Every post in Micah, in order. Tap a post for the whole conversation, or the book icon for the verses.
Micah, from Moresheth, out in the Judah foothills. I’ve been prophesying through three kings now: Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. What I’ve seen is about both capitals. Samaria in the north. Jerusalem here.
This is the word of the LORD that came to Micah the Moreshite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem:
The LORD is coming out of his place. Mountains melting under him like wax by a fire. And why? Samaria. He’s going to turn Samaria into a heap of rubble in a field, somewhere to plant vines. And it doesn’t stop there. It’s reached the gate of Jerusalem.
For behold, the LORD comes forth from His dwelling place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth. The mountains will melt beneath Him, and the valleys will split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope. All this is for the transgression of Jacob and the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble in the open field, a planting area for a vineyard. I will pour her stones into the valley and expose her foundations. For her wound is incurable; it has reached even Judah; it has approached the gate of my people, as far as Jerusalem itself.
Replying to @micah.moresheth
So I’m mourning. Barefoot, stripped, howling like a jackal.
Because of this I will lament and wail; I will walk barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and mourn like an ostrich.
Wrote a lament for the towns round my home. Each line plays on the town’s name. Beth-leaphrah means house of dust, so: roll in the dust there. Lachish, harness the chariot horses. And Moresheth, my own town, you’re getting farewell presents.
Do not tell it in Gath; do not weep at all. Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah. Depart in shameful nakedness, O dwellers of Shaphir. The dwellers of Zaanan will not come out. Beth-ezel is in mourning; its support is taken from you. For the dwellers of Maroth pined for good, but calamity came down from the LORD, even to the gate of Jerusalem. Harness your chariot horses, O dweller of Lachish. You were the beginning of sin to the Daughter of Zion, for the transgressions of Israel were found in you. Therefore, send farewell gifts to Moresheth-gath; the houses of Achzib will prove deceptive to the kings of Israel.
Some people lie awake plotting, then do it first thing in the morning, because they can. They want a field, they take it. They want a house, they take it. A man loses his home. A family loses what was handed down to them.
Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands. They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance.
Replying to @micah.moresheth
They put us out of our house. It was a good house. The children won’t grow up in it now.
You drive the women of My people from their pleasant homes. You take away My blessing from their children forever.
But me? I’m full of power, full of the Spirit of the LORD, and of justice and courage. To tell Israel exactly what it’s done wrong.
As for me, however, I am filled with power by the Spirit of the LORD, with justice and courage, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.
The judges take bribes. The priests teach for a fee. The prophets tell fortunes for money. And they still lean on the LORD and say he’s with them.
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster can come upon us.”
Replying to @micah.moresheth
With respect, he is. The LORD is among us. Nothing bad is going to happen to us.
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster can come upon us.”
In the last days, the mountain of the LORD’s house will stand above every other mountain, and the peoples will stream to it. Nations will say: come on, let’s go up. He’ll teach us his ways. They’ll beat their swords into ploughs and their spears into pruning hooks. Nobody will train for war any more.
In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. And 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.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Then He will judge between many peoples and arbitrate for strong nations far and wide. Then they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation, nor will they train anymore for war.
Isaiah has this too, nearly word for word. Same kings on the throne.
Isaiah@isaiahOne day every nation will stream up to the LORD’s mountain to learn his ways. They’ll beat their swords into ploughs and their spears into pruning hooks. Nobody will even train for war any more.In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. And 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.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Then He will judge between many peoples and arbitrate for strong nations far and wide. Then they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation, nor will they train anymore for war.
And everyone will sit under their own vine and their own fig tree, and nobody will make them afraid.
And each man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, with no one to frighten him. For the mouth of the LORD of Hosts has spoken.
Bethlehem Ephrathah. You’re tiny, one of the smallest clans in Judah. But out of you will come a ruler for Israel. One whose beginnings go back to ancient times.
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.
Replying to @micah.moresheth
He’ll stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD. His people will live safely, because his greatness will reach the ends of the earth. And he will be our peace.
He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD His God. And they will dwell securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth. And He will be our peace when Assyria invades our land and tramples our citadels. We will raise against it seven shepherds, even eight leaders of men.
Bethlehem. Jesse’s town. Where Samuel found David out with the sheep.
The books of Samuel@booksofsamuelThe LORD sends Samuel to Bethlehem, to a man called Jesse. Ruth’s grandson.But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.
The LORD is taking his people to court, with the mountains as the jury. His case: my people, what have I done to you? How have I worn you out? Answer me. I brought you out of Egypt. I sent you Moses, Aaron and Miriam.
Hear now what the LORD says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s indictment, you enduring foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against His people, and He will argue it against Israel: ‘My people, what have I done to you? Testify against Me how I have wearied you! For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery. I sent Moses before you, as well as Aaron and Miriam.
Remember what Balak king of Moab wanted, and what Balaam actually said.
Balaam son of Beor@balaamSame answer I gave the first lot. Balak could give me his whole palace full of silver and gold and I still couldn’t go against what the LORD my God says.My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”
Genuine question. What do I bring when I come before the LORD? Burnt offerings? Year-old calves? Would he be happy with thousands of rams? Ten thousand rivers of olive oil? My own firstborn, for what I’ve done wrong?
With what shall I come before the LORD when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
Replying to @what.do.i.bring
He’s already told you what’s good. And what does the LORD ask of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
The rich in this city: short measures, rigged scales, a bag of false weights. You’ll eat and still be hungry. You’ll plant and not harvest. Press olives and never use the oil. Tread grapes and never drink the wine.
Can I forget any longer, O house of the wicked, the treasures of wickedness and the short ephah, which is accursed? Can I excuse dishonest scales or bags of false weights? For the wealthy of the city are full of violence, and its residents speak lies; their tongues are deceitful in their mouths. You will eat but not be satisfied, and your hunger will remain with you. What you acquire, you will not preserve; and what you save, I will give to the sword. You will sow but not reap; you will press olives but not anoint yourselves with oil; you will tread grapes but not drink the wine.
Feeling like someone walking the vineyard after the harvest is in. Not a grape left. Not one early fig. The faithful people have all gone. Nobody straight is left.
Woe is me! For I am like one gathering summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster to eat, no early fig that I crave. The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net.
Replying to @micah.moresheth
Don’t trust a friend. Watch what you say even to the one lying in your arms. Sons look down on their fathers, daughters turn on their mothers. Your enemies are the people in your own house.
Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms. For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies are the members of his own household.
But me, I’m watching for the LORD. I’m waiting for the God who saves me. My God will hear me.
But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
Don’t gloat over me, enemy. I’ve fallen, but I’ll get up. I’m sitting in the dark, but the LORD will be my light.
Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.
Who is a God like you? You forgive. You don’t stay angry for ever, because you love to show mercy. You’ll have compassion on us again. You’ll throw all our sins into the depths of the sea.
Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion? He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea.
“Who is like you?” Moses sang it by the sea. Micah’s own name asks it.
Moses@mosesWho’s like you, LORD? Holy and majestic. Fearsome. You do wonders.Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
