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The Prophet Micah



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Introduction to Micah
Micah the prophet was in a sense the "Robin Hood" of his day. He stole money from the rich
and gave it to the poor. Micah came from the town of Moresheth, an odd trading town back in his day.
Moresheth was about 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Moresheth was a productive agricultural
center, thriving with caravans always passing through on the way to Egypt. Micah's name is short
for Micaiah which means "Who is like unto the Lord?" Micah was for the most part a faithful prophet,
but not a very well known one. Micah was a good example for us to follow if we want to become
close to God.



Micah's calling, structure, people, and other things
The calling of Micah is a mystery to me because I could not find anything at all on
the calling of Micah. He just seemed to jump into the spotlight with his "doom" type prophesizing.

The Structure of the Book of Micah is simple and well-balanced: two collections of doom articles separated
by a collection of oracles of salvation. It is ordered in logical form, not chronological. There are three parts of the prophecy.
The first is God's chastisement of Judah's sins in keeping with the punishment He has already inflicted on Samaria. The second
is a prediction of Zion's restoration by the Messiah. The third and final part is God's rebuke of Judah for its ingratitude, injustice, and infidelity.

Micah's focus was on establishing himself as more than an easily embarrassed prophet. He kept his listeners
wanting more because of his quick-witted and fast responses to challenges about his prophesizing. He was also very
versitile with his lamentations, question-and-answers, Torah speech, personal confessions of faith, judgement, and promise.

Micah's audience that he mostly spoke to was of the poor and towards the higher officials. He, coming
from a life of being poor, knew much about the suffering and pain that the poor faced constantly. He rebuked the officials
for taxing the poor because the government took all that they had.

During the time of Micah, the Judean kings Joatham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah all reigned. Micah only prophesized
in the southern kingdom of Judah and not the northern kingdom of Israel.



Micah's message, story, and modern issues
Micah's message was to protest against social injustices such as the oppression of the poor, corruption of
governing classes, and the grinding down of he unfortunate in the machinery of the law. But his protest was based
upon his own concept of God's people. It completely filled his vision. God's people is not a political power, but a people
chosen by, saved by, and allied by Yahweh in every single way(New Catholic Encyclopedia). Micah wanted the restoration
of the people's part in the pact between Yahweh and his people. His vision of the future was being completely disrupted
by the lack of the people's belief in their God. He prophesized extremely strongly against this, and that was why he was a popular prophet.

Micah's story is one of sadness. Micah was raised in the poorer, working class area of his small farming
community. The quality of his prophecy, however, has caused many famous religious thinkers to believe that he
received a good education and may have been one of the wealthier members of the community, a land owner. Still others
consider him as an elder of the community, indicating his respect among his people. At any rate, because he grew
up in such a community, he was well aware of the avarice and injustices of the rich.

If Micah was prophet today, I believe that a modern match for him would be Martin Luther King Jr. I believe this
because King also faced a life of poverty and great unwealth in his early days. King also preached against the
poor, the black community, who was being poorly treated.

Some issues today that need addressing by modern-day prophets are the need to stop abortion in our society.
Abortion is a huge problem that needs to end. If prophets today spoke out enough about it and spread enough word about
the horrors it causes, I believe there would be a substantial drop in the amount of abortions every year. Another issue that
modern-day prophets would have to face is the issue of racism in America. There is a sort of pride in being American, one
that puts immigrants down completely and subjects them to hate and death threats. This is a huge problem. America is
the land of opportunity, and every one of us needs to remember that at one time we too were immigrants, encroaching
on the Native American's land.



Outline of the Book of Micah
I. Punishment of Israel's Sins
A. Chapter 1, Divine Judgement
B. Chapter 2, Social Evils
C. Chapter 3, Downfall of Present Leaders
II. The New Israel
A. Chapter 4, The People to be Restored
B. Chapter 5, Restoration through the Messiah
III. Admonition
A. Chapter 6, Accusation and Answer
B. Chapter 7, Condemnation and Prayer



Passage from the Book of Micah
“And what does the lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8)



Review Questions
1. What was Micah's home town like?
2. Was the structure of the book of Micah more chronological or logical?
3. Micah spoke mainly to what group of people because he could relate directly with them as he grew up in their condition?
Answers



Links to helpful websites on Micah:
Micah at Bible.org
Bibical People: Micah
World Wide Study Bible: Micah
Anita Blake's book on Micah - Amazon.com



Sources
Maxey, Al. "The Minor Prophets: Micah." www.zianet.com.
New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2003 ed., s.v. "Micah"
Stuhlmueller, Carroll. Collegeville Bible Commentary: Amos, Hosea, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, and Habakkuk (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1986), 62-86.



Extras
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