Micah 1:5

Micah accuses ‘Jacob’ (the northern nation from Jacob’s family) and he accuses *Israel (all *Israel). He accuses them about *sin. The people have not obeyed the *covenant that God made with *Israel. They have not obeyed God’s commands. ‘Those in Samaria’ (the northern capital) here means the bad leaders of the northern nation. ‘Jerusalem’ (the southern capital) refers to the bad leaders of the southern nation.

*Sin here means that the people decided to oppose God. They did that on purpose. God gave to them a purpose that they should live for. But they have failed to achieve that purpose. They have gone their own way. God has given his *covenant to them. This gives rules for them, to guide them. It is an agreement that God has made with *Israel. But they have made a decision. They have decided that they will not obey God’s *covenant.

v6 Therefore I, the *LORD, will make Samaria become a heap of rubbish. It will be just an empty field. It will be rough ground like the ground where people plant bushes. I will destroy the buildings in Samaria. I will throw the bricks into the valley. Only the stones from the foundations (bases of the buildings) will remain. v7 I will break all the images (false gods) into pieces. That silver and gold was the wages of *prostitutes. The people in Samaria have behaved like *prostitutes. They serve the images instead of me, the *LORD. But I will burn their precious things. I will destroy all the images. Samaria’s wealth is like the gifts that *prostitutes receive. So the people in Samaria will hand over their wealth to the wicked people who taught them their wicked behaviour.