Micha 7:9 Kommentar

In this chapter, I. The prophet, in the name of the church, sadly laments the woeful decay of religion in the age wherein he lived, and the deluge of impiety and immorality which overwhelmed the nation, which levelled the differences, and bore down the fences, of all that is just and sacred (Mic 7:1-6). II. The prophet, for the sake of the church, prescribes comforts, which may be of use at such a time, and gives counsel what to do. 1. They must have an eye to God (Mic 7:7). 2. They must courageously bear up against the insolences of the enemy (Mic 7:8-10). 3. They must patiently lie down under the rebukes of their God (Mic 7:9). 4. They must expect no other than that the trouble would continue long, and must endeavour to make the best of it (Mic 7:11-13). 5. They must encourage themselves with God's promises, in answer to the prophet's prayers (Mic 7:14, Mic 7:15). 6. They must foresee the fall of their enemies, that now triumphed over them (Mic 7:16, Mic 7:17). 7. They must themselves triumph in the mercy and grace of God, and his faithfulness to his covenant (Mic 7:18-20), and with that comfortable word the prophecy concludes.

INTRODUCTION TO MICAH 7 This chapter begins with a lamentation of the prophet, in the name of the church and people of God, concerning the general depravity and corruption of the times in which he lived, Mic 7:1; then declares what he was determined to do for his relief in such circumstances, Mic 7:7; comforts himself and the church with a good hope and firm belief of its being otherwise and better with them, to the shame and confusion of their enemies that now rejoiced, though without just reason for it, Mic 7:8; with promises of deliverance, after a desolation of the land for some time, Mic 7:11; and with the answer returned to the prayers of the prophet, Mic 7:14; which would issue in the astonishment of the world, and their subjection to the church of God, Mic 7:16; and the chapter is concluded with admiration at the pardoning grace and mercy of God, and his faithfulness to his promises, Mic 7:18.

I will bear the indignation of the Lord,.... The Targum prefaces these words with "Jerusalem saith;'' and they are the words of the prophet, in the name of Jerusalem or the church, resolving in the strength of divine grace to bear the present affliction, which had at least some appearance of divine indignation in it; not against the persons of God's people, who are always the objects of his love, and towards whom there is no fury in him; but against their sins, which are displeasing and abominable to him; and this is not in a vindictive way, for such indignation they could never bear; nor can any creature stand before it, or bear up under it; and, besides, Christ has bore the wrath and indignation of God in this sense for them but it here means the displicency and indignation of God in fatherly chastisements, consistent with the strongest love and affection for them; and to bear this is to be humble under the mighty hand of God, quietly to submit to it, and patiently to endure the affliction, without murmuring and repining, till the Lord pleases to remove it. The reason follows, because I have sinned against him; the best of men sin; sin is the cause and reason of all affliction and distress, whether temporal or spiritual. The consideration of this tends to make and keep good men humble, and quietly submit to the chastising rod of their heavenly father, which they see it is right and proper should be used; and as knowing that they are chastised and afflicted less than their iniquities deserve; and that it is all for their good; a sense of sin stops their mouths, that they have nothing to say against God. The word here used sometimes signifies the offering an expiatory sacrifice for sin to God; and Gussetius (c) thinks this is the meaning of it here; and observes, that with the oblation of a contrite heart, and works of charity, the satisfaction of Christ is to be pleaded, and in our way to be offered up to God the Judge, through faith flying to it; whereby the mind is disposed to bear correction patiently, in hope that favour will quickly shine forth in help and deliverance: until he plead cause, and execute judgment for me; Christ the mighty Redeemer, and powerful and prevalent Mediator, not only pleads the cause of his people with God his Father, and obtains all blessings of grace for them; but he also pleads their cause against their enemies, an ungodly people that strive with them, persecute and distress them; and will in his own time do them justice, and execute vengeance, his righteous judgments, on those that hate them, and rise up against them, as he will on all the antichristian party: he will bring me forth to the light; like a person taken out of prison, or out of a dungeon, to behold and enjoy the light of the sun and day. The sense is, that he will openly espouse the cause of his church, and give her honour and glory publicly before men; bring forth her righteousness as the light, and her judgment as the noon day; and make her innocence appear as clear as the day, and bring her at last to the light of glory; see Psa 37:6; and I shall behold his righteousness: the equity of his proceedings with his people, in chastising and afflicting them, that they are all right and good; his justice in punishing their enemies, and executing judgment on them; his goodness and beneficence to the saints, all his ways being mercy and truth; his faithfulness in the fulfilment of his promises; and the righteousness of Christ, which justifies them before God, renders them acceptable to him, will answer for them in a time to come, and introduce them into his everlasting kingdom and glory. (c) Ebr. Comment. p. 923.

We sometimes bear illness as a punishment for sin intended for our conversion, “for whom the Lord loves,” says the Scripture, “he chastises.” Again Scripture teaches, “Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and some have died. But if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged, we are chastised by the Lord that we be not condemned with the world.” Consequently, when we who belong to this class have recognized our transgressions, it may be fitting that we should simply bear in silence and without recourse to medicine all the afflictions which come to us, remembering the words of the prophet: “I will bear the wrath of the Lord because I have sinned against him.” We should, moreover, give proof of our amendment by bringing forth fruits worthy of penance, remembering the words of the Lord: “Behold, you are made whole; sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to you.” Sometimes also, when sickness afflicts us at the request of the evil one, our benevolent master may condescend to enter combat with him, treating him as if he were a mighty adversary and confounding his boasts by the heroic patience of his servants.

(Verse 8 onwards) Do not rejoice, my enemy, over me, for I have fallen: I will rise again. When I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light: I will bear the anger of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he judges my cause and executes judgment for me, and brings me into the light, and I will see his righteousness, and my enemy will behold it, and she will be covered with shame, who says to me: Where is your God? My eyes will see her; now she will be trampled as the mud of the streets. The day will come when your walls will be rebuilt. On that day the law will go forth afar off: on that day it will come even to you from Assyria, and even to fortified cities, and from fortified cities even to the river, and from the river even to the sea, and from the sea even to the mountain. And the land will be a desolation because of its inhabitants, and because of the fruit of their thoughts. LXX: Do not insult me, my enemy: for I have fallen, and I will rise again: if I walk in darkness, the Lord will enlighten me. I will bear the anger of the Lord, for I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light, and I will see His righteousness. My enemy will see this and be covered with shame, the one who said to me, 'Where is your God?' My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled down like mud in the streets. The day of your punishment has come, O Assyria; the time has come for your destruction. The Lord will abolish your power and authority. Your cities will be laid waste, from Tyre to the river, from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. The land and its inhabitants will be scattered because of their wickedness. It seems to me that in the literal sense, Jerusalem speaks against Babylon and the other nations that had insulted it: Do not rejoice in my downfall, for with the mercy of the Lord, I will rise again. After I have sat in captivity, He will bring me out of darkness, and He will be my light. I will endure the wrath of the Lord, for I know that I deserve what I have suffered, until I take vengeance upon the nations, and my judgment is fulfilled. I know that He will bring me into the light, and I will see His justice, and Babylon, my enemy, and the other nations around will be covered in shame, those who now mockingly say: Where is your God, O Lord? My eyes will see her, not long after time, but now and in the present trampled, as if the mud of the streets. Thus far Jerusalem, or rather the prophet speaking on behalf of the people: Now God is brought in responding to Jerusalem: O Jerusalem, the days have come for your walls to be rebuilt, which were destroyed by the Babylonian devastator. On that day a law will be established, or rather an ordinance and command, as interpreted by Symmachus and Theodotion, saying, ἐπιταγὴν καὶ πρόσταγμα; and the meaning is: You will no longer be subject to the rule of the Babylonians, on that day when your walls are rebuilt, people will come to you from Assyria and fortified cities: from the fortified cities, I say, as far as the Jordan, which the people crossed over before, and from the Red Sea, and from all the nations as far as the Dead Sea, which is near your land, and to Mount Zion, from the mountains of Persia and Media, where they were previously taken; and the land will be a remnant of the Chaldeans and those who laid you waste, because of their inhabitants and their wicked deeds. The Jews promise themselves this until today, and in that place where we exposed ourselves: On that day the law will be far-reaching, as it seems to us, and as their wiser ones argue, some frivolously lie and say: On that day, when the walls of Jerusalem were built by Christ, the holy Scriptures of the Law and the Prophets, which are now held by us, will be taken from our hands and given to the Jewish people. For what is said according to the Septuagint, 'a day of smoothing out the edge, your erasure,' is not understood to be in Jerusalem, as we have explained according to the Hebrew; but we understand it to be said even now to Babylon, for it too must be erased and trampled upon like an edge. And that legitimate day will repel, not the legitimate day of God, but the legitimate day that you, Babylon, commanded to be observed against the law of God. And your cities will come to an end, or to division, as the Assyrians fight against you (for Babylon was a city of the Chaldeans, not of the Assyrians). And your fortified cities will be divided by the hostile army, from Tyre to the Tigris River, which you encircle, and from the Great Sea to the Red Sea, which touches your regions as they travel from the side to India. And from mountain to mountain: from the mountains of Judea to the mountains of Media and Persia, all of Mesopotamia and the entire region that is now held by you in the middle, will be subjugated by the empire of the enemies. And the land will be in desolation because of the evil fruits of your studies. Where the Seventy were interpreted, let us know about Tyre, it is written in Hebrew, Masor, (): which word, if it is divided into the preposition Ma and the name Sor, is understood about Tyre; but if it is one word, it signifies a stronghold. Finally, they transferred everything, the territory, the enclosure, and the siege, not from Tyre, as the Septuagint says, but from the fortified city. This is in accordance with the Hebrew, and the prayers of the Israelites and the people of circumcision, as if a superfluous discourse had preceded. Now let us come to the spiritual understanding, and with the Holy Spirit himself as the interpreter, let us explore even the most difficult passages. It seems to me that every soul of Jerusalem, in which the temple of the Lord was built, and the vision of peace, and the knowledge of the Scriptures; and afterwards, having been overcome by sins, was led into captivity, and handed over to torments, speaks against Babylon, that is, the confusion of this world, and against the opposing strength that presides over this world: Do not insult me, my enemy, because I have fallen and will rise again: for the Lord raises the fallen (Ps. 144), and speaks through the prophet. Will he not rise again who falls? (Jer. VIII, 4). And: I do not desire the death of a sinner, but rather that he may be converted and live (Ezek. XXXIII, 11). But if you despise me because I suffer torments, learn from Ezekiel that punishments are inflicted first on the more holy, and it is said by the Lord: Begin with my saints (ibid., IX, 6). For even if I walk in darkness, the Lord is my light. For although the rulers of these dark spirits have deceived me, and I sit in darkness and the shadow of death, and my feet are stuck in dark mountains, nevertheless, while sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, a light has dawned, and the light shines in the darkness (Isaiah, IX, 2). And the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? (Psalm 27:1) And I will speak to Him, and say: Your word is a lamp to my feet, O Lord, and a light to my paths. (Psalm 119:105) For He Himself commanded me, when the darkness of this world comes: Let your loins be girded, and your lamps burning in your hands. (Luke 12:35) It follows: I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him: until He justifies my cause, and executes judgment for me, and brings me out into the light, and I shall behold His justice. Every correction for the present time does not seem to be of joy, but of sorrow, and afterwards it will yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore, feeling that the soul has sinned and has the wounds of sins, and lives in dead flesh, and needs cauterization, it steadfastly says to the physician: Burn my flesh, cut the wounds, constrict all the harmful humors and discharge with a harsh hellebore potion. It was my fault to be wounded; let it be my pain to endure so many torments, so that afterwards I may receive healing. And the true physician shows the cause of the medicine to the one who is already safe and secure, and teaches that he has done rightly what he did. Finally, after torture and punishments, the soul is brought out from the outer darkness, and with the last coin restored, it says: I will see his justice, and I will speak: Your judgments are justified, O God. But if Christ has become for us from God wisdom, and justice, and sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1): he who says he sees the justice after the wrath of God, promises to himself the sight of Christ. And this, however, is only about penitents. However, it is much better to not have wounds and not need a doctor. Healing is not the happiness of the healed, but rather the consolation after pain. Therefore, someone who has been healed should be careful not to sin again, lest something worse happen to them again. We read in Leviticus (Lev. 13), if indeed we read with open eyes, that the covering prescribed in the Law does not exclude the view of the inner eye; in fact, leprosy is accustomed to develop in a vesicle and scar from a burn, and to change the color of the hair, and to add a new deformity to the previous disfigurement of the scar. For this reason, so that no one is secure about repentance, because after sin he can say: I will endure the wrath of God because I have sinned against Him, until he justifies my cause, let him sin and need a cautery, and when he is healed, let him be wounded again. But when the Lord brings us into the light, and we see His justice, then our enemy Babylon will see and be covered in confusion, those who previously spoke against us: Where is your God? thinking that Jerusalem cannot be healed after wounds. And our eyes will look upon her, and she will become trampled like the mud of the streets. And because the end of all punishments is the beginning of good things, and pain leads to healing, bricks will be made from her mud, and her destruction will become the formation of bricks. And on that day, the old errors will be cast aside, and the cities that were poorly fortified will come to an end, whether in unity or in division, and they will be separated from the Assyrians; and from Tyre, which means 'confinement', that is, narrowness, other strengths will arise, and there will be discord even among those who delight in the corruption of this world, and they will generate desires in people. And from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain, wars will arise against one another, so that bitterness may fight against bitterness, and a lofty pride may fight against another height, and then it will truly be fulfilled: 'Come, let us go down and confuse their languages, so that each one may not understand the voice of their neighbor' (Gen. XI, 7), for it is profitable indeed for the worst strengths not to have harmony among themselves. And when Satan is divided against Satan, then at last his entire kingdom will be destroyed. And what often happens in great armies, that after the tyrant is slain, his followers divide his kingdom among themselves, rise against each other, and there is civil war among them: this will also happen at the end of the world, when the walls of Jerusalem are built and Babylon falls, and the Assyrians and Tyrians from the river, and from the sea, and from the mountains, that is, all the demon nations will fight among themselves, and with their kingdom destroyed, the kingdom of the Lord Jesus will come, and every knee will bow, of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. But so that you may know that the outcome of this rebellion is advantageous, the land of Babylon will be brought to ruin along with all its inhabitants, and the Babylonians will not bear fruit.

The prophet begins this chapter with lamenting the decay of piety and the growth of ungodliness, using a beautiful allegory to imply (as explained in Mic 7:2) that the good man is as seldom to be met with as the early fig of best quality in the advanced season, or the cluster after the vintage, Mic 7:1, Mic 7:2. He then reproves and threatens in terms so expressive of great calamities as to be applied in the New Testament to times of the hottest persecution, Mic 7:3-6. See Mat 10:35, Mat 10:36. Notwithstanding which a Jew is immediately introduced declaring, in the name of his captive people, the strongest faith in the mercy of God the most submissive resignation to his will, and the firmest hope in his favor in future times, when they should triumph over their enemies, Mic 7:7-10. The prophet upon this resumes the discourse, and predicts their great prosperity and increase, Mic 7:11, Mic 7:12; although the whole land of Israel must first be desolated on account of the great wickedness of its inhabitants, Mic 7:13. The prophet intercedes in behalf of his people, Mic 7:14. After which God is introduced promising, in very ample terms, their future restoration and prosperity, Mic 7:15-17. And then, to conclude, a chorus of Jews is introduced, singing a beautiful hymn of thanksgiving, suggested by the gracious promises which precede, Mic 7:18-20.

I will bear the indignation of the Lord - The words of the penitent captives, acknowledging their sins and praying for mercy. Until he plead my cause - And wo to the slanderers, when God undertakes to plead for the fallen who have returned to him with deep compunction of heart, seeking redemption in the blood of the cross.

THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE CORRUPTION; THE CHOSEN REMNANT, DRIVEN FROM EVERY HUMAN CONFIDENCE, TURNS TO GOD; TRIUMPHS BY FAITH OVER HER ENEMIES; IS COMFORTED BY GOD'S PROMISES IN ANSWER TO PRAYER, AND BY THE CONFUSION OF HER ENEMIES, AND SO BREAKS FORTH INTO PRAISES OF GOD'S CHARACTER. (Mic. 7:1-20) I am as when, &c.--It is the same with me as with one seeking fruits after the harvest, grapes after the vintage. "There is not a cluster" to be found: no "first-ripe fruit" (or "early fig"; see on Isa 28:4) which "my soul desireth" [MAURER]. So I look in vain for any good men left (Mic 7:2).

bear--patiently. the indignation of the Lord--His punishment inflicted on me (Lam 3:39). The true penitent "accepts the punishment of his iniquity" (Lev 26:41, Lev 26:43); they who murmur against God, do not yet know their guilt (Job 40:4-5). execute judgment for me--against my foe. God's people plead guilty before God; but, in respect to their human foes, they are innocent and undeserving of their foes' injuries. bring me forth to the light--to the temporal and spiritual redemption. I shall behold his righteousness--His gracious faithfulness to His promises (Psa 103:17).

The Church's Penitential Prayer, and the Divine Promise - Micah 7 The prophet responds to the threatening of the Lord (Mic 6:9-16) in the name of the believing church with a penitential prayer, in which it sorrowfully confesses the universality of the deep moral corruption, and painfully bemoans the necessity for the visitation of God (Mic 7:1-6); after which it rises, through belief in the fidelity of God, to the confidential hope that the Lord will cause the light of His grace to rise again upon the church, which is bearing the merited punishment, and will not let its enemies triumph over it, but will procure it justice, and deeply humble the foe (Mic 7:7-13); and to this it appends a prayer fore the renewal of the former manifestations of grace (Mic 7:14). The Lord answers this prayer with the promise that He will renew for His people the wonders of the olden time (Mic 7:15-17); whereupon the prophet closes by praising the mercy and grace of the Lord (Mic 7:18-20).

"The wrath of Jehovah shall I bear, for I have sinned against Him, till He shall fight my fight, and secure my right. He will bring me forth to the light; I shall behold His righteousness. Mic 7:10. And may my enemy see it, and shame cover her, who hath said to me, Where is Jehovah thy God? Mine eyes will see it; now will she be for a treading down, like mire of the streets." Confidence in the help of the Lord flows from the consciousness, that the wretchedness and sufferings are a merited punishment for the sins. This consciousness and feeling generate patience and hope: patience to bear the wrath of God manifesting itself in the sufferings; hope that the sufferings, as inflicted by the righteous God, will cease as soon as the divine justice has been satisfied. Za‛aph: lit., the foaming up of wrath (Isa 30:30); hence strong wrath. This the church will bear, till the Lord conducts its conflict and secures its rights. ריבי is the judicial conflict between Israel and the heathen power of the world. Although, for example, God had given up His nation to the power of its enemies, the nations of the world, on account of its sins, so that they accomplished the will of God, by destroying the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and carrying away the people into exile; yet they grew proud of their own might in so doing, and did not recognise themselves as instruments of punishment in the hand of the Lord, but attributed their victories to the power of their own arm, and even aimed at the destruction of Israel, with scornful defiance of the living God (cf. Isa 10:5-15; Hab 1:11). Thus they violated the rights of Israel, so that the Lord was obliged to conduct the contest of His people with the heathen, and secure the rights of Israel by the overthrow of the heathen power of the world. For ריב ריבי, see Psa 43:1; for עשׂה משׁפּט, Psa 9:4-5; and for the fact itself, Isa 49:25; Isa 51:22. Mishpât is Israel's right, in opposition to the powers of the world, who would destroy it. The following word יוציאני is not governed by עד אשׁר, as the absence of the copula Vav shows. With these words the hope takes the form of the certain assurance that the Lord will remove the distress, and let Israel see His righteousness. Tsedâqâh is the righteousness of God revealing itself in the forgiveness and restoration of Israel to favour; like tsedâqōth in Mic 6:5 : in actual fact, the salvation of Israel about to be secured, regarded as an emanation of the righteousness of the covenant God; hence parallel to אור. ראה with ב, to look at, so that one penetrates, as it were, into an object, seeing with feasting of the eyes (so also in Mic 7:10). This exaltation of Israel to new salvation it is hoped that the enemy will see (ותרא, opt.), and be covered with shame; for the power of the world is overthrown, in order that Israel may be redeemed out of its power. This desire is a just one, because the enemy has despised the Lord God. For the expression, "Where is Jehovah thy God?" compare Joe 2:17. And Israel will see its fulfilment (תּראינּה with Nun doubled after a sharpened ; see Ewald, 198, a). ‛Attâh, now (seeing the future in spirit, as having already come), the enemy will be trodden down like mire of the streets (for this figure, see Isa 10:6).