Micah 6:13-15

Micah begins to make it clear how the people’s *sins in *Israel will affect everyone. The people are guilty of various crimes. God makes his decisions. The punishments will suit (match) the crimes. Other people will plough Jerusalem like a field. They will ruin it. It will become a heap of rubbish (Micah 3:12). That will happen because *Israel’s people have *sinned so much. The punishment will last for a long time.

These punishments have a connection with each another. They have a connection with the evil behaviour in the city’s businesses (Deuteronomy 28:16-19). First, God will make each person sick.

God now tells the people what the punishments will be. He gives a list of the different types of illnesses and other troubles.

• You will eat, but it will not satisfy you. Your stomach will still be empty.

• You will store up goods, but you will lose everything.

• You will have various kinds of illnesses.

• You will sow your seeds, but you will not harvest crops from them.

God could also say this to them. ‘You will remember that I (God) told you about these terrible events. You have a record of them in Deuteronomy chapter 28. You have not obeyed the *covenant. You have not obeyed its laws. I warned you about what would happen.’ (Look at Leviticus 26:23-26; Deuteronomy 28:15; Deuteronomy 28:18.)

The last trouble that God refers to is the bad harvest. The people will lose their crops too. That will also be a result of the *curses in the *covenant (Leviticus 26:16; Deuteronomy 28:40; Deuteronomy 28:51).

God mentions three types of crops here. They were important to society, because people used them every day as food and drink. They were God’s gifts (Hosea 2:8). Those crops were also important because people used them for *religious purposes. They used them in the *Temple. They used grain to produce bread and cakes. People used oil in food. They used it on their bodies. People burned oil to give light. They used it as medicine. Wine, which people made from a special fruit, was precious. People used it for special events. But they also used it as an ordinary drink. A *curse on those things would bring bad results. It would badly affect the markets. The economy would suffer. Finally that *curse would destroy the economy. God had warned *Israel’s people about all these punishments. These would happen when the people did not obey God’s *covenant.

v16 You have obeyed Omri’s laws. Ahab’s family has done wicked things. And you have done the same. Therefore I will ruin you. Now I will kill you and I will destroy your property. Then the people from every nation will laugh at you. They will insult you. The other nations will bring you shame. You will have to suffer that.