Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.
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Micah 1
Judgment on Israel and Judah
Micah 1:1 The word of the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
The Coming Judgment on Israel
Micah 1:2 Hear, all you peoples!
Listen, O earth, and all that is in it!
Let the Lord God (Yᵊhōvâ ‘ăḏōnāy) be a witness against you,
The Lord (‘ăḏōnāy) from His holy temple.
Micah 1:3 For behold, the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) is coming out of His place;
He will come down
And tread on the high places of the earth.
- Hosea 6:3
Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ). His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth. - See Topic: Jesus as the Rain coming Down from Heaven.
- Since it is Jesus returning to the earth, He is called Yᵊhōvâ in verse 3 and Yᵊhōvâ ‘ăḏōnāy in verse 2. Jesus is referred to “Lord God”, an argument FOR the trinity.
Micah 1:4 The mountains will melt under Him,
And the valleys will split
Like wax before the fire,
Like waters poured down a steep place.
Micah 1:5 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?
And what are the high places (where idols are worshiped) of Judah?
Are they not Jerusalem (the holiest place)?
Micah 1:6 “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the field,
Places for planting a vineyard;
I will pour down her stones into the valley,
And I will uncover her foundations.
- The tribulation will leave the entire area in destruction. However; The best wine comes from grapes grown in a harsh environment. The harsher the ground, the better the grapes, and grapes are the result of bearing spiritual fruit.
- Why Does Poor Quality Soil Make Such Great Wine?
When it comes to growing crops, vegetables or fruits, we’re always told the same thing: Make sure there’s plenty of water, rich nutrients and fertile soil, otherwise nothing will grow! While this is true for 99% of agriculture out there, the same is not so for our beloved wine grapes.
In fact, what if I told you that some of the best wine in the world is produced from some of the poorest quality soil imaginable? Well, it’s true.
Let’s backtrack several centuries to a time when wine wasn’t so readily available at our local grocery stores, to a time when religion was at the epicenter of civilization and the rich/poor divide was even greater than it is today.
Some of the earliest winemaking cultures were in Italy, Portugal and Greece, which is where our story takes us. In villages in these places, each family had a duty, and one of the most demeaning of which was to produce wine. See, no one really cared about the taste back then. Wine was produced as a sacrament to the church, with anything left over sold to local residents at a cheap price. Its purpose was simple: to be a healthy drink that provided calories and warmed the body.
So while rich families took all of the plush, fertilized land close to the rivers and streams, the winemakers were left with the hills, the chalky mountains and the barren land where nothing was ever expected to grow. But boy oh boy did the wine grapes do just that.
You see if you plant vines next to a river or a stream in nutritious soil, they develop what I call ‘lazy grape syndrome’. They soak up all the water to grow their leaves and shoots to look the part, and although the grapes look plump, juicy and delicious, the real truth is they’re just oversaturated with water! Have you ever opened a bottle of wine and it feels watered down, you’re not getting too much aroma or taste? Well, that’s probably because the grapes were too spoilt.
So why does poor soil create some of the best wine?
Instead of putting their focus into vibrant leaves and shoots, they push their roots deep into the ground in search for more nutrients and water. The rest of their energy goes straight into the grapes.
Here’s where things get a little more technical. Photosynthesis from the sun creates a chemical called ‘sucrose’, which the hormones in the vines then convert into sugars. These sugars are then sent to the berries (which will later become grapes) and hydrolyzed into glucose and fructose. The more fructose and glucose in the berries, the more flavor and aroma producing compounds are created, making for a tastier wine. In simple terms, heavy sucrose (sugar) levels alongside minimal water concentration from a harsh environment allow the grapes to become full of life and body, thus making some mighty tasty vino juice.
When planted in poor quality soil, all a vine wants to do is escape from that soil environment, and that’s why it spends so much focus and energy on its berries. The sweeter the grape, the more chance a bird will come along, eat it, and poop out seeds where the soil quality is much richer. So grapes basically sacrifice themselves for the greater good of their survival. Pretty thoughtful, huh?
So there you have it. Now you know why crappy soil produces some of the planet’s best wine.
The Hebrew word “dam” means both: “red wine” and “red blood”. Jesus’ red blood is the sacrifice for the greater good of the survival of life.
Mark 14:24 And He said to them, “This is My “dam” (red blood/red wine) of the new covenant, which is shed for many.”
Micah 1:7 All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces,
And all her pay as a harlot shall be burned with the fire;
All her idols I will lay desolate,
For she gathered it from the pay of a harlot,
And they shall return to the pay of a harlot.”
Mourning for Israel and Judah
Micah 1:8 Therefore I will wail and howl,
I will go stripped and naked;
I will make a wailing like the jackals
And a mourning like the ostriches,
Micah 1:9 For her wounds are incurable.
For it has come to Judah;
It has come to the gate of My people—
To Jerusalem.
Micah 1:10 Tell it not in Gath,
Weep not at all;
In Beth Aphrah (Lit. House of Dust)
Roll yourself in the dust.
Micah 1:11 Pass by in naked shame, you inhabitant of Shaphir (Lit. Beautiful);
The inhabitant of Zaanan (Lit. Going Out) does not go out.
Beth Ezel mourns;
Its place to stand is taken away from you.
- To be naked is symbolic for “shame” as in Genesis Chapter 3.
Micah 1:12 For the inhabitant of Maroth (Lit. Bitterness) pined for good (Lit. was sick),
But disaster came down from the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ)
To the gate of Jerusalem.
Micah 1:13 O inhabitant of Lachish,
Harness the chariot to the swift steeds
(She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion),
For the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
Sin is the worst pandemic to come upon the face of the earth
Micah 1:14 Therefore you shall give presents to Moresheth Gath (Lit. Possession of Gath);
The houses of Achzib (Lit. Lie) shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.
Micah 1:15 I will yet bring an heir (Jesus) to you, O inhabitant of Mareshah (Lit. Inheritance);
The glory of Israel (Jesus) shall come to Adullam (Lit. Refuge, Hiding aka “Justice of the People”).
- Adullam = “Refuge, Hiding, Justice of the people”
- a town of the Canaanites allotted to Judah and lying in the lowlands; site of the cave where David hid.
- Mareshah = “Inheritance”
- Achzib = “Lie”
- Micah is using the meaning of the towns to tell God’s prophecies.
Micah 1:16 Make yourself bald and cut off your hair (to mourn),
Because of your precious children;
Enlarge your baldness like an eagle,
For they shall go from you into captivity.
- Micah 1:16 is historic and prophetic
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