Micah

Coming in, the only thing I knew about the book Micah was the content of verse 6:8. Come to think of it, is that all anyone knows about Micah?!? After reading, I have a few more impressions of this great text:

1. We're back in court! The courtroom image is a popular one in the prophetic literature, and here it is again in Micah. And first up on the docket is Yahweh vs. Judah and Samaria (1:2, also in chapter 6).

2. We get a cool glimpse into the what it's like to be a God-ordained prophet. Wow, check out 3:8. I wish I consistently operated with that kind of authority in my ministry!

3. Micah tells us that Jesus will come out of Bethlehem. Right there in 5:1-2. I love it how the prophets offer us a series of clues to the identity of the coming Messiah.

4. In the end all will be made right. In the midst of so much (deserved) prophetic judgment, the glimpses of future glory and restoration are all the more powerful. Check out this one from 4:1-5:

¹ In the last days
the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and peoples will stream to it.

² Many nations will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths."
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

³ He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

⁴ Every man will sit under his own vine
and under his own fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid,
for the LORD Almighty has spoken.

⁵ All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God for ever and ever.