Micah
Micah of Moresheth, a contemporary of Isaiah, is the last of the eighth century prophets.
Moresheth was probably a village 25 miles S.W. of Jerusalem. Micah, therefore, views the Assyrian invasion from a different perspective than Isaiah who dwells in Jerusalem.
Peace churches like to quote Micah 6:8 "He has told you, O mortal, 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?" Well put, but hardly a unique prophetic message.
Micah also quotes a key passage from Isaiah: In the days to come, the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established.... People shall stream ... out of Zion shall go forth instruction...they shall beat their swords into plowshares .. neither shall they learn war any more (Micah 4:1-4; Isaiah 2:2). Just more of the same?
1. As a group look at Micah 4:4-5 and draw a distinction between Isaiah and Micah.
Look at 4:6-7: how does this vision of the remnant compare to that of Isaiah? Take a look at 4:9-10. What is the meaning of the image of a woman in labor pains? Take a look at 5:7. Does this have any similarity to the lion and lamb vision of Isaiah?
2. How does Micah view Jerusalem (1:5, 9, 12-15; 3:9-12)? What does he predict will happen to Jerusalem? Note: Micah will die looking like a false prophet.
3. Is there an implicit criticism of Isaiah in Micah? Look at 3:1-8
Second Isaiah also has a message of judgment against the nations (61:1-2 "The spirit of the Lord is upon me.. to declare the day of vengeance of our God.")
4. John W. Miller draws our attention to the particular social ills of Micah 2 and the possible hinterland perspective of Micah.
5. What does the difference between Isaiah's representation of the remnant as holy and Micah's representation of the remnant as lame signify?
The contrast between Micah and Isaiah draws our attention to one of the bad habits we have when reading the Bible. We tend to reduce the Bible to one message and treat it like one coherent treatise. The Bible is a library and it represents a polyphony, many voices.