Destruction in Israel and Judah
The aword of the LORD that came to bMicah of Moresheth in the days of cJotham, dAhaz, and eHezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw through divine revelation concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.2 Pet 1:21Jer 26:182 Kin 15:5, 32-38; 2 Chr 27:1-9; Is 1:1; Hos 1:12 Kin 16:1-20; 2 Chr 28:1-27; Is 7:1-122 Kin 18:1-20; 2 Chr 29:1-31
2 Hear, O peoples, all of you;aListen closely, O earth and all that is in it,And let the Lord GOD be bwitness giving a testimony of the judgment against you,The Lord from His holy temple in the heavens. 1+@Kin 22:28Jer 6:19; 22:29Is 50:73 For behold, the LORD ais coming down from His placeHe shall come down and btread in judgment on the high places of the earth. Zech 14:3, 4; Mal 4:2, 3; Matt 24:27-30; Rev 1:7; 19:11-16Is 26:21Amos 4:134 aThe mountains shall melt under HimAnd the valleys shall be splitLike wax before the fire,Like waters poured down a steep place.Ps 97:5; Is 64:1, 2; Nah 1:55 All this is because of the rebellion and apostasy of 1JacobAnd for the sins of the house of Israel .What is the arebellion and apostasy of Jacob?Is it not the abandonment of God in order to worship the idols of bSamaria?What are the chigh places of idolatry in Judah ?Are they not Jerusalem the capital and center of corruption?I.e. an alternate name for Israel. The capital city was Samaria.Jer 2:19Is 7:9; Amos 8:142 Chr 34:3, 46 Therefore I the LORD shall make Samaria a 1aheap of ruins and of stones and arable land in the open country,A place for bplanting vineyards;And I will cpour her stones down into the ravineAnd dlay bare her foundations. 2+@Kin 19:25; Ezek 13:14Omri king of Israel (the Northern Kingdom—the ten tribes) purchased the hill on which he built Samaria, his capital city, for two talents of silver. It served both as a center for the worship of idols and as the capital of Israel until it was captured by Sargon king of Assyria in 721 B.C. This victory marked the end of the kingdom of the ten tribes.2 Kin 19:25; Mic 3:12Jer 31:5; Amos 5:11Lam 4:1Ezek 13:147 All her aidols shall be broken in pieces,All her earnings from her idolatry shall be burned with fire,And all her images I shall make desolate;For from the bearnings of a prostitute she collected them,And to the earnings of a prostitute they shall return.Deut 9:21; 2 Chr 34:7Deut 23:18; Is 23:17
8 Because of this I Micah must lament and wail,I must go abarefoot and naked without outer garments as if robbed;I must wail like the bjackalsAnd lament with a loud, mournful cry like the ostriches.Is 32:11Is 13:21, 229 For Samaria’s awound is incurable,For bit has come to Judah;The enemy has reached the cgate of my people,Even to Jerusalem.Is 3:26; Jer 30:12, 152 Kin 18:13; Is 8:7, 8Mic 1:1210 1aAnnounce it not in Gath in Philistia,Weep not at all and in this way betray your grief to Gentiles;In Beth-le-aphrah roll in the dust among your own people.Micah uses a play on words as he denounces the cities in vv 10-15.2 Sam 1:2011 Go on your way into exile—stripped of beauty, disarmed, inhabitants of Shaphir , in ashameful nakedness.The inhabitant of bZaanan does not go out of the house;The wailing of Beth-ezel will take away from you its support.Ezek 23:29Josh 15:3712 For the inhabitant of Maroth Writhes in pain at its losses and awaits anxiously for good,Because a catastrophe has come down from the LORDTo the bgate of Jerusalem.Is 59:9-11; Jer 14:19Mic 1:913 Harness the chariot to the team of horses to escape the invasion,O inhabitant of aLachish—She was the beginning of sinTo the Daughter of Zion —Because in you were foundThe brebellious acts of Israel.Josh 10:3; 2 Kin 14:19; Is 36:2Mic 1:514 Therefore you will give parting agiftsOn behalf of Moresheth-gath ;The houses of bAchzib will become a cdeceptionTo the kings of Israel.2 Kin 16:8Josh 15:44Jer 15:1815 Moreover, I will bring on youThe one who takes possession,O inhabitant of aMareshah .The glory of Israel will enter bAdullam seeking refuge. 1+@Sam 22:1Josh 15:44Josh 12:15; 15:35; 2 Sam 23:1316 Make yourself abald in mourning—shave off your hairFor the children of your delight;Remain as bald as the eagle,For your children will be btaken from you into exile.Is 22:122 Kin 17:6; Amos 7:11, 17