June 6, 2014 (Friday)
Micah was younger than Isaiah, but they were contemporaries. He preached to Israel and Judah during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah in Judah and the reigns of Pekah and Hoshea in Israel. He was very sensitive to the way rich people treated the common people, but he did not ignore the sins of all. Like other prophets, he not only predicted judgment upon sin, but also restoration. He was unique in predicting the birthplace of a Messiah. He and Isaiah lived in different worlds; Micah was from the peasant class but Isaiah, a member of the upper class, counseled kings. The book that bears Micah’s name has seven chapters.
Micah – A devotional thought
Micah is of great importance in Matthew’s gospel. The Wise Men asked King Herod where they could find the one born “king of the Jews,” and Herod asked the chief priests
and teachers of the law, who replied, “”In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'” These people with the correct interpretation of Scripture later rejected the Messiah of those verses they knew so well, and had Him crucified. Isn’t it interesting that Micah, the prophet they quoted, preached against those in authority who had forsaken God?
Christ came in fulfillment of the Scriptures. After His resurrection, he appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and revealed to them all the Old Testament Scriptures that He fulfilled. Don’t you wish you could have heard Him share that wonderful knowledge?