Michea 1:4 Commento

In this chapter we have, I. The title of the book (Mic 1:1) and a preface demanding attention (Mic 1:2). II. Warning given of desolating judgments hastening upon the kingdoms of Israel and Judah (Mic 1:3, Mic 1:4), and all for sin (Mic 1:5). III. The particulars of the destruction specified (Mic 1:6, Mic 1:7). IV. The greatness of the destruction illustrated, 1. By the prophet's sorrow for it (Mic 1:8, Mic 1:9). 2. By the general sorrow that should be for it, in the several places that must expect to share in it (Mic 1:10-16). These prophecies of Micah might well be called his lamentations.

This chapter treats of the judgments of God on Israel and Judah for their idolatry. It begins with the title of the whole book in which is given an account of the prophet, the time of his prophesying, and of the persons against whom he prophesied, Mic 1:1; next a preface to this chapter, requiring attention to what was about to be delivered, urged from the consideration of the awful appearance of God, which is represented as very grand and terrible, Mic 1:2; the cause of all which wrath that appeared in him was the transgression of Jacob; particularly their idolatry, as appears by the special mention of their idols and graven images in the account of their destruction, Mic 1:5; which destruction is exaggerated by the prophet's lamentation for it, Mic 1:8; and by the mourning of the inhabitants of the several places that should be involved in it, which are particularly mentioned, Mic 1:10.

And the mountains shall be molten under him,.... As Sinai was when he descended on it, and as all nations will be at the general conflagration; but here the words are to be taken, not literally, but figuratively, for the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and for the kings, and princes, and great men in them, that lifted up their heads as high, and thought themselves as secure, as mountains; yet when the judgments of God should fall upon them, their hearts would melt through fear under him; as well as all their glory and greatness depart from them, and they be no more what they were before, but levelled with the meanest subject: and the valleys shall be cleft: have chasms made in them by the melting of the mountains, or by the flow of water from the hills: these may design the lower sort of people, who shall have their share in this calamity; the inhabitants of the valleys and country villages; who, though mean and low, shall be lower still, and lose that little substance, that liberty and those privileges, they had; as valleys may be cleft, and open, and sink into the lower parts of the earth; so it is signified that these people should be in a more depressed state and condition: as wax before the fire; melts, and cannot stand the force of it; so the mountains should melt at the presence of the Lord; and kingdoms and states, and the greatest and mightiest of men in them, would not be able to stand before the fierceness of his wrath; see Psa 68:2; and as the waters that are poured down a steep place; that run with great swiftness, force, and rapidity, and there is no stopping them; so should the judgments of God come down upon the lower sort of people, the inhabitants of the valleys; neither high nor low would escape the indignation of the Lord, or be able to stand against it, or stand up under it.

(Verse 3, sequence) Because behold the Lord will go out from his place, and he will come down and tread upon the heights of the earth, and the mountains will be consumed beneath him, and the valleys will be split like wax before the fire, like waters flowing down a steep slope. Because of the wickedness of Jacob, all this, and because of the sins of the house of Israel. What wickedness of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what heights of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? LXX: Behold, the Lord will go out from his place, and he will come down, and he will ascend upon the heights of the earth, and the mountains will tremble beneath him, and the valleys will wither like wax before the fire, and like water flowing down: because of the impiety of Jacob, all these things, and because of the sin of the house of Israel. What is the wickedness of the house of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the sin of the house of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? O Samaria and Jerusalem, listen, and carefully heed the Lord testifying against you from His temple, and proclaiming whatever He will do. Behold, the Lord will come out from His place. For He who is humble and kind, and whose nature is mercy, is forced for your sake to assume a role of cruelty that He does not possess. And he shall come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. The descent of God is, and his majesty runs down to lower things, to tread upon the earth, and to crush even the powerful. And they shall be consumed, he says, whether the mountains waste away, and the valleys beneath him, whom we understand to be the leaders and the people. And just as nearby fire does not sustain wax, and flowing water is carried headlong: so shall the pride of all the wicked, when the Lord comes, be dissolved and flow away. But all this will happen because of the sins of the ten tribes, which Jacob and Israel called, and because of the transgression of Judah; for in the ten tribes Samaria was the metropolis, and in the kingdom of Judah Jerusalem, idolatry was practiced: this is according to the literal sense. However, the Lord will come out from his place, whom we can understand as either the Son or all the saints. For the Son himself says: I am in the Father, and the Father in me (John 14:10). And of the saints: I will dwell and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people (Leviticus 26:12). Therefore, concerning these things, it goes forth, not that He may abandon them; for even concerning the apostles, the word of the Lord went forth to those who heard, and yet He did not abandon them. And such places, that is, those that deserve to have God as a guest, have been raised up, as if resurrected with Christ, and seated with Him in heavenly places. And it is said that he descends to those who cannot hear his teaching on the mountain. And when he descends, he will not ascend to the lowly and those who are in a low position; but those who are called high and who understand the majesty of the coming of the Lord, they will be moved. And although there are mountains, they will still fear the presence of such a charioteer and ascender. But the valleys, that is, souls inserted into earthly bodies, and not rising with the celestial man, will not be able to bear his presence; but whatever is hard in them will be dissolved, and thus flow, just as if flat waters are carried swiftly into the depths. Therefore, the terrible Lord will come to teach, that is, to move mountains, and to dissolve the low things of valleys, because Jacob has committed impiety, and Israel has sinned. The impiety of Jacob is indeed the meeting places of heretics, which are called Samaria. And the sin of Judah, that is, of him who confesses the Lord, is none other than Jerusalem, in which many crimes are found. And as for the fact that the house of Judah refers to Christ, whose Church it is, and as we have often said, let us also consider this for the present: Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. (Genesis 49:8). It can also be understood in this way, that because of the impieties of Samaria and the crimes of Judah, the Lord went out from his former place, and said to the Jews (Matt. 23:38): Behold, your house will be left desolate for you (Luke 13:35). And he will come down from heaven, and ascend above the heights of the earth, that is, above those who, believing in the humility of the Gentiles, have deserved to be exalted. And the mountains, the doctrines of the philosophers, and the lofty kingdoms were moved, and those who remained humble were consumed and broken by the coming of the Savior and the growing Church, and by the idols falling into the depths when the mountains rose up high. Therefore the Lord has left his place, and the Church has been built among the nations, so that the mountains would tremble under his feet, and the deep valleys would be dissolved, because Jacob acted wickedly, and Israel sinned, and all the tribes denied the Lord.

As wax cannot endure the nearness of the fire, and as the waters are carried headlong, so all of the ungodly, when the Lord comes, shall be dissolved and disappear.

On another occasion when he was sitting by himself some place reading the book of the twelve prophets, he came to the prophet Micah. An angel of the Lord appeared to him and asked him about this verse from Micah: “Like water coming down from its source.” He said to him, “What do you think it means?” While he was still puzzling over it, trying to understand, the angel answered, “Theodore, why do you not perceive its meaning? Is it not obvious that it is the water of the river coming down from paradise?” As soon as the angel had said this, he ceased to see him.

The prophet begins with calling the attention of all people to the awful descent of Jehovah, coming to execute his judgments against the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, Mic 1:1-5; first against Samaria, whose fate the prophet laments on the dress of mourners, and with the doleful cries of the fox or ostrich, Mic 1:6-8; and then against Jerusalem, which is threatened with the invasion of Sennacherib. Other cities of Judah are likewise threatened; and their danger represented to be so great as to oblige them to have recourse for protection even to their enemies the Philistines, from whom they desired at first to conceal their situation. But all resources are declared to be vain; Israel and Judah must go into captivity, Mic 1:9-16.

GOD'S WRATH AGAINST SAMARIA AND JUDAH; THE FORMER IS TO BE OVERTHROWN; SUCH JUDGMENTS IN PROSPECT CALL FOR MOURNING. (Mic. 1:1-16) all that therein is--Hebrew, "whatever fills it." Micaiah, son of Imlah, begins his prophecy similarly, "Hearken, O people, every one of you." Micah designedly uses the same preface, implying that his ministrations are a continuation of his predecessor's of the same name. Both probably had before their mind Moses' similar attestation of heaven and earth in a like case (Deu 31:28; Deu 32:1; compare Isa 1:2). God be witness against you--namely, that none of you can say, when the time of your punishment shall come, that you were not forewarned. The punishment denounced is stated in Mic 1:3, &c. from his holy temple--that is, heaven (Kg1 8:30; Psa 11:4; Jon 2:7; compare Rom 1:18).

Imagery from earthquakes and volcanic agency, to describe the terrors which attend Jehovah's coming in judgment (compare Jdg 5:5). Neither men of high degree, as the mountains, nor men of low degree, as the valleys, can secure themselves or their land from the judgments of God. as wax-- (Psa 97:5; compare Isa 64:1-3). The third clause, "as wax," &c.; answers to the first in the parallelism, "the mountains shall be molten"; the fourth, "as the waters," &c.; to the second, "the valleys shall be cleft." As wax melts by fire, so the mountains before God, at His approach; and as waters poured down a steep cannot stand but are diffused abroad, so the valleys shall be cleft before Jehovah.

I. Israel's Banishment into Exile, and Restoration - Micah 1 and Mic 2:1-13 The prophet's first address is throughout of a threatening and punitive character; it is not till quite the close, that the sun of divine grace breaks brightly shining through the thunder clouds of judgment. The announcement of the judgment upon Samaria as well as upon the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem forms the first part (Mic 1:2-16); the reproof of the sins, especially of the unrighteousness of the great and mighty of the nation, the second part (Mic 2:1-11); and a brief but very comprehensive announcement of the salvation that will dawn upon the remnant of all Israel after the judgment, the conclusion of the address (Mic 2:12-13). The Judgment upon Samaria and Judah - Micah 1 Micah, commencing with the appeal to all nations to observe the coming of the Lord for judgment upon the earth (Mic 1:2-4), announces to the people of Israel, on account of its sins and its apostasy from the Lord, the destruction of Samaria (Mic 1:5-7) and the spreading of the judgment over Judah; and shows how, passing from place to place, and proceeding to Jerusalem, and even farther, it will throw the kingdom into deep lamentation on account of the carrying away of its inhabitants.