You can see, from verse one, that Micah’s prophetic ministry covered the same kings as Isaiah and Hosea, apart from the first one, Uzziah. So the date order of the early prophets was as follows: Jonah first, then Amos, who prophesied only in Uzziah’s reign and overlapped with the early prophesies of Hosea; a little later Isaiah started his ministry on the day Uzziah died and, then, came Micah. Micah was a prophet of the country people and country life and lived on the Philistine border.

JUDGEMENT FIRST-the wound was incurable
Micah had a judgement word from the Lord for both Israel (Jacob) and Judah (v5). Samaria would be destroyed and her images and idols laid waste. They had left their true husband, the Lord, and acted as a prostitute by loving and worshipping other gods (v7). Micah was distressed by his own prophesy; he lamented like jackals and mourned like ostriches (v8) for Israel’s “wound” was “incurable” and had even come to the gates of Jerusalem itself (v9). Notice Judah’s sin had first appeared in Lachish (v13), Judah’s second city, and this would result in their exile (v16). There are famous stone carvings in the British Museum, called the Lachish reliefs, which had once been part of the walls of Nineveh. These show the siege of Lachish and people being dragged away.

The words of Micah expose the injustices that naturally follow rebellion from God. There were those (2v1) who devised wicked deeds “on their beds” and then the next morning they were up abusing their power, stealing and oppressing others. They would seize fields (v2), then houses and, furthermore, oppressed the people who lived in them (see also v9). God was devising an evil time when they would be “utterly ruined” (v4). People did not like this negative preaching and refused to believe that disgrace would come (v6); they would have been much more interested if the preaching had been about “wine and strong drink” (v11).

WE NEED TO BE JUST AND FILLED WITH HIS SPIRIT
The leaders were unjust (3v2), excessively violent, hating the good and loving evil, but (v4) “then they will cry to the Lord, but he will refuse to answer them”. It is a terrible thing when God hides his face and presence from you. How much better when like Micah (v8) we are “filled with power, with the spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might”. False prophets do not hear God’s words but prophesy for financial gain and speak platitudes that say that no harm will come upon anybody (v11). The truth was that the destiny of Jerusalem was to become a heap of ruins (v12).

THE COMING OF THE NEW KINGDOM
Almost with the same breath God was already talking about restoration. In chapter 2 (v12, 13) we read that the survivors of his people would be gathered together like a flock of sheep and led by a shepherd king. In the future, people from “many nations” (4v2) would stream to the “mountain of the Lords house” (the place of His presence) “that He might teach us His ways and that we might walk in His paths”.

Verse 2 declares that out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Jesus confirmed in Luke 24v47 that “repentance and forgiveness of sins” would be “proclaimed to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” The new kingdom would be brought in, a kingdom of nonviolence (v3), one that truly fulfilled promises for the land of Israel. Kingdom people would walk (v5) “in the name of the Lord” their “God for ever and ever”. Meanwhile, there is a clear prophesy, here, that Jerusalem would go into exile at the hand of the Babylonians until rescued by the Lord (v10). It is prophesied in verses 6 and 7 that God’s plans would start with that remnant of people who come back and continue until the country was ready for the birth of Jesus.

In chapter 5, we can see where this king was going to come from (v2): “but you, O Bethlehem of Epathrah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days”. We know, with the benefit of hindsight, that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem and he would rule, but not in the way many expected. This is clearly the same shepherd king, mentioned before, who would come to feed his flock (v4) and pass judgment on those who do not obey (v15).

WHAT DOES THE LORD REQUIRE OF YOU
Chapter 6 is one of those passages where God reviewed the history of His people. He pleaded with Israel, “in what have I wearied you?” (v3) “for I brought you up from the land of Egypt”. He longed for his people to know his saving power once again. It was not burnt offerings and religious duties that God was interested in (v6,7) but a life walked humbly with Him.  Verse 8 says, “He has told you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Instead of fine character, all He saw was dishonest scales (v11), violence and lying (v12) ; a way of life which led to dissatisfaction (v14) and fruitlessness (v15).
Just how bad was it in Jerusalem at the time? Well, God looked in vain for someone good but found that the faithful had disappeared (7v2), people violently hunted each other and had (v3) “hands skilled to do evil”.  Officials and judges were asking for bribes , the powerful exploited their power (v3) and even friends, lovers and family could not be trusted (v5, 6).

I WILL LOOK TO THE LORD
In such a time, Micah knew where his hope was (v7): “But as for me, I will look to the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.” In that time of great darkness and oppression of the enemy Micah knew how to trust (8, 9) “Do not rejoice over me my enemy, when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me”. Sometimes, as God’s people, we have to take the consequence of sin (v9) but, eventually, we will be vindicated in front of those who looked at us and said (v10) “Where is the Lord your God?”

Micah ends with prophetic words which tell us of a time when the boundaries of God’s kingdom will be extended, far and wide (v11), and the good shepherd will shepherd his flock (v14). It will be a time of judgement for the nations as they stand in fear before the Lord but for his people there will be forgiveness, compassion and their sins will be dealt with:

“Who is a God like you (v18), pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of your possession? He does not retain his anger for ever, because He delights in showing clemency. He will again have compassion upon us, he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
God made promises to Jacob and Abraham and they would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ.