Resources:

• Micah 4-5 Reading Guide
• Micah 4-5 Teaching Notes
• Micah 4-5 Video

Note on the chapters and the video:

• Overview:
  • Micah consists of seven chapters that can be organized in three major sections:
    • The first section (Micah 1—2) focuses on God’s judgment on Samaria, Judah, and false prophets. He first speaks of Samaria and Judah’s judgment (Micah 1:2–16), followed by additional judgment concerning those who oppressed them (Micah 2:1–5). In Micah 2:6–11 the focus shifts to condemning the false teachers of Micah’s time, who were leading people astray. The final two verses of this section (Micah 2:12–13) briefly note future deliverance.
    • The second section (Micah 3—5) judges the leaders of the people and notes God’s future deliverance as the ultimate leader. The current leaders will be found guilty of various sins against the Lord. Rather than relying on them, God will personally one day come to rescue and redeem His people (Micah 4:1—5:15).
    • The third section speaks of God’s ultimate deliverance (Micah 6—7). What begins as a message of gloom and lament (Micah 6:1—7:6) transitions to a celebration of future victory. Micah notes, “But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me” (Micah 7:7).
    • The final three verses end on a note of confidence. They emphasize God’s forgiveness, steadfast love, compassion, and faithfulness to His people (Micah 7:18–20).
• Video notes
  • Micah depicts Jesus as the shepherd.
  • Micah 3 had a message to the leadership of the country.
  • The first 4 verses of Micah 3 talk about the sins of the princes, prophets, and leaders. Micah 4 has a prediction about the last days and talks about people walking up to the house of the Lord on the top of the mountain. Micah 4 predicts there will be peace, no more fighting – spears will become pruning knives. This differs from predictions found in Joel 3:10 which predicts the opposite. Micah 4:4 predicts people will rest and no longer worry about fear because the Lord has promised this. Micah 4:5 predicts we will walk with God forever. Micah 4:6-7 discusses gathering the lame and building a strong nation over which the Lord will rule forever.
  • Micah 4:9-5:1 starts to refer to a future captivity from Babylon. There is an understanding that they will lead Jerusalem as a woman in labor (the Lord will deliver them from captivity). The end of Micah 4 starts to refer to the end times and how the Lord’s people will be gathered and saved from the punishment that will occur.
  • Micah 5:1 continues this prediction and talks about striking a judge of Israel (King Zedekiah) and how he was captured during the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 BC.
  • Micah 5:2 is one of the most prophetic verses about Jesus in the OT: it describes the birth of the ruler over Israel (the first coming of Jesus). Matthew 2:2-2:3 discusses how Jesus was born and was the king of the Jews. Micah 5:2 explains how Christ will come from Bethlehem as a human but in His deity He comes from eternity.
  • Matthew 5-6 predicts the ruler will be a shepherd who will shepherd the people into peace.
  • The first part of Micah 5:3 predicts Jesus will abandon them until “she who is in labor has given birth”. This is sort of where we are now because Jesus is not physically with us. He will come back one day – this is predicted in the end of Micah 5:4.
  • Micah’s predictions align with the predictions we saw in Isaiah 9:6. Isaiah and Micah were located in very different areas and were writing around the same time – they did not know each other but were writing about the same thing in a very similar manner.
  • Micah 5:5-7 predicts how Israel’s leaders will rise up and defend Israel, sparing its people.
  • Micah 5:9 predicts all of Israel’s adversaries will be destroyed. Micah 5:10-15 predicts the destruction and punishment of those who don’t follow God’s will.

Group Discussion:

• We continue to be awestruck by references to Jesus in the OT.
• There is no apparent mention of Joseph sinning in the Bible, but he probably did. Someone brought up the rainbow in reference to Joseph’s coat of many colors. The rainbow is a promise from God to never flood the earth again.

Praise and Prayer Requests:

• Jim gave more great news about Shizod’s bible study group in Pakistan. Shizod’s cousin is almost fully recovered after almost dying. Shizod’s cousin had been injured in an attack and it looked like he might die.
• I gave praise (thanks) for:
  • a wonderful Canada Day with my wife at the lake
  • I was able to talk to my kids and see them on Discord tonight
  • my church, the Bible Study Group, Jim’s leadership and his daily messages of inspiration
• I prayed for:
  • my wife and kids
  • my son to have a good review at work (coming up next week)
  • my daughter to land a voice-over job
  • my marriage and all of our marriages and relationships
  • to heal divisions within our countries and the relations between them
  • for our leaders to govern well according to God’s will
  • for peace around the world, especially in the middle east right now (given the war between Iran, Israel, and the US)
  • a possible job or self-employment opportunity to better provide for my wife, my children, my church, and my community

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