Micah gets into some of the specifics of the actions of the people. Like Amos, Micah had a special concern for social justice. Scholar Simundson suggests we look at how Micah tends to match crimes and punishment – the condition inflicted by evildoers will rebound upon themselves.
Vs 1 “Alas” – commonly used in mourning laments and also in prophetic literature.
Graphic image of those who plan their greed in bed, then rise to exercise unjust power. What they are doing is expressed in the second verse.
vs. 2 Israel was originally set up to keep land holdings small and within families. If money was needed, family was to redeem the land and all land was supposed to be returned at the time of Jubilee to original family. But this was a law that was mostly disregarded. The country was turning into a place of large estates owned by a few, with landless and powerless population.
(parallel concern in Isaiah 5:8 concerning those who “join house to house, who add field to field”
One way in which land was taken is the story of Ahab, Jezebel and Naboth. I Kings 21.
Regarding land and ownership: See also Joshua 14-21.
God was seen as the true owner of the land, but it was apportioned as a sacred trust among tribes and families, who were to hand it down to each generation. The ideal for Israel was a nation of free landholders—not sharecroppers or hired workers on great estates.
The concept of Stewardship is here very important. The steward cares for the King/Lord/owner’s land and belongings.
JRR Tolkien (a Christian who expressed experiences relating to faith in his writings) used the concept of stewardship in the Steward of Gondor. Being the Steward of Gondor was a high and honorable position. But the story’s character, Boromir, had asked his father who was then steward how long it took for a steward to become a king, when the king was absent. His father told him that with lesser kingdoms, perhaps a few generations. But with the great kingdom of Gondor, there would never come a time when the steward could take that place.
The Jubilee law, etc. were all intended to protect this stewardship, to protect individual family “ownership,” thereby also protecting the health and prosperity of all, rather than the few and the ruthless. This form of economic security fostered things such as such as justice, family ties, etc.
In considering the words of Micah concerning the actions of the powerful in society, especially the way land and security was being taken from people, the class commented on parallels in the modern age.
Vs 3 – 5 are a pronouncement of judgement. As the evil-doers devised plans for their greed, God is devising plans for them. The land they grabbed will be parceled out to others. They will lose their place in the assembly, essentially being cut off from economic and religious life.Regarding suffering: some people believe that everything that happens is according to God’s will. Micah here makes it plain that the things happening in Israel are not according to God’s will. God will punish these people who are acting in this way. Here in vs 5 may be an awareness by Micah that some of the innocent may suffer along with the guilty. These kinds of issues have always been difficult for people of faith to address. I..e – why do the innocent suffer? (We ask God that, but considering the abilities God has given us, the ones we should be asking might be ourselves).
Although we do not have the same ideas about land, what kinds of injustice might Micah pinpoint today?
Micah 2:6 (gives some of the response of the people – remember that Micah and his fellow prophets of the 8th century b.c. were working against the tide of popular opinion.) Micah reports their reaction to his preaching.
Vs 7 - House of Jacob refers to the whole Hebrew people. Micah asks these questions. (Are these his doings? – one scholar interprets the “doings” as the injustices, etc., taking place. The implication is then that just because God has in freedom allowed these conditions to continue is not an indication that God approves of them.
Do not my words do good... An awareness that not all who hear Micah’s words are doing evil. These words will do them no harm, only those who are doing wrong.
John Godfrey Saxe tells a story that is found in many forms in various The wise elephant tried to help the other animals and saw many needs for reform. He humbly called them together and talked about problems such as laziness, cruelty, selfishness, envy and dissension. The gentle dove, the faithful dog, the obedient camel and the hard-working ant and others listened carefully and thought about how they could improve themselves. But others were quite offended. The cruel tiger and the violent wolf grew angry. The poisonous serpent hissed and the lazy grasshopper departed with indignation. In the end the elephant said, “My words come to all, but those who feel angry by what I have said may be feeling the sting of their own guilt.”
Vs 8 –9 After answering those who may are upset with his discourse, Micah returns to his theme. The widow and the fatherless were special concerns of the prophets, for they were among the most helpless and powerless of society. Micah may have been referring to them, or to women and children generally. Children – the great asset of the future. But a whole generation of children was being pushed into misery and deprivation. A lost generation – what effect does it have upon a nation?
Vs 10 - Scholars see this as another reference to the coming punishment, their removal from the land. (The word for “rest) menhuha) has a specific use in conjunction with the promised land. It takes the form of meaning “inheritance.
Vs 11 - Some scholars see this as a fragment of Micah’s words that weren’t originally associated with the earlier statements. Yet it does fit with the earlier quotation from his detractors who didn’t want him to preach the kind of things he was saying. There were “false” prophets at the time who only said the things that made people feel happy and self-satisfied with the way things were going.
Vs 12 –13. Shifts to a word of hope. As a consequence Some scholars think these might not be Micah’s words.
Scholarship on Micah has gone through cycles. One way has been to separate out all the parts that are believed to be his original words, another has been to see the book as a whole – partly the work of Micah, partly the work of other prophets, all put together by an inspired editor of a later period who didn’t speak from the time of Micah, but from the overall picture of both judgement and promise.
These verses are ambiguous and the class, in discussion, considered that it was possible they could be by Micah and addressing those, for example, who were not offended by Micah’s prophesy. Differing translations sometimes gave alternate impressions. Thus another suggestion was made that especially the 12th verse might be intended as more words of judgement. That is, was it possible that “Micah” was talking about gathering the wicked? Considering the double meanings that ancient writers often enjoyed using, he could have intended both.
Class discussion also mentioned the amazing power of the scriptures. Despite the challenges of preserving manuscripts, wars, invasions, crumbling scrolls, changes in culture, language, and more...the Bible still speaks to the modern age with life-changing power.
A brief revew was made of the first portion of chapter 3, verses 1-4. These verses employ graphic and unpleasant images that are metaphors for what Micah sees the powerful doing to the powerless people around them.
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