Exploring the Meaning of Micah 1
Од страна на New Christian Bible Study Staff
The prophet Micah lived in the days of Hezekiah, the King of Judah, and the kings that preceded him. In 722 BC, in the fourth year of Hezekiah's reign, Shalmaneser, the King of Assyria, conquered the kingdom of Israel. This was the northern kingdom that had begun with Jeroboam, after Solomon's death, based around Samaria. The Assyrians led away its people, as described in 2 Kings 18:9.
Perhaps the Assyrian victory and the dispersal of the 10 lost tribes are related to Micah's prophecy, but - as in the other books of prophecy - at heart Micah is predicting broader spiritual events, especially the Lord's advent.
In Micah 1:1, 2, Micah starts out by proclaiming that the Lord is coming down as a witness against the people of the earth. Here the earth, internally, means the church - the Lord’s church which forms a connection between God and man. 1
Micah 1:3 says that Jehovah Himself will come down and restructure the church (meant by the earth) and will form a new heaven for that church. 2
In Micah 1:4-7 shows us an internal picture of the judgment on the Israelitish and Jewish churches. Mountains, valleys, fire, and water are all mentioned; all are representations of spiritual realities. When people of the church remember what those realities are, they will come to mind when they worship on a mountain, or treat the fire on the altar as holy. But when the spiritual meanings are forgotten, the representative things are done away with. This was true of both Samaria and Judah (Micah 1:5). 3
Verses 6 and 7 show the wickedness of Samaria, and what will happen to the idols there. 4 From its inception, the northern kingdom of Israel never had a good king. It had, as idols, the two golden calves that Jeroboam set up. All this will be destroyed.
Micah 1:8, 9 tell of the mourning of the people who love what is good, as far as Judah and even Jerusalem, which represents heaven.
However, in Micah 1:10-11, there's a mourning over the punishment as witnessed in some cities, which mean those doctrines that are used to try to justify the idolatry. But the anger is misdirected: people are angry with Jehovah, and not with the sins of idolatry that cause the punishment.
Micah 1:12 describes the mourning about the devastation of the church, which extends through all the heavens, even up to the highest.
In Micah 1:13-15, he's saying that the sins that were widespread in Israel, or Samaria, have also spread to the kingdom of Judah. To come to Adullam means to turn oneself towards evil.
Finally, in Micah 1:16, baldness means a lack of truths. Delightful sons are truths from God. Making yourself bald by shearing off your hair means you are spiritually denying the truths from God, i.e. that you are exiling yourself from your delightful sons. Consequently, everyone suffers deprivation. 5
To apply this to our lives... here's what it looks like:
1. We should turn away from evil and actively seek spiritual truths.
2. We shouldn't set up false gods in our lives, e.g things that we "worship" that really aren't useful.
3. We should try to look for the Lord in the Word, and to connect with Him.
Фусноти:
1. See the description in Arcana Coelestia 10373.
2. See Arcana Coelestia 1311
3. For reference, see Apocalypse Explained 405[42] and Arcana Coelestia 9156[2].
4. See Apocalypse Explained 587[15].
5. See Arcana Coelestia 9960[6].
Arcana Coelestia #7873
7873. 'And on all the gods of Egypt I will make judgements' means their falsities which are to be damned. This is clear from the meaning of 'gods' as falsities, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'making judgements' as being damned, for to judge or to make judgements is to point either to life or to death; a judgement that points to life means salvation, one that points to death means damnation. The term 'gods' is used many times in the Word. When angels are called such, truths are meant, see 4295, 4402, 7268, and therefore in the contrary sense 'the gods of the nations' means falsities, 4402, 4544. The reason why truths are referred to as 'gods' is that truth emanates from God Himself and is in itself of God. Consequently those who receive that truth are called 'gods'. Not that they are gods; rather, the truth with them is of God. This explains why in the original language God is referred to by the plural noun Elohim. God Himself is Divine Goodness, but what emanates from Him is Divine Truth which fills the whole of heaven. So then, because 'god' means truth, falsity is meant by that word in the contrary sense.
