2:1, 2 Micah spoke out against those who planned evil deeds at night and rose at dawn to do them. A person’s thoughts and plans reflect his or her character. What do you think about as you lie down to sleep? Do your desires involve greed or stepping on others to achieve your goals? Evil thoughts lead to evil deeds.
2:2 Micah warned against those who use their position to take advantage of others. Less than a century earlier, King Ahab of Israel had pouted because he couldn’t get Naboth’s vineyard. So his wife, Jezebel, had Naboth killed in order to give the garden to Ahab (1 Kings 21:1-16). This kind of injustice had spread throughout the nation and, like a disease, was destroying the people from the inside out.
2:5 Those who have been oppressing others will find the tables turned. They will end up not having any share in the decisions to divide the land because they won’t have any surviving relatives.
2:6, 7 If these messages seem harsh, remember that God did not want to take revenge on Israel; he wanted to get them back on the right path. The people had rejected what was true and right, and they needed stern discipline. Children may think discipline is harsh, but it helps keep them going in the right direction. If we only want God’s comforting messages, we may miss what he has for us. Listen whenever God speaks, even when the message is hard to take.
2:11 The people liked the false prophets who told them only what they wanted to hear. Micah spoke against prophets who encouraged the people to feel comfortable in their sin. Preachers are popular when they don’t ask too much of us and when they tell us our greed or lust might even be good for us. But a true teacher of God speaks the truth, regardless of what the listeners want to hear.
2:12, 13 Micah’s prophecy telescopes two great events—Judah’s return from captivity in Babylon, and the great gathering of all believers when the Messiah returns. God gave his prophets visions of various future events, but not necessarily the ability to discern when these events would happen. For example, they could not see the long period of time between the Babylonian captivity and the coming of the Messiah, but they could clearly see that the Messiah was coming. The purpose of this prophecy was not to predict exactly how this would occur but that it would. This gave the people hope and helped them turn from sin.