Micah 7:18-20
English Standard Version

God's Steadfast Love and Compassion
18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
    and passing over transgression
    for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
    because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
    he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
    into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob
    and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
    from the days of old.

The book of Micah ends on a high note unlike so many other books we've studied that end showing us the depravity of man.  Instead, Micah looks to God and praises Him that in the midst of His judgment, He is still the same loving and compassionate God they have always known, and that will be the same yesterday, today, and forever.

He does pardon iniquity and passes over transgression for those that are part of the remnant of His inheritance.  His anger does not last forever because He delights in His covenantal, steadfast love that is so intertwined with who He is and what He does.  It is what we are talking about when we say "God is love."

Though the people will go into Exile for a time (the prophet Jeremiah tells the exact number of years to be seventy), the day is coming when God's compassion will once again be upon them.  He will conquer their sins and iniquities (their rebellion) by trampling them underfoot--an image of the promise from Genesis 3 that the seed of the woman would one day crush the head of the serpent underfoot, but the serpent would in the process bruise or strike His heel.  This is a promise of the greater atonement that is coming in the future for Micah but that we look back to that happened at the cross where our sins were not just covered over, but defeated.

The sins of the people will be cast out (no longer will they be cast out for their sins), and they will be buried in the depths of the sea (in the coming kingdom there is no more sea for them to be buried in because they have been done away with).  The LORD will show faithfulness and steadfast love to the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He made a covenant with.  Because the LORD is unchanging, His word that He spoke to their forefathers can be trusted today and tomorrow and through all generations.  The LORD loves His people, forgives them, and is one day going to deal with their sin by destroying it so that He can once again have perfect fellowship and unity with them like they had before the Fall.  We look forward to that day.

Micah 7:1-17
English Standard Version

Wait for the God of Salvation
7 Woe is me! For I have become
    as when the summer fruit has been gathered,
    as when the grapes have been gleaned:
there is no cluster to eat,
    no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.
2 The godly has perished from the earth,
    and there is no one upright among mankind;
they all lie in wait for blood,
    and each hunts the other with a net.
3 Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well;
    the prince and the judge ask for a bribe,
and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;
    thus they weave it together.
4 The best of them is like a brier,
    the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come;
    now their confusion is at hand.
5 Put no trust in a neighbor;
    have no confidence in a friend;
guard the doors of your mouth
    from her who lies in your arms;
6 for the son treats the father with contempt,
    the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
    a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
7 But as for me, I will look to the LORD;
    I will wait for the God of my salvation;
    my God will hear me.

8 Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
    when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
    the LORD will be a light to me.
9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD
    because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause
    and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
    I shall look upon his vindication.
10 Then my enemy will see,
    and shame will cover her who said to me,
    “Where is the LORD your God?”
My eyes will look upon her;
    now she will be trampled down
    like the mire of the streets.

11 A day for the building of your walls!
    In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
12 In that day they will come to you,
    from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to the River,
    from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
13 But the earth will be desolate
    because of its inhabitants,
    for the fruit of their deeds.

14 Shepherd your people with your staff,
    the flock of your inheritance,
who dwell alone in a forest
    in the midst of a garden land;
let them graze in Bashan and Gilead
    as in the days of old.
15 As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
    I will show them marvelous things.
16 The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
    their ears shall be deaf;
17 they shall lick the dust like a serpent,
    like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their strongholds;
    they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God,
    and they shall be in fear of you.

Micha is talking about how one season leads to another and the next is sure to come as a symbol of the season of pending judgment that they find themselves in (Fall) with judgment that may seem dark and long (Winter) coming, but salvation (Spring) will certainly come.  Waiting and salvation go hand in hand.

It seems that the righteous no longer are anywhere to be found.  Micah supposes they have all died. (possibly by God's grace so that they did not face the judgment meant for the wicked).  Micah lists off the "darkness" that he sees all around him that tells him the time of judgment is at hand.  In that day, Micah says every man will be thinking of himself.  Neighbors will not give thought of one another, nor will those charged with being watchmen defend the city.  Fleeing will not save them, and fighting will not save them.  Some who unconditionally surrender will be spared.  Even in this they are to remember to trust in the LORD for His salvation in the right way and at the right time.

Micah warns their enemies not to gloat over them, for the LORD will take note of this and will treat them accordingly.  The nations may try to discourage the Jewish people by trying to make them believe that the LORD has abandoned them, but Micah reminds the people that the LORD will be with them wherever they go--even into Exile.  "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths (make your paths straight)." (Proverbs 3:5-6).

A day is coming when the entire Kingdom will be restored to the people of Israel (this has never happened yet) The LORD will reign over all of it and there will be peace and prosperity in all of the Land.  That which was destroyed will be rebuilt.  The Land will again bear much fruit and the people will be fruitful and will multiply.  Until this day, the prophet asks the LORD to shepherd His people Israel with His staff from His throne in Heaven.  They are like sheep that are alone and vulnerable to attack.  They are not very smart and cannot provide for themselves nor can they defend themselves.  If the LORD does not continue to save them day by day in the little things, they will never make it to the "big" day of salvation they are looking for.

They long for a return to the Land flowing with milk and honey and the land of Gilead that was filled with the dew of heaven and healing balms.  When they are restored and the LORD is their King and Shepherd, the wicked will be judged and humiliated.  The righteous that remain from the nations will love the LORD and His people, and they will show respect to the LORD and His chosen people Israel who will again be a prince among the nations.

Micah 6:9-16
English Standard Version

Destruction of the Wicked
9 The voice of the LORD cries to the city--
    and it is sound wisdom to fear your name:
“Hear of the rod and of him who appointed it!
10     Can I forget any longer the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked,
    and the scant measure that is accursed?
11 Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales
    and with a bag of deceitful weights?
12 Your rich men are full of violence;
    your inhabitants speak lies,
    and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,
    making you desolate because of your sins.
14 You shall eat, but not be satisfied,
    and there shall be hunger within you;
you shall put away, but not preserve,
    and what you preserve I will give to the sword.
15 You shall sow, but not reap;
    you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
    you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.
16 For you have kept the statutes of Omri,
    and all the works of the house of Ahab;
    and you have walked in their counsels,
that I may make you a desolation, and your inhabitants a hissing;
    so you shall bear the scorn of my people.”

The LORD tells people hearing the prophecy of destruction that there is another message He intends for them to hear.  They should fear and this fear should turn them to repentance and obedience--just like with the people of Nineveh in the days of Jonah.

The LORD will not forget about the wickedness of this world (even among His own people).  Though He promised He would never destroy the whole world in a global flood again, He has the right to punish individual people and nations.  Will any man being judged by his own deeds be found righteous in the day of judgment?  No!  "There is none righteous.  No, not even one."

All men are full of various abominations whether it be deceitful weights and measures, violence towards the innocent, a lying tongue, or a deceitful mouth.  Because these people are so entrenched in evil, the LORD will strike them with a severe blow to make them desolate because of their sins--the just punishment or the "wages" of their sins.

Though they will eat to survive, they will not be satisfied.  They will try to save for the future, but they will have to dip into their savings because of calamity after calamity that will come upon them.  They will plant their fields, but they will not harvest them for they will be taken into exile or others will take the fruit of their labors or their crops will not be fruitful.  Year after year it will be something.  They will grow their olives and tread them out, but they will not have an abundance of oil to use for anointing themselves (something only the rich could afford, and no one will be rich).  They will harvest their grapes to make wine, but they will not drink it.  They will have no joy.

Why would the LORD do this to them?  Because they have let the kings Omri and Ahab be their role models (two of the most wicked kings ever).  The whole nations has let the king's head turn them towards wickedness, idolatry, sexual immorality, and all kinds of immorality.  Now it comes time for them to reap what they have sown, and the northern kingdom of Israel is going to face a judgment unlike any other.  Many will die.  Those who survive will be taken away to distant lands, never to return to the Promised Land.  Some of their children or grandchildren might, but they will have a hard time remaining Jewish in the place of their exile.  God will not abandon them, but many of them will abandon God.  The other nations will judge them worthy of destruction not knowing that in so doing they are proclaiming judgment on themselves, for the nations in general are just as wicked and godless.

Micah 6:6-8
English Standard Version

What Does the LORD Require?
6 “With what shall I come before the LORD,
    and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
    and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?

The prophet asks on behalf of the people if it is even possible for them to please the LORD, or are they in a relationship with someone that it is impossible to please them.  It seems like the LORD doesn't want their tithes and offerings right now because He doesn't have their hearts.  Also, it will be impossible for them to offer these things once the Temple and its Altar are destroyed.  So, what will the people be able to offer to the LORD while they are in Exile?

The pagans would offer their children as burnt offerings to their gods, but the prophet knows that child sacrifice does not please the LORD (yet, He will offer His own firstborn and only Son as the propitiation for our sins).  No, He has told men what is good and what the LORD requires of them, and this truth applies to all men in all places at all times because this was revealed to men from the time of Adam and Noah--it is not specifically part of the Mosaic Covenant given only to the Jews.  Men are to do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God (and He is to be their only God).  That's it--simple, yet impossible for us to do without God's transforming work.

Micah 6:1-5
English Standard Version

The Indictment of the LORD
6 Hear what the LORD says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
    and let the hills hear your voice.
2 Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the LORD,
    and you enduring foundations of the earth,
for the LORD has an indictment against his people,
    and he will contend with Israel.

3 “O my people, what have I done to you?
    How have I wearied you? Answer me!
4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt
    and redeemed you from the house of slavery,
and I sent before you Moses,
    Aaron, and Miriam.
5 O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised,
    and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
    that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.”

The LORD is going to read the indictment so that the heavens and the earth can stand as witnesses in agreement with the indictment and the verdict.    Though the people wish to stand up and make their case for why they are innocent they will have the LORD, the mountains, and the sea as witnesses against them.

The LORD asks what He has done to them that might have led them to turn to idols and all kinds of wickedness.  He recalls how redeemed them from slavery in Egypt and made them who were not a people or a nation into both a people and a nation in a single day.  He gave them leaders like Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, and even then they sinned greatly at Peor when Baalam realized he could not curse the people by his regular incantations and divinations, so he told the Midianites to seduce the hearts of the people with women that would turn them towards their false gods.  The LORD would have nearly consumed them that day if it were not for the zeal of Phineas.  

The two places mentioned, Shittim and Gilgal, are the last place they camped before crossing the Jordan River into the Canaan, and the first place they camped after crossing the Jordan River into Canaan, so the LORD is speaking figuratively here that He is once again able to deliver them and deliver on all the promises that He made to them.  This is true now in the LORD promising them something better than just the Land of Canaan that by itself was not enough to bring about the perfect kingdom that the LORD had in store for them.  By this, the LORD vindicates Himself to say that He is in no way at fault for the way that "His children" have turned out.  He did everything right, and yet, they still rebelled and became just like or worse than the Gentile nations.

Micah 5:7-15
English Standard Version

A Remnant Shall Be Delivered
7 Then the remnant of Jacob shall be
    in the midst of many peoples
like dew from the LORD,
    like showers on the grass,
which delay not for a man
    nor wait for the children of man.
8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations,
    in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
    like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
which, when it goes through, treads down
    and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver.
9 Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries,
    and all your enemies shall be cut off.

10 And in that day, declares the LORD,
    I will cut off your horses from among you
    and will destroy your chariots;
11 and I will cut off the cities of your land
    and throw down all your strongholds;
12 and I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
    and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes;
13 and I will cut off your carved images
    and your pillars from among you,
and you shall bow down no more
    to the work of your hands;
14 and I will root out your Asherah images from among you
    and destroy your cities.
15 And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance
    on the nations that did not obey.

Let's zoom in a bit more on that final thought from yesterday's passage.  The Messiah is going to come as the Deliverer of His people.  When that day comes, the LORD and His people will live in fellowship together as they did in the Garden of Eden before the Curse of Sin.  The LORD will shower His blessings on His people like the dew that comes every morning to water the plants.

The remnant of Jacob will shall be among the nations (this could simply point to the fact that the Jewish people will survive or it could point to the fact that some of the survivors will choose to live outside the promised Land, like the Exiles that chose to stay in Assyria and Babylon when the people returned.  There are still Jews living in nations all around the world to this day--some in places very hostile to them, but they don't desire to leave.  The LORD will also cause these dispersed Jews to blossom and flourish.).  The Jewish people will be seen as an apex predator among the people.  Though they would be small in number, they would be greatly feared by the other nations because of the way in which the LORD would continue to bless them with descendants and wealth.  No one will be able to stop them or stand in their way if the LORD is with them for He will fight for and defend His people.  One day, all of their enemies will be struck down and cut off from the eternal blessings that the LORD has in store for them.  There will be no one left to try to steal the birthright or blessing that belongs to the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or to deny them what rightfully belongs to them by the LORD's covenants.

The LORD then starts speaking to the nations.  In the day that He makes war with them, He will destroy all the weapons of war that they trust in.  He will destroy their fortifications that house their military men.  He will destroy their cities in which they take refuge.  He will destroy all the modern-day versions of sorcerers and fortune tellers that spread the works and words of demons.  All idols will be destroyed as well as all sacred pillars where people worshiped and made sacrifices to the stars or other things in nature which they did not give form to, but they worshiped.  No more will the people bow down to worship anything that is made by their hands.  They will worship the Lord GOD their Creator and serve Him only!

The LORD speaks specifically of destroying the Asherah poles dedicated to a fertility goddess where all kinds of sexual sin and perversion took place as "worship" to this pagan goddess.  He repeats that He will destroy the cities of the wicked Gentiles and that He will execute His anger and wrath against the disobedient nations (peoples) in that day.

Micah 5:1-6
English Standard Version

The Ruler to Be Born in Bethlehem
5 Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops;
    siege is laid against us;
with a rod they strike the judge of Israel
    on the cheek.
2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
    one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
    from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time
    when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
    to the people of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD,
    in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
    to the ends of the earth.
5 And he shall be their peace.

When the Assyrian comes into our land
    and treads in our palaces,
then we will raise against him seven shepherds
    and eight princes of men;
6 they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
    and the land of Nimrod at its entrances;
and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian
    when he comes into our land
    and treads within our border.

This is one of the passages that you may know about already from the book of Micah.  Specifically, you may be familiar with verse 2 from their citation in Matthew 2:6 when Herod asked the chief priests and scribes of the people where the Christ was to be born.  The prophecy pointed specifically to the Bethlehem that David was from--not the Bethlehem that was in the northern part of the country near Nazareth.

This ruler is to "come forth" from the LORD and "come forth" from old, meaning He will be the Son of God and coeternal with the Father and Spirit.  It's right in the middle of a passage that says that the people will be scattered, but when His time comes to be King, He will be The Good Shepherd to His people, and they will dwell in peace, safety and security during His reign (which will be a reign which will have no end).

The people will go into Assyria and Babylon during their 70 years of exile.  They would look for Messiah to come and set them free and return them to the Land, but it would be another Messiah-like king of the Persians that would be called the LORD's messiah that would set His people free (though it would be the LORD doing it miraculously through Cyrus the Persian).  In the time when Jesus came to walk among them though, their greatest enemy (sin) would be defeated and He would come to set His people free.  Those whom the Son has made free are free indeed!