BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

The sheep of Israel have strayed off, roaming after idolatry and injustice instead of trusting Yahweh’s word. According to the prophet Micah, the religious leaders have become well-disguised predators, like wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Israel’s priests should care for their flock with love and justice, as human beings blessed by God. Instead, the priests and false prophets swindle the poor, neglect widows and orphans, and treat the people like human resources used for profit.

Just like Ahab with Naboth’s vineyard, Israel’s greedy leaders see, desire, and take land from vulnerable farmers (which means they steal the farmers’ life source). Like Jezebel, these rulers use fraud and bloodshed to take what they want. Micah describes their violence against the poor in graphic terms. These false shepherds consume the people: ripping off their skin to feast on their flesh, cracking their “sheep” open to suck the marrow from their bones.

Meanwhile, Israel’s sweet-talking false prophets sell flattering news. They promise security and upward mobility to anyone who stops at their fortune-telling booth. But their days of deception are numbered. Micah warns that Yahweh is about to bring disaster on Israel’s silver-tongued schemers and ravenous rulers.

Like each prophet so far, Micah also brings a message of hope. God himself will shepherd the remnant of his people, restoring righteousness to Jerusalem and peace to all the Earth.

Watch the video to learn more about Yahweh’s covenant justice and compassion in the book of Micah.

Reflection Questions

• The first chapter of Micah is packed with Hebrew wordplays. Read Micah 1:10-16 in The Message translation, which expresses the underlying Hebrew puns particularly well. How do these wordplays help you understand Micah’s poetic message?
• Review the Torah’s laws about selling family land in Leviticus 25:23 and Numbers 36:7. What have you learned? In what ways might these laws inform your understanding of the accusations against Israel’s leaders in Micah 2-3?