mic. 5:2]), then a specific fulfillment is understood by the prophet. (2) We should try to compare each prophecy with similar prophecies (particularly earlier ones) to see how they fit together to give a clearer understanding of the events being described.
The danger of ignoring these principles of interpretation is seen in those studies that interpret Micah 7:11, for example, simply as a prophecy of Nehemiah’s coming rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall.24 Although Nehemiah did do this, the above exegesis suggests that Micah does not have city walls in mind, but something much bigger—the boundaries of the nation. Thus, the prophecy fits better with other similar eschatological fulfillment passages.
Another questionable example brings New Testament evidence into this passage to enlighten it. Is it appropriate to suggest that the “crucial vocabulary of Micah 7:18 is used in connection with the Suffering Servant of Yahweh in Isaiah 53”25 and therefore conclude that it is appropriate to see this as a prophecy of Christ? Certainly we know today that Christ is the ultimate One who has brought the forgiveness of sins, but this passage never says anything about the Suffering Servant or what God will do to make forgiveness possible for the sins of the whole world. Not every passage that uses these words is automatically about the Suffering Servant. The interpretive focus that looks to specific fulfillments not clearly explicated in the text twists the intention of the author and moves the reader’s attention from what is being communicated to a specific historical example that may or may not clarify the meaning.
Lamenting oppression in society. Micah sets an example for his audience and the reader today by lamenting the corruption, lawlessness, and scarcity of righteous people in his day (Mic. 7:1–6). Several factors characterize his response to these events. (1) Micah does not try to hide his disappointment. He recognizes his own humanness and admits that the circumstances of life have an impact on his disposition. Since God knows his state of mind already, he faces the reality of his own sense of frustration and deep sorrow.
Micah’s example provides a principle for all people involved in ministry. Whether the situation is good or bad, it is important to be aware of and acknowledge how your setting affects your attitude toward God and the people in that social context. It does no good to just “keep a stiff upper lip” and try to ignore what is going on in your heart. Refusing to reflect on the actual facts of life will only result in living in an imaginary world. This subversion of reality also reduces the possibility that a person will grow through the experience.
(2) Another aspect of this lament that is an inevitable part of virtually all ministry experience is a periodic sense of loneliness and inability to trust others (7:2, 5–6). When people feel there are no others around them that truly understand their tensions, their burdens, their temptations, and their holy zeal, a certain sense of being all alone against the rest of the world arises. If people in ministry do not have some trusted friend to bear their burdens, it is not unusual for them to feel as if the odds are so stacked against them that there is no hope for change. If you cannot trust a spiritual leader, if your mother or father have turned against you, if the elders or deacons seem to be enemies rather than fellow laborers in ministry, life will be very lonely. How can people share their deepest doubts and fears with others they cannot fully trust?
Nevertheless, how can a person ever expect life’s circumstances to change if the risk of sharing your deep thoughts of life are never exposed? People tend to make one of two choices. Some continue to live in the unhealthy inner world of loneliness and distrust; they try to fit in with the status quo in order to survive. Others cry out to God for help, boldly admit the frustrations of life, and reach out to others to transform the present situation. Both alternatives have a high cost connected to them, and both can have dire consequences.
(3) The third point that stands out in this lament is that one can only progress out of the struggles in life by identifying the good as good and the bad as bad. Although every person must face reality and enter the real world, one can choose to take a pluralistic view of different moral activities and call them all acceptable alternatives, or one can view some acts as evil and others as good. The moral alternative is aligned with the second approach, but those who fall into this category must also choose how they will respond to the evil activities of others.
Should an internally motivated moral person let others “do their own thing,” or should one try to impact the morality of others? Micah is determined not only to differentiate between the righteous and the wicked, he also speaks out against violence and oppression (7:2–4). This choice makes him unpopular with certain segments of society, but his stand against violence and official corruptions in high places is a result of his moral stand. All believers today end up by default taking a position on crime, sexuality, and all other types of oppression by what they say and do, or by what they do not say and do not do.
Looking to God for hope. Micah’s lament exhibits a dramatic reversal of tone in 7:7. The depression of hopelessness turns not only to the possibility of hope, but the confidence that victory over sin is sure. This reversal of perspective is directly connected to the focus of the prophet. When the evils of this world are center stage, life can seem dreary and uninviting; but when God becomes the focus of attention, the “things of this earth grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.” What factors lead the prophet to change his perspective? What does he see, hear, or remember about God that causes him to view his situation so radically differently?
(1) The prophet remembers that his personal relationship with God provides him with special privileges, the certainty of a divine advocate, and assurances based on the character of God. Because I as a believer have a relationship with God, I have the privilege of talking to God, of knowing that he hears me, and of having God as my light and “my Savior.” Without this personal connection, there is no hope of God’s sovereign intervention into my life’s problems.
But if this relationship exists, then there is a basis for the confidence that God can and will do things as an advocate for a covenant partner. I can be certain that the wait for salvation will end with rejoicing over my enemy, with light and not darkness (7:7–8), for God is pleading my cause (7:9–10). The value of God’s actions produce confidence since he is motivated by principles of righteousness and justice (7:9), not the power or status of the one seeking help.
(2) The prophet remembers what God promised earlier prophets. When one knows God’s earlier promises, this becomes a resource for answering national and personal questions that cry out for solution. If God already said that after a time of punishment his people will come back to their land and their enemies will actually end up joining his people in worshiping God (4:1–8), that makes a big difference in a crisis situation (7:11–12). If fellow prophets are proclaiming a similar message (Isa. 45; 49; 60), the future is not some totally unknown mystery.
Yes, there will still be questions about when this will happen, how God will accomplish this transformation of the world, and how much suffering is required. These unknowns must be approached with an attitude of faith and trust. But the fundamental basis for hope is securely founded on what God has already decided, on the oaths he has already sworn to fulfill (Mic. 7:20). This source of strength has always been a source of hope for believers.
(3) The prophet and every believer draw strength from knowing that God has a solution to the primary problem of all humanity, the problem of sin. Yes, sin angers God and brings judgment, but his anger will not last forever (7:18). A much more important divine response to sin is his offer of forgiveness and atonement for sin (7:18–19). Micah does not explain how this miracle happens; he only sings about God’s compassion and his removal of sin. Because God bears the iniquity of our sins (7:18a), it is appropriate for him to have compassion on those he is angry with. If God is able to solve the basic problem of sin, there is hope for the transformation of my life, my situation, and my world.
Intercession for God’s people so that God’s will is done. Micah’s prayers for his people fit in with a long line of godly people who have pleaded with God:
(1) Abraham interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18).
(2) Moses prayed for God’s mercy on the Israelites after the golden calf incident (Ex. 32).
(3) Amos asked God not to destroy Israel with locusts or fire (Amos 7:1–6).
(4) Jeremiah confessed Judah’s sins and pleaded with God not to reject his people (Jer. 14:19–22).
(5) Daniel sought God’s fulfillment of his promise to return his people in seventy years (Dan. 9:1–20).
(6) Ezra confessed the sins of the exilic community that was defiling the holy seed of Israel by marrying pagan unbelievers (Ezra 9:5–15).
(7) Jesus interceded for the future unity of his disciples (John 17).
(8) Paul repeatedly mentions his prayers for the saints at the various churches he established (Phil. 1:3–4, 9–11; Col. 1:3, 9–12).
(9) Paul encourages Timothy to make prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for everyone—even kings—so that all will come to a knowledge of the truth and be saved (1 Tim. 2:1–2).
(10) This role is so important to the success of God’s work that both the Spirit and Jesus are continually interceding for people in this world (Rom. 8:26; Heb. 7:25).
The prayers of believers may request many different things, but they should always be consistent with the known will of God revealed in Scripture. The faithful prayer warrior wants God’s kingdom to come (Matt. 6:10), not his or her own wants and desires (26:42). Micah intercedes for God to plead Israel’s case for them, to bring them out into the light (Mic. 7:9), and to shepherd his sheep as in the days of old (7:14). Possibly no deed of Christian service is more effective in changing this world than the prayers of the saints. It is not an act of rebellion to reject the way things are or even to approach God boldly with requests that oppose what he may do in the future. God hears the prayers of the righteous and acts because they care enough to ask him for mercy and grace.
Contemporary Significance
MICAH’S FINAL SERMON raises a variety of themes that are developed in the New Testament: God’s great love for the world (John 3:16), his forgiveness of our sins (1 John 1:9), and his promise to bring victory over our enemies (Matt. 16:18). The danger in developing these themes is the temptation to reinterpret concepts in Micah in forced ways,26 rather than allowing the historical development of these ideas to unfold naturally as progressive revelation unveils more and more insight into God’s ways. Thus, it seems better to focus on all of God’s powerful wonders throughout history, which are a continuation of his Exodus miracles (Mic. 7:15), rather than tying his wonders just to Christological events in the New Testament. The promises in 7:15–17 focus on God, the revelation of his power, and the defeat of the nations. These are wonderful promises of hope, and they do not need to be twisted into “better” Christological promises.
Do we lament oppression in our world? When Micah saw the powerful in his society turn against the weak, he cried out to God for help. When he saw all the efforts of Hezekiah’s reform and his own ministry fall apart, he wept. When the prophet realized that the glue of trust that held the family together was disintegrating the very fiber of social order, he lamented. The question that must be raised is: How does the church respond to this kind of social decay?
Three applications can be suggested. (1) It is necessary for individual believers and churches to look carefully outside their four walls and see what is happening in the world and evaluate how they want to impact the lives of people in their neighborhood. This will happen only when the church gives up its “fortress mentality” and is “unleashed”27 to influence the sinful world around it. In Frank Tillapaugh’s paradigm, the first step in reaching out is to see the invisible target groups within our community.28 Just as Jesus went to the forbidden city of Samaria and did the unlawful thing (John 4:9, 27) by speaking to a Samaritan woman to find out her needs, the church must open its eyes to the sinful mess in the secular culture all around it. If this does not force us to our knees, then there is no hope for the future.
(2) A clear vision of rebellion against God in our neighborhoods should produce a second step of inner reflection if the love of God still dwells in us. We should be concerned about what can be done about this mess. What can we do to change this situation? Such questions usually result in feelings that it is impossible to change things, feelings of inadequacy because the task is too big, or frustration and loneliness because few share a similar vision for the church today. But one individual or one church should not let the plague of loneliness immobilize its behavior or quench its prayers. If we are stymied by loneliness, we should ask God to reveal the seven thousand who have a similar conviction (1 Kings 19:18).
(3) Like Micah, Jesus cried in disappointment and frustration over the rebelliousness of the people of Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). Should we respond differently if we have the mind of Christ in us? If one is not disturbed by sinful behavior, one will probably not weep. It is common to hear people complaining about oppression, drugs, and the breakdown of the family, but complaining to others is different from lamenting before God. Like Micah and Jesus we have two choices: (a) to continue to live in the unhealthy inner world of loneliness and distrust and fit in with the status quo in order to survive;29 or (b) cry out to God for help, boldly admitting the real frustrations of life and reaching out to others to call for a transformation of the present situation.
Is there any hope for us or this world? It seems apparent that many people who call themselves Christians do not believe the church has any hope of transforming sinners, for they attempt to do nothing to change lives. How can this hopeless plague be removed so that people can face the future with hope? For Micah, the depression of hopelessness turned not only to the possibility of hope but to the confidence that victory over sin is sure. Like Micah, we can gain some semblance of hope by focusing not on the terrible plight of our world but on God, his past promises, and his ability to deal with the source of hopelessness—sin itself.
(1) Because we, like Micah, have a covenant relationship with God, we know the Lord is a God who listens when we pray. Prayers do not just go up to the ceiling and bounce back as if God does not exist. Since people in the church have experienced the sovereign power of God in their lives, they are convinced that he is alive, that he can bring light out of a dark situation and deliverance from bondage. Because he is “my Savior,” who pleads my case and forgives my sins, it makes sense to believe that he can do the same for others. Since God is sovereign, holy, just, faithful, and merciful, we can view the future with confidence and hope. The powerful oppressor, the rebellious sinner, and the distrusting family member do not control the future; God does. Assurance of victory is possible because God is on my side. Hope is born out of an intimate relationship with him and a solid understanding of his character.
(2) A second reason why a person can have hope about the future is because God will rescue the righteous and punish the wicked (Mic. 7:11–13, 15–17). Although it is difficult to suggest how this specific promise applies to my church and its fight against the forces of evil at this time and place in history, the Old and New Testaments do give promises about what God will do in the future. These promises provide hope, even though God may ask some to endure persecution or frustration for many years. What is clear are the final results of God’s battle with evil.
Micah certifies three results. (a) God will restore and expand the boundaries of Judah (7:11)—a promise that does not apply to any concrete situation in any specific church. (b) People from many nations will come to God (7:12)—a promise that gives hope that many wicked people in this world will choose to repent of their sins and serve God. (c) Those who refuse to come to God will be defeated (7:13, 16–17)—a promise that gives assurance of victory over the forces of evil. These promises communicate the fact that God has a clear plan, he is sovereignly in charge of that plan, and it will be victorious. When he promises and swears by an oath, we can have confidence that it will happen. These promises encourage believers to step out in faith, stand up for what they believe, and act with confidence because they are on the winning team.
Why can a believer be so sure that God can pull all this off? Why can the members of the church sing God’s praise even before he has fulfilled his promises? Micah knew beyond doubt that God will be victorious over sin; in justice he will judge sin and in grace he will forgive sin (7:18–19). This was ultimately accomplished when Christ died for the sins of the world. Although Micah does not know all the details of how God eventually worked it out, we do. This should give us even greater confidence and greater determination to address the evils in the world. When all sin is removed, what can prevent the coming of God’s kingdom? “Victory in Christ” is not just a slogan; it will be a reality when all sin is removed from this world.
What can a believer do to bring about God’s kingdom? There are many answers to this question throughout Scripture, but the practical answers derived from this chapter are to pray for the righteous who remain faithful, to intercede with God for his grace and forgiveness (7:9), and to plead earnestly for God to come in power and shepherd his people in order to fulfill his promises (7:14). Prayer does not excuse anyone from action, but prayer empowers all the activities of the church with divine power.
Without God’s intervention to convict a person’s heart, there will be no success in evangelism. Without God’s transforming power, people do not have the courage to turn from the darkness of their past to a new way of life. If the church wants God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, prayer is needed. Without prayer nothing should be ventured for God, and without prayer nothing can be accomplished. Because the church knows the broad outline of God’s plan for the future, we can boldly approach God with requests that his will be done. God hears the prayers of the righteous and acts because they care enough to seek his grace.