TEXT [Commentary]
C. Misery Turned to Hope (7:1-20)
1 How miserable I am!
I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest
who can find nothing to eat.
Not a cluster of grapes or a single early fig
can be found to satisfy my hunger.
2 The godly people have all disappeared;
not one honest person is left on the earth.
They are all murderers,
setting traps even for their own brothers.
3 Both their hands are equally skilled at doing evil!
Officials and judges alike demand bribes.
The people with influence get what they want,
and together they scheme to twist justice.
4 Even the best of them is like a brier;
the most honest is as dangerous as a hedge of thorns.
But your judgment day is coming swiftly now.
Your time of punishment is here, a time of confusion.
5 Don’t trust anyone—
not your best friend or even your wife!
6 For the son despises his father.
The daughter defies her mother.
The daughter-in-law defies her mother-in-law.
Your enemies are right in your own household!
7 As for me, I look to the LORD for help.
I wait confidently for God to save me,
and my God will certainly hear me.
8 Do not gloat over me, my enemies!
For though I fall, I will rise again.
Though I sit in darkness,
the LORD will be my light.
9 I will be patient as the LORD punishes me,
for I have sinned against him.
But after that, he will take up my case
and give me justice for all I have suffered from my enemies.
The LORD will bring me into the light,
and I will see his righteousness.
10 Then my enemies will see that the LORD is on my side.
They will be ashamed that they taunted me, saying,
“So where is the LORD—
that God of yours?”
With my own eyes I will see their downfall;
they will be trampled like mud in the streets.
11 In that day, Israel, your cities will be rebuilt,
and your borders will be extended.
12 People from many lands will come and honor you—
from Assyria all the way to the towns of Egypt,
from Egypt all the way to the Euphrates River,[*]
and from distant seas and mountains.
13 But the land[*] will become empty and desolate
because of the wickedness of those who live there.
14 O LORD, protect your people with your shepherd’s staff;
lead your flock, your special possession.
Though they live alone in a thicket
on the heights of Mount Carmel,[*]
let them graze in the fertile pastures of Bashan and Gilead
as they did long ago.
15 “Yes,” says the LORD,
“I will do mighty miracles for you,
like those I did when I rescued you
from slavery in Egypt.”
16 All the nations of the world will stand amazed
at what the LORD will do for you.
They will be embarrassed
at their feeble power.
They will cover their mouths in silent awe,
deaf to everything around them.
17 Like snakes crawling from their holes,
they will come out to meet the LORD our God.
They will fear him greatly,
trembling in terror at his presence.
18 Where is another God like you,
who pardons the guilt of the remnant,
overlooking the sins of his special people?
You will not stay angry with your people forever,
because you delight in showing unfailing love.
19 Once again you will have compassion on us.
You will trample our sins under your feet
and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
20 You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love
as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.
NOTES
7:1 How miserable I am! Micah’s use of a rare interjection of “woe” (’alelay [TH480, ZH518]; only in 7:1; Job 10:15) sets the tone of lament for the first message of the book’s final oracle (cf. Mays 1976:151).
7:2 godly people have all disappeared. Lit., “perished” (’abad [TH6, ZH6]). This is a common complaint of the righteous in biblical lament literature, as people despaired over the seeming triumph of evil (cf. Ps 12:1; Isa 57:1). The psalmist assures us that in the end it is the unrighteous who will “disappear” (Ps 1:6).
traps. The word (tsud [TH6679, ZH7421]) refers to hunters trapping animals with nets (NIDOTTE 3.775). Jeremiah compares the wicked lying in wait for victims like hunters hiding behind a blind (Jer 5:26).
7:3 bribes. The prophet continues his use of unusual vocabulary (shillum [TH7966, ZH8936], “repayment, retribution, bribe”; only in 7:3; Isa 34:8; Hos 9:7). See notes on 3:11.
7:4 brier . . . hedge of thorns. The brier (khedeq [TH2312, ZH2537], only 7:4; Prov 15:19) and the thorn hedge (mesukah [TH4534, ZH5004], only 7:4) symbolize the godless (Ezek 2:6; cf. Allen 1976:387). Like worthless thorns, the wicked are burned in the fire of divine judgment (cf. 2 Sam 23:6; Isa 33:12).
judgment day. Lit., “the day of your watchmen” (tsapah [TH6822, ZH7595]). The NLT follows the proposal of the BHS to read mishpat (“judgment”) for the MT mitspeh (“watchman”) in view of the previous reference to mishpat in v. 3 (cf. Mays 1976:149, who omits mitspeh [“your watcher”] as a gloss). The watchman or sentinel was a lookout posted on the towers of city walls; it was their job to alert the city of any threat of danger. The expression “is a metaphor for the prophets who announced the approaching day of God’s judgment” (Alexander, Baker, and Waltke 1988:201).
punishment. The word (pequddatheka [TH6486, ZH7213], “your visitation”) is used by the prophets Isaiah, Hosea, and Jeremiah to refer to the time of God’s judgment associated with the day of the Lord (Isa 10:3; Jer 8:2; 10:15; 11:23; 23:12; Hos 9:7).
time of confusion. Another rare word in Micah’s vocabulary (mebukah [TH3998, ZH4428], “terror, alarm”; only 7:4; Isa 22:5). The uncertainty and chaos of “confusion” (mehumah [TH4103, ZH4539]) is listed among the curses threatened against the Hebrews for violation of Yahweh’s covenant (Deut 28:20, 28). The day of the Lord is associated with divinely instigated confusion, tumult (Isa 22:5; Ezek 7:7), and panic (Zech 12:4; 14:13).
7:5-6 The prophet described a scene of social anarchy in which the most basic relationships between family and friends have disintegrated. Jeremiah described a similar situation that would surely bring divine punishment (Jer 9:4-5, 9). Jesus made reference to 7:5-6 to describe the terrible social conditions into which he sent his apostles (Matt 10:21, 35-36).
7:7 I wait confidently. This is one of the evidences of faith: waiting on the Lord to act on behalf of his people (cf. Job 13:15; Pss 33:22; 71:14; Lam 3:21, 24). The word yakhal [TH3176, ZH3498] “denotes an enduring, expectant hope” because God himself is the object of that waiting (NIDOTTE 2.436).
save. The word (yesha‘ [TH3468, ZH3829]) is prominent in the prophetic salvation oracles and refers in the more immediate sense to Yahweh’s physical restoration of the nation of Israel after the people’s exile (e.g., Zech 8:13). The term is also used in an eschatological sense to refer to the physical and spiritual restoration of Israel as the elect of God in the day of the Lord (e.g., Ezek 34:22). The same root word (yasha‘ [TH3467 (cf. 3444), ZH3828 (cf. 3802)], “to deliver, save”) is applied to the Exodus from Egypt, the “salvation-event” of the OT (cf. Exod 14:13, 30; 15:2). Salvation, or “victory,” belongs to the Lord (Ps 3:8), and only the God of Israel has “the power to save” (Isa 63:1).
my God will certainly hear me. The great hope and surety of the righteous is that God hears and responds to their prayers (cf. 1 Kgs 8:29-30; Pss 4:3; 6:9). The fact that God “hears” (shama‘ [TH8085, ZH9048]) prayers distinguishes him from the idols (Isa 46:7; Hab 2:19). (See further the discussion of the “Living God” in the commentary on Amos 5:1-17.)
7:8 darkness . . . light. The reversal of darkness into light is a repeated motif in Isaiah describing the transforming character of the day of the Lord (cf. Isa 9:2; 42:16; 58:8, 10). Light (’or [TH216, ZH240]) is the symbol of the various aspects of Yahweh’s covenant blessings, including his divine presence and all the attendant material and spiritual benefits that accompany being in right relationship with God (e.g., Deut 28:1-14; cf. NIDOTTE 1.327-328). Jesus the Messiah is the culmination of this dramatic movement from darkness to light. He is the Light of the World as the Son of God (John 8:12; 9:5), and his ministry of teaching, healing, and redemption through the cross rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of light (cf. Eph 5:8; Col 1:13; 1 Pet 2:9; see note on Mic 3:6).
7:9 punishes. The verb (za‘ap [TH2197, ZH2408]) in this context means “storming rage” in the sense of “just anger” not “uncontrolled fury” (cf. NIDOTTE 1.1129-1130). “The knowledge of YHWH lets Zion accept her distress as the effect of his rage . . . she may appear to be in the power of the enemy, but she experiences his punishment of her” (Mays 1976:159).
I have sinned. The justification of God’s judgment “is acknowledged with a simple and unqualified confession: ‘I have sinned against him’” (Mays 1976:159; cf. Pss 41:4; 51:4; Lam 1:18; 3:26-27).
my case. Previously Yahweh’s “lawsuit” or “case” (rib [TH7379, ZH8190]) was one of indictment and punishment as prosecutor (see note on 6:2). Now Yahweh takes up Israel’s case as a defense attorney for the purpose of reparation and restoration.
justice. See note on 3:8.
7:11 In that day. This phrase (with variations) is prophetic shorthand for the eschatological day of the Lord. See the notes on 2:4; 4:1; 4:6.
7:14 shepherd’s staff. The word (shebet [TH7626, ZH8657]) may refer to a “rod, staff, scepter, tribe” (cf. NIDOTTE 4.27-29). The shepherd’s staff in this context is a symbol of God’s protection and pastoral care for his people Israel (cf. Ps 23:4). The prophet mentions the rod or staff as an instrument of punishment or discipline in 5:1 (see note).
special possession. The nation of Israel is Yahweh’s special possession or “inheritance” (nakhalah [TH5159, ZH5709]) by virtue of his election of the ancestors of the Hebrew people (Gen 17:7), his deliverance of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt (Deut 7:6; 14:2), and his covenant charter with them, ratified at Mount Sinai (Exod 19:5; cf. NIDOTTE 3.79-80). The special relationship God has with Israel is depicted variously in the OT as that between a parent and a child (Deut 32:6; Isa 66:13), a husband and a wife (Jer 2:2), or even a shepherd and a flock of sheep as in this passage (cf. Ezek 34:17, 22).
Carmel. A mountainous area dividing the plain of Acco to the north and the plain of Sharon to the south in northern Israel. The lush tree cover of Mount Carmel made it a symbol of beauty and fertility (cf. Isa 35:2).
Bashan and Gilead. The region of biblical Bashan was located east and northeast of the Sea of Galilee and, like Lebanon, its defining features were superb stands of timber and fertile pastureland (Josh 12:5; Isa 2:13; Jer 50:19). The region of biblical Gilead was located in the Transjordan between the Yarmuk and Arnon Rivers (cf. Deut 3:8-10). Gilead featured rugged wooded highlands and excellent pastureland (cf. Num 32:1).
7:15 miracles. The word pala’ [TH6381, ZH7098] refers especially to the plagues God brought against the Egyptians as the means by which he secured Israel’s deliverance from Pharaoh (Exod 3:20; Ps 106:21-22a).
I rescued you from slavery in Egypt. The Exodus is the defining redemptive event in the OT for Israel as the “delivered” or “rescued” people of God (Ps 80:8) and Yahweh as the “deliverer” or “savior” of Israel (Ps 106:21). “So fundamental to Israel’s experience as a redeemed community was this act of deliverance that it became a central element of her confession” (cf. Deut 26:8; NIDOTTE 2.499). Beyond this, in the Exodus Yahweh executed judgment upon all the gods of the Egyptians (Exod 12:12) and publicly demonstrated his superiority over all the gods of the people (Exod 15:11). Elsewhere in the OT it is this ability of Yahweh to deliver his people from their enemies that marks him as the one truly omnipotent God among all gods (Deut 3:23-24; Isa 36:11-20; see note on Mic 6:4).
7:18 Where is another God like you? This rhetorical question (mi-’el kamoka [TH4310/3644, ZH4769/4017]) may be a pun on the prophet’s name: “Micah” (mikah [TH4318, ZH4777]), “who is like Yah[weh]?”
pardons. The Hebrew idiom here (nasa’ [TH5375, ZH5951] + ‘awon [TH5771, ZH6411], “to lift up sin, guilt”) means to “remove guilt” or “forgive sin” (cf. NIDOTTE 3.162). The prophet Isaiah called upon Israel to seek the Lord because he will have mercy on sinners, “he will forgive generously” (salakh [TH5545, ZH6142]) (Isa 55:7; see note on Amos 7:2).
you delight in showing unfailing love. The word is a highly emotive term (khapets [TH2654, ZH2911]; cf. TDOT 5.92-93, 104-105), suggesting God is so eager to demonstrate his khesed [TH2617, ZH2876] to human beings that he trembles with delight at the thought (cf. Jer 9:24; Hos 6:6).
7:19 you will have compassion. God saves and restores his people because of his “compassion” (rakham [TH7355, ZH8163]). The word embodies female attributes of caring and nurturing, of maternal concern for one’s children (see the discussion in Meyers and Meyers 1993:193). Compassion is an attribute of God (Ps 111:4), but it is also a divine prerogative, as he will show compassion to anyone he chooses (Exod 33:19). God’s compassion extends to all those who fear him (Ps 103:13) and is bounded only by the greatness of his unfailing love (Lam 3:32).
trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! The nature of God’s salvation is such that once he pardons sin, he blots them out “and will never think of them again” (Isa 43:25; cf. Ps 103:12; Isa 1:18; 44:22; Jer 31:34).
7:20 faithfulness. The word (’emeth [TH571, ZH622]) can mean “fidelity, truth, faithful(ness).” God is a faithful God (Ps 31:5). He keeps every promise (’emeth) forever (Ps 146:6).
unfailing love. The word (khesed [TH2617, ZH2876], “loyalty, faithfulness, kindness, favor”) is a covenant term. It is rooted in the very character of God (Lam 3:22), and embedded in the treaty he established with Israel at Mt. Sinai through Moses (Deut 7:9; 30:16). In God, faithfulness and unfailing love meet together (Ps 85:10). The appropriate response to this God who embodies faithfulness and unfailing love as attributes of his divine being is worship and thanksgiving (Ps 138:2). (See the discussion of “Divine hesed” in NIDOTTE 2.213-217.)
promised . . . Abraham and Jacob. This a reference to the covenants Yahweh made with Abraham and Jacob that included promises to make a great nation out of their innumerable descendants (cf. Gen 17:5; 22:17; 28:14). God’s promise (shaba‘ [TH7650, ZH8678]) “is tantamount to an oath . . . it was unthinkable that his word would not come to pass” (NIDOTTE 4.32-33). As Allen (1976:404) observes, “The Christian Church is no stranger to this assurance, for the same theme of laying claim to the heritage of promised grace reappears in Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:6-29.”
COMMENTARY [Text]
The final speech (7:1-20) of Micah’s Book of Judgment and Pardon (6:1–7:20) begins on a note of gloom and despair but ends with a word of hope. The concluding oracle is comprised of a song of lament (7:1-6) and a prophetic liturgy (7:7-20; so R. L. Smith 1984:56) or liturgical hymn (so Alexander, Baker, and Waltke 1988:202). All are agreed that the closing passage of the book is a “liturgy” because “it takes the form of a psalm in which more than one voice is heard” (Allen 1976:392-393). There is some disagreement, however, on the division of two pericopes (e.g., R. L. Smith 1984:54 and Mays 1976:149-150 break the lament at 7:6, while Alexander, Baker, and Waltke 1988:199 and Allen 1976:383 include 7:7 in the lament). Andersen and Freedman (2000:563) identify 7:1-6 as a literary unit (on the basis of the pronoun “I” in the opening and closing colons of the lament) but admit that “perhaps v. 7 should be included, especially as it picks up the root tsapah [TH6822, ZH7595] from v. 4.” It is possible that the confession of trust in Yahweh in 7:7 serves double-duty as the transitional refrain between the lament and the liturgical hymn.
Micah resorts to the lament (7:1-6) to bewail the evil times in which he lives, to express what Mays (1976:150) describes as the “helpless hopelessness he feels.” Like Elijah, he was convinced that he alone was left among the community of the righteous (cf. 1 Kgs 19:10). The prophet bore a heavy burden because he stood as mediator between Yahweh and the people of Israel. His task was “not only to pass [God’s] word on to them but to pray concerning them. This lament fulfills both functions, relieving before God his feelings of despair and trust and also making plain to the people the divine view of their corruption” (Allen 1976:384). Micah’s lament omits any address to God and moves directly to his sorrowful complaint over the moral failure of his audience (7:1-4a). He then offers a brief confession of trust in God’s justice (4b), followed by a negative confession of trust directed to the people (i.e., all relationships sharing a bond of trust have disintegrated in society, 7:5-6).
Allen (1976:393) understands the hymn (7:7-20) as a comprehensive literary unit, a “liturgical symphony” made up of four movements: (1) a psalm of confidence spoken by Zion (7:7-10; although Allen begins the psalm with 7:8); (2) an oracle of salvation for Jerusalem and the people of Israel pronounced by the prophet (7:11-13); (3) a prayer of supplication (probably offered by the prophet, 7:14-17); and (4) a concluding doxology (sung [?] by the prophet, 7:18-20). It is possible Micah sang the liturgical hymn in the Temple, perhaps as part of some formal worship occasion.
The Hebrew lament tradition of the Old Testament has much to teach us today about the God of the Bible and our faith responses to him. First, it is necessary to distinguish “lament” from “lamentation” in the Old Testament. The “lamentation” is an expression of grief over a calamity that cannot be reversed (e.g., the death of an individual or the destruction of a city). The lamentation, then, is similar in tone and content to a funeral dirge. By contrast, the “lament” is an appeal to God’s compassion for the purpose of intervening and changing a desperate situation for the better. The lament arises out of a circumstance or situation in which the final outcome has yet to be determined. The suppliant offers the prayer of lament as a vote of confidence in Yahweh as the faithful God who hears and answers the prayers of the needy. The lament may be an individual or community prayer, and each has a distinctive structure. The structure of the lament generally follows this form (Anderson 2000:60-65):
- Address to God (a formal appeal to God using one or several divine names or titles, often very brief)
- Complaint (the airing of a specific crisis or distressing situation—e.g., war, famine, sickness, theodicy, etc.—sometimes the complaint includes a plea of forgiveness or the protestation of innocence)
- Confession of trust (an expression of confidence in God despite present circumstances, often introduced by “but” or “nevertheless” and usually employing the word “trust”)
- Petition (a direct appeal for God to intervene and deliver the supplicant from the given trial)
- Words of assurance (an expression of faith in God and the belief that the prayer will be heard and answered)
- Vow of praise (a concluding exclamation of praise, often in the form of an oath testifying to the greatness of God)
Micah’s use of the lament (7:1-6) in his concluding oracle reminds us that God is not too weak to save us, and he is not becoming deaf (Isa 59:1). Those who have placed their hope in God need the assurance that their hope is not misplaced. The lament tradition certifies that the hope of the righteous is not misplaced and that “the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results” (Jas 5:16). Perhaps equally significant, however, the lament tradition offers the righteous a legitimate vehicle for expressing honest doubt in the form of complaint to God. As the “triumphalism” of modernist Christianity gives way to the transparency and brokenness of postmodern Christianity, believers in Christ increasingly recognize that God is receptive to hear even our honest doubt (cf. Ps 13:1). God knows how weak we are, he knows we are only dust (Ps 103:14). Why not come to God with our “masks” off? The lament tradition offers the Christian church a biblical pattern for dealing with honest doubt before it becomes bitterness and cynicism. The virtue and beauty of the lament is that it turns the complaint, our honest doubt, into a vow of praise. This nurtures biblical faith and glorifies God (cf. Brueggemann 1995:98-111). Like Micah, the lament tradition enables us to look to God for help and wait confidently for him to save (7:7).
Allen (1976:401) likens Micah’s prophetic hymn to a liturgical symphony, wherein he identifies the fourth and last movement (7:18-20) as “a choral piece of devotion and doxology.” But Micah’s doxology is more than a “praise chorus” extolling the attributes of God. The relationship of his concluding doxology (7:18-20) to Yahweh’s revelation of his name and confession of its meaning is widely recognized (e.g., Mays 1976:167; Simundson 1996:589). Waltke notes, “that ancient creed guarantees each generation of the faithful that God will keep his promise to the fathers and not terminate Israel’s history in a cul-de-sac” (Alexander, Baker, and Waltke 1988:207). So then, Micah’s doxology also has a creedal quality that documents God’s redemptive response to Israel’s egregious sin of forging and worshiping a calf of gold soon after their Exodus from Egypt (Exod 32). This divine response is rooted in the character of God, his benevolent attributes of faithfulness and unfailing love, compassion, and a forgiving spirit (7:18-20).
Micah’s creedal doxology is important for several reasons. First, it has value in and of itself as a catechism on the essential nature of God. Second, it serves to remind us that divine revelation is vitally connected to Israel’s history. Third, Micah’s doxology anticipates the New Testament creedal hymns of Paul that laud the person and work of Jesus the Messiah (e.g., 1 Cor 15:3-4; 1 Tim 3:16). But beyond all this, Micah’s creedal hymn is precious to the contemporary Christian church simply because it is a creed! The basic purpose of the creed “is to compress historical events into a summary statement” (Webber 1994:75). Such creedal statements not only recall historical events but they attest the special (covenant) relationship Yahweh had with his people. Thus, there is a sense in which “the recitation of these events in faith renews the relationship of the covenant they represent” (Webber 1994:75).
The same is no less true for the New Testament creedal doxologies (and to a lesser degree the Christological creeds of the early church). The recitation of the creedal statement is a confession of faith that renews and affirms loyalty to a God who is faithful and loving, and who in his compassion forgives sin and restores right relationship with repentant people—whether Israel’s worshiping the golden calf episode or the struggling Corinthian church of Paul’s day. The creedal recitation of God’s capacities to show compassion and pardon sin not only provides historical and theological continuity with the past, but also offers hope for the present.
The creedal doxology we find in these last verses of Micah gives testimony to the fact that God is still in the habit of delighting in showing mercy to sinners in this historical era, as well. This is also the “good news” of the Christian gospel, the truth about God’s great kindness to sinners in Jesus Christ (Col 1:6). What better message to take to a world doomed because of its many sins than the story of the God who is rich in mercy (Eph 2:1-5)?