Historical Background of the Book of Micah

The Hebrew name for the Book of Micah is “Micah” (מיכה / Mikhah), and it is the sixth book among the Book of the Twelve Prophets. In the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, the Book of Micah is placed after the Book of Jonah, not purely for chronological reasons, but because of the message the Holy Spirit intended to convey. In Jonah, God proclaimed judgment against Nineveh to curb Assyria’s expansion, bringing forty years of prosperity to both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. This proves that the “wound of Samaria” that Micah denounces “is incurable, and has reached even to Judah, to the gate of my people in Jerusalem.” Meanwhile, God’s sparing of Nineveh in Jonah was also to preserve Assyria as an instrument of judgment, awaiting the time when His people’s iniquity would be complete, so that the judgment against both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, as declared in Micah, could be executed.

Image: Excerpted from David Pawson’s Old Testament Survey.

During the reigns of King Jeroboam II of the Northern Kingdom (c. 793-753 BC) and King Uzziah of the Southern Kingdom (c. 791-740 BC), God caused the Neo-Assyrian Empire to enter a 39-year period of decline. Several generations of Assyrian monarchs faced internal strife, and their royal authority was limited by the nobility, forcing them to halt foreign expansion. This provided both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms with a secure international environment.

Soon after Jeroboam II’s death, the newly enthroned Assyrian king, Tiglath-Pileser III (also known as Pul, reigned 745-727 BC), resumed foreign expansion (2 Kings 15:19, 29). Aram and the Northern Kingdom of Israel formed an alliance to resist Assyria and tried to persuade the Southern Kingdom of Judah to join. After King Jotham of Judah refused, the alliance invaded Judah (2 Kings 15:37). King Ahaz, Jotham’s successor, sought help from Assyria, which proved to be a detrimental and self-defeating move. Aram and the Northern Kingdom of Israel were successively destroyed by Assyria (2 Kings 15:29; 16:9; 18:9-11), and the Southern Kingdom of Judah became a vassal of the Assyrian Empire (2 Kings 16:10), entering a period of deep apostasy (2 Kings 16:1-4). After Ahaz’s death, King Hezekiah succeeded him, and Micah’s prophecy began to be fulfilled: Samaria was captured by Assyria in 722 BC (Micah 1:6-7; 2 Kings 17:6), and Jerusalem was besieged by Assyria in 701 BC (Micah 1:9; 2 Kings 18:13-16). Micah’s message supplemented and confirmed the prophecies of Hosea and Isaiah, and it timely turned Hezekiah’s heart (Jeremiah 26:18-19), leading him to commit to guiding the entire nation back to God. As a result, Jerusalem, besieged by Assyria, was miraculously saved according to prophecy (Micah 2:12-13; 2 Kings 19:29-36).

However, the complete corruption of the people could not be reversed by a king’s reforms. The punishment prophesied by Micah, though delayed for over a hundred years, ultimately arrived: Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed; the people were taken captive to Babylon. Yet, the reconstruction prophesied by Micah was also realized one by one after God’s thorough dismantling: the Messiah has been born in Bethlehem, and He will bring about the restoration of the kingdom.

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