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Introducing the Book of Micah We know nothing about the preacher Micah except what is supplied in the heading of the collection of poetic oracles. Namely, he was a preacher to The book of Micah is a loosely arranged collection of poetic oracles. A couple of passages in the book have a relationship to other prophetic writings. The elders of
Moreover, there is also a relationship of some kind between Micah 4 and Isaiah 2. One may have borrowed from the other, or, perhaps more likely, both preachers may have been drawing on a similar tradition within there context.
It is also worth noting Joel’s different use of the imagery:
Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare war, stir up the warriors. Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weakling say, “I am a warrior” (Joel 3:9-10). How will justice
prevail? The book of Micah opens with a heading and is made up of a series of poetic oracles, collected into alternating sections of judgment and blessing (note the use of “hear” in 1:2; 3:1; 6:1). The alteration between judgment and hope is similar to the arrangement of poetic oracles in the book of Isaiah, a contemporary preacher of Micah. The last section maintains certain psalm-like characteristics and is often referred to as a prophetic liturgy. [1] Heading (1:1) A Judgment (1:2-2:11) 1:2 The “holy temple” is likely a reference to God’s heavenly
dwelling (Ps 18:7), from which he emerges to judge 1:8-16 Many of the towns mentioned in 1:8-16 are quite obscure, and
not all of their locales are known; and those that are knows were located to
the southwest of Jerusalem to protect it (see Micah 1 map). In several cases there are
wordplays relating the town names and the judgments: “barefoot and naked” (sholal ve‘arom), 2:1-5 Those that plot against the socially challenged for the sake
of greed by be judged likewise by the planning of God for their ruin (2:1-5). 2:11-16 The false teachers use tradition wrong, but the people
desire the false teaching. B Consolation
( C Judgment on the Greedy Leaders (3:1-12) 3:1-3 The unjust leaders, depicted as cannibals, will suffer the fate they gave others; God’s will not listen to their cries for help. 3:5-8 The false preachers proclaim
message of peace because they want to get paid (3:5; see Jer 3:8-12 The leaders—ruler,
priests, prophets, judges—are greedy and corrupt, only seeking to secure money.
D Consolation (4:1-5:15) 4:9-5:5a “Now” (4:9, 11; 5:1), and the labor imagery ( 5:2 the ruler to come out
of Bethlehem Ephrathah (the old name of Bethlehem in Gen 35:16-20; 48:7; where
Rachel died in childbirth—cf. Mic 5:3) in accord with the ancient eternal hope,
namely, the promised Judah-king (Gen 49:8-10; cf. Mic 7:20). This passage was
understood as referring to the birth of Messiah by various ancient Judaic
peoples (Matt 2:4-6; John
6:3-5 The prophet rehearses God’s salvation of his people, see Exod 6:7; Lev 26:12-13; Num 22-24; Num 25-Josh 5 (Josh 5:9-10). 6:6-8 This famous poem beautifully makes the point of righteousness as the true measure of God’s will. 6:13-15 Compare Deut 28:38-40. 7:5-6 The extreme is even one’s own family will be a place of fear amongst enemies. F A Prophetic Liturgy (7:8-20) 7:8-20 This section sounds like a psalm and probably reflects a
liturgical background. Among the significant examples of intertextuality are
the echoes of the Song of David and the promise of the judgment of the
offspring in the garden (Mic 7:10 = 2 Sam [1]
Based on my own reading, and Childs, Introduction
to the Old Testament as Scripture; W. [2] See March, 661; Hillers, 4: 808. Also see introduction to the prophets, and see bibliography on the prophets. Copyright © 2011 ScriptureWorkshop.com | |||||||||||
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