 |
|
     |
|
|
|
The Four: A Survey of the Gospels
Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom
From Behind the Veil: The Epistles of John
Deep Exegesis:The Mystery of Reading Scripture
1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
Micah 3 appears to be a distinct unit of the prophecy (but see below). It begins with “And I said,” and chapter 4 begins with a disjunctive “it will come about in the last days” (4:1).
Within chapter 3, there is an obvious inclusio between verses 1 and 9. Both verses begin with a shema (“hear”), both use “heads . . . of Jacob” and “rulers of the house of Israel,” as well as the word “justice.” Verse 10 is connected to verse 9 by a relative pronoun, so verses 9-10 go together.
Within the inclusio, the passage has a chiastic arrangement:
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Saturday, June 12, 2010 at 4:21 am
INTRODUCTION
Our understanding of the Spirit’s work is often truncated. We think the Spirit works “personally” but miss the “political” work of the Spirit. For Micah, though, the Spirit is a Spirit of justice, power, and political courage.
THE TEXT
“Hear now, O heads of Jacob, and you rulers of the house of Israel: Is itnot for you to know justice? You who hate good and love evil; who strip the skin from My people, and the flesh from their bones; Who also eat the flesh of My people, flay their skin from them, break their bones, and chop them in pieces like meat for the pot, like flesh in the caldron. . . .” (Micah 3:1-12).
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, June 7, 2010 at 3:51 pm
INTRODUCTION
In the final chapter of his prophecy, Micah speaks in the first person, as the representative Israelite. In the midst of social chaos, he waits on Yahweh to show His righteousness. Someday, the Lord who treads on Judah’s high places (1:3) will tread her iniquities and cast them into the sea (7:19).
THE TEXT
“Woe is me! For I am like those who gather summer fruits, like those who glean vintage grapes; there is no cluster to eat of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires. The faithful man has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among men. . . .” (Micah 7:1-20).
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, January 14, 2008 at 6:23 am
In Micah 6:4, Yahweh reminds Judah, “I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.” The “send before” reminds us of Yahweh’s promise to send His angel before Israel as they traveled through the wilderness and into the land. Moses, Aaron, and Miriam are human analogues to the Angel of Yahweh.
The three siblings also represent a triple office: Moses the lawgiver and final ruler, a sort of king of Israel; Aaron the priest; Miriam the prophetess.
The three siblings also match up with the persons of the Trinity: Moses the “nursing father” of Israel; Aaron the priestly son; Miriam the feminine spirit of prophecy.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, January 13, 2008 at 7:47 am
“Violence” has been inflated dramatically in recent social and political rhetoric. It can refer to everything from a mugging to a classification system that excludes some marginal group.
But there is some biblical ground for seeing violence even where there’s not blood. Micah condemns the rich men of Jerusalem for their “violence” (6:12), but the specific actions he describes are not physical assaults but cheating in the marketplace (vv. 10-11). The logic behind this is perhaps that possessions are extensions of personality. Cheating in the market is not just a crime against property but a crime against persons, an assault, an act of violence.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Micah condemns the people of Judah for following the ways of Omri and Ahab. We know from Kings that this is precisely what Judah has been doing. Within Micah 6, though, there is a sharp pun. Verse 16 condemns Judah for doing the works of the house of Ahab, while verse 8 commends the right way for Judah, a way that includes love (ahab) of covenant loyalty. The words are not exactly the same; the “h” on Ahab is the guttural “het” while the “h” on love is “hey.” But the pun is there: Judah has been walking in the house of Ahab while they are called to ahab covenant loyalty.
(The connection is strengthened by the repetition of “walk” in verses 8 and 16. Clearly, the Micah Mandate is being set up as the polar opposite of the Ahab Agenda.)
The contrast becomes sharper when we realize that “covenant loyalty” includes not only faithfulness to Yahweh but kindness to the needy. Ahab failed conspicuously in this when he arranged for Naboth’s murder to seize his vineyard; Ahab did not ahab loyalty.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Faced with the indictment from the prophet Micah, Israel asks what it can do to pacify a scarily angry Yahweh. No number of ascensions will do the trick: What Yahweh requires is justice, covenant loyalty, humility (Micah 6:6-8).
The famous “Micah Mandate” is addressed to “man,” which translates adam. Israel is addressed as the new humanity, and also addressed as she is addressed at the beginning of Leviticus – “If any Adam among you brings near a near-bringing” (Leviticus 1:1). The use of “Adam” terminology here points to the fact that Micah is presenting to Israel the form of true sacrifice, the sacrifice of obedience, humility, and justice.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at 2:28 pm
INTRODUCTION
Micah continues his indictment of Israel and Israel’s leaders. But in chapter 6, he gives positive instruction. What God demands is what is good – justice, lovingkindness, and humility (v. 8).
THE TEXT
“Hear now what the LORD says: ‘Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, O you mountains, the LORD’s complaint, and you strong foundations of the earth; for the LORD has a complaint against His people, and He will contend with Israel. . . .” (Micah 6:1-16).
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Sweeney says that “to little to be among the thousands of Judah” (Micah 5:2) means “too young,” and alludes to the “younger son” theme of the Old Testament. This specifically refers to David, the younger son of Jesse. But why “too young to be among the thousands of Judah”? The allusion is to the David and Goliath story, where David is literally too young to be among the military units, the “thousands” (analogous to a Roman “century”).
This fits the sequel in Micah 5: The younger son, too young to fight among the troops of Judah, emerges to become ruler, and fights against the invading Assyrian.
The problem with this is that it’s “Bethlehem” and not the “ruler” who are described as being too young. That perhaps can be explained by suggesting that Bethlehem has become personified as one bearing the same characteristics as its most famous son.
And this suggests that the specific near fulfillment of the prophecy comes during the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem during the days of Hezekiah. Hezekiah is a new David, confronted by the Goliath-bully Assyria with its sneering, boasting Rab-Shakeh (2 Kings 18-19), yet Hezekiah sends Goliath packing, driving Sennacherib back to “the land of Nimrod at its entrances” (Micah 5:6). This also links the ruler of Micah 5 quite directly with the one born of a virgin in Isaiah 7.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Saturday, December 22, 2007 at 10:56 am
The following notes summarize M. A. Sweeney’s marvelous exegesis of Micah 4-5 (in the Berit Olam) series.
In 4:8 and again in 5:2, Micah addresses particular places. The first, 4:8, is an address to “Daughter Zion” which is also identified as “Migdal-eder,” a phrase that means “tower of the flock.” This reminds Israel of Yahweh’s promise to be the shepherd to His people, replacing the false and oppressive shepherds, the cannibal kings that now rule Israel. But the place is significant for another reason. According to Genesis 35:21, Migdal-eder, the tower of the flock, was the place where Jacob camped after he buried Rachel, who died giving birth to Benjamin near Bethlehem.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Saturday, December 22, 2007 at 10:36 am
Commenting on Micah 4:6-8, M.A. Sweeney notes, “the return of the blind and lame remnant of Jacob to Jerusalem (Jer 31:8) points to the lame (solea) figure of Jacob in Gen 32:32. Jacob’s exile from the land of Israel to Aram in order to find a bride and to escape the wrath of his brother Esau and his eventual return (Gen 25-35) forms the basis for prophetic conceptualizations of the exile of Israel and its return to the land.”
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Saturday, December 22, 2007 at 10:00 am
There are 12 minor prophets, but these 12 individual books also make up a single book, the “Book of the Twelve.” Like Israel, the minor prophets are both one and many, 12 books and one book. Not only do these prophets form a single book, but the book is neatly arranged, like the other prophetic books of the Old Testament.
The Book of the Twelve begins with Hosea, whom Yahweh instructs to take a wife of harlotry as a portrait of Israel’s harlotry toward her divine Husband. Malachi returns to this theme, stressing the Lord’s unfailing love for His people – Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated – and charging that Israel has been unfaithful in marriage, – you have dealt treacherously against the wife of your youth, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. The Book of the Twelve is framed by overt references to Israel’s harlotry, and the Lord’s threat to cut off His people, to divorce His bride. John D. W. Watts notes: “Both Hos 1-3 and Malachi speak strongly of the theme of the love of God for Israel, a theme that is, in so many words, not a part of any other book in the Twelve. Both use the figure of domestic relations to speak about this theme.”
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Saturday, December 22, 2007 at 9:40 am
INTRODUCTION
Micah addresses an Israel filled with injustice, ruled by cannibal kings. And he prophesies that Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins (3:12). Yet, the heart of his prophecy is a message of hope – hope for the restoration of Jerusalem, hope for a king who will be peace (5:5).
THE TEXT
“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD. . .’” (Micah 4:1-5:15).
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, December 17, 2007 at 5:51 am
INTRODUCTION
Micah prophesies of a “ruler in Israel” (5:2). But to grasp the full promise of this prophecy, we have to read it in the light of Micah’s description of Israel’s current rulers. To put it mildly, they are not pleasant fellows. The Christ is going to come to establish right rule and righteous rulers.
THE TEXT
“And I said: ‘Hear now, O heads of Jacob, and you rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice? You who hate good and love evil; who strip the skin from My people, and the flesh from their bones. . . .’” (Micah 3:1-12).
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 12:39 am
INTRODUCTION
Isaiah is the great prophet of the incarnation, but Isaiah is a bit too large to cover during the four weeks of Advent. Micah, though, prophesied at the same time as Isaiah (Micah 1:1; Isaiah 1:1), and the prophecies overlap (Micah 4:1-3; Isaiah 2:1-4) and Micah includes a major Messianic prophecy (Micah 5:2-5; cf. Matthew 2:6). We’ll spend the next several weeks meditating on this mini-Isaiah.
THE TEXT
“The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Hear, all you peoples! Listen, O earth, and all that is in it! . . .” (Micah 1:1-2:13).
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, November 26, 2007 at 8:16 am
A student, Luke Nieuwsma, pointed out several references to Ahab in the prophecy of Micah. Micah 2:1-2 condemns those who covet fields and take them by violence, as Ahab did to Naboth; 6:15 is an explicit allusion to Omri and Ahab; and the “she” who is trampled like mud sounds a lot like Jezebel.
Just what we would expect from a prophet whose name is virtually the same as that of the lone true prophet in Ahab’s court. And these allusions fit neatly with my contention that 1-2 Kings presents the Omride dynasty as a counterfeit Davidic dynasty.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, December 11, 2006 at 4:12 pm
Permission is given to use material on this site, provided the source is cited, blog entries are republished in full, and the author is notified in advance.
