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MICAH 3

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE CHAPTER ‒ God calls the evil leaders of Judah to account.

1. Political rulers, Mic. 3:1-4
   
   
2. Prophets, Mic. 3:5-8
   1. false prophets described in Mic. 3:5-7
   2. true prophets described in Mic. 3:8
   
   
3. Rulers, priests, and prophets are addressed collectively, Mic. 3:9-12
   
   
4. There is an obvious parallelism between A. and C. (i.e., "hear," shema, Qal IMPERATIVE)
   
   
5. See full outline in Introduction VII.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: MICAH 3:1-4
 ¹"And I said,
 'Hear now, heads of Jacob
 And rulers of the house of Israel.
 Is it not for you to know justice?
 ²You who hate good and love evil,
 Who tear off their skin from them
 And their flesh from their bones,
 ³And who eat the flesh of my people,
 Strip off their skin from them,
 Break their bones,
 And chop them up as for the pot
 And as meat in a kettle."
 ⁴Then they will cry out to the Lord,
 But He will not answer them.
 Instead, He will hide His face from them at that time,
 Because they have practiced evil deeds.

3:1 This is a strong contrast to Mic. 2:12-13. The abrupt transition from judgment to restoration characterizes this book. This literary technique may be unconsciously related to the antithetical parallelism of Hebrew poetry! Chapter 3 picks up again on the theme of divine judgment from Micah 2.

SPECIAL TOPIC: HEBREW POETRY

▣ "Hear" This is the Hebrew Shema (BDB 1033, KB 1570, Qal IMPERATIVE), which means to hear so as to do (cf. Mic. 1:2; 3:1; 6:1). This word seems to outline the book. See note at Mic. 1:2.

SPECIAL TOPIC: SHEMA

▣  ". . .heads of Jacob

And rulers of the house of Israel.

Is it not for you to know justice" All three lines of poetry refer to the political leaders of Judah (cf. Mic. 3:9-10) who should have been trained in the Mosaic law (cf. Deut. 12:17), but followed a policy of greed and self-centeredness (cf. Amos 5:15; Isa. 1:16,17). Calling Judah, Israel, probably shows

1. this was spoken after the fall of the Northern Ten Tribes to Assyria in 722 B.C.
2. it was a way of showing condemnation (e.g., Ezekiel 23)
3. Israel was the colletive term for all the tribes before the split in 922 B.C.

▣ "justice" See SPECIAL TOPIC: JUSTICE

3:2-3 Instead of acting like shepherds, these political leaders (cf. Ezekiel 34) acted like butchers (i.e., "tear off," "strip off," "break," "chop").

1. "tear off" ‒ BDB 159, KB 186, Qal PARTICIPLE, cf. Mic. 2:8; 7:2,3
2. "strip off" ‒ BDB 832, KB 980, Hiphil PERFECT, cf. Ezek. 34:2,3
3. "break" ‒ BDB822, KB 953, Piel PERFECT
4. "chop: ‒ BDB 831, KB 975, Qal PERFECT, cf. Ezek. 11:3,6,7

The phrase, "eat the flesh of my people," is used in this similar figurative sense in Ps. 14:4, 27:2 and Prov. 30:14.

3:2 "You who hate good and love evil" The two VERBS "hate" (BDB 971, KB 1338) and "love" (BDB 12, KB 17) are both Qal ACTIVE PARTICIPLES. These leaders' response was exactly opposite from God's will (cf. Isa. 1:16-17,21-23,26; 5:7,8,20; Amos 5:15).

3:4 "Then they will cry out to the Lord,

But He will not answer them" The VERB "cry out" (BDB 227, KB 277, Qal IMPERFECT) is a legal term for appealing to the court for help.

1. as these wicked judges did not hear the cries of the poor aliens, orphans, and widows
2. God will not hear their cry either (cf.Deut. 31:17,18; 32:20; Prov. 21:13; Isa. 1:15; 59:2; 64:7; Jer. 33:5; James 2:13)

▣ "He will hide His face from them at that time" The VERB (BDB 711, KB 771, Hiphil) is JUSSIVE in form, but not in meaning.

The "them" refers to the faithless leaders. This is ultimate rejection and parallel to "He will not answer them" and "He will hide His face from them."

▣ "Because they have practiced evil deeds" Here is the problem. God's people have repeatedly and flagrantly rebelled and rejected their covenant obligations (cf. Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28). They are now reaping what they sowed (cf. Mic. 7:13; Isa. 3:10,11; Gal. 6:7).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: MICAH 3:5-12
 ⁵" Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets
 Who lead my people astray;
 When they have something to bite with their teeth,
 They cry, "Peace,"
 But against him who puts nothing in their mouths,
 They declare holy war.
  ⁶Therefore it will be night for you—without vision,
 And darkness for you—without divination.
 The sun will go down on the prophets,
 And the day will become dark over them.
 ⁷The seers will be ashamed
 And the diviners will be embarrassed.
 Indeed, they will all cover their mouths
 Because there is no answer from God.
 ⁸On the other hand I am filled with power—
 With the Spirit of the Lord—
 And with justice and courage
 To make known to Jacob his rebellious act,
 Even to Israel his sin.
 ⁹Now hear this, heads of the house of Jacob
 And rulers of the house of Israel,
 Who abhor justice
 And twist everything that is straight,
 ¹⁰Who build Zion with bloodshed
 And Jerusalem with violent injustice.
 ¹¹Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe,
 Her priests instruct for a price,
 And her prophets divine for money.
 Yet they lean on the Lord saying,
 'Is not the Lord in our midst?
 Calamity will not come upon us.'
 ¹²Therefore, on account of you,
 Zion will be plowed as a field,
 Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
 And the mountain of the temple will become high places of a forest."

3:5 "Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets" The prophets were one of several ways to know the will of YHWH. The very ones who were to reveal God, did not know Him (cf. Hosea 4:1). 1 Samuel 28:6 mentions three ways Saul inquired of YHWH:

1. dreams, visions
2. Urim and Thummim (i.e., High Priest)
3. prophet (i.e., Samuel)

SPECIAL TOPIC: WAYS OF REVELATION

▣ "Who lead my people astray" The VERB (BDB 1073, KB 1766, Hiphil PARTICIPLE) means "to cause to err" (cf. Amos 2:4; Hosea 4:12; 2 Kgs. 21:9; Isa. 3:12; 9:16; Jer. 50:6). This refers to the false prophets mentioned in Mic. 2:6-7; 3:10-11.

▣ "When they have something to bite with their teeth" This refers to the eating of food (i.e., gifts from the people they prophesied for, cf. Mic. 3:5, lines 4 and 5). They prophesy for hire, not for God (cf. Isa. 59:9-11). They tell

1. the generous clients just what they want to hear (i.e., peace and prosperity)
2. their poor clients problems and scarcity

The term "bite" (BDB 675, KB 729, Qal PARTICIPLE) usually refers to a snake bite.

▣ "They cry, 'Peace'" Literally shalom (BDB 1022) is the Hebrew word which means "wholeness." Apparently,

1. if the prophets were well-fed (i.e., paid in food, cf. 1 Sam. 9:7-8), they would proclaim good news (e.g., Jer. 5:12; 6:13-14; 8:10-11; 13:14; 23:17; Ezek. 13:10)
2. if they were not well-fed, they would proclaim "holy war" (BDB 536)

Their message was based on selfish interests, not YHWH's will. These prophets were available for private, as well as, royal consultations.

However, giving a gift to a prophet was a common practice (e.g., 1 Kgs. 14:3; 2 Kgs. 4:42; 8:8-9). It is the manipulation of the message that is the problem!

SPECIAL TOPIC: PEACE (OT, shalom)

▣ "They declare holy war" The term "holy" is not in the MT, but comes from the VERB (BDB 872, KB 1073, Piel PERFECT with waw), which comes from the Hebrew root for "holy." It is used to describe setting apart certain people for war in Jer. 51:27; Joel 3:9 and here (cf. Robert Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old Testament, p. 177).

The implication is that God will send bad things, problems, conflicts against those who are not generous with the prophets (i.e., God's spokesperson). I sense this same technique today in tithing sermons that pronounce doom if you do not give a set percentage to the speaker or church (i.e., storehouse tithing)!

SPECIAL TOPIC: TITHING

3:6 "night. . .darkness. . .sun will go down. . .day will become dark" These are four terrible images (no sunlight used by Isaiah) for the removal of God's Spirit and insight from the rulers and prophets.

Darkness is used as imagery for lack of revelation (i.e., light, e.g., Ps. 82:5; Prov. 2:13; 4:19; Isa. 59:9; 2 Pet. 1:19; 1 John 1:6; 2:11). The darkness will result in judgment (cf. Amos 5:18-20; another image in Amos 8:11-12 is famine of God's word).

God will not respond to

1. their prayers
2. their prophets

▣ "vision" Visions (BDB 302) and dreams (BDB 321) were often paralleled (cf. Job 33:15; Isa. 29:7; Dan. 7:1) as ways of receiving God's message. Usually (but not exclusively) visions occurred in the day and dreams at night.

SPECIAL TOPIC: WAYS OF REVELATION

▣ "divination" This (BDB 890, KB 1115) was an ancient means of knowing and effecting the future through some physical or mechanical means (e.g., negative, Deut. 18:9-22; positive, 1 Sam. 28:6 and Gen. 44:5,15). Divination is mankind's attempt to conrol their own lives instead of trusting YHWH.

SPECIAL TOPIC: DIVINATION

3:7 "seers" This was the earliest name for prophets (BDB 302, e.g., 1 Sam. 9:9; 2 Sam. 24:11; 1 Chr. 9:22; 25:5; Isa. 30:10; Amos 7:12).

SPECIAL TOPIC: PROPHECY (OT), I. B.

The VERB (BDB 101, KB 116, Qal PERFECT with waw) means to be ashamed (e.g., Mic. 7:16; Hosea 4:19; 10:6; 13:15 and many times in Isaiah).

SPECIAL TOPIC: SHAME

This VERB (BDBb 340, Qal PERFECT with waw) is parallel with "ashamed" and also means ashamed. They are both used together in Isa. 24:23. It is used of

1. idolaters in Isa. 1:29
2. diviners, here
3. Babylon in Jer. 50:12

▣ "they will all cover their mouths" Literally this is "mustache" (BDB 974). This symbol of covering the mustache meant

1. grief (cf. Ezek. 24:17,22)
2. shame (i.e., lepers, Lev. 13:45)

▣ "Because there is no answer from God" These leaders are suffering the same lack of communication with God as the leaders described in Mic. 3:4 (cf. 1 Sam. 28:6). Heaven is silent!

3:8 As verses 5-7 have been a discussion of false prophets, Mic. 3:8 is a description of a true prophet who is in full communication with God (cf. Ps. 89:13-14, the prophet shares or better reflects the character of God).

Notice the true prophet is filled (BDB 569, KB 583, Qal PERFECT) with

1. power (BDB 470)
2. YHWH's Spirit (cf. Isa. 11:2; Ezek. 2:2)
3. justice (BDB 1048 "judgment")
4. courage (BDB 150 "might") to make sin known (cf. Isa. 58:1)

What a contrast with the leaders' shame, grief, and impotence!

Although the full doctrine of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is not obvious in the OT, the personal presence of God with and within humans is revealed:

1. Bezalel, Exod. 31:3; 35:31
2. Joshua, Deut. 34:9
3. Saul, 1 Sam. 19:23-24
4. Elijah, 1 Kgs. 18:46
5. Ezekiel, Ezek. 1:3; 37:1; 40:1
6. Micah, Micah 3:8
7. Messiah, Isaiah 11:2; 48:16; 61:1 (Luke 4:18-19)

As evil indwells humans, so too, the personal presence of YHWH. Fallen humans are directed and/or influenced by one of two spiritual forces.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE PERSONHOOD OF THE SPIRIT

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE TRINITY

Literally the MT has "but indeed I." The Hebrew ADVERB (BDB 19) is a strong ADVERSATIVE (used often in Job, cf. Mic. 1:11; 11:5; 12:7; 13:4; 14:18; 17:10; 33:1).

▣ "Jacob. . .Israel" As the last two lines of Mic. 3:8 show Micah addressing both Judah's sins and Israel's sins, so too, lines 1 and 2 of Mic. 3:9. It is often difficult to know if Micah is addressing Israel, Judah, or both by these two collective names.

SPECIAL TOPIC: ISRAEL (THE NAME)

This phrase is literally "hear I pray this."

1. The VERB (BDB 1033, KB 1570) is a Qal IMPERATIVE
2. followed by a PARTICLE used for entreaty (בא)
3. the DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVE "this"

▣ "Who abhor justice" The VERB (BDB 1073, KB 1765, Piel PARTICIPLE) means regard as an abomination (e.g., Amos 5:10; 6:8; Isa. 14:19; 49:7). These leaders were not sincerely wrong, but haters of the right, good, and godly (cf. Isa. 5:20; Amos 6:12).

The term "justice" (BDB 1048) is repeated in Mic. 3:8 and 9.

SPECIAL TOPIC: JUSTICE

▣ "And twist everything that is straight" The VERB "twist" (BDB 786, KB 875, Piel IMPERFECT) means "to pervert" or "to make crooked" (cf. Prov. 10:9; 28:18; Isa. 59:8).

The term "straight" is the etymological root of the OT term for "justice" or "righteousness," which meant a straight edge or measuring reed (cf. Isa. 5:20). Most of the Hebrew words for sin speak of a deviation from this divine standard.

SPECIAL TOPIC: RIGHTEOUSNESS

3:10 "Zion. . .Jerusalem" Zion is the name of one of the seven hills upon which Jerusalem was built. It often is used to refer to the whole city or nation. This must be Judah.

SPECIAL TOPIC: ZION

▣ "with bloodshed. . .with violent injustice" These two NOUNS are parallel (cf. Jer. 22:13,17; Hab. 2:12).

3:11 All three groups of leaders are mentioned in this verse and all three are condemned for their greedy, materialistic attitude (cf. Mic. 7:3; Isa. 56:9-12; Jer. 5:30-31; 6:13-14; 8:8-12; 14:13-18,22-23; 26:10-15,16; Ezek. 13; 22:23-31).

▣ "pronounce judgment for a bribe" This shows the corruption of the judiciary (cf. Mic. 7:3; 2 Chr. 19:7; Isa. 1:23; 5:23). Wealth controlled every aspect of Jewish life.

SPECIAL TOPIC: WEALTH

▣ "priests instruct for a price" One role of the priests (and Levites) was to educate the people on the precepts of the Mosaic Law (e.g., Deut. 33:10; 2 Chr. 15:3; 17:9). Priestly understanding and teaching (and living) of the Mosaic Law was crucial to a healthy, spiritual Israel (cf. Hosea 4:6). But, here they educate only for a price (cf. Mic. 3:5).

SPECIAL TOPIC: LEVITICAL PRIESTS

▣ "Yet they lean on the Lord, saying" The term "lean" is used of leaning on a staff (BDB 1043, KB 1612, Niphal IMPERFECT, cf. Ps. 23:4). These leaders were wrapping their evil deeds in religious dress. Their mouth said one thing; their actions another (cf. Isa. 29:13)! They were claiming YHWH's protection (covenant benefit) because of their covenant relationship to Him, but were completely ignoring the covenant requirements (cf. Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 27-29; Isa. 6:9-10; 29:13).

▣ "Calamity will not come upon us" This must have been a recurrent theme of the false prophets, which became a cultural proverb (cf. Jer. 5:12; 23:17; Amos 9:10), but they were wrong (cf. Mic. 2:3).

3:12 This must have been an extremely startling statement to the people of Judah. They trusted in God's promises that Jerusalem and the temple would never fall (i.e., Isaiah's promises to Hezekiah, probably based in 2 Samuel 7), and yet, because of their flagrant neglect of the ethical aspects of the covenant, God would take them into exile (cf. Jer. 26:18). Jerusalem would be like Samaria (cf. Mic. 1:6)! This is the first prophetic mention of the fall of Jerusalem ("plowed as a field") and the temple (i.e., overgrown with vegetation, literally "a high place of a forest"). This is theologically parallel to Isaiah 5.

I am sure that Micah was discredited in 701 B.C. when this did not occur (i.e., Sennacherib's army destroyed by God, cf. 2 Kgs. 19:35-37), however, the prophet was vindicated in 586 B.C. when this prophecy was literally fulfilled under the siege of Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. F. F. Bruce, Answers to Questions, asserts that the king (i.e., Hezekiah, cf. Mic. 1:1) and people of Judah responded to Micah's message and, therefore, God relented of His judgment (p. 36). Hezekiah's repentance is recorded in 2 Kgs. 20:1-7.

▣ "on account of you" They (the political and religious leaders) were not only going to experience the judgment of God (like the wealthy exploiters), their activities were the reason for the judgment of God!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. What was the essence of the false prophets' message in Mic. 2:6-11?
2. Why is Mic. 2:12-13 such a radical break from the context?
3. How does one tell the difference between a false prophet and a true prophet?
4. How can God promise to always have a man on the Davidic throne (2 Samuel 7), and yet predict the total destruction of Jerusalem and the monarchy?

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