Micah 7
Outline
I. \\#Mic 1:1-16\\ A Nation Destroyed
A. \\#Mic 1:1\\ An Introduction
B. \\#Mic 1:2-7\\ The Coming Judge
C. \\#Mic 1:8-9\\ Micah’s Reaction
D. \\#Mic 1:10-15\\ The Sin Belt
II. \\#Mic 2:1-13\\ Loss of the Land
A. \\#Mic 2:1-5\\ Sins and Consequences
B. \\#Mic 2:6-13\\ A Message to the People
III. \\#Mic 3:1-12\\ Judgment on the Leaders
A. \\#Mic 3:1-4\\ A Word to the Rulers
B. \\#Mic 3:5-7\\ A Word to the Prophets
C. \\#Mic 3:9-12\\ A Word of Truth
IV. \\#Mic 4:1-5:1\\ A Bright Future
A. \\#Mic 4:1-8\\ A Glorious Day
B. \\#Mic 4:9-12\\ A Present Dilemma
C. \\#Mic 4:13-5:1\\ A Future Victory
V. \\#Mic 5:2-15\\ A Glorious King
A. \\#Mic 5:2\\ His Birth
B. \\#Mic 5:3\\ A Separation
C. \\#Mic 5:4-5\\ A Mighty Kingdom
D. \\#Mic 5:5-6\\ An Intrusion
E. \\#Mic 5:7-15\\ A Mighty Campaign
VI. \\#Mic 6:1-16\\ God Contends With Israel
A. \\#Mic 6:1-5\\ A Cry to the Wicked
B. \\#Mic 6:6-8\\ A Cry to the Righteous
C. \\#Mic 6:9-16\\ A Cry of Judgment
VII. \\#Mic 7:1-20\\ Micah’s Message
A. \\#Mic 7:1-10\\ Micah’s Frustration
B. \\#Mic 7:11-20\\ Micah’s Expectation
I. \\#7:1-10\\ Micah’s Frustration
A. \\#Mic 7:1-6\\ A Description of the People
1. "Woe" - A word typically to introduce God’s harshest
judgments for Israel but here Micah applied it to his
condition.
2. "I am"
a. Micah described what he was feeling.
(1) Micah first compared his feelings to that of a
field worker.
(2) A good question to ponder is was Micah
experiencing what Israel will feel in the end
times.
(3) With the many end time references of this book,
this is a real possibility which may seem to be
reaching at the first; however, the further into
the chapter one goes, the more likely it seems
possible.
(4) If this the case, this section foretells the
wicked conditions of the future.
b. "as when they have gathered the summer fruits" - Micah
felt like laborers who had finished the day in the
hot sun.
c. "as the grape gleanings …there is no cluster" - But
it was at the end of the season, when there was
little that could be picked to refresh oneself.
d. "my soul desired the firstripe fruit." - He needed
something fresh and juicy.
3. \\#2-6\\ As Micah felt famished, so the land lacked godly
men.
a. \\#2\\ "The good man is perished" and "the upright"
could not be found.
b. Those who are left are violent, waiting for "blood,"
and "hunting" his fellow man ("brother").
c. \\#3\\ They put all their effort, "both hands," to
the task of evil.
d. "The prince …the judge asketh for a reward …the
great man" - The ruler and the powerful seek bribes
and boast of their mischief.
e. \\#4\\ "The best of them is as a brier …thorn
hedge"
(1) Briers and thorns are good for nothing but to
inflict pain.
(2) "the day of thy watchman …thy visitation
cometh" - Micah warns the evil doers that their
days of evil are numbered.
f. \\#5-6\\ As evil runs rampant, the people cannot be
trusted.
(1) \\#5\\ "Trust ye not a fried"
(2) "put ye not confidence in a guide"
(3) "keep …thy mouth" - A man must be careful not
to reveal secrets to his wife or companion.
(4) \\#6\\ "the son …the daughter …the daughter-
in-law"
(a) No one could be trusted in those evil days.
(b) "a man’s enemies are the men of his own
household" - Jesus quotes from these verses
in describing the betrayal that will exist
in the last days \\#Matt 10:35-36\\.
(c) As so much of the last chapters in Micah
have had end time prophecies, it is not
surprising that these behaviors will exist
during the end time.
B. \\#Mic 7:7-10\\ A Warming to the Enemy
1. \\#7\\ "Therefore I will look unto the Lord" - The evil of
Micah’s day had helped him to rely on the Lord.
2. "my God will hear me"
a. Micah had faith that God would hear and take care of
him.
b. As the last verses MIGHT describe the wicked of the
last days, so this section MIGHT describe Israel’s
only hope in the last days.
3. \\#8-10\\ So be careful, evil Ones.
a. \\#8\\ "Rejoice not" - Micah warns his enemies not to
get too confident in their evil ways.
(1) "when I fall, I shall arise" - This passage seems
very personal, as though those to whom Micah has
ministered to were watching for any bad event to
happen to him.
(2) "when I sit in darkness" - Darkness is a
reference to sorrow or sin.
(3) "the Lord shall be a light unto me" - Micah knew
God would be with him even in the bad times that
come to all. He warned the people not to
read too much into anything bad that might
befall him.
b. \\#9\\ "because I have sinned" - Micah understood that
whatever bad thing that he might suffer, it would
come because of his own sins.
(1) "until he plead my cause" - But Micah knew that
God would soon come to His defense.
(2) God would "execute judgment for me"; that is, God
will come to justify Micah.
(3) "he will bring me forth to the light" - Micah
expected God to bring his righteous works into
the light for all to see.
(4) "I will shall behold his righteousness" - Micah
spoke much about being justified on an enemy
that before this chapter he had not even
mentioned. It seems more likely that he was
seeing Israel’s future justification.
c. \\#10\\ "Then she that is mine enemy shall see it"
When God comes to Micah (or Israel’s aid), the enemy
will see Micah’s deliverance.
(1) "shame shall cover" - God would vindicate Micah
against those that doubted God was using him.
(2) "mine eyes shall behold her" - God will allow the
victim to see God’s vindication.
(3) "she shall be trodden down"
(a) God will deliver the victim and severely
judge their victimizer.
(b) Notice that Micah used the singular pronoun
here. Perhaps this is not a person or even
a group of people that Micah knows as much
as a nation or world power that will
afflict Israel in the future.
II. \\#7:11-20\\ Micah’s Expectation
A. \\#Mic 7:11-17\\ Frustrations Removed
1. \\#11\\ A Secured Future
a. "In that day" - While not always a end time
introduction, it often is. While there are some
questions as to whether the first part of this
chapter is end time or not, there is no doubt that
the last part of the chapter is.
b. "thy walls are to be built" - Micah had prophesied
of destruction in Israel’s near future
\\#Mic 2:4,13, 3:12\\, as well as, their distant
future \\#Mic 5:5\\. When this prophecy is
fulfilled, Israel’s walls will be built.
c. "shall the decree be far removed" - We are not given
any information on the decree. From the context, it
would seem that things are going very well so the
decree could be either a reference to the last evil
decree against Israel or possibly whatever imitative
that set Israel onto a path of prosperity.
2. \\#12-13\\ Assyria Will Come
a. \\#Mic 5:5-6\\ Micah has already prophesied of an
end time invasion and an ultimate defeat of Assyria
by Israel’s Ruler of Peace. It is likely that
this is the same event.
b. While Assyria’s end time destruction agrees with some
Scriptures \\#Zec 10:10-11, Mi 5:5-6, 7:12-13\\, it
seems to conflict with \\#Is 11:16, 19:23-25\\.
(1) The obvious solution is that these verses speak
of a relationship between these two nations
that will change over time.
(2) Perhaps Israel’s relationship with Assyria will
be similar to the one they will have with
Israel.
(a) \\#Is 19:1-7\\ Describe Egypt in the last
days under a cruel ruler (perhaps Muslim
law, perhaps the anti-Christ himself).
(b) \\#Is 19:16-17\\ But Judah becomes a terror
to Egypt. This indicates that the people
of Judah, not the Lord Himself, do
something to subdue Egypt. This language,
like \\#Mic 4:13-5:9\\, indicates that God
will use His people to defeat their
national enemies.
(c) \\#Is 19:18-22\\ This will cause the
Egyptians to turn to the Lord.
(d) \\#Is 19:23-25\\ With the end result being
a brotherhood between Egypt, Assyria, and
Israel.
(3) Perhaps this is what happens to Assyria as well.
c. Assyria’s strength will be massive as this verse
describes.
(1) "from the fortified cities" - Assyria will be
well defended.
(2) "from fortress even to the river" - Some think
this means Assyria will cover from the
Euphrates to Egypt.
(3) "from sea to sea" - They will cover from the
Mediterranean to perhaps the Persian Sea.
(4) "from mountain to mountain" - There are so many
prominent mountains in Israel that it is hard
to guess which ones but the Assyrian army will
stretch from one end of the country to the
other.
d. \\#13\\ "Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate"
But the land will be destroyed "for the fruit of
their doings." This is likely the end result of
Assyria coming to attack Israel and Christ taking His
army to destroy the land \\#Mic 5:6\\.
3. \\#14-17\\ A Relationship with God
a. \\#14\\ A Request for God’s Leading
(1) "Feed thy people with thy rod" - As sheep
calling to the shepherd so Micah represents
Israel who one day will desire God to lead and
feed them.
(2) Israel will be "the flock of God’s heritage."
(3) They are a people who dwell "in the wood," a
place where they need supervision.
(4) But God will feed them in "Carmel …Bashan and
Gilead."
b. \\#15\\ "I will shew unto him marvellous things" - God
responds, promising to show Israel His great works.
c. \\#16\\ "The nations shall see and be confounded"
(1) Israel’s enemies shall see what God will do with
them.
(2) "at all their might" - God will give to Israel
strength and might so that they can deal with
their enemies.
d. \\#17\\ "They shall lick the dust like a serpent"
(1) Israel will deal with their enemies like the dust
and worms.
(2) Nations will "fear the Lord OUR God." Israel
will be saved.
B. \\#Mic 7:18-21\\ A Concluding Salute to God
1. \\#18\\ Who is like this God?
a. He pardons iniquity.
b. He passes by the sins of the remnant.
c. He does not keep anger forever.
d. He delights in mercy.
2. \\#19\\ God will forgive Israel.
a. "He will turn again" - In Micah’s time, and still
in our own, God angry face has been turned toward
Israel and rightly so! Yet He will turn to show
"compassion."
b. "he will subdue our iniquities" - Subdue means to
defeat. At long last, God will defeat the sinful
nature within Israel.
c. "cast all their sins into the depths of the sea"
God will forgive Israel of their sins.
3. \\#20\\ "Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob" - All that
God has promised, He will do.
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