by Rev. Natalie Hill [DCXA at AU]
Micah is another prophet whom God used to convey a series of messages to His people about their sin and unfaithfulness. The book of Micah is composed of poems written to the people of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, who had rebelled against God and used religion for personal gain. It lays out a list of accusations, warns of coming punishment (defeat and capture by Assyria and Babylon), and proclaims a future of hope and restoration.
Through the prophet Micah, God accuses Israel’s leaders and prophets of committing injustices and violating laws in the name of religion. They took advantage of the weak and helpless and lived spiritually hypocritical lives, full of corruption. The book exposes these evils and tells of coming judgment and punishment for their sins.
Although God comes to bring His judgment, He also brings a future hope. He promises that He will shepherd His people and bring them back to Him, restoring His promise to them by rebuilding the temple, bringing peace on earth, and establishing a New Jerusalem with a new Messianic King (We see in the New Testament that He doesn’t do this in the way they were expecting, and in many ways we’re still waiting on that day where this promise is fulfilled – this is why this book is often referenced when talking about eschatology or “end times theology,” but that might be a topic for another day…or a whole theology course).
It can be easy to read this book and get swept up into all this talk about end times (What is the New Jerusalem? Will there be a literal temple, etc.?), but really the whole point is that after His judgment of their sins, God will restore His covenant promise with Israel. That’s what He was trying to tell them through Micah. We have a reason to hope because of God’s character and His promise, the covenant that God made with Abraham. The message of Micah is that God exposes injustice, He opposes evil especially in the name of religion and pride, and He calls His people to be faithful to Him. And in the end, His judgment ultimately leads to hope.