Micah denounces wilful, premeditated sin (v1,2)– “Woe to those who devise iniquity and work out evil on their beds….” These were sins of oppression – taking by violence, seizing their houses and inheritances, at morning light.
Committing their sins in broad daylightwithout shame. This spelt disaster for God’s people who were proudly parading their sin (v3-5). The LORD hates pride of any sort and what we sow we reap.
God’s people were ignoring the words of the prophets, in fact they were treating them with disdain – ‘Do not prattle” they said. (v6-9) As a result God said that He would stop speaking His word to them. The LORD makes it clear that His words to them were for their good but it appears that they weren’t listening. God’s people did not listen during the reigns of Jotham and Ahaz, but at last king Hezekiah listened and they repented. Thankfully, Micah didn’t give up even though he preached for almost 25 years.
My late good friend John Blanchard wrote – ‘Micah’s powerful preaching brought the king (Hezekiah) to his knees, brought the country to its feet and averted the destruction of Jerusalem. This should be a constant encouragement to all faithful preachers today. Micah’s writings touch on all the great themes preached by the Old Testament prophets – the sovereignty of God, His judgment against sin, His amazing love, the need to get right with God and the coming of the Messiah’
There were evidently false prophets around. God says it is defiled and will bring destruction and not give them rest. They were speaking in a false spirit (v10,11) and were prophesying that they would receive wine and drink, giving them false hope and it seems that they were embracing those things which were untrue and not beneficial to them..
Despite His judgment, God promises restoration to Israel (v12,13). He stated that He would gather a remnant like sheep of the fold with The LORD as their head. Even though we sin we are not beyond the grace of God. The remnant would not be small, they would make a loud noise.
