Micah was a Judean prophet from Moresheth, a town about twenty-five miles southwest of Jerusalem. He was a contemporary of prophet Isaiah in the days of kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah.
The book consists of three prophetic addresses which are clearly distinguished from one another in form by similarity of introduction (all three commencing with “Hear,” chapters 1:2; 3:1; 6:1) and substantially by their contents.
Micah predicted the fall of Samaria as well as the destruction of Jerusalem in his introductory message to the people of Judah. He charged both Israel and Judah with breaking the covenant with God and he displayed his grief by laying aside his robe and walking barefoot and warning the people to prepare for exile (1:8-16).
Micah was against all kinds of evil practised by social and religious leaders, who oppressed and wronged the people. He bitterly denounced the rulers and princes who hate good and love evil, exploiting the people by perverting justice and true judgement.
Micah was severe in his condemnation of the false prophets who led the people astray and prophesied for money and profit. He also rebuked the dishonest merchants who enriched themselves by “wicked balances” and “deceitful weights”. What is clear is that “spiritual idolatry” and the breaking of the covenant with God led to severe moral breakdown of human relationships among the people, from the leaders, political and spiritual, to the common people in daily interactions and commercial enterprise. Micah boiled down his ideal of true religion in the words, “to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (6:8). This applies specifically to us and to all who claim today to be God’s people.
It is interesting to notice how Micah changed the mood from gloom to hope in portraying the future glory of Zion and this perspective of hope extended beyond the mere restoration from captivity to the establishment of the messianic kingdom. From Zion righteous judgement will extend to all nations and universal peace will be established. From the promise of a triumphant future for the”remnant”(2:12-13; 4:1-8), Micah turned to the “present realities” of the state of the nations of Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Their doom is certain but the Lord will redeem them. The remnant who repented and trusted the Lord will be transformed from an insignificant group to one that will dominate the world, not through military might but through the remnant’s purification and dedication in spiritual renewal. In this light, Micah had a vision of a better day, a day of universal peace and goodwill to men. He saw the coming of the “little town of Bethlehem” a ruler of Israel who would be a special prophet, priest and King (5:2).
The uniqueness of the book of Micah lies in its (not necessarily chronological) arrangement, which alternates between oracles of judgement and of future hope which are marked off by the call to “Hear” (1:2; 3:1; 6:1). Hope for the future is Micah’s last word; it begins with an expression of Israel’s returning from exile and now fulfilling her role for the nations and concludes with Micah’s prayer and God’s response(7:14-20).