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Day 1 - A prophecy of judgement on Israel and Judah

Micah prophesies some time before the exile of Israel by the Assyrians. After the prosperity during the era of Jeroboam II the region was entering into a period of political uncertainty with the rise of Assyria on the political map.


Day 1 - The two nations are condemned for their sins.

Day

Passage

Micah 1:1-9


The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moreshethduring the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Hear, you peoples, all of you,
listen, earth and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.

Judgment Against Samaria and Jerusalem

Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling place;
he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth.
The mountains melt beneath him
and the valleys split apart,
like wax before the fire,
like water rushing down a slope.
All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,
because of the sins of the people of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression?
Is it not Samaria?
What is Judah’s high place?
Is it not Jerusalem?

“Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,
a place for planting vineyards.
I will pour her stones into the valley
and lay bare her foundations.
All her idols will be broken to pieces;
all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
I will destroy all her images.
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,
as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”

Weeping and Mourning

Because of this I will weep and wail;
I will go about barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
and moan like an owl.
For Samaria’s plague is incurable;
it has spread to Judah.
It has reached the very gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem itself.

Questions

1.  V2-4 : Where is God speaking from and why? What do we learn about God from these verses?


2.  V5-7 :

a.  What sin of Samaria specifically concerned God (See also Amos 8:14 and 1 Kings 12:26-29)? What would be the consequence of this sin (v7)?

b.  Why would God compare the temple in Jerusalem to the idols of Samaria in v5? In what ways can we be guilty of idolatry today (see also Eph 5:5)?


3.  V8-9 :

a.  What was Micah’s response to God’s message against Samaria and why (Micah was from the southern kingdom of Judah)?

b.  How do we see the contagious nature of sin today?

c.  Are we grieved about sin and its consequences?


4.  Are there times we’re tempted to take sin too lightly?

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