Micah: Prophet of Righteousness

KEY VERSE: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” —Micah 6:8

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Micah Chapter 6

THE FALSE PROPHETS of Judah and Israel were corrupt and compelled to silence, for they had no message from God, but Micah’s credentials proved him a true prophet of God. As a matter of fact, his opening statement reads, “The word of the Lord that came to Micah.” (Mic. 1:1) Later, he added, “Truly, I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord and of judgment and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.”—Mic. 3:8

Throughout his prophecy, Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, denounced the evils practiced by both the Northern and the Southern kingdoms. In addition he foretold calamities and troubles to befall both of them, including the captivity of Israel, the ten-tribe kingdom. But the prophet also confidently predicted their return into their own country, the promise of the coming king and finally their restoration in the glorious kingdom of Christ, which will follow.

In Micah 5:2-4 we read a truly remarkable brief outline covering a period of Israel’s long history. That time extends from the birth in Bethlehem of Jesus, their long-sought Savior, until, through the long centuries, they dwell in peace and prosperity “unto the ends of the earth.” The account reads as follows: “Thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.”

A thousand-year segment of that historical outline, examined more closely and in greater detail in Micah 4:1-5, reveals the peace, happiness and abundance surrounding Israel, and indeed, all mankind as a result of the righteous reign of Christ, the Messiah. The prophet wrote, “In the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

“He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.”

And surely, it is true that all men, either now in this Gospel Age or in the Kingdom Age to come, who would desire to have a right standing with God must ask, What does the Lord require of me? But as the Prophet Micah explained, the Lord has already answered this question for us: “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.”—Mic.6:8

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