Micah 2:7-11

THE PROPHET ANSWERS HIS CRITICS. Micah 2:7(b)-11

RV. Do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly? But of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye strip the robe from off the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war. The women of my people ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their young children ye take away my glory for ever. Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your resting-place; because of uncleanness that destroyeth, even with a grievous destruction, If a man walking in a spirit of falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.

LXX. Are not the Lord's words right with him? and have they not proceeded correctly? Even beforetime my people withstood him as an enemy against his peace; they have stripped off his skin to remove hope in the conflict of war. The leaders of my people shall be cast forth from their luxurious houses; they are rejected because of their evil practices; draw ye near to the everlasting mountains. Arise thou, and depart; for this is not thy rest because of uncleanness: ye have been utterly destroyed; ye have fled, no one pursuing you: thy spirit has framed falsehood, it has dropped on thee for wine and strong drink. But it shall come to pass, that out of the dropping of this people.

COMMENTS

Micah 2:7(b). DO NOT MY WORDS.

The word of God, no matter how stern, is never a threat to those who walk uprightly. Even the warning of inevitable national calamity would issue in the strengthened faith of the faithful, and the return from captivity of a generation dedicated to the re-establishment of true Jehovah worship. Centuries earlier David had written, With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; With the perverse thou wilt show thyself froward, For thou wilt save the afflicted people, But the haughty eyes thou wilt bring down. Psalms 18:26-27)

Micah 2:8. BUT OF LATE.

The Hebrew here translated of late may also mean, literally, from of old, since yesterday, or long ago. The thought seems to be from of old, or from the beginning my people have risen up as an enemy. There is no more vivid description of the history of Israel. The cycle of rebellion is seen throughout the Old Testament record. God blesses. enjoying the blessings, the people forget their source; forgetting, they turn from God to idolatry and disobedience; as a result they are brought low; in their low estate they cry out for deliverance; in answer to their cry, God sends a deliverer; in their blindness they reject the deliverer; and in the rejection their sufferings are multiplied the more. This pattern is clearly seen in Stephen's resume (Acts, chapter seven) of God's historic dealing with them.

God's answer, to their plea that Jehovah cannot so treat the people who wear His name, is to remind them of their consummate mistreatment of those in their midst who are truly His.

Micah 2:8. YE STRIP THE ROBE, ETC..

The eber or robe is the garment worn next the body. The salmah, or garment is the large flowing coverlet worn as an outer garment in the day time and used as a blanket at night. The haughty followers of the false prophets treat the humble passers-by as enemies. stripping them of all their garments.

This stripping of the garments of a defenseless enemy was not an uncommon practice in Bible times. Jesus was careful to instruct His followers as to the proper response when their Roman overlords did this to them. If any man, He said, ... take away your outer garment, give him your inner garment also. (Matthew 5:40)

The idea that must not be overlooked just here is that the proof of enmity with God is the mistreatment of His people. He has accused them of forever rising up like enemies against Him, and now offers as proof that they are treating His people not only as enemies, but as conquered enemies. For such people to claim immunity from God's chastisement on the grounds that they are the descendants of the patriarchs is an affront not only to God's mercy but to His intelligence!

Micah 2:9. THE WOMEN OF MY PEOPLE.

Not only are the passers-by stripped of their garments by these enemies of God, the women are driven from their sheltering homes and the glory of God is kept from their children.
Perhaps the prophet has in mind here the widows and orphans of those men mentioned in verse two of this chapter as having been done out of their fields and houses and having their families oppressed.

Micah 2:9. YE TAKE AWAY MY GLORY FOREVER.

From the point of view of God's purpose in Israel, the denial of His glory to their children is absolutely intolerable. The idea of taking away Jehovah's glory from the children obviously refers to the plight of the children in a household denied of shelter, proper clothing, and in many cases the presence of a father. The denial of these physical necessities is deplorable, but worse is the denial of the proper upbringing of the children to assure their faithfulness to the covenant and obedience to the law.
These children were the children of the patriarchs! They were Abraham's progeny through whom the promised Seed must come, If God allows these conditions to prevail unchecked there will be no remnant through whom the Seed can come.

It has been said that the church is always but one generation from extinction. The generation of parents which allows a whole generation of children to grow up unaware of their duty to God will be the last generation of the church. If it takes national calamity to drive such parents to their knees for the sake of their children, so be it. One thing was characteristic above all else of the Israelites during the Babylonian captivity; they taught their children the way of God!

Micah 2:10. ARISE AND DEPART.

Here is the direct command of God casting from His land those despicable people who had cast others from their homes. As those who erred in their hearts, and did not know God's ways in the wilderness were not allowed to enter this land (Psalms 95:10-11) so those who have turned from His ways will not be allowed to remain in it. Because of their sins (Micah 2:4-5) the sentence will not be revoked.

Micah 2:11. NOT YOUR RESTING PLACE.

The land had become a resting place after the wilderness wanderings, but it was not to be so now because of their abuses. The reason the land is not to be their resting place is, in the words of the American Standard Version, because of uncleaness that destroyeth. Rotherham has, Because it is defiled it shall make desolate. Some translators prefer it shall destroy you. The sense of the statement seems to be that, because they have defiled the land which the Lord gave their fathers for the accomplishment of His covenant purpose, the land is now spewing them out. The law demanded that the land be not defiled, and stated the punishment for such delifement as ... the land vomiteth out her inhabitants. Leviticus 18:25) The idea that these people, by virtue of their race, are permanently bound to this land is refuted.

The phrase, not your resting place, is reminiscent of Hebrews 13:14.

Micah 2:12. IF A MAN WALKETH. DO LIE... HE SHALL BE THE PROPHET OF THIS PEOPLE.

Micah now describes the kind of prophet who is always in demand among a depraved people. He walks in a spirit of falsehood. His whole life is a lie! He presents himself as a prophet of God, knowing that the prophet's primary business is to tell the truth of God to God's people, while he has no such intention. Rather he says to the people, I will prophecy unto thee of wine and strong drink.
The Hebrew ruach here translated spirit (of falsehood) also means wind as does the Greek pneuma, which in the New Testament is variously translated both wind and spirit. In Micah 2:11 the Revised Standard Version, has If a man should go about and utter wind and lies, etc.

Why wine and strong drink? It is possible that these refer to the intoxicants and narcotic potions given to the candidate for initiation into Baal worship to induce the emotional experience by which he became identified with the death-resurrection myth of that god. Since the Jews, at this juncture, had so polluted Jehovah worship with Baalism, they would have given heed to a prophet who preached the validity of this practice.
It seems more likely, however, that the terminology here refers to the hollow words of the false prophet which were designed to tickle the itching ears of his listeners by telling them that they would continue in affluence and plenty, while the true prophets were warning against famine and want and captivity. Wine and strong drink are available in a situation of over-abundance. In the presence of famine and want, people turn their attention to the food and shelter which are necessities of life.

Chapter VIIQuestions

Second Cycle

1.

Discuss the relationships between individual and social sins.

2.

Discuss power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely in reference to the situation denounced by Micah.

3.

How do power and authority test a persons character?

4.

Discuss Pascal's statement power without justice is tyranny.

5.

How is this evidenced in the circumstances addressed by Micah?

6.

How can a just God devise evil? (Micah 2:3)

7.

What was the power by which the social leaders of Micah's day enforced their evil designs?

8.

How does God's punishment predicted by Micah fit the crime of those He will punish? (Micah 2:5)

9.

What is the relationship between the wickedness addressed by Micah and the false prophets of the day?

10.

What part did national pride and racial arrogance play in the downfall of the wicked northern and southern kingdoms?

11.

How does God's purpose in Israel rule out such pride and arrogance on the part of the faithful?

12.

How do you answer the tendency to blame God for social calamities?

13.

Discuss mistreatment of people as evidence of enmity with God.

14.

What single fact made God's punishment of social sin in Israel and Judah necessary to the accomplishment of His purpose in the covenant?

15.

What single characteristic of the Israelites during the Babylonian captivity stood out above all else?

16.

Describe the kind of prophet the people desired in Micah's time. (Micah 2:11)

17.

Discuss the problem of textual unity of the scriptures. (cf. Micah 2:12-13)

18.

The idea of a restored remnant, as presented by Micah, presupposes the destruction of ____________ and the rejection of the ____________ per se.

19.

The doctrine of election, divine choice, is, in the Bible, always related to the ____________.

20.

What is the similarity of modern denominationalism and the attitude of racial and national priority with God on the part of the Jewish people of Bible times?

21.

Discuss the figures of the shepherd, the breaker, and the king in connection with the remnant.