178 - Micah's message.

Kathleen's thoughts

Isaiah 4: 1-6 Restoration of Jerusalem

Isaiah 5: 1-7 vineyard

Isaiah 5: 8-30 Six woes

2 Chronicles 27: 306 Jotham's strength
2 Kings 15:3l7 Rezin joins Pekah
2 Kings 15:36, 2 Chronicles 27: 7 & 9 Jotham's death.


Micah 1: 1-16, 2: 1-13 I read this on a other site and found it most interesting

Micah’s name

Micah’s name means ‘Who is like Yahweh (God)?’ Yahweh is a *Hebrew name for God. And the answer to this question is that nobody is like God. Nobody is as wonderful as God is. Micah’s parents gave him that name. The name describes God’s wonderful character. In the end, God forgave his people. The end of Micah’s book describes this. The people sang a song to praise God (Micah 7:18). In *Hebrew, the song starts with the words ‘Who is like God?’ God is wonderful. There is nobody else like him. He is the God who has forgiven his guilty people. So Micah uses a form of his own name here. His name describes God’s goodness. God pities his people. He is kind to them. He forgives their *sins.

Samaria

This city is 30 miles north from Jerusalem. It is on a hill that has steep sides. The hill also has a long flat top, which was difficult to reach then. King Omri chose that hill as the place where he intended to build a city. The city would be the capital of the nation called *Israel. Omri bought the hill from a man called Shemer. Omri paid two pieces of silver for it. He built a city on the hill. He named the city Samaria. That name came from the name of the previous owner, Shemer (1 Kings 16:23, 24). This happened in 925 *BC. The hill was called the hill of Samaria. The city called Samaria became the capital for the 10 northern families. And people also gave the same name to that northern nation.

The structure of Micah’s book

The book consists of *prophecy. We can divide it into 3 sections:

Section 1       chapters 1-2

Section 2       chapters 3-5

Section 3       chapters 6-7.

Each section begins with the command ‘hear’ or ‘listen’. It starts with blame. It starts with things about which Micah warned. Each section then continues from judgement to hope. And it ends with a promise.

The first section has a magnificent start. It describes God’s punishment. God declares that he will punish *Israel and Judah because of their *sins. He will punish them because they *worship idols (verses 2-4). (An idol is something that people *worship instead of the one real God. It may be the sun, the moon, or any object or animal.) Then Micah describes how God will punish Samaria (verses 5-9). Its people will be slaves in another country (Micah 2:10). But immediately afterwards there is a promise about success and about a wonderful return (Micah 2:12-13).

The second section is especially for the rulers and leaders of the people. Their *sins are these: They have evil desire and they steal from other people. God blames them with strong words. First he *curses the people. Then he *blesses them. Then there is a promise that one day they will return to their country.

The last section is in chapters 6 and 7. God calls his people to a meeting with him. He argues with them. He speaks to them about urgent matters. His actions are right for his people. He has good reasons for his actions. His reasons are right and proper.

The book ends with a grand song that expresses happiness. God will rescue his people. A long time ago, God brought his people out of Egypt. It will be like that again. Everyone will agree with God. They will know that he is a kind God. He is a loyal God. He has done what he promised to do (Micah 7:16-20). The last verse is similar to what Zacharias the *priest later sang (Luke 1:72-73). Micah’s *prophecies are distinct and clear. He says that the Ruler (the *Messiah) will come. The Ruler will come from the town called Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Micah writes like Hosea and Isaiah. The words that he writes are strong and firm.

The messages in this book were especially for Samaria. This was the capital of *Israel. The messages were also for Jerusalem. This was the capital of Judah. God chose rulers to lead their nations. God intended that the rulers should *worship him. And they should obey him. Instead they led their people badly. They taught their people to *worship other gods. This was true about both nations. The rulers also cheated people. They robbed the poor people. God therefore had to punish *Israel and Judah.

However, God promised that things would change. The people in *Israel and in Judah would start to *worship him again. His people would live in safety and peace (Micah 4:3-4).

Sections in the Book of Micah

	1:1-2	Brief description of the book
Section 1	1:3-2:13	Punishment and Rescue
	1:2-16	God will punish the people in Samaria and Judah
	2:1-11	Evil leaders and false *prophets will suffer
	2:12-13	God will bring a *remnant back to Zion (another name for Jerusalem)

Blessings 
Kathleen.