Micah 7
“Woe is me!”
- no grapes, no figs, no righteous people left
“The godly has perished”
- Society marked by violence and betrayal
- חָסִיד (chasid) = faithful/loyal one (linked to chesed)
- Perished
Leaders and officials work together for evil
“Best of them is like a brier”
- Even the “good” are harmful
- Judgment day:confusion and panic will replace their self confidence
no confidence in neighbor, even family relationships collapse
- Matthew 10:35-36
“But as for me…”
- “I will look to the LORD”
- “I will wait”
- Confidence:“my God will hear me”
“When I fall, I shall rise”
- Darkness to light
- Hope in the LORD to bring us up
“I will bear the indignation of the LORD”
- Accepts discipline for sin
- Yet trusts God will plead his cause and bring justice
Enemies will see vindication and be put to shame
Restored City
- Walls rebuilt
- Boundaries expanded
- Nations come frommAssyria to Egypt
- Yet:j udgment still falls on the earth
“Shepherd your people” God cares for His people
“as in the days… of Egypt” God will show wondrous things
Other nations respond to Israel:
- silence
- fear
- submission
“Who is a God like you…?”
- Wordplay: Micah (מִיכָה) = “Who is like YHWH?”
- Comes from:
- מִי (mi) = who?
- כָּה (kah) = like / as
- (often understood with YHWH implied)
- מִי־אֵל כָּמוֹךָ (mi-el kamokha)
God
- pardons iniquity
- passes over transgression
- does not retain anger forever
- “He delights in steadfast love” (חֶסֶד, chesed)
“He will again have compassion”
“tread our iniquities underfoot”
“cast all our sins into the depths of the sea”
Covenant faithfulness:
- Jacob
- Abraham
Nahum 1
Nahum נַחוּם (Naḥûm) “comfort” or “consolation”
Preached comfort/encouragement for Judah and destruction for Nineveh
From: “Elkosh” (1:1) Unknown location
Timeframe: somewhere around 663–612 BC since chapter 3 mentions destruction of Thebes by Assyria
“An oracle concerning Nineveh…”
- מַשָּׂא (massaʾ) = burden/oracle or heavy message of judgment
- Focus: Nineveh, capital of Assyria (same city as Jonah)
- Nineveh is spared in Jonah but in Nahum they are said to be destroyed
“The LORD is a jealous and avenging God…”
- קַנּוֹא (qannoʾ) = jealous (covenant zeal, not insecurity)
- Triple emphasis: avenging… wrath… keeps wrath → judicial justice
- “slow to anger”
- Exodus 34:6-7
“His way is in whirlwind and storm…”
- Creation submits:
- Sea dries up
- Mountains quake
“Who can stand?” no one under judgment
“The LORD is good, a stronghold…”
- מָעוֹז (maʿoz) = refuge/fortress
- He judges His enemies but protects His people
1:8
“But with an overflowing flood…”
- The power of God
- “darkness” = total destruction (not just defeat)
Assyria is described as arrogant
- However er “trouble will not rise up a second time”
Shift to Judah
- God used Assyria as discipline
- “break his yoke” but now He ends it
Total erasure of Assyria: No descendants
- “you are vile” “I will dig your grave” (!!)
“Behold… good news…”
- Isaiah 52:7
- Peace announced
- Enemy defeated
- “never again shall the worthless pass through you”
Nahum 2
“The scatterer has come up…” Likely Babylonian/Median forces
“The LORD is restoring the majesty of Jacob…”
- Judgment on Nineveh = restoration for Israel
2:3-5
Vivid battle imagery:
- Red shields (blood or bronze reflection)
- Chariots racing
- Chaos
- urgency
“Its mistress is stripped…” City personified as a queen humiliated
“Nineveh is like a pool…”
- Once stable and overflowing with defense, now a worthless drained pool
- Told to plunder
“Desolate! Desolation and ruin!”
- בּוּקָה וּמְבוּקָה וּמְבֻלָּקָה (buqah u-mevuqah u-mevullaqah)
- almost poetic sound effect
- melting hearts
- trembling knees
God is against them.
Application
We can walk faithfully even when things feel unfair, knowing God is both just and compassionate. Our role is to trust Him, live uprightly, and wait for Him to restore.
Jo Reads The Bible 
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