Micah 1-7 - The Ruler Will Come from Bethlehem

Calamity in Israel and Judah

Mic 1:3-5 LSB – 

[3] For behold, Yahweh is going forth from His place. He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth. 

[4] The mountains will melt under Him, And the valleys will be split, Like wax before the fire, Like water poured down a steep place. 

[5] All this is for the transgression of Jacob And for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? What is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?

An Evil Time

Mic 2:12 LSB – [12] "I will surely assemble all of you, Jacob; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel. I will put them together like sheep in the fold; Like a flock in the midst of its pasture They will be noisy with men.

Yahweh Will Not Answer

Mic 3:7-8 LSB – 

[7] The seers will be ashamed, 

And the diviners will be humiliated. 

Indeed, they will all cover [their] mouths 

Because there is no answer from God. 

[8] On the other hand I am filled with power-- 

With the Spirit of Yahweh-- 

And with justice and might 

To declare to Jacob his transgression, 

Even to Israel his sin.

The Law Will Go Forth from Zion

Mic 4:2 LSB – 

[2] And many nations will come and say, 

"Come and let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh 

And to the house of the God of Jacob, 

That He may instruct us from His ways 

And that we may walk in His paths." 

For from Zion will go forth the law, 

And the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.

The Ruler Will Come from Bethlehem

Mic 5:2-4 LSB – 

[2] "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, 

[Too] little to be among the clans of Judah, 

From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. 

His goings forth are from everlasting, 

From the ancient days." 

[3] Therefore He will give them [up] until the time 

When she who is in childbirth has borne a child. 

Then the remainder of His brothers 

Will return to the sons of Israel. 

[4] And He will stand and shepherd [His flock] 

In the strength of Yahweh, 

In the majesty of the name of Yahweh His God. 

And they will remain 

Because at that time He will be great 

To the ends of the earth.

Yahweh’s Case Against His People

What Yahweh Requires

Mic 6:8 LSB – 

[8] He has told you, O man, what is good; 

And what does Yahweh require of you 

But to do justice, to love lovingkindness, 

And to walk humbly with your God?

There Is No Upright Person

Mic 7:2 LSB – [2] The holy one has perished from the land, And there is no upright [person] among men. All of them lie in wait for bloodshed; Each of them hunts the other with a net.

Yahweh Is a Light for Me

Mic 7:7 LSB – [7] But as for me, I will watch expectantly for Yahweh; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.

Mic 7:18 LSB – [18] Who is a God like You, who forgives iniquity And passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? He does not hold fast to His anger forever Because He delights in lovingkindness.