←Micah 7→BSB

In This Chapter 5 people 8 places 76 terms

People

Jacob (Patriarch) 2 Abraham 2 Israel Jeshurun (Israel) Abram (Abraham)

Places

    Key Terms

    Possession 8 Upright 7 Visitation 5 Kindness (Solidarity) 4 Loyal Person 3 Salvation (Physical) 3 Guilt (State) 3 Transgression 3 Sin 2 Fear 2 Spare (Release) 2 Rebellion (Offense) 2 Swear 2 Straightness Straight Be Straight Believe In Trust Salvation Save (Help) Salvation (State) Save (Restore) Salvation (Deliverance) Salvation (Rescuer) Save (Rescue) Salvation (Means) Saving (Means) To Sin Sin (Act) Sin (Incur Guilt) Guilty (Responsible) Guilt (Consequence) Guiltiness Trespass (Sin) Sinful Sin (Offense) To Stand Guilty Sin (Guilty) Sin (Wrongdoing) Guilty Considered Guilty Guilty Of Sin Previously Sin Against To Cause to Possess Possession Fear (State) Awe (State) Fear (Terror) Fear (Reverence) Fear (Awe) Fearful Respect Respect (Among People) Forgive Forgive (Remove Guilt) Forgive (Grant Pardon) Hand Over Forgiveness (Remove Guilt) Forgive (Wipe Out) Forgiveness (Pardon) Have Mercy To Cover (Forgive) Cover (Figurative) Forgiving Rebel (Act) Be Rebellious Rebel (Against Authority) Rebellion Rebelliousness Be Kind Kindness (Benevolence) Kindness (Graciousness) Kindness (Affection) Truth (Faithfulness) Truthfulness

    Israel’s Great Misery

    (Matthew 10:34–39; Luke 12:49–53)

    ⓘ Hopeless deception and corruption permeated God’s people (7:1–6);...

    Hopeless deception and corruption permeated God’s people (7:1–6); God’s mercy, however, would triumph and Israel would be restored (7:11–13). God’s mercy, compassion, and unfailing love would prevail (7:14–20). Micah mourned his people’s condition and looked to the Lord for help (7:7–10).
    1Woe is me!
    For I am like one gathering summer fruitat the gleaning of the vineyard;there is no cluster to eat,no early fig that I crave.
    ⓘ The people of Israel were without law, justice,...

    The people of Israel were without law, justice, or righteousness. Everyone took advantage of others for self-aggrandizement; they had created a society in which all forms of oppression were the norm.
    2The 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.3Both hands are skilled at evil;the prince and the judge demand a bribe.When the powerful utters his evil desire,they all conspire together.4The best of them is like a brier;the most upright is sharper than a hedge of thorns.The day for your watchmen has come,the day of your visitation.†Now is the time of their confusion.
    ⓘ Don’t trust anyone: Bitterness, corruption, and treachery had...

    Don’t trust anyone: Bitterness, corruption, and treachery had poisoned the community of the Lord’s people (cp. Matt 10:34–36; Luke 12:52–53).
    5Do not rely on a friend;do not trust in a companion.Seal the doors of your mouthfrom her who lies in your arms.†6For 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 membersof his own household.†

    Israel’s Confession and Comfort

    ⓘ In the midst of despair, Micah prays with...

    In the midst of despair, Micah prays with a psalm of hope and confidence in the Lord (cp. Hab 2:4; 3:16–18).
    7But as for me, I will look to the LORD;I will wait for the God of my salvation.My God will hear me.
    8Do not gloat over me, my enemy!Though I have fallen, I will arise;though I sit in darkness,the LORD will be my light.9Because I have sinned against Him,I must endure the rage of the LORD,until He argues my caseand executes justice for me.He will bring me into the light;I will see His righteousness.10Then my enemy will seeand will be covered with shame—she who said to me,“Where is the LORD your God?”My eyes will see her;at that time she will be trampledlike mud in the streets.
    ⓘ That day includes (1) 538 BC, when Israel...

    That day includes (1) 538 BC, when Israel began to return from exile in Babylon (see Ezra 1–2); and (2) the final restoration of God’s people (see Amos 9:11–15). As the nations flow to a renewed Israel, God’s purposes through Abraham will be fulfilled (Gen 12:3).
    11The day for rebuilding your walls will come—the day for extending your boundary.12On that day they will come to youfrom Assyria and the cities of Egypt,even from Egypt to the Euphrates,†from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.13Then the earth will become desolatebecause of its inhabitants,as the fruit of their deeds.

    God’s Compassion on Israel

    ⓘ The Lord promised to completely renew Israel, his...

    The Lord promised to completely renew Israel, his special possession (see Exod 19:5; Mal 3:17). Judgment would not mean the destruction of hope, but a cleansing so that true hope could prevail. The restoration would be God’s work alone as he restored the remnant of his special people and removed their guilt by his love, compassion, and faithfulness (see Exod 32:12–14).
    14Shepherd with Your staff Your people,the flock of Your inheritance.They live alone in a woodland,surrounded by pastures.†Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead,as in the days of old.
    15As in the days when you came out of Egypt,I will show My wonders.16Nations will see and be ashamed,deprived of all their might.They will put their hands over their mouths,and their ears will become deaf.17They will lick the dust like a snake,like reptiles slithering on the ground.They will come trembling from their strongholdsin the presence of the LORD our God;they will tremble in fear of You.
    ⓘ These verses provide a fine brief summary of...
    • These verses provide a fine brief summary of Old Testament theology. God is unique; there is no one and nothing else like him. Because of his unfailing love (Hebrew khesed), he does not destroy his people whom he judges but instead restores them (see Exod 36:6–7). His faithfulness means that he can be trusted to do good regardless of the cost to himself (see Ps 89:1–2).
    • Where is another God like you: This question probably plays off of Micah’s name (“Who is like the Lord?”). God’s character is unequaled among the gods of the nations. His actions and words spring from his character (Exod 34:6–7). God pardons, shows compassion, triumphs over his peoples’ sins, and seals those sins away. The Lord’s unfailing love moved him to choose Israel from the beginning (Deut 7:8), consistent with his covenant faithfulness to Israel’s ancestors (Deut 7:20; 9:1–10:22). By his unfailing love, God continues to offer hope to those who trust in him.
    18Who is a God like You,who pardons iniquityand passes over the transgressionof the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever,because He delights in loving devotion?†19He will again have compassion on us;He will vanquish our iniquities.You will cast out all our sinsinto the depths of the sea.20You will show faithfulness to Jacoband loving devotion to Abraham,as You swore to our fathersfrom the days of old.