CHAPTER 2

(730 B.C.)

THE SINS OF ISRAEL

¹Woe to them who devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand. (The first phrase pertains to men planning iniquity, to whom, in turn, the Lord will plan calamity. Because it is in the power of their hand, means that they had the ability to do so; therefore, in their eyes, their might makes right.

As well, the Hebrew has the idea of this translation, Because it is in the power of their hand, which is their god.)

²And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage. (The Commandment against coveting [Ex. 20:17] taught the Jews that God regards sins of thought as well as of action.)

JUDGMENT ON ALL ISRAEL

³Therefore thus says the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which you shall not remove your necks; neither shall you go haughtily: for this time is evil. (The first phrase proclaims the fact that as they devised evil, God devised a penalty. From which you shall not remove your necks, means that even though some may escape mans vengeance, none will escape Gods!

Neither shall you go haughtily, means with head erect. In other words, their pride would be brought low. The short phrase, For this time is evil, refers to that which is planned for them, which speaks of the coming Assyrian invasion.)

LAMENTATION FOR ISRAEL

⁴In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he has changed the portion of My People: how has He removed it from me! turning away He has divided our fields. (Man generally blames God as the Author of the evils which his own sins cause. God has not changed or broken His Covenant, as Verses 12 and 13 prove; but, in a just anger, He divided the fields of Israel to the invader.

The words, Turning away He has divided our fields, means that to an apostate He divided our fields. The apostate is the king of Assyria, and then later Chaldea.)

⁵Therefore you shall have none who shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the LORD. ([To] cast a cord, means to measure a farm. They had abused the privilege of owning the land, as is described in Verse 3, and now they would suffer its loss.

As a result, there would be no one else going into the Temple, i.e., the congregation of the LORD, checking these various boundaries, as originally designed by the Holy Spirit through Joshua, as they had done for centuries. The land would no longer belong to them, but would be confiscated by the heathen.)

SINS AND JUDGMENT ON THE HOUSE OF JACOB

⁶Prophesy you not, say they to them who prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame. (Israel refused the testimony of Truth; by a just judgment, it was replaced by a spirit of falsehood. If men will not listen to the Holy Spirit, they will be condemned to listen to the unholy one.

Prophesy you not, was directed at Micah by the false prophets, and also by the people who took the side of the false prophets.)

⁷O you who are named the house of Jacob, is the Spirit of the LORD straitened? are these His doings? do not My Words do good to him who walks uprightly? (The first question of the Verse should have been translated, Is the Spirit of the LORD shortened?, meaning, Does He not know what He is saying, and to whom He is saying it? In effect, Micah is saying that when they criticized him, they were criticizing the Lord, and, more so, the Spirit of God.

The second question of the Verse holds the key. Gods Words toward people will be a blessing only if they will walk uprightly, i.e., abide by the Word of God.)

⁸Even of late My People is risen up as an enemy: you pull off the robe with the garment from them who pass by securely as men averse from war. (Even of late My People is risen up as an enemy, implies recent action and repeated. These were not old offenses of which the Lord was speaking, but sins of recent and daily occurrence.

The last phrase has to do with the poorest of the poor in the land being treated as badly as prisoners of war.)

⁹The women of My People have you cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have you taken away My Glory for ever. (The first phrase refers to the widows, who ought to have been protected and cared for. Have you cast out, refers to violent expulsion, which saw them literally thrown on the street without any means of support. The last phrase refers to the setting aside of the Law of Moses, which is called here My Glory, and which the children, the coming generation, would not be privileged to have.

Such was totally true, for in a few years the Northern Kingdom of Israel was totally destroyed by Assyria, with tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people being led away into slavery, where they would never again have the privilege of living according to the Law of Moses.)

¹⁰Arise you, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. (Arise you, and depart, concerns the Lord taking action on these heartless oppressors by promising them that they would be banished from their homes and land, even as they had torn others from their homes. What they measured would be measured unto them again [Mat. 7:2].

For this is not your rest, refers to Canaan as a resting place for Israel, actually, their own Promised Land [Deut. 12:9-10; Josh. 1:13]. However, this land is about to be taken from them and given to oppressors [the Assyrians], with the people being sold as slaves.

The reason? Because it is polluted, which refers to the land being polluted by the sins of its inhabitants. Consequently, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction, which speaks of the land vomiting the people out.)

¹¹If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto you of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people. (If a man walking in the spirit [evil spirit] and falsehood do lie, speaks of false prophets, who prophesied by a lying spirit of falsehood and deceit. I will prophesy unto you of wine and of strong drink, does not necessarily refer to literal wine and strong drink, but rather to temporal blessings. In other words, they dwelt on Gods Promises of material prosperity. As such, they were identical to the modern false prophets of the Greed Gospel.

He shall even be the prophet of this people, pertains to the ones who were popular, i.e., those preaching the Greed Gospel, namely, the ones to whom the people would listen.)

SECOND ADVENT OF THE MESSIAH

¹²I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of you; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men. (To the unknowing eye and ear, it may seem as if the Twelfth Verse is totally unconnected to the Eleventh. However, such is not the case!

In Verse 11, Micah was pointing out the false prophets who were promising peace and prosperity now. In Verse 12, he tells the people that it is certainly true that peace and prosperity is coming. Still, it would be a long way off. At present, it has been about 2,700 years, and this Prophecy is still not fulfilled; but it most certainly shall be in the future.

I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of you, actually refers to the Second Coming of Christ. This is known because such has never happened in the past and will only happen at that Coming Glad Day.

I will surely gather the remnant of Israel, refers to sure Repentance on Israels part and them gladly gathering at the Banner of Christ, with Him now being their Shepherd, even as He always wanted to be [Mat. 23:37].)

¹³The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them. (The breaker is the Antichrist, the one making a breach. The last phrase has to do with the triumphant entry of Christ, which will take place immediately after the Second Coming, which this Verse portrays; at this time, Christ will then be accepted, not only as Lord, but also as Messiah.)