Lesson 3 of 6
In Progress

Background of Micah

The prophet Micah came from the small town of Moresheth, southwest of Jerusalem. His message is intended primarily for the Southern Kingdom of Judah, though he also makes reference to the Northern Kingdom of Israel (the nation had split into two kingdoms after the death of Solomon around 920 BCE). In his first oracle (1:2-7) Micah predicts the fall of the Northern Kingdom. That would date the beginning of his prophetic ministry before 721 BCE, when Samaria fell to the Assyrians. From that time on, only the Southern Kingdom of Judah remained, until it was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. Micah expected that Judah would follow the fate of Israel and predicted that Jerusalem, the holy city that God had chosen for the Temple, would be wiped off the face of the earth. For those holding to the assurance that God would never break promises to protect the king and Temple, these words would have been a great shock, probably thought to demonstrate a lack of faith on Micah’s part. Micah spoke harshly to prophets, seers, and priests who told people what they wanted to hear–the reassuring words of God’s promises–and not the reality that Judah’s fate could soon follow that of Israel.

Like Jonah, Micah’s predictions of destruction were premature but eventually realized, albeit exaggerated in his picture of the complete annihilation of Jerusalem–which, of course, like most Old Testament prophecies, is poetic in nature. Jerusalem was destroyed, but not until more than a century after Micah’s time. However, many of the towns mentioned in 1:10-12 were destroyed in 701 BCE by the Assyrians.