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Micah 1-2: Hope After Judgement

About This Episode

Micah is split into three court cases. In the first, Micah calls all nations of the world to join Israel in the defendant's box because what happens in Israel will happen to the rest of the world. Seth and David talk about hints of hope in an oracle of doom and how Jesus breaks through blockades of injustice and death.

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Micah 1–2: Hope After Judgment

Show Notes

David and Seth open this episode of the Spoken Gospel podcast by diving into the first of three court cases found in the book of Micah. Building on their introductory episode, they walk through the opening two chapters of Micah to show how God's devastating judgment against Israel carries surprising hints of hope — hope that ultimately finds its fulfillment in Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

A Prophet's Courtroom and the God Who Shakes Mountains

The book of Micah is best understood as three separate court cases that the prophet brings against Israel on God's behalf. In this first case, covering chapters 1 and 2, all the nations of the earth are summoned to watch as Israel takes the stand. The implication is sobering: if God does not spare judgment against his own covenant people, the nations should expect no different treatment.

When God enters this courtroom, it is nothing like daytime television. Micah 1:3–4 describes God treading on the high places of the earth, mountains melting like wax, and valleys splitting open like water cascading down a steep slope. This terrifying theophany echoes God's appearance at Mount Sinai, where fire and smoke accompanied the giving of the law and the birth of a nation. But where Sinai meant creation — a new people formed under covenant — Micah's vision means uncreation. The nation that was constituted by the covenant is now being unmade by the same covenant. It also echoes Genesis itself, where God's presence brought forth mountains and valleys from the waters. Now, that same presence arrives to decreate what disobedience has corrupted.

The Charge: Idolatry and Idolatrous Nationalism

The charge against Israel is concentrated in its capital cities. "What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?" (Micah 1:5). Samaria, the northern capital, was where the golden calves were erected and where idolatry flowed outward to the rest of the nation. Jerusalem, which was supposed to be God's own high place where his temple stood, had become host to the idols of foreign nations. Kings before Hezekiah actually placed copies of Assyrian gods inside the temple.

But the indictment goes deeper than religious statues. The nation itself had become an idol. The preservation of Israel's power, wealth, and security had become more important than faithfulness to the God who founded it. National pride replaced theological allegiance. Israel trusted in military alliances and economic prosperity rather than in God. This is not merely idolatry happening within Jerusalem — Jerusalem itself, as a symbol of self-sufficient nationhood, had become the idol.

The Sentence and the Drumbeat of Puns

God's sentence is devastating: Samaria will become a heap of rubble, her idols beaten to pieces, her wealth — gathered through the degrading cycle of cult prostitution — returned to the same degradation. The Assyrians who destroy the idols will melt down the gold and spend it on their own cult prostitutes. Women exploited by Israel's system will now see their own people exploited in return. Micah responds not with triumph but with lament, wailing like jackals and mourning like ostriches over his people's fate.

What follows is a rapid-fire march through the towns of Judah, each name a devastating wordplay. Beth-le-haaphrah, "house of dust," will roll in the dust. Shaphir, "beauty town," will be stripped naked. Zaanan, "the town that goes out," will not go out. Lachish, Solomon's chariot city and military stronghold, receives special attention — six lines instead of two — because it represents the beginning of Israel's trust in military might over God. The alliteration and puns create a drumbeat effect, making the reader feel the enemy's march before it arrives. Significantly, this section begins with a reference to Gath, recalling David's lament over Saul's death in 2 Samuel 1:10, and ends with Adullam, where David gathered his mighty men to launch a new kingdom. Even in the drumbeat of judgment, there is a hidden hint of hope: just as David built something new from the ashes of Saul's failure, God will raise up a new shepherd king from the ruins of Israel.

The Evidence: Land Theft, Corrupt Leaders, and False Prophets

Chapter 2 presents the specific evidence. Israel's leaders devise wickedness on their beds at night and perform it at daybreak — the very hour when courts were supposed to expose deeds of darkness and administer justice. Instead of judging evil, the judges commit it. They covet fields and seize them, strip the rich robes from unsuspecting citizens, steal homes from women, and rob children of their inheritance forever. This echoes King Ahab's theft of Naboth's vineyard in 1 Kings 21, but it is not an isolated incident. It is systemic. The wealthy land barons of Israel are consolidating wealth and land in direct violation of God's original, generous apportioning of the land to each tribe and family under Joshua.

This land theft strikes at the heart of the covenant. God had distributed the land as a gift — each portion reflecting his justice and generosity. Even moving a neighbor's boundary marker by inches was an offense against God himself, because he was the one who placed it. For Israel's leaders to seize entire fields and homes was to spit in the face of the God who gave them everything freely. The punishment fits the crime with devastating precision: those who stole land will lose all land. Those who accumulated wealth for false security will find no rest.

Meanwhile, false prophets tell Micah to stop preaching. They quote Scripture selectively, reminding the people that God is "slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love" — while conveniently omitting that he "will by no means clear the guilty." They bank on half the covenant, assuring the nation that disgrace will never come, that God would never judge his chosen people. Micah stands alone among them, insisting on the full truth.

Hints of Hope: The Shepherd Who Breaks Through

Despite the relentless judgment, Micah 2:12–13 erupts with the most explicit promise of hope in these opening chapters. God declares, "I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob. I will gather the remnant of Israel. I will set them together like sheep in a fold." Then a breaker will go up before them, passing through the gate, and the king — God himself — will lead them out.

This prophecy found its first historical fulfillment during King Hezekiah's reign. When the Assyrian general Sennacherib conquered the surrounding towns, refugees flooded into Jerusalem, gathered like sheep into a pen. Assyria blockaded the city and demanded surrender. But Hezekiah prayed, and God broke through — killing 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in a single night and leading his people to victory (2 Kings 19). Even Sennacherib's own records never claim he conquered Jerusalem. In the same stroke, God judged Israel through the destruction of her towns and judged the nations through the destruction of Assyria's army. It was salvation after judgment, not instead of it.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd Who Leads Us Out

Jesus quotes this very passage in John 10, surrounded — like Micah — by false teachers. The Pharisees, like Israel's corrupt leaders, had become wolves rather than shepherds, burdening the people with legalism rather than easing their loads. Jesus declares, "I am the good shepherd," the one who enters through the door, calls his sheep by name, and leads them out. No one can snatch them from his hand.

The parallels run deep. Just as Assyria served as God's instrument of judgment against Israel's corrupt temple system, Rome would later destroy the temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70 — the fulfillment of Jesus' own prophecy that not one stone would be left on another. Just as Israel's leaders exploited their people, the Pharisees burdened theirs with crushing religious performance. And just as God broke through the Assyrian blockade at Jerusalem's gates, Jesus broke through the ultimate blockade — death itself — walking out of a Roman tomb guarded by Roman soldiers. Immediately after the Good Shepherd discourse, Jesus goes to the tomb of Lazarus and leads a dead man out of the grave, demonstrating that no wall, no army, and no grave can hold those who hear his voice.

The good news of Micah 1–2 is not that judgment is avoided but that it is not the final word. Jesus is the shepherd king who gathers the scattered remnant, breaks through every wall that hems them in — whether sin, false teaching, oppression, or death — and leads them into a new creation where God himself is their portion and their promised land.

Transcript

Intro: [upbeat music] Welcome to the Spoken Gospel podcast. Spoken Gospel is a ministry that's dedicated to speaking the gospel out of every corner of scripture. In Luke 24, Jesus told his disciples that every part of the Bible was about him. So each week, hosts David and Seth work through a passage of scripture to see how it's all about Jesus and his good news. Let's jump in. [upbeat music]

David: Well, welcome everyone. Thank you so much for joining us here on the Spoken Gospel podcast. Seth, how you feeling today?

Seth: I'm feeling great. I'm excited to talk about hope after judgment.

David: Yes.

Seth: Hope.

David: Yeah, hope after judgment.

Seth: Yeah.

David: We gotta get through a lot of judgment first to get to the hope.

Seth: Gotta get through a little bit, little bit of judgment.

David: [laughs] A little bit.

Seth: [laughs]

David: A little bit of judgment.

Seth: Just a little bit of judgment.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Yeah, Micah doesn't pull any punches.

David: No. So we, we introduced Micah last week.

Seth: That's right.

David: And now we're gonna address, um, in three episodes, the three different parts of Micah.

Seth: Yeah. The Book of Micah is probably best understood as split up into three different court cases-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... that Micah, on behalf of God, or as God, representing God, brings Israel to the mat in, or to the defendant's box-

David: Mm

Seth: ... in three different court cases.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And he calls a different witness or other defendants to the box, to the courtroom-

David: Okay

Seth: ... in each court case. So Micah 1 opens up with a court case against Israel, but he invites all the other nations to join in the defendant's box with Israel.

David: Mm.

Seth: Which is, and-

David: So Israel, like, in, in them being judged, they're kind of representative of the nations and how they will be judged in the future?

Seth: Yeah. If God is not sparing-

David: His own

Seth: ... judgment against his own covenant people-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... won't this judgment apply-

David: Mm

Seth: ... to all nations? And anyway, that's how the court case ends. At the very end of Micah 2, you have God breaking through the City of Jerusalem and scattering the Assyrian forces that were, like, gathered around Jerusalem as well.

David: Okay.

Seth: So you have judgment with, baked into the prophecy as well against the nations.

David: Okay. So then before we jump into this first court case, uh, help us get back into Micah, if you can.

Seth: Yeah.

David: What is, like, what was Micah all about? And, like, kind of recap what we talked about last week.

Seth: Yeah. Micah was a prophet who was in Israel during the last years of it before exile.

David: Okay.

Seth: He was, during the reign of King A- Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: Hezekiah's the man you probably know out of those three men-

David: The most, yeah

Seth: ... those three kings. He's like, he's a king who was sick, and then prayed, and God gave him 15 years more of life. That Hezekiah.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Micah-

David: A pretty wealthy period of Israel.

Seth: Super-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... super wealthy. We'll talk about that a little bit this week-

David: Okay

Seth: ... or today. Um, and basically, the prophecies that we read in Micah are a collection of oracles that Micah had stitched together to make one probably main point-

David: Mm

Seth: ... which is, who is like God?

David: Isn't that, it's Micah's name, right?

Seth: That's Micah's name.

David: Okay. Yeah, yeah.

Seth: Yeah, yeah.

David: I thought I remember that. Yeah.

Seth: Micah's name means who is like God, and at the very end of the book-

David: Mm

Seth: ... he asks this question, "Who is like the Lord who brings hope and j- who brings justice against hi- God's enemies-

David: Mm

Seth: ... but also brings hope?" And I can just read it to you too.

David: Right. 'Cause that's the point, right? That it's like, who's like God that after all of these court cases-

Seth: Mm

David: ... where I've found you guilty, I've called the defendants, I've given the evidence, I've f- found you completely guilty beyond belief, and then I forgive you.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And I send a shepherd king.

Seth: "Who is God like you, who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance?"

David: Yeah, it's crazy.

Seth: So it goes back to hope after judgment. There is a period of justice coming for the injustice of Israel, but after-

David: Mm

Seth: ... that justice-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... there is hope of restoration.

David: Which, and I, I guess a point there is it's not hope instead of justice.

Seth: It's hope after justice.

David: Right. Justice, I mean, I think he, you know, Micah-

Seth: We went all in on that, all on that interaction.

David: That's right. Yeah.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so, like, Micah, like, weeps at the end, or, or some representative weeper weeps at the end, and he's like, "I will get knocked down, I will fall, but I will rise back up."

Seth: Yeah.

David: Is it... Okay, hope after justice. I got that.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Okay. But in, like, in order for that hope to land the way Micah, who is like our God [laughs] wants it to land, we have to work through the judgment portions.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And let those hit.

Seth: Yes.

David: Okay.

Seth: And but throughout the judgment portion-

David: Uh-huh

Seth: ... he'll hint at a coming restoration-

David: Mm

Seth: ... behind the judgment.

David: Okay.

Seth: And like there's little hints of it throughout-

David: That's fun

Seth: ... along the way.

David: Okay.

Seth: So that's what we'll see today.

David: So who's involved in the first court case in Micah 1?

Seth: So he calls all the nations to watch this court case, right?

David: Okay.

Seth: So, "Pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord God be a witness against you." So against all the nations of the earth, not just Israel.

David: Big, big, big courtroom.

Seth: Big courtroom.

David: [laughs]

Seth: But Israel is the main, uh, person on trial.

David: Okay.

Seth: Uh, but the idea, again, is what happens to Israel will happen to the world.

David: Yeah. And then, so the courtroom is set. All the people are sitting down in the benches and behind the tables and in the jury box-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... and everything. And then you know that part where the bailiff comes out and says-

Seth: "All rise"

David: ... "All rise." And, like, from some hidden door behind a stand-

Seth: There's always a hidden door. [laughs]

David: Yeah. It's like, it opens up, and here's a guy in a black robe, and he comes and sits down.

Seth: The Honorable Judge Judy.

David: The Honorable Judge Judy sits down. [laughs]

Seth: I watched a lot of Judge Judy as a kid.

David: Did you really? [laughs]

Seth: Not now.

David: Oh, [laughs] okay.

Seth: But as a kid, I watched a lot of Judge Judy.

David: That's amazing.

Seth: And I don't thi- I, I guess that was a common experience for people, but I don't-

David: I, I did not watch a lot of Judge Judy growing up. [laughs]

Seth: All rise, the honorable Judge Judy Rosario.

David: Well, there you go. So that's-

Seth: That-

David: ... that's the moment.

Seth: That- this is the moment.

David: That's the mo- so verse 3 is the all rise, the judge is about to enter the chamber thing, but it's not quite the same as Judge Judy. [laughs]

Seth: Not at all.

David: I don't think it's daytime television-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... and appropriate.

Seth: He will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth, and the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.

David: So this is God coming into the courtroom, and it's-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... terrifying.

Seth: It is. It's actually very similar to the opening of the Book of Nahum.

David: Okay.

Seth: It's very similar to the ending of the Book of Habakkuk. Uh, so, like, the prophets pick up on this idea of a big revelation of God coming to bring justice-

David: Mm

Seth: ... to bear on an, on an unjust time or place. But I think more significantly, it should take you back to Mount Sinai.

David: Yeah, of course. Yeah.

Seth: Which is where God appeared like this, and fire was-

David: Mm

Seth: ... brimming like a-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... volcano on top of Mount Sinai. And what happened at Mount Sinai?

David: Well, I mean, it's a, it was a, it was a law, a law proceeding in a different way. It was the giving of the law-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... instead of a judgment according to the law.

Seth: Yep. And also, as a law was being given, a nation was created.

David: Right.

Seth: So when God showed up the first time like this, a nation was born.

David: Right. The covenant was made, and the people of God were formed.

Seth: And this, now it's being unmade.

David: By that same covenant.

Seth: By that same covenant.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And I, I also think it should make you think of creation as well.

David: Mm.

Seth: When God appears in creation like a bright light, mountains spring up out of the waters-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... and valleys form and are split, and na- and, like, sky and sea and earth are separated from one another. Like-

David: Mm

Seth: ... throughout crea- throughout the Bible, when God's presence shows up, when the judge of the earth shows up, the earth itself, like, transforms.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Like, things are created, whether that's the actual land, or nations-

David: Mm

Seth: ... or things are destroyed-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... like the nation of Israel being destroyed right now.

David: Okay. So this is like an uncreation, a, an, an anti-Genesis 1 and 2.

Seth: Yes.

David: Okay. God is-

Seth: The nation of Israel is being unmade.

David: God is showing up-

Seth: Mm

David: ... to decreate.

Seth: That's right.

David: Okay. Uh, before we press on, I think it's probably important, um, to not assume a w- wide understanding of covenant lawsuits and-

Seth: Oh, yeah. [laughs]

David: ... how a law forms a people and all that kind of stuff from-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... from, from Sinai. So, um, l- let's walk through that-

Seth: Okay

David: ... a little bit here. So, so God calls Israel out of Egypt.

Seth: Saves them, liberates them from slavery.

David: Li- liberates them, as f- uh, uh, in, in fulfillment of the promise that he made to Abraham.

Seth: That's right.

David: And he says, "You're gonna be my people, and as my people, whom I have liberated, you will be a blessing to all nations."

Seth: Yep. And that blessing to all nations is predicated on your following this law.

David: Right. So here's how you will be a blessing to all nations.

Seth: Yes.

David: Here's what my people in my kingdom look like.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Um, you know, all kingdoms have laws.

Seth: Yep.

David: Speed limits, and taxes, and moral codes of conduct, and all things like that, right?

Seth: And God gives that all to-

David: Right

Seth: ... Israel.

David: Zon- zoning c- [laughs] zoning codes.

Seth: Zoning orders, which are very important for Micah.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Yeah. [laughs]

David: Um, so yeah, I think that's all really interesting. And so it's like, you know, and, like, 'cause a people... I, I don't know. This is probably not a true statement. I wanna say a pe- are people without a law a people?

Seth: Well, I mean, think about the Declaration of Independence.

David: Oh, right.

Seth: Like-

David: Like, we lived here, and-

Seth: Yeah, yeah

David: ... they say America started in 1776.

Seth: Right. And, like, that's defining of the soul of a nation.

David: Right.

Seth: Right?

David: Yeah.

Seth: Like the Declaration, that's what it means to be an American, right?

David: Right. We constituted ourselves into existence.

Seth: Yeah, the Constitution is-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... a big deal.

David: Yeah, it's good.

Seth: And so the-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... the, the, to, to, to go against the founding documents, the 10, the 10-

David: Right

Seth: ... the 10 words on the tablets or the-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... extended law, is to undo what you are made for.

David: Right.

Seth: To, like-

David: Yes

Seth: ... to uncreate yourselves, but also to go against the God of the universe.

David: Right. And that was the stipulation. That's not just an implicit thing that happens when a king gives a law. Like, that, "Don't you understand? You're now a people, and don't break the-

Seth: This is what you do

David: ... founding document."

Seth: Yeah.

David: I mean, that's true. That's just kind of how we operate as humans. But it's also, like, inside explicitly the covenant itself, that if you keep the law, you'll keep the land, and I'll be your God and live with you-

Seth: Right

David: ... and things will go great. If you break the law, I will exile you, and you won't keep the land-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... and I'll be against you. And so now we're seeing the piper's about to be paid.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Uh, the, like-

Seth: Israel will-

David: For almost 500 years, God has been putting up with his-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... people breaking this covenant, and now-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... he's like, "Okay, I've been patient a long time."

Seth: And significantly, Israel agreed to all those terms.

David: They did, yes.

Seth: God said, "If you... Okay, do, do these laws seem fair to you? Does this seem-"

David: And all the people said-

Seth: Yes

David: ... "Amen." [laughs]

Seth: "And do you agree that if you break these laws, other nations will come in and dispossess you of this land, and you'll be scattered among the nations?"

David: And they said-

Seth: And they said

David: ... "Yes."

Seth: "We agree to these terms."

David: Right.

Seth: And they haven't done it.

David: Yeah. It wasn't quite like the little terms of agreement that we all scroll through and then just click the box on our computers-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... and then hit accept.

Seth: It was a very-

David: It's like, "Okay, here's the deal.

Seth: Yeah.

David: I'm gonna say it out loud." Now, it's, w- here's what it is. It's like on the plane when you sit on an exit row.

Seth: And they all, yeah, yeah. [laughs]

David: And they come to you, "I need a verbal yes from you-

Seth: Yes

David: ... if you're willing and able to help me in the case of an emergency." And you nod, and they're like, "No, no, no."

Seth: No.

David: "I need you to say- [laughs]

Seth: You have to, you need to say yes

David: ... verbally say yes to me." Okay, yes.

Seth: Yes.

David: And then, then every time I do that, I'm like-

Seth: Am I really-

David: "Am I really ready for this?" [laughs]

Seth: [laughs]

David: Like, if this thing goes down, am I ready to yank open that door?

Seth: And then if you don't help, you're thrown off the plane.

David: That's right. [laughs]

Seth: In midair. [laughs]

David: You've broken the covenant.

Seth: You've broken the covenant, David.

David: [laughs]

Seth: You agreed to this.

David: Okay. So I feel like that's helpful to be like-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... that's what's happening. Go- uh, God and his people had a covenant. They've broken that covenant, and now God is saying, "Because you've broken that covenant, I'm gonna have a lawsuit against you, and here's going to be the punishment for breaking it."

Seth: Yeah, and here's, yeah, here's my, here's the evidence that you have done so.

David: Oh, right. The first part of a, of a-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... of a lawsuit is the evidence being brought and the charges.

Seth: And so the charge is, "So what is the transgression of Jacob?"

David: Uh-huh.

Seth: "Is it not Samaria?

David: Mm.

Seth: And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?"

David: That seems cryptic.

Seth: So it's a l- it, it seems a little cryptic, but, uh... And it is, kind of.

David: Yeah.

Seth: But it's-

David: Especially to us

Seth: ... but what he's saying is the-The, um, the sin of Israel-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... is wrapped up in its capital city, Samaria, and the sin of Judah is seen most clearly in its capital city, Jerusalem.

David: Mm.

Seth: So these two capital cities have become like the dens of sin for the nation, and the problems within the capital are representative of everything else that's happening.

David: Ah.

Seth: Does that make sense?

David: It does. That's not what I thought it meant.

Seth: And there's-

David: [laughs]

Seth: ... there's more.

David: Okay.

Seth: Um, so like, so that's what's... that's on like a broadest level.

David: Okay. Yeah

Seth: But like Samaria was also where the two golden calves were set up.

David: Right. Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

Seth: And there was an idolat- uh, where idolatry was central.

David: Yeah

Seth: It's where like the idolatry flowed from Samaria to the rest of Israel.

David: Right. So it's like, what's the sin of Jacob or what's the sin of Israel? It's idolatry.

Seth: Yes.

David: And then the high place of Judah, the high places are often what-

Seth: Are-

David: ... the prophets referred to as the places of false worship.

Seth: Yeah, they would be the temples.

David: Yeah.

Seth: If you go to most other countries-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... all the little hillsides will have temples on them-

David: Right

Seth: ... because that's where the gods meet

David: And, and, and God's temple was on a hilltop.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: But what he seems to be saying is, "What's your sin? Idolatry. And where do you worship those idols? In my temple in Jerusalem."

Seth: That-

David: Is that what he's saying?

Seth: He is saying that.

David: That's so intense. [laughs]

Seth: And I think even that is true, but it's also Jerusalem itself has become an idol.

David: Mm.

Seth: The nation itself has become an idol.

David: Right. I mean, I mean, in all of their wealth, and their security, and their walls, and their borders-

Seth: Mm

David: ... they feel secure and self-sufficient.

Seth: Right.

David: Okay.

Seth: Um, the other prophets, Micah will multiple times criticize Israel for their reliance on other nations-

David: Yes

Seth: ... to prop up their own nationhood-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... or their reliance on military power to remain in power themselves.

David: Right.

Seth: So there is a sense-

David: I mean, yeah, this story, I mean, the story of Hezekiah is like a perfect example.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And we'll get to, we'll get to that.

David: Yeah.

Seth: So like, it's not just that idolatry was happening within Jerusalem, and it was. Jerusalem was supposed to be the high place for God, the high mountain where God would dwell and be-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... with his people, and they put other idols in it. Uh, the kings before Hezekiah would actually place copies of other na- the Assyrian gods and place them inside Jerusalem.

David: Oh my gosh.

Seth: They did this. It's-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... not a good thing.

David: That's bad.

Seth: But also, I think Israel itself has become an idol. Like, the preservation of Israel alone-

David: Mm

Seth: ... has become more important than following God's law.

David: I understand.

Seth: Is that right? Does that make sense?

David: Yeah, yeah. The nation itself, rather than the God who founded it, has become their priority.

Seth: Yes.

David: Yeah, that makes sense. Like, uh, yeah, kind of like a, a national pride over a theological pride.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Like, yeah.

Seth: I think.

David: Okay.

Seth: So that's going on in the background, too.

David: Okay.

Seth: So that's the, that's the opening salvo, the evidence.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Your na- your capital's become centers of idolatry and pi- and, uh, idolatrous nationalism.

David: Okay. So that's the, that's the charge against-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... against, uh, Israel that the, the all-powerful presiding God judge has brought against them.

Seth: Right.

David: Uh, so what's the sentence then?

Seth: "Therefore, I will make Samaria a heap in the open country, and, uh, all her carved images shall be beaten to pieces." And that happened when, uh, Shalmaneser in, um, uh, Se- 2 Kings 17 comes in and destroys Samaria.

David: I'm pretty sure Shalmaneser is a Pokémon. [laughs]

Seth: [laughs] Doesn't it sound like a Pokémon?

David: I'm sorry.

Seth: I would try to actually think of like, there is a Pokémon na- something like that, uh, but I forget the name.

David: Anyway.

Seth: Anyway, Shalmaneser-

David: More very sober-

Seth: Shalmaneser used ember and burned down all the [laughs] police flamethrower-

David: I'm sorry, everyone

Seth: ... and burned down all the idols.

David: That was my fault.

Seth: Um-

David: But yes

Seth: ... that actually happened.

David: It's recor-

Seth: Very sad moment, actually

David: ... it's recorded in scripture, uh, 2 Kings 17.

Seth: Yeah.

David: 2 Kings 18 makes reference to it as well.

Seth: Okay.

David: Um, it actually happened.

Seth: "All her wages shall be burned with fire, and all her idols will lay waste." This goes back to your idea. What's the central sin of Samaria?

David: Mm.

Seth: It's, it's idolatry.

David: Right.

Seth: And it's all gonna be burned to the ground.

David: Okay. So like in, in their judgment, not only is God judging the people, he's also showing that he is actually the true God over the idols.

Seth: Yes.

David: Like he's-

Seth: And-

David: ... judging them, too

Seth: ... it's interesting that he never mentions the people.

David: Oh.

Seth: He only-

David: He talks about the land-

Seth: And the idols

David: ... and the idols. Mm.

Seth: Because one of the hopes throughout Micah-

David: Is a remnant

Seth: ... is a remnant, a people within the land that will have been, have remained faithful and will constant new people of God on their side.

David: Seth.

Seth: Yes.

David: Is this one of your hints?

Seth: Is this one of my hints?

David: Is this one of your...

Seth: It could be one of my hints.

David: Is one of your, your hope hints?

Seth: It's one of my hope hints.

David: This has been Seth's hope hints. [laughs]

Seth: [laughs] In the book of Micah.

David: In the book of Micah. Uh, okay, that's cool. Um, and then-

Seth: Yeah. And then there's... Yeah, and then-

David: I just love this little line at the end of seven

Seth: ... it's a really fun line. [laughs]

David: Is it? [laughs] Is it fun?

Seth: Well, whenever the Bible talks about prostitutes, and you're, grow up in the evangelical subculture-

David: You always feel like you-

Seth: ... you just jump on it [laughs]

David: ... 'cause you're just like-

Seth: You just-

David: ... we get to talk about this

Seth: ... [laughs] yes.

David: Uh, okay. So it's talking about their idols being laid to waste, and it says, "For from the fee of a prostitute, she gathered them, and to the fee of a prostitute, they shall return."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: I mean, I think what's basically happening, happening here is they're saying, okay, these idols are really expensive to build. Like, they're often made of precious metals-

Seth: Mm

David: ... gold, all that kind of stuff, and the way that they afforded the construction of these expensive idols was through cult prostitution-

Seth: Oh, yep

David: ... where they would set up idols to fake gods.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Right? And they would say, "Come sleep with our prostitutes in this temple. Pay us to do that, and then we'll use that money to build golden idols."

Seth: Yeah.

David: Okay, that's horrible. And then-

Seth: Yeah. [laughs]

David: ... and then the Assyrians are gonna come in. They're going to steal your gold idols, break them down into gold coins, and then they're going to use that gold to go pay for more cult prostitutes. And yeah.

Seth: Like, what?

David: And-

Seth: It's such a b- cycle of brokenness

David: ... and it's getting exactly what they deserveOh, yeah, okay

Seth: It's like they're an eye for an eye

David: Yeah

Seth: It's like-

David: Yeah, complete perfect justice

Seth: And this would probably be a little hard to prove explicitly, but the exile would have meant that many women would have probably been stolen by Assyria-

David: Mm

Seth: ... to be the cult prostitutes in their own temples.

David: Yeah

Seth: So that, that cycle of exploitation that Israel was a part of is done back to them.

David: I see.

Seth: It's-

David: In their, in Israel's power, they possibly... Or no, they, they would have-

Seth: They did

David: ... they would have been exploiting women into some form of sex trafficking-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... in order to make them become cult prostitutes.

Seth: Yeah

David: And now their own people will be sold as cult prostitutes.

Seth: That's also happening.

David: Ugh.

Seth: So [laughs] there's just, there's-

David: Gosh

Seth: ... it's an intense, and it's intense prophecy. And then, and Micah responds appropriately.

David: Mm.

Seth: He laments.

David: Yeah.

Seth: He wails, he weeps. This sh- f- uh, "I will go stripped and naked. I will make lamentation like the jackals and mourning like the ostriches."

David: Yeah.

Seth: He's like, he's heartbroken over the na- the fate of his-

David: He's not gloating

Seth: ... own people. No.

David: He, yeah, yeah. Um-

Seth: Um.

David: Man, that's so intense

Seth: ... her wound is incurable.

David: Yeah

Seth: And it's come to Judah. So that all happened in Samaria and Israel in the north.

David: Yeah

Seth: And like a septic-like wound, it's spreading to the south.

David: It's, it's interesting to, to hear the Bible talk about an incurable wound.

Seth: Okay. Why?

David: I mean, the Bible always has hope. You know, like-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... so to talk about a moment in Israel's history where the land, and, you know, it couldn't be saved.

Seth: Yeah

David: It was in- it was incurable. It was inevitable. You know, and like we get that all throughout-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... the prophets, throughout Kings. I mean, we can hang our hat on the fact that God-

Seth: Mm

David: ... communicated the inevitability-

Seth: Mm

David: ... of Israel's destruction because of their sin. And it's just like-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... I, I, I don't know. It's a sobering fact that the Bible contains inevitable judgment.

Seth: Right. And we talked about this back when we talked about Kings.

David: Mm.

Seth: And part of the reason is, for that is that resurrection only comes after death.

David: That's right. And that's Micah's point, too.

Seth: And that's Micah's point.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Like, Israel must die so that it might resurrect.

David: Yes.

Seth: The nation must die so that a remnant can build a new nation.

David: The wound must run its course so that the infection can die-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... and new life can be raised up.

Seth: That's exactly right.

David: Okay. [laughs]

Seth: Um, and that has reached the gate of Jerusalem, that sepsis, that, that septic wound-

David: Mm

Seth: ... has come now from the north of Israel where it started-

David: To the center of Israel's heart

Seth: ... to, to Jerusalem itself.

David: Okay

Seth: Um, now this is interesting-

David: Uh

Seth: ... because you could talk about that as political idolatry. Um, like, right, like, uh, you can say not political idolatry, but idolatry itself.

David: Mm.

Seth: The idolatrous sepsis, the idol- idolatrous, um-

David: Yeah, infection

Seth: ... disease-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... infection has spread. But it's also the idea th- the wound could also be what's inflicted by Assyria when it comes and destroys-

David: Oh, right

Seth: ... Samaria.

David: Yes, the wound that has started to bleed in the Northern Kingdom by the sword of Assyria, the physical wounds that they're creating-

Seth: Right

David: ... is now marching toward the gates of Jerusalem to destroy them.

Seth: Which is exactly what-

David: What's going to happen

Seth: ... what's going to happen. Um-

David: Yeah. They come to Hezekiah's gate-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... uh, during the re- during the prophecy of Micah, and they're about to conquer him.

Seth: Yeah. So what happens next then? So this happened in the Israel and north.

David: Yeah

Seth: Now Micah prophesies against Judah in the south and says a number of cities that will be overthrown by a coming force-

David: Okay

Seth: ... that we know is Assyria.

David: Yeah

Seth: He says, "Tell it not in Gath, weep it not in Beth-le-haaphrah." And he goes on, "In Shaphir, in Zenan," and he names-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... all these cities. So you're gonna get to this point as you're reading your Bible, and you're like, "Why?"

David: Why?

Seth: "Why?"

David: Yeah.

Seth: Why so many things? Uh, well, one, you should know they're all plays on words.

David: They're all puns.

Seth: They're all puns.

David: Yeah

Seth: Um, and he's... So l- so let's just go through a couple of the puns.

David: Yeah. Well, uh, and like, let me set up this.

Seth: Yeah.

David: I love what one commentator said about, like, just describing what this would have felt like to read. He says, "The regularly occurring alliteration, the rapid shift from one locality to another, images juxtaposed in opposition to one another, along with imperatives and parallels all give the song a dynamic and dramatic effect. One feels the excitement before the dreaded march of the enemy."

Seth: Mm.

David: Like, that's just what it feels like. It's like the-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... like, this just hyped up, like-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... I don't know, just like-

Seth: Drumbeat of-

David: Drumbeat of-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... uh, yeah. So anyway, all these puns. Yeah, the first one is, "Tell it not in Gath. Weep not at all." In Hebrew, those two lines sound very similar. So-

Seth: So

David: ... and so, like, uh, if... A- and the point, to, to be, to be clear, the point here is also th- uh, is probably that this is not supposed to be a gloating occasion.

Seth: Yeah

David: To like, to, to not gloat, 'cause then the next line is going to be, um, roll yourselves in the dust. You know?

Seth: Yeah, yeah.

David: But anyway, um-

Seth: But the point is, like, you are getting what you deserve.

David: Right

Seth: What you se- yeah, you're getting what you deserve.

David: Yeah.

Seth: So don't-

David: There's, there's no need to cry about it, because-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... you deserve it. But anyway, the, the, the weep not, tell it not in Gath, weep not at all sounds the same in, uh, in Hebrew, those two lines.

Seth: Yeah

David: And like, I tried-

Seth: To do

David: ... I tried to do one, and no offense to the country I chose.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Okay? But it would be like, "The Dominican, don't cry for them." You know-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... it kinda has that same feeling to the-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... to the two lines. And then there's, like, the, you said it so well-

Seth: The-

David: ... Beth-le-haaphrah.

Seth: Yeah, Beth-le-haaphrah means-

David: It means-

Seth: ... dust town.

David: Yeah, house of dust

Seth: And so they'll turn to rubble.

David: Right.

Seth: Uh-

David: They're, the house of dust will roll in the dust.

Seth: Yep.

David: Yeah.

Seth: "Pass on your way, inhabitants of Shaphir."

David: Which means beauty town.

Seth: And so, uh, the h- I w- I wrote a line for this one-

David: Oh, did you?

Seth: ... which was like, "Shaphir means beautiful, so Micah warns the beautiful town will be stripped naked for the pleasure of her enemies."

David: Yeah

Seth: That's, that's-

David: I just said all the inhabitants of beauty town will be ugly. [laughs]Uh, yeah, Za- Zaanan

Seth: Zaanan

David: Zaanan means, uh, the going forth town, the f- the town that goes out.

Seth: Yeah, and they will not come out.

David: They will not come out. [laughs]

Seth: Um, I think the implication there is that they were known for military courage-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... and going out was a symbol of war.

David: That's right.

Seth: So the militar- the militarily advan- the military, like, proud town-

David: Yep

Seth: ... they're not brave anymore.

David: That's right.

Seth: They're, they're the town of Beth-Az-

David: Yeah, the, the NRA will have no guns.

Seth: Yeah. That's right.

David: That would be-

Seth: That's like-

David: ... the feel

Seth: ... the lamentation of Beth-Azal, which means the taken away town.

David: Mm.

Seth: Well, it'll be taken away. [laughs]

David: [laughs]

Seth: It's like, it's-

David: You guys, you get it.

Seth: You get it.

David: You guys get it.

Seth: The, the interesting one for me is the one Lachish.

David: Mm.

Seth: It gets four, uh, six lines rather than just two like all the other ones, and it says this, "Harness the steeds to the chariots-

David: Mm

Seth: ... inhabitants of Lachish. It is the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion, for in you were found the transgression of Israel."

David: Ah.

Seth: So this one's a really important town. Uh, one, it was one of the chariot cities built by King Solomon, so 1 Kings 9:19, 10:26.

David: One of the what cities?

Seth: Chariot cities.

David: Oh.

Seth: They represented the biggest investment in Israel's military infrastructure during the reign of King Solomon.

David: What's a chariot city?

Seth: It was built to-

David: Make chariots?

Seth: It was built to make chariots-

David: Oh, okay

Seth: ... and develop weapons of war.

David: Oh.

Seth: So-

David: So it's like Fort Sill or some-

Seth: Yeah, it's like-

David: Or, uh, what's the big, Tinker Air Force Base-

Seth: Tinker

David: ... here in Oklahoma City.

Seth: Um, yeah. There's a, there's a, I think the, uh, not Ardmore. No, there's a, Anadarko. They, they make tanks down there.

David: Oh, gosh.

Seth: Like, you know, it's, like, something like that.

David: Does Anadarko mean maker of tanks?

Seth: I wish. [laughs]

David: Because that would be great.

Seth: That would be great. But the, the idea i- and so they said that's the beginning of Israel's sin.

David: Right, was when Solomon started to depend on the strength of chariots-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... instead of God.

Seth: That's right.

David: Yeah.

Seth: So, um, and it was one, it's the city that, uh, King Sennacherib overtakes in first K- 2 Kings 18-

David: Mm

Seth: ... and sends delegates to Jerusalem from to say, "We're gonna come beat you down. Surrender."

David: Yeah, he's like, "We took your chariot city."

Seth: "We took, we took the strongest city. We took the military stronghold of the land."

David: "We took the military base."

Seth: Yeah. [laughs]

David: Yeah, you, you-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... you, you have no chance.

Seth: We took all your tanks.

David: Yeah. [laughs]

Seth: [laughs] You, you can't, you can't win anymore.

David: Yeah. Okay.

Seth: So-

David: So he's going through all these punny-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... ironic judgments of all these different towns that the Assyrians are going to come and, and overtake. Um, and so then he tells them to basically mourn?

Seth: He does, yeah, and I, uh, he tells them to mourn, to shave their heads to, to mourn because their destruction is inevitable. They will get what's coming to them. The, they said that they would accept this punishment.

David: Mm.

Seth: They've sinned like they said they wouldn't do, so the punishment is coming.

David: Okay. So we've gone through the, the court case, like, the courtroom-

Seth: Mm

David: ... and why there is a court case at all with the covenant-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... and the making of the people. We've talked about the judge entering the chambers to bring a charge against them. Now we've talked about the, the charge itself.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Um, and then we've talked about the punishment because of the, of the, of the charge, and I think am I right in thinking chapter two is evidence?

Seth: Um, yes.

David: Like witnesses? Like calling witnesses to the stand?

Seth: Yeah, it's, it's specific witnesses.

David: Okay.

Seth: Yeah, that's right. I think the, or evidence. I, I think that's probably the best way to say it.

David: Okay.

Seth: Um, can I give you one more fact?

David: Ooh, yeah.

Seth: So that phrase, "Tell it not in Gath," that starts it, starts this little, like, diatribe-

David: Yes

Seth: ... against all the city-states, and then it ends with this reference to Adullam.

David: Oh, yes.

Seth: So those are there for a specific reason. So tell it not in Gath, the other time that shows up in scripture is 2 Samuel 1:10.

David: Is this the story of Absalom?

Seth: It's a story when, no, when Jonathan and Saul die-

David: Oh

Seth: ... in battle with the Philistines.

David: Oh.

Seth: And when David is giving their eulogy-

David: Mm

Seth: ... he tells Gath, which is a Philistine town-

David: Yes

Seth: ... not to rejoice for Israel's, the, the falling of Israel's first king.

David: Right, yeah.

Seth: And then Adullam was a place where, uh, David fled from Saul-

David: Mm

Seth: ... in the first place, and it's where he built up his mighty men, and that's where he began his military campaign. So what's interesting about this is that Micah is recalling the fall of Israel's first monarch as the f- kingdom of Israel is falling.

David: Mm.

Seth: So it's another, like, irony.

David: Whoa.

Seth: And the, but secondly, it's another hidden-

David: Hope

Seth: ... piece of hope.

David: This has been-

Seth: [laughs]

David: ... Sense, Hope Hints.

Seth: It, it- [laughs]

David: Number two.

Seth: Hope hints that Israel will flee to Adullam-

David: Mm

Seth: ... like David fled to Adullam, and-

David: But it was from there

Seth: ... that he launched his campaign and was able to, like, he gathered his mighty men. A remnant of people came that were des- like, destitute-

David: Okay

Seth: ... and downtrodden, and they ended up taking a new kingdom, bringing-

David: Amen

Seth: ... the kingdom of God. So-

David: That's really h- okay, can I say that again?

Seth: Yes.

David: Okay, 'cause this is a very confusing, kind of eye-glazy part of scripture for me.

Seth: Yeah.

David: All these names and-

Seth: Yeah, it took me a while to get it [laughs] too.

David: Yeah. Uh, so what you're saying is there's a, there's a broader story in these, and it starts off with an allusion to the story of Saul, when Saul died, and Saul was an, a, a, an unfit king to rule his people.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And so God brought him down in punishment, but it was in that time, uh, in Saul's downfall, that David went to Adullam-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... and rose up a mighty, fit king for Israel.

Seth: Mm.

David: And now what you're saying is this is going to happen now on a grander scale where Israel is now Saul. All of her is going to fall.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: But off in some unknown corner of the world, hence Bethlehem coming up later-

Seth: Yes

David: ... um, God will build up a mighty conqueror to come back into the land and be the final shepherd king, like David was-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... uh, that the people need.

Seth: Yes.

David: That's really cool.

Seth: [laughs]

David: That's really, really cool. Um-

Seth: There's hints of hope.

David: Hints of hope.

Seth: E- after judgment.

David: Okay. [outro music]Okay, so we have talked about the court case, um, against Israel, the first court case against Israel that Micah's prophesying about here, and we've talked about how God is going to come and melt the mountains like wax as the formidable Judge Judy. [laughs]

Seth: [laughs]

David: I can't get that image out of my head now. Um, and he says that he's going to judge Israel for breaking the covenant. Uh, he's going to break their idols. He's going to conquer them with Assyria. Um, and there's little hint, hope hints.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Uh, how do we see Jesus in, in this as, like the c-

Seth: Oh

David: ... the coming mountain-melting God-

Seth: Right

David: ... bringing a covenant lawsuit against his people?

Seth: Well, God shows up again on a mountain in Jesus.

David: Yes.

Seth: The Mount of Transfiguration.

David: Right.

Seth: Jesus-

David: And he shows up in all his glory and power.

Seth: Fire and, like, like all-

David: Mm

Seth: ... that same image.

David: And he puts the head of the law, Moses, next to him-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... the covenant maker-

Seth: And

David: ... and the head of the prophets, Elijah, next to him-

Seth: Right

David: ... representing everybody, including Micah.

Seth: And what does he come to do? He's come to make a new creation, make a new kingdom.

David: Mm.

Seth: Set, make, to establish a new nation from the remnant of the old one.

David: Yeah.

Seth: You ha- he has his 12 disciples representing the twe- the remnant-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... of the 12 tribes of Israel.

David: Yeah.

Seth: He comes from Bethlehem, which is a prophecy also in-

David: Yep

Seth: ... in-

David: In Micah

Seth: ... in Micah. And he establishes in himself a new humanity and a new kingdom to do justice where Israel failed to do it-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... and to bless the world in a way that God, it, that, that Israel failed, failed to do.

David: So say, see if I can say it another way.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Uh, so, like... 'Cause I'm, uh, well, here, okay, here's what I heard.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And it's, I, it sounds good, but I'm also trying to be like, is that, are we subverting Micah in doing this?

Seth: Okay.

David: But it's like, you know, God shows up in Micah's day.

Seth: [laughs]

David: Uh, and when God shows up as a judge, it's mountain-melting judgment.

Seth: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

David: When Jesus shows up in mountain-melting glory, it's all hope.

Seth: It's not.

David: Okay.

Seth: Because what has Jesus come to do? Not one stone will be left on top of another in Jerusalem's temple.

David: Oh, that's right. He prophesies the final end-

Seth: Right

David: ... of Israel's temple.

Seth: And just like it happened in Micah's day with the Assyrian army, it happens in AD 70 with Rome's army.

David: Right.

Seth: Jesus is still the mountain-melting judge. He melts the high place of Israel, which was Jerusalem-

David: Mm

Seth: ... a monument to its own, like, false, everything false about th- th- that-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... their, their trust in themselves, their trust in their self-righteousness, the, the-

David: The national pride

Seth: ... the national pride.

David: Yeah.

Seth: All that dies w-

David: In the temple of Jerusalem

Seth: ... the unjust system. Yeah.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Right there.

David: I mean, and Jesus, like Micah, wept over Jerusalem.

Seth: He does.

David: He, you know, "How I weep for you, Jerusalem-

Seth: Wow

David: ... would that you have turned," you know? [laughs] Like-

Seth: Right. The one who kills the prophets, yeah.

David: Yeah. Oh, okay. I get that.

Seth: Yep.

David: So okay, but-

Seth: Okay

David: ... how's that good news, though?

Seth: So okay.

David: Yeah. [laughs]

Seth: So I think it's difficult for us to wrap our minds around. Like, it's good news because there's one sense of, like, good news, like the gospel applied to us and Jesus' death on the cross, and we are with God forever. I think there's, like, a piece of good news I'm trying to, like, wrap my he- head around more-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... is, like, this new common mission that will inevitably be accomplished. Israel was supposed to bless the world.

David: Right.

Seth: That was-

David: And that was the point of the covenant

Seth: ... that was the point of the covenant.

David: Okay.

Seth: And by their obeying the law, the world would be blessed, and all the world would come to know God, and justice would reign forever, and injustice would end. And now I've been given that same mission that Israel had.

David: Mm.

Seth: And I know I will not fall prey to the same injustice, provided I trust Jesus to obey the law on my behalf but fill me with the ability to obey the law. He's, he's abolished the old systems-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... the old ways of, uh, relating to God that were s- I mean, I, I... It's complicated 'cause he hasn't come yet, right?

David: Right, right. [laughs]

Seth: But, like, I've been given the good news of a new commission to bless the world.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: The Great Commission is go to all the world and preach the, the good news-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... that Jesus has come. Like, I'm, I'm trying to, like, live into that new national mission that Israel had-

David: Right

Seth: ... that is promised to be restored. The news is a new king will come.

David: Yeah.

Seth: A new shepherd king will come. A new nation will be established. New remnant will be there, and we get to live with God as a new creation to bring justice to a world that's full of injustice.

David: Yeah. I mean, okay, to play with that a little bit-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... I mean, in a sense, when, when another, when God came again after Jesus's death and resurrection, um, when God came again in fire and in power and in, to some people's response, terror-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... it was the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Like, when he comes out of his temple, like he's described-

Seth: Right, right, right

David: ... as doing in verse three of chapter one, he comes to dwell in us as his new temple-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... to make us the new priests of a new and better covenant to do this, you know, work of a new creation you've been talking about.

Seth: Yeah.

David: To bring justice and-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... and overturn injustice in the world, and then, like, tying that in with this promise of a new, um... What's the name of that city? Adullam or-

Seth: Uh, A- which one? Adullam is one of the cities. [laughs]

David: Yeah, Adullam, where David raised up his mighty men.

Seth: Oh, yeah.

David: Where it's like, well, if Jesus is the new David, the new conqueror who goes to the city to raise up his mighty men, well, that's us. Like, the church-

Seth: Right. We're the new mighty men of God

David: ... are the mighty men of God.

Seth: Mighty men and women of God.

David: Of God.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Going out into the world to, like, save them from, uh, the encroaching tyranny coming against them, but also from the injustice that is endemic with inside, in- inside it, the incurable wound.

Seth: Yeah. Yeah.

David: We have a cure for the incurable wound.

Seth: Yes.

David: Yeah. That's all good news.

Seth: That's all good news.

David: Yeah. Um, okay.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Okay.

Seth: Okay.

David: Does that slake your desire for good news? [laughs]

Seth: I think so. I think so.

David: It's never slaked.

Seth: It's never slaked. I need more.

David: I need, always need more good news. Okay, so then chapter two-Right? Chapter two-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... we've said is kind of the evidence or the witnesses-

Seth: Mm

David: ... being called up in the court case. We're going to hear, not, 'cause like so far we've kind of heard like broad strokes, "You've broken the covenant."

Seth: Yep.

David: "And you're done for."

Seth: You, idolatry-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... injustice.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Yeah, yeah.

David: But it's like, okay, can we get some specifics though? Like, you know, like you can't just be like, "So for one account of murder," you know?

Seth: Right.

David: It's like, well, who did you murder?

Seth: Yep.

David: You know? It's like we're gonna get some of the specifics here.

Seth: Well, and actually, as I, I say injustice, injustice is really included in the second... Oh, we have the, the, the trust in military in verse 13 in Micah one, and then we also have idolatry-

David: Yep

Seth: ... in Micah 1:7. And here in chapter two, we basically get a condemnation of Israel's leadership-

David: Mm

Seth: ... the kings and the prophets-

David: Okay

Seth: ... uh, in particular, and the ways the kings and prophets have subverted justice to their own ends and are inviting, are, are complicit or inviting the dest- God's destruction against Israel.

David: Okay. Okay. So he comes against them and says, "Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds. When the morning dawns, they perform it because it is in the power of their hand."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: It's like so interesting that most of, most evil people would do their work in the shadows.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: You know, when the night sets-

Seth: Oh, yeah

David: ... that's when you do your work. Um, and when the day, when the day dawns, in, uh, in this time period, um, it was at daybreak that court cases were heard, was at daybreak.

Seth: Mm.

David: Was to, 'cause it was a physical symbol of-

Seth: Right

David: ... the deeds of the dark being exposed.

Seth: Interesting.

David: So it's at sunrise that these, that, that court cases would be heard.

Seth: That's so cool. I didn't know that.

David: And so it's like, but in Israel-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... when the, when the day dawns, the judges are actually performing the evil that they should be judging.

Seth: Interesting.

David: So it's like they're shameless and do their acts open, openly in midday.

Seth: Yeah. They spend all night planning their evil deeds.

David: Exactly.

Seth: And then-

David: And they get up at daybreak, and instead of performing justice in the courts, they subvert justice in the courts.

Seth: Yeah. They covet and they covet fields and seize them, and houses and take them away-

David: Yes

Seth: ... and oppress a man for his house and a man for his inheritance. I think this might be a nod to Naboth's vineyard story-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... in I Kings 21.

David: Definitely.

Seth: It's when King Ahab steals a man's vineyard 'cause he wants it.

David: Yep, he coveted it.

Seth: He, he coveted it, plans with his wife overnight to make it happen, and then the next morning they, they do exactly this.

David: Yep.

Seth: They take a man's inheritance from him, um, and steal it for themselves.

David: Yeah. And this is like re- th- that's an offensive story even just to modern ears, right? Like-

Seth: Right

David: ... just to go steal some dude's place for no reason.

Seth: A king who has all the wealth of a kingdom-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... wants a vineyard near his palace-

David: Right

Seth: ... and so he murders a man to get it.

David: Horrible.

Seth: It's an abuse of power.

David: Yeah.

Seth: It's everything wrong.

David: But there's another layer of the covenant that is, makes this all the more scandalous.

Seth: Okay.

David: And it's going to lean back into when we talked about the fee of the prostitute.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: It's going to lean back more, in- into, like, the eye for an eye justice of God.

Seth: Okay.

David: So the, so much of the law talks about the land-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... and how God portioned out the land for each tribe and each family, and once those boundaries have been set, it's been a generous portion giving to-

Seth: Mm

David: ... given to your, your tribe, your clan, your family.

Seth: Yep.

David: And you stay in there, and that land passes-

Seth: Right

David: ... down through your ancestors so that no one will ever be without a plenteous place to live. It was this perfect economy.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Kind of almost utopian in a sense.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Not in like, I'm not trying to make a statement with that-

Seth: Right

David: ... or anything, but it's just like-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... and, and to, to barely budge your neighbor's boundary markers, like to move your neighbor's fence a little bit, you know, like a, like if, like-

Seth: Yeah, yeah. There's all those weird laws about that.

David: Yeah. Like, if, if, like, we're, we're gonna, we're about to replace our backyard fence, and-

Seth: Oh, you've had all those.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And it's like, you know, there's a boundary marker, and if I was to put my fence like two inches-

Seth: Right

David: ... over that boundary marker, no one would probably know.

Seth: Right.

David: But God would be furious if I lived in Israel.

Seth: 'Cause he was the one who was distributing the land.

David: He put it there, and it was good and just for him to give those two inches to my neighbor instead of me.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so for Israel's, Israelites to take land from other Israelites-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... is to spit in God's face, to overturn the reason he gave them the land-

Seth: Mm

David: ... to overturn the fact that it was a free gift. [laughs]

Seth: Yeah.

David: Like, it's just so scandalous.

Seth: It's also scandalous the fact that it's the king.

David: Oh, yeah.

Seth: The king is supposed to enforce the laws of the land.

David: Mm.

Seth: It, Deuteronomy-

David: Where do, can, where do, where do you see that this is the king?

Seth: Well, the king ha- we, it, there's no reference to the king.

David: Okay.

Seth: But it's to a leader within Israel who-

David: Is that because of Micah's role that we're assuming that?

Seth: Yeah. It would be Micah's role. He specifically mentions the prophets here in a second.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: And so the, they covet fields and seize them, or the leaders covet fields and seize them, or the, the, the, the kingly house. And also in Micah 6 we have a reference to King Ahab.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: So, like, it seems-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... fair to say-

David: Right

Seth: ... that it's the kings. Um, and-

David: It's at least the leaders.

Seth: It's the leaders.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Uh, some pe- uh, the one commentator just called them the wealthy land barons.

David: Oh, gosh. [laughs]

Seth: Uh, they were just, like, gobbling up whatever land they could.

David: Okay.

Seth: It's, it's the, the, the elite 1%-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... of Israel.

David: Right. And so these leaders are taking the land. It's even worse. And, yeah.

Seth: Because they were supposed to protect. They were supposed to memorize God's law-

David: Yes

Seth: ... and enforce the justice that God-

David: Right

Seth: ... had set up. Instead, they're abusing it for their own ends.

David: Yeah. And so we're, we'll get to, like, the, the point, or no, we've already talked about the sentence then-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... is that they'll be kicked out of the land.

Seth: That's right.

David: And so, like, that's the eye for an eye punishment there-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... where it's like, oh, you want all the land for yourself? You will have none of the land.

Seth: Yeah. Verse five says, "To an apostate, he allots our fields. Therefore, you will have none to cast the line by lot in the assembly of the Lord."

David: Yeah.

Seth: So this is a s- pretty loaded phrase.

David: It is.

Seth: But one, to an apostate, he allots our lands, that's probably a reference to Jezebel.

David: Mm.

Seth: Jezebel was the, not an Israelite.

David: Nope.

Seth: She, was she a Syrian? I, I forget.

David: I don't, I don't remember.

Seth: Or Egyptian. She, she was not an Israelite.

David: Yeah.

Seth: But because she inherits-

David: ... land that was so- when Ahab dies-

Seth: Right

David: ... she inherits all of his land. She now owned as a, as a, owns Israel's land-

Seth: Mm

David: ... contrary to God's intention, contrary to the justice for God's people. And then because Israel has allowed this, God will no longer divide and apportion the land as he promised he would.

Seth: Right.

David: Joshua 12, God divides the land up by lots.

Seth: Yes.

David: And he, like, apportions the land justly-

Seth: Right

David: ... depending on size-

Seth: Yep

David: ... of the people, and now he's saying, "I'll no longer do that. I'll let injustice rule-

Seth: Mm

David: ... since you've decided to let that be the way that you-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... govern the lands."

Seth: I, uh, my commentator even said that verse five, this assembly of the Lord-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... is eschatological, that it's-

David: Oh

Seth: ... when we come back in to convene, um, none of the apostate will get a lot of land.

David: Oh, so this is hope.

Seth: This could be a hope portion for the remnant-

David: Interesting

Seth: ... that the remnant will come back into the land, and they will have land.

David: Oh, yes.

Seth: But there will be no lots appointed for the apostates.

David: That's right. That is, this is one of my hope hints.

Seth: Okay.

David: This is a Seth's third hope hint.

Seth: Yeah, so the, the, the judgment is, like, you'll get what you deserve.

David: Yes.

Seth: God will not apportion the land anymore. Or will he?

David: Or will he?

Seth: Or will he?

David: Yes.

Seth: Is it that the, only the apostate will no longer-

David: Right

Seth: ... have the field, but all God's true remnant will receive-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... uh, the land?

David: That's cool.

Seth: It's a, it's a hope hint.

David: Hope hint.

Seth: Hope hint. Um-

David: I like Seth's hope hints.

Seth: Um-

David: Could be our third hope hint

Seth: ... I almost forgot about that one, though. [laughs] Hope hints.

David: The hope hints.

Seth: I almost, I did almost forget about that one.

David: We need, like, a sound effect that plays whenever we have a Seth's hope hint.

Seth: There's an interesting dynamic to the i- uh, there's an interesting idea here where, like, God perfectly apportions, like, gives out and divides the land to who it's-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... belongs to.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And I c- I, I thought about this the other day when I was talking to a friend of mine, not you.

David: Oh, I have other friends?

Seth: I have other friends, David.

David: I feel scandalized. [laughs]

Seth: Um, but it was like, we were reading something in the news about, like, Native American land-

David: Oh, yeah

Seth: ... and, you know, the, America coming in and taking that land, but then also thinking about, well, oftentimes the Native Americans took that land from other Native American tribes, and those Native American tribes took it from other Native American tribes. So when God comes back, who gets the land?

David: Right.

Seth: Like, who owns it?

David: Any, any, anywhere in the world.

Seth: Anywhere in the world. And now-

David: All, yeah. Yeah

Seth: ... and, and now a corporation owns it. And, you know, like-

David: Right

Seth: ... it's like, who really owns the land?

David: Mm.

Seth: And what is a just allocation of a land given to a people?

David: I mean, that is a sticky subject.

Seth: Right.

David: Only God could, could pull that apart.

Seth: Exactly, and I feel that tension now-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... removed from-

David: Whoa

Seth: ... like, a sense of, like, that, of like, man, I want justice to be done in the allocation of land.

David: That helps.

Seth: Right?

David: Yeah. That, the Native American thing helps 'cause I'm like, even when you're talking about it, I'm like, "Just give it back."

Seth: Right.

David: Like, I'm just like [laughs] but it's like-

Seth: Right

David: ... yeah, I get your point, and I'm just like, that helps it hit home a little bit closer. I mean, we live in Oklahoma.

Seth: We live in Oklahoma, yeah.

David: This is, like, where the Trail of Tears ended. You know? Like [laughs] it's just-

Seth: Yeah.

David: We've got a lot of Native American land baggage here, and we've done a lot of wrong here. Or the, or, you know-

Seth: Yeah, and it's-

David: ... the origin for us

Seth: ... and I think it's interesting that the way land is allocated now-

David: Mm

Seth: ... is always by force.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Who's stronger?

David: Right.

Seth: That's the only way a land is allocated, and we have grown accustomed to land being annexed by force. And like, well, how else could we determine?

David: Think about it in terms of g- gentrification, too.

Seth: Yep.

David: Right?

Seth: That's exactly right.

David: Rent hikes that force-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... out lower income people to make room for new high-rises and fancier, like, buildings.

Seth: And the consolidation of wealth is one of the things Micah is criticizing-

David: Mm

Seth: ... Israel's leadership for.

David: Yeah.

Seth: So, like, those were-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... some helpful things for me. [laughs]

David: When the kingdom of heaven comes back, who gets queens?

Seth: Right.

David: Yeah. [laughs]

Seth: They're... Yes.

David: Yeah. [laughs]

Seth: So I was like, I actually s- I do need that.

David: Mm.

Seth: And I need a God who will come in and reallocate the land appropriately.

David: So to lean into that just a little bit more-

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah

David: ... about the good news of it-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... is do you know why? No, I mean, yes, God is equitable, he's just, he's fair. These are, the, the allocation and proportions of the land given to the people are expressions of God's good character, right?

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: But there's something deeper there and theological, I think, about why God did that and why God portioned the land.

Seth: Okay.

David: And the Torah tells us that it's because God is our portion.

Seth: Oh.

David: Like, the Levites, right, did not have a, a land portioned to them because God was their portion.

Seth: Mm.

David: And I think that they being the priestly class, and then now that all Christians are now called the priests-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... we are supposed to see God as our portion.

Seth: Mm.

David: And so it's like, and if, if the... I'm gonna get super technical for a second.

Seth: Yeah.

David: But it's like, if the 10-

Seth: David, by the way, wrote all the land allotment passages in Joshua [laughs]

David: I did, so... I did. Yeah. [laughs] If you go and read our Joshua devotionals where there's, like, 10 chapters of, "And this tribe gets this much land from this border to this border," David wrote five devotionals. [laughs]

Seth: This is why I have all these opinions. [laughs]

David: Um, but, uh, and then if you think about the temple as a picture of the world-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... um, in the new heavens and new earth, we're told that there is no longer any temple because Jesus Christ, it fills all in all.

Seth: Mm.

David: So that is literally the fulfillment of the Lord is our portion. So, like-

Seth: Ah

David: ... where will we live in the new heavens and the new earth? In Christ.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Yes, we'll live on a place, too, but that will not be our chief concern. It will-

Seth: Mm

David: ... it will not be-

Seth: We'll have, we'll have our inheritance of land through Jesus.

David: We'll have our inheritance. Yeah, uh, yeah, we'll have, we'll have our inherence, uh, uh, inheritance of land, but the reason it is good and fair and right that we have it is because Jesus is in it with us.

Seth: Mm.

David: Anyway, I just like-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... that's the good news in land allotments. [laughs]

Seth: Yeah. [laughs]

David: It's like, that ultimately when we are given a new and final land, regardless of your own personal history, if you've been gentrified out of your neighborhood, if you're, if you've been displaced, if, if you're-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... a refugee-

Seth: Right

David: ... or if you are the people Micah's talking to-

Seth: Right

David: ... and you've been displacing others, like, if, in Jesus-

Seth: Mm

David: ... in new heavens and new earth, you will have a-Perfectly apportioned land for yourself, and the reason it's perfect is because Jesus lives in it with you.

Seth: Yeah, it won't be based on how big it is-

David: No

Seth: ... or how beautiful it is-

David: No

Seth: ... or how, how close to the ocean it is-

David: Right

Seth: ... but because Jesus is there with you.

David: Yeah. Look, in the new heavens and new Earth, the real estate is all about location, location, location-

Seth: [laughs]

David: ... and all locations are in Christ. [laughs]

Seth: End the podcast right now.

David: Right now. [laughs]

Seth: Push pause.

David: Okay. All right. We gotta get onto the false prophets. Okay. So the, the... I don't know, who's speaking in verse six of chapter two?

Seth: Um, "Do not preach, thus they preach."

David: [laughs]

Seth: I think it's Micah's still preaching, and-

David: But who is he mocking?

Seth: He's mocking the court pre- uh, the court-

David: Prophets

Seth: ... prophets-

David: Okay. I thought so

Seth: ... who would've been aligning themselves with the, the, the political establishment.

David: I love this so much.

Seth: [laughs]

David: Um, another, like, Jeremiah does this kinda stuff, too, and it's hilarious every time. So, like, you can picture him. As you, if you go back to our last episode and, and, like, listen to us talking about Micah's role in the court-

Seth: Yes

David: ... of the king and among the other prophets, so you have all these prophets who have aligned themselves with the political powers in Israel, and they are usually just sycophantic yes-men-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... who just, you know, s- agree with whatever the king says. And-

Seth: Or defend the king to people and say nothing's wrong with what he's doing.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Which is what, which is what's about to happen in a couple chapters. [laughs]

David: Verses. [laughs] So just-

Seth: Just, just-

David: Teasing that.

Seth: Teasing that.

David: Yeah, but then you have this one real prophet comes in and starts saying, like, "Everything's not okay. This king's a tyrant, and we're all gonna die."

Seth: [laughs] Like, and then you can just see all the prophets around him be like, "Shut up, Micah." [laughs]

David: Shut up. We don't do that here.

Seth: We don't, this is not how we do our job. [laughs]

David: "Do not preach, thus they preach."

Seth: Preach. We get health benefits when we don't say that. [laughs] And then Micah is like, "Okay, guys. 'Don't preach like this,' that's what you guys are saying. One should not preach of such things. Disgrace will not overtake us."

David: That's their message.

Seth: And then this is really interesting.

David: Okay.

Seth: "Should this be said, O House of Jacob?"

David: Mm.

Seth: "Has the Lord grown impatient?" Who's saying those questions?

David: Yeah, I, I don't know.

Seth: It's the false prophets are saying this.

David: Oh.

Seth: So, so here's what the false prophets are saying. They said, "Micah, judgment's not coming."

David: Mm.

Seth: Why? Has God grown impatient with his people?

David: Is disgrace going to overtake us? No.

Seth: Hasn't God promised that we would be his chosen people forever?

David: Are these the kinds of things that God does?

Seth: And I'm like, and th- that is-

David: Ooh

Seth: ... that, that made me feel a little more sympathetic to-

David: "Do not my words do good to him who walks uprightly?"

Seth: And that's, I think, Micah speaking.

David: Oh, you think so?

Seth: Because it changes. "Are these his deeds?" And then Micah speaking for God says, "Do not my words do good to him who walks uprightly?"

David: Man, it could go either way.

Seth: It could go either way.

David: 'Cause it also could be the self-deluded prophets thinking, "We do walk uprightly."

Seth: Oh.

David: "We do live in the temple of the Lord. Like, we're safe here. God's words are good to us because we're his people." And then you have this, "But lately," in the next one.

Seth: Interesting.

David: Which could be... Anyway, it could go both ways.

Seth: It could go both ways, but the point here is the false teachers are banking on half of how God revealed himself-

David: Mm

Seth: ... on Mount Sinai. What did God say when he created the nation of Israel? That he would be his people forever, and he said, "I am slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and mercy."

David: Mm.

Seth: But what do they miss out? "I will by no means clear the guilty."

David: Right.

Seth: So they're, they're preaching half of the covenant.

David: Oof. They're quoting scripture.

Seth: They're quoting scripture.

David: [sighs]

Seth: And then Micah's saying, "There is another half that says you must do justice."

David: Mm.

Seth: "But lately, my people, God's people, have risen up as an enemy, and you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly with no thoughts of war." What he means is the people within Israel don't expect their own leaders to take advantage of them. The, when they live in Israel, they expect to be taken care of by their king-

David: Oh, right. Yeah

Seth: ... by their prophets. But you strip the rich robe-

David: Right

Seth: ... from people who don't expect you to do so.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: And then he goes on and says, "You steal the luxurious homes from the women of Israel, and you take away children's inheritance forever."

David: Mm.

Seth: Uh, this goes back to an un... There's a lot of wealth in Israel, a lot. No thought of war, rich robe, luxurious homes, the splendor of a children's inheritance. Israel has a lot of money, and during that time, Israel's pr- prophets and kings were consolidating that wealth in themselves-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... rather than doing what? Allocating it fairly according to justice.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Um, anyway.

David: Mm. Okay.

Seth: So-

David: So those are the, the charges against them.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Uh, oh, it's so intense.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Okay. Uh, I mean, what do we, where do we go from here?

Seth: Well, where Micah goes from it is-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... he says, "You have no place to rest because of the-

David: Oh

Seth: ... uncleanliness that destroys with a grievous destruction."

David: Boy. So he's saying what, the s- the destruction's th- that's coming, the exile that's coming, you've brought on yourself.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: That, like, you think that the accumulation of land, you know, 'cause the land God gave was a place of rest.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Right?

Seth: Yeah.

David: That was supposed to be the place of rest-

Seth: Mm-hmm. Yeah

David: ... was, you know, this land, and in a broken way, Israel's leaders are thinking, "Well, more land, more rest."

Seth: Mm.

David: And yet the more land they've acquired, Micah says, "There is no place of rest for you."

Seth: Mm. Yeah.

David: "And there's only destruction. There's no security. You think there's more security in wealth? There's no security in wealth. There's only destruction."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Um, and so, "Let me reveal to you your own idolatrous hearts. I'm going to-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... take away all your land and reveal to you-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... that you've never had any rest. I'm gonna take away all your security and wealth and realize that you'd never had any. You've only had destruction." Um, the punishment fits the crime.

Seth: That's right.

David: Again.

Seth: That's right.

David: Okay.

Seth: And then finally, he, but then he switches real fast in verse 12 to the-

David: Yes

Seth: ... most explicit offer of hope in the first two chapters.

David: Yeah, this is cool.

Seth: This is some cool stuff.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Here's the, here's the, here it is, Micah's prophecy of hope and full. "I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob. After judgment, I will assemble you, O Jacob. I will gather the remnant of Israel. I will set them together like sheep in a fold." Now, that passage, there's a whole bunch of parallels throughout scripture on that passage.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Jeremiah 23 talks about that. 1 Kings 22:17 talks about that.

David: Mm.

Seth: Like, there's a whole bunch of, like, parallels... is, uh, assyria will scatter Israel, but God will regather them-

David: Mm

Seth: ... in Israel. Or, um, like a flock in its pasture, a noisy multitude of men. And then he who opens up the breach, and I, the co- one of the translations I read, just the breaker will go up before them.

David: [laughs]

Seth: Break through and pass the gate, going out by it.

David: Mm.

Seth: And the king will pass on before them, the Lord at their head.

David: And that's the end of this lawsuit.

Seth: And that's the end of this lawsuit. So the very end of all this evidence against Israel that ma- makes their judgment inevitable, he says, "But here is a prophecy of hope. I will gather my people in Jerusalem and, like a king, I will lead them out in victory."

David: Mm. Yeah. He's... I'm gonna gather you like sheep, and then we're gonna break open the gate, and I will lead you in a righteous, kingly procession-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... to our promised land.

Seth: So this already, in one sense, this has already happened.

David: Mm.

Seth: So this actually happened in history. Micah prophesied this, and then it happened during the King of Assyria, during, during King Hezekiah's reign.

David: Oh, with the displaced people of the northern kingdom?

Seth: So whenever Sennacherib w- goes in and conquers all those 10 towns-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... you know, don't tell it in Gath, Shaphir.

David: Yeah.

Seth: He conquers all those towns, and he holes up in Lachish. What happens when you, an enemy army comes in and takes over a whole bunch of towns?

David: The displaced people have to run to a stronghold.

Seth: And so where do they go? They all go to Jerusalem.

David: Mm.

Seth: So what is happening while Assyria is judging Israel for her sins?

David: The sheep have been gathered into a pen.

Seth: The sheep are being gathered into the pen of Jerusalem. And then what happens when Assyria starts talking to Hezekiah, demanding his surrender?

David: Mm.

Seth: Do you remember?

David: Uh.

Seth: Hezekiah prays.

David: Oh, yeah.

Seth: He finally prays, and he asks God, "God, will you please save us?"

David: Oh.

Seth: There's this, an Assyrian blockade.

David: Yes.

Seth: They've hemmed Jerusalem in-

David: Yes

Seth: ... to the, like, into Jerusalem.

David: Right.

Seth: All the refugees are swollen there, but, like, the prophecy is that God will break through. And what happens?

David: So, yeah, God breaks out and kills 185,000 Assyrians. [laughs]

Seth: People in one night, and God leads Hezekiah to victory for a period-

David: Wow

Seth: ... of time.

David: So that happened.

Seth: So it happened.

David: Yeah.

Seth: 2 Kings 19.

David: Wow.

Seth: This happened.

David: That's amazing.

Seth: Right. And I've always thought about this kind of abstractly. Whenever I've heard this-

David: Yeah, yeah, yeah

Seth: ... prophecy a m- number of times growing up, and I've always thought about it abstractly, about God's gonna bring in the sheep with Jesus.

David: Yeah. Right.

Seth: And we're gonna go out into all the world. But I think, and I think that's true.

David: Uh, definitely true. We'll get there.

Seth: And w- but I was like, I wanted to sit in the moment. I was like, man, I ha- I kind of forgot that-

David: Historically, this happened

Seth: ... Micah's an actual prophet-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... of history.

David: Right. [laughs]

Seth: And then it happened-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... in Sennacherib. And it's funny, if you go and read that, um-

David: Oh, that Sennacherib-

Seth: The Sennacherib's, like, chronicle of this war

David: ... seal or whatever

Seth: ... he, he never mentions that he actually conquered Jerusalem.

David: Ah.

Seth: He only says that he hemmed them in for a period of time, which he did.

David: He did.

Seth: And then he, it was, uh, uh-

David: Devastating for him. Yeah

Seth: ... it was. And what ends up happening after, in 2 Kings 19, is that after he loses to Jerusalem, he goes back home and then dies that same night.

David: Right.

Seth: Which brings us back to the very start of Micah's prophecy, because he gathered all the nations.

David: Mm.

Seth: As I judge Israel, I will judge the nations.

David: Right.

Seth: So God judges Judah by those 10 towns-

David: Mm

Seth: ... becoming like rubble, and naked, and whatever else. They flee to Jerusalem, where God gathers them like sheep in a pen.

David: Yeah.

Seth: But he breaks out and gives them salvation, and what does he do in that same moment? He also judges the nations that are exactly like Israel.

David: Salvation after judgment, but still judgment for the nations.

Seth: Yes.

David: Okay. Wow. That's-

Seth: Because the remnant will-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... only once the remnant is established as God's people-

David: Mm

Seth: ... will blessing to the nations come.

David: Right.

Seth: There's, like, that pattern still-

David: Yeah, yeah, yeah

Seth: ... hasn't been completed yet.

David: Yeah. What's amazing, too, to get to the Jesus, like-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... fulfillment of this, is Jesus quotes this as well.

Seth: When does he quote it?

David: In John 10.

Seth: Oh, that's right. He does.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Yes.

David: Jesus quotes this, and what's amazing is he also quotes it when surrounded by false teachers.

Seth: He does.

David: He's surrounded by false teachers, uh, in this case, the Pharisees, who are saying that Jesus, what he's saying is wrong, and what they're saying is right. And he's saying, like, "Oh, you're calling us blind? We're not blind. We can see."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And, like, they're, they're arguing over whose teaching is correct.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And then Jesus gives the famous, like-

Seth: I am-

David: ... "I am the good shepherd" passage.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Um, and he s- he says, um, let's see here. Uh, here, let me just read it. "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens." Now here, here we go. Here's where he starts to quote it. "The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them. And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice." This is Jesus saying, "I'm the fulfillment of the good shepherd that was promised in Micah."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: "I open the gate for my sheep, I lead them out, and those who know my voice, the remnant-"

Seth: Yeah

David: ..."they follow me out." Uh, and so it's amazing.

Seth: No one can snatch them out of my hand.

David: And no one can snatch them out of my hand. Uh, and as a side note-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He's talking about the false teachers with him, the Pharisees.

Seth: The Pharisees.

David: He's not talking about Satan there. [laughs]

Seth: That is a fun-

David: Satan was-

Seth: That's a fun side note.

David: Yeah, it's just a, just a side note.

Seth: Whenever we finally get to speaking the gospel out of all the gospels-

David: Yes

Seth: ... I'm excited to talk about that.

David: About so many little-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... things like that.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Yeah. So, um-

Seth: Um-

David: Yeah, anyway, so Jesus does fulfill this. I mean, okay, so that's like-

Seth: He, he's-

David: That's the literary fulfillment of it, right? Like, Jesus quoted this.

Seth: Jesus quoted this to false teachers-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... saying that he would, um... What is, what i- what army is he beating?

David: What army is Jesus beating? I mean-

Seth: Like, 'cause, like, in, in here, it's like-

David: Mm

Seth: ... Micah's prophesying that h- God will come into Jerusalem and break through the Assyrian blockade and lead his people out into victory.

David: Mm.

Seth: So-What is the blockade that his people, that, do, do you-

David: Oh, I, I follow you. I mean, I'm afraid of the answer. [laughs]

Seth: What's the answer?

David: I- i- if, if, if we're supposed to see this parallel, the answer in John 9 and 10 is the false teaching of the Pharisees.

Seth: Mm.

David: The army of their legalism. So, so the context here is Jesus heals a man born blind in John 9.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And, um, th- there becomes a, here comes a court case around Jesus now, another court case-

Seth: Mm

David: ... starts to happen, and they're trying to figure out who healed this man, and, um, they try to get down to the bottom of it, which is, why is this man blind to begin with?

Seth: Mm.

David: And they're trying to figure out who sinned to make him blind. Uh, it wa- was it the blind man himself who sinned-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... and God struck him with blindness?

Seth: Yeah.

David: Or was it his parents who sinned, and they were given a blind son as a punishment?

Seth: Yeah.

David: And Jesus says, "That's not how I work."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: "That's a false way of teaching." Um, and then he goes into the shepherd stuff. [laughs] And so-

Seth: Okay

David: ... like, so I'm like, if we're meant to see what-

Seth: Mm

David: ... army is Jesus beating as who are the people he's talking to-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... it would be the false teaching of the Pharisees.

Seth: Interesting.

David: Yeah.

Seth: I'm also thinking about, like, and this is more metaphorical-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... but the army of death-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... right after John 10, Lazarus.

David: Oh, yes.

Seth: It is the story of Lazarus-

David: Right

Seth: ... in the tomb, and we just had the phrase, "None will snatch them out of my hand."

David: Yeah, and that, and, and, and Jesus quotes that. Uh, oh, wait, are you talking about... It, where does it say, "None will snatch you?" Is that-

Seth: In John 10

David: ... okay, I thought that was in Micah 2. I was like, "Oh, my gosh, what?"

Seth: No, no, no.

David: Okay, yes, okay.

Seth: Yeah, no, uh, no, that's like... No, Jesus has said this-

David: Yes

Seth: ... and then he goes to a man who's up against the great... Like, he's within a wall that no-

David: Right

Seth: ... king has broken through before.

David: Right.

Seth: And Jesus leads him out of it.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: He leads him out of the grave. Like, so I'm, I'm wondering, like, is there a metaphorical, like, way to see this? G- God will gather all his people into the pen of death, and then from the pen of death will break through death itself-

David: Mm

Seth: ... and lead them to resurrection life?

David: I mean, yeah.

Seth: Like, [laughs] like-

David: [laughs] Yeah. I mean, yes, I, absolutely. I think there's also, like, there is good news also just in Jesus not being a false teacher, in Jesus being a good prophet, like Micah-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... in a, in a court of false prophets.

Seth: Who want to blame someone's blindness on their sin.

David: Right.

Seth: Who want... And, like, and, I mean, they're indicted for injustice all, all throughout-

David: Oh, yeah

Seth: ... the Gospels.

David: Totally.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so it's just like there is a, there is a, a prison or a, a, a-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... pen that Jesus sees the people of Israel in-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... because of, of the Pharisees. They are hemmed in-

Seth: Mm

David: ... by the Pharisees' religion, their legalism, whatever you wanna call that, um, that's ultimately covenant breaking, ironically.

Seth: Right.

David: Um, and like the Pharisees are like the new Sira- Sennacherib hemming them inside the walls of Jerusalem-

Seth: Mm

David: ... and they can't get out.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And Jesus says, "I will lead you out."

Seth: Yeah.

David: And he does that by having a different way [laughs]

Seth: Yeah

David: ... than the Pharisees, a way of, a way that doesn't operate i- in the way they expect, where they-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... wanna blame a blind person for being blind.

Seth: Yeah.

David: You know? [laughs]

Seth: I'm also thinking about the way that we've set up, like, Assyria, like, the crimes within Israel, and then Assyria being used to judge the crimes within Israel, right?

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: And how we have Rome being used to judge the crimes of the Pharisees-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... in the way that they instituted the temple.

David: Right.

Seth: Jesus here calls the Pharisees wolves.

David: Right.

Seth: And the leaders of Israel in, uh, Micah's time were wolves.

David: Yeah.

Seth: They were taking advantage of their flock.

David: Right.

Seth: They were supposed to be the leaders. They were supposed to uphold the Torah. They were supposed to ease the burdens of their people, but instead, they made it worse.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: The Pharisees are still the Israelite wolves that Micah is.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: And the Roman oppression still coming. Like, the, you see what I'm trying... Like, well-

David: Yeah, definitely

Seth: ... it's like we don't have to make the Pharisees the S- Assyrians.

David: Oh, no, right. They-

Seth: They stay-

David: They stay the rulers-

Seth: The w-

David: ... of Israel

Seth: ... they stay the rulers of Israel, and that allows the, the-

David: Yeah, and then Rome comes in and destroys their temple.

Seth: Right.

David: Just like the Assyrians and Babylonians did.

Seth: Right.

David: Yeah, that makes sense.

Seth: And then to-

David: It's Micah repeated.

Seth: Right, and then the same way that the death that the, the, the leaders of Israel brought to Jesus-

David: Mm

Seth: ... Jesus breaks out of it the Roman occupation, the Roman blockade.

David: Yeah.

Seth: It was a Roman tomb. It was Roman guards-

David: Right

Seth: ... that were in front of it.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Like, whatever complicity-

David: Yes

Seth: ... there is between Israel and Assyria-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... is undone in Jesus.

David: Right. So, so here's, I think, the clearest way I c- I could say it. Let's see if I can find it again. But it's like the g- what's the good news that Jesus is the good shepherd?

Seth: Yes.

David: It's that we, in so many different ways, we are, we are hemmed in, [laughs] right? Whether that is to our own greed and sin, like the leaders of Israel, whether it's to false teaching and false prophets, and we don't know which way is up, whether it's to death itself.

Seth: Whether we are the innocent ones oppressed by the leaders.

David: That's right. Yes. Uh, the good news of Jesus being the good shepherd is He will lead us out.

Seth: Mm.

David: When we hear His voice, and we follow Him, we are the remnant, and there is hope.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: The hint of hope is now fulfilled in Jesus.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And no matter what pen we're in, no matter what w- way-

Seth: Mm

David: ... we've been hemmed in and walled in, Jesus will lead us out.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Um, of anything, even Lazarus's tomb.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Like, uh, He's the good shepherd who we can listen to His voice and be led out of any place that we find ourselves trapped in.

Seth: Hmm.

David: Which is, like, good news.

Seth: I mean-

David: It's good news

Seth: ... it's like good news

David: ... it's like goodness. It's really good-

Seth: It's very good

David: ... it's very good news. So, okay, that's a lot.

Seth: That's a lot.

David: That's a lot.

Seth: But, yeah, Micah is-

David: Beefy

Seth: ... he, he is beefy. In comparison to the other prophets I've studied in this series, Micah is, is a beefy boy.

David: Okay. Well, I'm excited for two more.

Seth: Yeah, next week we'll be in chapters 3, uh, 4, and 5-

David: Okay

Seth: ... which is specifically more talk about Israel's leaders and the way that they've failed to uphold justice in Israel.

David: Okay. All right, well, we will see you guys next week for the next court case of Micah. [upbeat music]

Outro: Thank you for listening to the Spoken Gospel podcast. Spoken Gospel creates short films, devotionals, and podcasts like this one. Everything we make is free because of generous supporters like you. To see our resources, visit spokengospel.com or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Thanks for listening. See you next week. [upbeat music]

Related Resources

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Micah 1–2: Hope After Judgment

Show Notes

A Prophet's Courtroom and the God Who Shakes Mountains

The Charge: Idolatry and Idolatrous Nationalism

The Sentence and the Drumbeat of Puns

The Evidence: Land Theft, Corrupt Leaders, and False Prophets

Hints of Hope: The Shepherd Who Breaks Through

Jesus, the Good Shepherd Who Leads Us Out

Related Resources

Introduction to Micah

View our devotional on Micah 1 - 2

Ready to study a different book?

Listen to the Micah Introduction podcast

Listen to the Micah 1-2: Hope After Judgement podcast

Listen to the Micah 3-5: Swords into Plows podcast

Listen to the Micah 6-7: Do Justice, Love Kindness, and Walk Humbly podcast