Summary of The Book of Micah

Quick Overview of Micah. – – 1-3 – – Micah's prophecies concerning the sins of Israel and Judah,
condemnation of the rich, the rulers, and the false – – 4-5– – God's promise to restore Zion, and the
Temple, and the return of the Jewish exiles – – 6 – – God's charges and threats against Israel– – 7 – –
the conquest of Israel's enemies in the restoration of the exiles.
Micah prophesied about the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions that would cause the fall of both
Samaria (capital of the northern kingdom of Israel) and Jerusalem (capital of the southern
kingdom of Judah). The word of the Lord which came from Micah was in the form of a lawsuit by
God, with Micah as the prosecutor, and the mountains and hills (the high places of idolatry) as
the silent judges. Mica proclaimed that "her wounds are incurable" because of the corruption of
the people. He goes on to describe the leaders as "butchering the people." In Micah 5:2 is the
great verse that proclaims the birthplace of the Messiah who comes from Eternity, born in the city
of Bethlehem, the least among the cities of Judah.
Micah was called the "Morasthite" because he was originally from the city of Moresheth, sometimes called
Moresheth-gath (Micah 1:14), because it was located in the southwestern portion of Judah knew the
Philistine city of Gath.
Micah was also mentioned in the book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:18) as having prophesied during the
reign of Hezekiah in Judah. The book of Micah begins by saying that he was prophesying during the time
of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. The time period that these three kings of Judah reigned was from about
751 to 687 BC. Micah might have been directly responsible for helping to bring revival in Judah,
especially during the reign of King Hezekiah. Micah was also a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah in
Judah and the prophet Hosea in Israel. Some have supposed him to have been a disciple of Isaiah. That
there was some contact between the two seems evident from the practically identical passages in Isaiah
2:24 and Micah 4:1-3.
Interesting Note: because of the practically identical passages in Micah 4:1-3 and Isaiah 2:24 some have
believed that Micah was either a disciple of Isaiah, or heavily influenced by his prophecies.
The contents of the book may be analyzed further as follows :
Outline of the Book of Micah
Micah's message was directed to Samaria and Jerusalem, the capital cities of Israel and Judah, who was
responsible for the corruption which had spread over the two kingdoms. Micah 1 announces the doom
that is to befall Samaria for her idolatry. Micah 2 is a message of woe for the ruling class, because of their
oppression of the poor. In this chapter Micah records the attempts of these men to do away with his
preaching (Micah 2:6, 11). The sins of the ruling classes, as well as the false prophets, and the priests,
are dealt with in Micah 3.
The tone of the Micah's prophecy shifts abruptly in the opening verses of Micah 4, as Micah pictures the
future glory of Jerusalem, or Zion. In Micah 4:9, however, he suddenly continues his previous message of
impending doom. A remarkable prophecy is contained in Micah 4:10, as Babylon is named as the
conqueror of Judah although, at this time, Assyria was the leading power and Judah by no means
appeared safe from her threats. About 100 years later, however, the prophecy was fulfilled as Judah,
having survived the Assyrian conquests, was overrun by the forces of Babylon. Another well-known
prophecy is contained in Micah 5:2, where it is stated that a ruler for Israel "whose goings forth have been
from of old, from everlasting," will come out of Bethlehem. When Herod inquired of the scribes as to the
birthplace of Jesus, this prophecy was cited as having been fulfilled (Matt. 2: 1-6). Micah 6 and 7 are a
continuation of the picture of moral corruption and resultant punishment, but with an assurance that God
will show compassion for Israel and will allow a remnant to flourish again, thus keeping the promise which
he had made to Abraham (Micah 7:20 ).
(Mic 2:12-13) A promise of restoration.

"I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel;
I will put them together like sheep of the fold, like a flock in the midst of their
pasture; they shall make a loud noise because of so many people. The one who
breaks open will come up before them; they will break out, pass through the gate,
and go out by it; their king will pass before them, with the LORD at their head."
a. I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob: Though judgment was
promised because of the great sin of God's people, they could not "out-sin" the
grace and goodness of God. He still promises restoration to the remnant of
Israel.
b. They shall make a loud noise because of so many people: The remnant
will not be few; there will be many people brought back to the LORD and His
ways - with the LORD at their head.
c. The one who breaks open can be translated as a title - the King James
Version has it as the Breaker. We can see this as a more obscure, but no less
precious messianic title of Jesus - The Breaker. In this office, he is the captain
and leader of His people, advancing in front of His flock. How we need
a Breaker, a trailblazer in our life!

Micah 2:13 The prophets repeatedly revealed the full extent of God’s coming judgment and
salvation. God would punish His rebellious people but would afterward redeem them. Israel would be
sent into exile, but a remnant of the people would return. The Messiah, the One who breaks open
the way, shall lead them back and shall restore the kingdom of David.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

2:12,13 These verses may refer to the captivity of Israel and Judah. But the passage
is also a prophecy of the conversion of the Jews to Christ. The Lord would not only
bring them from captivity, and multiply them, but the Lord Jesus would open their
way to God, by taking upon him the nature of man, and by the work of his Spirit in
their hearts, breaking the fetters of Satan. Thus he has gone before, and the people
follow, breaking, in his strength, through the enemies that would stop their way to
heaven.