Michea 6:10 Commento

After the precious promises in the two foregoing chapters, relating to the Messiah's kingdom, the prophet is here directed to set the sins of Israel in order before them, for their conviction and humiliation, as necessary to make way for the comfort of gospel-grace. Christ's forerunner was a reprover, and preached repentance, and so prepared his way. Here, I. God enters an action against his people for their base ingratitude, and the bad returns they had made him for his favours (Mic 6:1-5). II. He shows the wrong course they should have taken (Mic 6:6-8). III. He calls upon them to hear the voice of his judgments, and sets the sins in order before them for which he still proceeded in his controversy with them (Mic 6:9), their injustice (Mic 6:10-15), and their idolatry (Mic 6:16), for both which ruin was coming upon them.

INTRODUCTION TO MICAH 6 This chapter contains reproofs of the people of Israel for their sins, threatening them with punishment for them. The prophet is bid to tell them of the controversy the Lord had with them, which he did, Mic 6:1; and the Lord calls upon them to declare if they had any thing to object to his attitude towards them, Mic 6:3; and then puts them in mind of the favours they had received from him, in bringing them out of Egypt, and giving them such useful persons to go before them, lead and instruct them, as he had, Mic 6:4; and also reminds them of what passed between Balak, king of Moab, and Balaam the soothsayer; the questions of the one, and the answer of the other; whereby the designs of the former against them were frustrated, Mic 6:5; but since the voice of the Lord by his prophet was disregarded by them, they are called upon to hearken to the voice of his rod, Mic 6:9; which should be laid upon them for their fraudulent dealings, injustice, oppression, lies, and deceit, Mic 6:10; and therefore are threatened with sickness and desolation, and a deprivation of all good things, the fruit of their labours, Mic 6:13; and that because the statutes of Omri, the works of Ahab, and their counsels, were observed by them, Mic 6:16.

Are there yet the treasures of wickedness the house of the wicked?.... There are; they continue there. This is the voice of the Lord by the prophet, and the language of the rod of correction to be heard, exposing the sins of the people, for which the Lord had a controversy with them; particularly their mammon of unrighteousness, the vast wealth, riches, and treasures, collected together by very wicked and unlawful ways and means; and which, instead of restoring them to the persons they had defrauded of them, they retained them in their houses, notwithstanding the reproofs of the prophets, and the corrections of the Almighty. Some render it, "is there not fire?" &c. (k); that is, in the house of the wicked, because of the treasures of wickedness, that which consumes them; but Gussetius (l) interprets it of fornications and adulteries. Others render it, "is there yet a man?" &c. (m); an honourable man, as Aben Ezra, who continues in his iniquity, after the Lord's voice cries to the city; but Abendana interprets it of the prophet himself, continuing to reprove the wicked for their treasures of wickedness, and their other sins; and the scant measure that is abominable? or "the ephah of leanness provoking to wrath" (n); that is, a deficient measure, less than it should be; the "ephah" was a dry measure, and it was made small, as in Amo 8:5; and held less than it should; and this brought leanness and poverty upon those to whom they sold by it, as well as ruin upon themselves in the issue; for such practices as they were abominable and detestable to God; they stirred up his wrath, and brought destruction on those that used them. The Targum is, "false measures that bring a curse.'' (k) , Sept. "adhuc ignis", V. L. So Joseph Kimchi. (l) Ebr. Comment. p. 352. (m) "Adhuc num vir domo", Montanus; "adhuc suntne viro domus improbi", some in Drusius. So R. Sol. Urbin, fol. 37. 2. (n) "et ephah macilentiae indignatio a Deo proventura", Tarnovius; "detestatus Domino", Pagninus; "et ephah maciei abominatione digna", Burkius.

(Verse 10 and following). Listen, you who are wise, and who will approve of it? The fire is still burning in the house of the wicked, the treasure of impiety, and the measure of anger is not yet full. Shall I justify the wicked scales and the deceitful weights of the bag? In them, her rich ones are filled with iniquity, and those who dwell in her speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. And so I have begun to strike you with destruction because of your sins. You will eat, but not be satisfied, and your humiliation will be in your midst; you will try to save, but you will not succeed; and those whom you do save, I will give over to the sword. You shall sow, and not reap: you shall tread the olive, and not anoint yourself with oil; and the must, and you shall not drink wine. And you have kept the precepts of Omri, and all the works of the house of Achab; and you have walked in their wills, that I should give you up to destruction, and the inhabitants thereof to hissing, and you shall bear the reproach of my people. If the unrighteous is justified on the scales, and fraudulent weights on the balance, by which they have filled the riches of their impiety (or yours), and those who dwell (or dwelt) in it speak wickedly, and their tongue is exalted in their mouth. And I have afflicted you with destruction because of your sins: you will eat, but not be satisfied; I will cast you into yourself, and you will grasp, but not save; and all those who are saved will be handed over to the sword: you will sow, but not reap; you will tread the olive, but not be anointed with oil; and you will crush the grapes, but not drink wine; and the laws of my people will be scattered, and all the works of the house of Ahab; and you have walked in their councils, to deliver you to destruction, and its inhabitants to hissing, and you will receive reproach from the peoples. In this chapter, there are many discrepancies from the Hebrew truth, especially in the beginning: 'Hear, three, and who will adorn the city? And the legitimate people of mine will be scattered.' For this reason we have substituted 'And you have kept the commandments of Amri' for the sake of consistency in the narrative, even though in Hebrew it is written: 'And the commandments of Amri were kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab.' For if it had been written in Hebrew 'Ammi' (), then the LXX would have translated correctly as 'my people.' But now, since it is written 'Amri' (), and the letter 'Res' added, it signifies not the name of a people, but the father Ahab, about whom the history of King wrote (3 Kings 16), there is no doubt that there is an error. Finally, after the father's name, the son is named, and it is said, and all the deeds of the house of Ahab. Let us return, therefore, to the beginning of the chapter. And first, speaking literally, we strive to grasp the spiritual meaning while you pray. Listen, O ten tribes of Samaria, whom the Lord testifies to: there is still fire, that is, wickedness, in the house of the impious Amri, and the treasures of impiety persist in the royal house. Do you want to hear in detail with what evils your city is filled? Learn: By provoking the lesser measure of God's wrath, using deceptive scales and different weights, and selling in one weight and buying in another, they buy and sell merchandise (Prov. XI; Deut. XXV). And if the poor were to do this, poverty could justify the crime. But now the rich, full not so much with wealth as with iniquity, because all their wealth is gained through the plundering of others. A congregation of wealth is followed by deceit, and a hand accustomed to hide treasures possesses a deceitful tongue. Truth brings poverty, falsehood brings wealth. When your leaders did this, I did not immediately overthrow you; but I began to strike gradually and admonish with various blows. I sent hunger upon you, I sent thirst, I sent sickness, and hostile devastation all around: the harvest did not yield crops, the pressed olive did not produce oil, the barren vines denied wine. Against injustices, deceitful measures, and fraudulent weights, I inflicted these punishments. However, since you have kept all the ceremonies of idolatry that the wicked king Amri established (3 Kings 16ff), and all the works of the house of Ahab and Jezebel, you have preserved for my law, I have been moved by your wickedness to give you and your inhabitants over to a hissing and a reproach, so that while you are captured by the Assyrians, you are conquered like the people of God, and because of you my name is blasphemed among the nations (Rom. 2:24). It should be noted in the present place that where it is read, 'and you shall bear the shame of my people': or, as the Septuagint translated it, 'you shall receive the reproaches of the peoples,' in Hebrew it is written 'Ammi,' which means 'my people.' Therefore, if it sounds bad that I, the son of my people, was transferred for Amri, my people. We have expressed what seemed to us according to the Hebrew until now: now returning to the translation of the LXX interpreters, let us discuss each one as best we can. The Samaritan is called upon to listen, who has separated herself from the people of God. And it is said to her, 'You futilely make idols, you skillfully fashion golden calves with your own hand, and you desire to build another metropolis like Jerusalem: for who can adorn a city?' Is the fire, which is kindled by the burning darts of the devil; and the house of the wicked, which according to its stubbornness and unrepentant heart treasures up wrath for itself on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God (Rom. II, 5)? And does injustice increase wickedness, so that it not only snatches away from the house of God, which is the Church, but also arrogantly and disdainfully devastates what belongs to others? Can one who deceitfully gathers riches from the testimonies of the Scriptures without balance and measure be justified, riches which are the treasures of wickedness? For when the Lord commands, 'You shall not have in your bag unequal weights, a great and a small' (Deut. XXV): these people, for the sake of shameful gain, always show favoritism in judgment, and in the same case they judge the rich and the poor, not according to the merit of the case, but according to the disparity of their wealth. And the inhabitants of their city, who think they are adorned by wicked teachings and perverse doctrine, speak falsehood and set their mouth on high, and despise the simplicity of the Ecclesiastical people. Whereas the most merciful God does not strike them equally, but strives to admonish them gradually through blows, saying: And I will begin to strike you with destruction because of your sins; and the sense is: O city that the heretics want to build, I will strike you, so that you may perish, not for annihilation, but according to what you are, a sinner. It follows: You will eat, and you will not be satisfied. For they read, and do not understand; and feasting on the words of Scriptures, they suffer from a lack of truth. And I will cast you out," he says, "and you will seize, and you will not save; and whoever is saved, will be handed over to the sword. By your own judgment, I will abandon you; and after seeking many things, finding nothing, understanding your error, you will see that you cannot be saved by all your teachings. But whoever thinks they are satisfied, and is not cast out by themselves, nor grasps the truth, will be handed over to the sword and will be educated by punishments. Therefore, you will sow, O three, and O most wicked city, which heretics build with fire, injustice, insults, deceitful scales, and fraudulent bags; you will sow, but not reap; you will press olives, but not anoint yourself with oil; you will gather grapes, but not drink wine. It is indeed profitable for you, once your error is known, not to have disciples, not to anoint your head with the oil of sinners, not to be intoxicated by drinking the wine of Sodom. And the rightful people of mine, or rather the people of Amri, and all the works of the house of Ahab, those who have arisen as leaders in heresy, will be scattered. We can refer either to opposing powers or to heretics, as was the case with Marcion and Basilides, and recently Arius and Eunomius. And you have followed their desires, namely those of Omri and Ahab. And it is rightly said, in their desires. For the doctrine of wicked teachers is not the doctrine of God, but the inventions of their own hearts. And I will deliver you to destruction, so that you may perish according to what you are, heretical. And your inhabitants into a hissing, or that you may follow the hissing of a good shepherd according to Zechariah, saying: I will whistle for them and gather them, for I have redeemed them (Zechariah 10:8). And certainly into the hissing of the dragon, that is, into the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved (I Cor. V), and let the ones being rebuked learn not to blaspheme (I Tim. I). And let them endure all of this so that they may understand their error, that they have borne the reproaches and sins of many peoples and nations. I know that some have referred to the Church, which we have interpreted as surpassing heresies. But how the names of Amri and Ahab, the leaders of Samaria, can be related to Jerusalem and Judah, under whose names the Church is interpreted, I do not quite understand.

This chapter reproves and threatens. The manner of raising the attention by calling on man to urge his plea in the face of all nature, and on the inanimate creation to hear the expostulation of Jehovah with his people, is awakening and sublime. The words of Jehovah follow, Mic 6:3-5. And God's mercies hawing been set forth to his people, one of them is introduced, in a beautiful dramatic form, asking what his duty is towards a God so gracious, Mic 6:6, Mic 6:7. The answer follows in the words of the prophet, Mic 6:8; who goes on to upbraid the people of his charge with their injustice and idolatry, to which he ascribes want of success in their lawful undertakings, and those heave calamities which are now impending, Mic 6:9-15.

Are there yet the treasures of wickedness - Such as false balances and deceitful weights. See on Hos 12:7 (note). This shows that they were not Doing Justly. They did not give to each his due.

APPEAL BEFORE ALL CREATION TO THE ISRAELITES TO TESTIFY, IF THEY CAN, IF JEHOVAH EVER DID AUGHT BUT ACTS OF KINDNESS TO THEM FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD: GOD REQUIRES OF THEM NOT SO MUCH SACRIFICES, AS REAL PIETY AND JUSTICE: THEIR IMPIETIES AND COMING PUNISHMENT. (Mic. 6:1-16) contend thou--Israel is called by Jehovah to pie ad with Him in controversy. Mic 5:11-13 suggested the transition from those happy times described in the fourth and fifth chapters, to the prophet's own degenerate times and people. before the mountains--in their presence; personified as if witnesses (compare Mic 1:2; Deu 32:1; Isa 1:2). Not as the Margin, "with"; as God's controversy is with Israel, not with them.

Are there yet--notwithstanding all My warnings. Is there to be no end of acquiring treasures by wickedness? Jehovah is speaking (Mic 6:9). scant measure . . . abominable-- (Pro 11:1; Amo 8:5).

III. The Way to Salvation - Micah 6 and 7 Micah having declared to the people of Israel not only the judgment that will burst upon Zion on account of its sins, but also the salvation awaiting in the future the remnant saved and purified through the judgment, now proceeds, in the third and last address, to point out the way to salvation, by showing that they bring punishment upon themselves by their ingratitude and resistance to the commandments of God, and that it is only through sincere repentance that they can participate in the promised covenant mercies. Exhortation to Repentance, and Divine Threatening - Micah 6 In the form of a judicial contest between the Lord and His people, the prophet holds up before the Israelites their ingratitude for the great blessings which they have received from God (Mic 6:1-5), and teaches them that the Lord does not require outward sacrifices to appease His wrath, but righteousness, love, and humble walk with God (Mic 6:6-8), and that He must inflict severe punishment, because the people practise violence, lying, and deceit instead (Mic 6:9-14).

The threatening words commence in Mic 6:10; Mic 6:10-12 containing a condemnation of the prevailing sins. Mic 6:10. "Are there yet in the house of the unjust treasures of injustice, and the ephah of consumption, the cursed one? Mic 6:11. Can I be clean with the scale of injustice, and with a purse with stones of deceit? Mic 6:12. That their rich men are full of wickedness, and their inhabitants speak deceit, and their tongue is falseness in their mouth." The reproof is dressed up in the form of a question. In the question in Mic 6:10 the emphasis is laid upon the עוד, which stands for that very reason before the interrogative particle, as in Gen 19:12, the only other place in which this occurs. אשׁ, a softened form for ישׁ, as in Sa2 14:19. Treasures of wickedness are treasures acquired through wickedness or acts of injustice. The meaning of the question is not, Are the unjust treasures not yet removed out of the house, not yet distributed again? but, as Mic 6:10 and Mic 6:11 require, Does the wicked man still bring such treasures into the house? does he still heap up such treasures in his house? The question is affirmative, and the form of a question is chosen to sharpen the conscience, as the unjust men to whom it is addressed cannot deny it. איפת רזון, ephah of consumption or hungriness, analogous to the German expression "a hungry purse," is too small an ephah (cf. Deu 25:14; Amo 8:5); the opposite of א שׁלמה (Deu 25:15) or א צדק (Lev 19:36), which the law prescribed. Hence Micah calls it זעוּמה = זעוּם יהוה in Pro 22:14, that which is smitten by the wrath of God (equivalent to cursed; cf. Num 23:7; Pro 24:24). Whoever has not a full ephah is, according to Deu 25:16, an abomination to the Lord. If these questions show the people that they do not answer to the demands made by the Lord in Mic 6:8, the questions in Mic 6:11 also teach that, with this state of things, they cannot hold themselves guiltless. The speaker inquires, from the standpoint of his own moral consciousness, whether he can be pure, i.e., guiltless, if he uses deceitful scales and weights, - a question to which every one must answer No. It is difficult, however, to decide who the questioner is. As Mic 6:9 announces words of God, and in Mic 6:10 God is speaking, and also in Mic 6:12, Mic 6:13, it appears as though Jehovah must be the questioner here. But אזכּה does not tally with this. Jerome therefore adopts the rendering numquid justificabo stateram impiam; but זכה in the kal has only the meaning to be pure, and even in the piel it is not used in the sense of niqqh, to acquit. This latter fact is sufficient to overthrow the proposal to alter the reading into piel. Moreover, "the context requires the thought that the rich men fancy they can be pure with deceitful weights, and a refutation of this delusive idea" (Caspari). Consequently the prophet only can raise this question, namely as the representative of the moral consciousness; and we must interpret this transition, which is so sudden and abrupt to our ears, by supplying the thought, "Let every one ask himself," Can I, etc. Instead of רשׁע we have the more definite mirmh in the parallel clause. Scales and a bag with stones belong together; 'ăbhanı̄m are the stone weights (cf. Lev 19:36; Deu 25:13) which were carried in a bag (Pro 16:11). In Mic 6:12 the condemnation of injustice is widened still further. Whereas in the first clause the rich men of the capital (the suffix pointing back to עיר in Mic 6:9), who are also to be thought of in Mic 6:10, are expressly mentioned, in the second clause the inhabitants generally are referred to. And whilst the rich are not only charged with injustice or fraud in trade, but with châmâs, violence of every kind, the inhabitants are charged with lying and deceit of the tongue. Leshōnâm (their tongue) is not placed at the head absolutely, in the sense of "As for their tongue, deceit is," etc. Such an emphasis as this is precluded by the fact that the preceding clause, "speaking lies," involves the use of the tongue. Leshōnâm is the simple subject: Their tongue is deceit or falsehood in their mouth; i.e., their tongue is so full of deceit, that it is, so to speak, resolved into it. Both clauses express the thought, that "the inhabitants of Jerusalem are a population of liars and cheats" (Hitzig). The connection in which the verse stands, or the true explanation of אשׁר, has been a matter of dispute. We must reject both the combination of Mic 6:12 and Mic 6:13 ("Because their rich men, etc., therefore I also," etc.), and also the assumption that Mic 6:12 contains the answer to the question in Mic 6:10, and that אשׁר precedes the direct question (Hitzig): the former, because Mic 6:12 obviously forms the conclusion to the reproof, and must be separated from what precedes it; the latter, because the question in Mic 6:11 stands between Mic 6:10 and Mic 6:12, which is closely connected with Mic 6:10, and Mic 6:12 also contains no answer to Mic 6:10, so far as the thought is concerned, even if the latter actually required an answer. We must rather take אשׁר as a relative, as Caspari does, and understand the verse as an exclamation, which the Lord utters in anger over the city: "She, whose rich men are full," etc. "Angry persons generally prefer to speak of those who have excited their wrath, instead of addressing their words to them."