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| Photo by Jim Tracy |
1 Woe is me! For I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape-gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first-ripe fruit.
2 The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: …
Micah longs for a righteous man as someone would long for a cluster of fresh, juicy grapes after a long, hard winter without any fresh fruit..
…They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.
3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
Everyone is being evil and dishonest.
4 The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.
The Jews were very corrupt, each pursuing his own selfish aims no matter what harm it did to others. Their time is at an end.
5 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
6 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
Things are so bad you can’t even trust your own family.
Jesus will repeat this prediction in Matthew 10:36.
In AD70, when God allowed the Romans to destroy Jerusalem, the Jewish factions inside the city actually did more damage than the Romans. These people fought and killed each other while the Romans sat outside the walls just wishing they would surrender and get it over with.
7 Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.
9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against Him, until He plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteousness.
No matter what, God will protect and provide for those who love Him. Even if it looks like they have fallen, God is there.
10 Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, “Where is the LORD thy God?” Mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.
There were evidently those who were giving Micah a hard time over his faith in God. He has no doubt that he will be vindicated. The same is true for us all.
11 In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed.
12 In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.
After Judah was rebuilt after the return from Babylon, the kings of the Syrian Empire (which was located in roughly the same area as the Assyrian Empire) marched through Judah on a rampage on the way to fight with Egypt.
13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.
14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvelous things.
God worked many miracles in the time of the Maccabees in order to kick the Seleucids (Syrians) out of the land.
16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of Thee.
God did such mighty miracles during the time of the Maccabees that people still speak of them today. In fact, that is what the Jewish holiday Hanukkah is; remembering the major miracles from the days of the Maccabees.
18 Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger forever, because He delighteth in mercy.
19 He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
God is a god of justice which demands that evil is punished. But He is also a god of mercy and love who forgives whenever possible. All it takes to get God’s forgiveness is an honest sorrow at our evil doings and a turning from those ways to the ways of righteousness.
20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
God did restore Israel/Judah to her land and her prosperity. If they had continued to humble themselves before God, He would have preserved them there forever.