Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Micah 1:3
For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.
3. cometh forth out of his place ] Two persons may use the same expressions in very different senses. Heathen poets imagined that divine beings ‘came forth’ and mingled in the strife of mortals; the prophets adopt the same language as the symbol of the working of a spiritual Deity.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For, behold, the Lord comth forth – that is, (as we now say,) is coming forth. Each day of judgment, and the last also, are ever drawing nigh, noiselessly as the nightfall, but unceasingly. Out of His Place. Dionysius: God is hidden from us, except when He sheweth Himself by His Wisdom or Power of Justice or Grace, as Isaiah saith, Verily, Thou art a God who hidest Thyself Isa 45:15. He seemeth to be absent, when He doth not visibly work either in the heart within, or in judgments without; to the ungodly and unbelieving He is absent, far above out of their sight Psa 10:5, when He does not avenge their scoffs, their sins, their irreverence. Again He seemeth to go forth, when His Power is felt. Dionysius: Whence it is said, Bow Thy heavens, O Lord, and come down Psa 144:5; Isa 64:1; and the Lord saith of Sodom, I will go down now and see, whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto Me Gen 18:21. Or, the Place of the Infinite God is God Himself. For the Infinite sustaineth Itself, nor doth anything out of Itself contain It. God dwelleth also in light unapproachable 1Ti 6:16. When then Almighty God doth not manifest Himself, He abideth, as it were, in His own Place. When He manifests His Power or Wisdom or Justice by their effects, He is said to go forth out of His Place, that is, out of His hiddenness. Again, since the Nature of God is Goodness, it is proper and co-natural to Him, to be propitious, have mercy and spare. In this way, the Place of God is His mercy. When then He passeth from the sweetness of pity to the rigor of equity, and, on account of our sins, sheweth Himself severe (which is, as it were, alien from Him) He goeth forth out of His Place. Jerome: For He who is gentle and gracious, and whose Nature it is to have mercy, is constrained, on your account, to take the seeming of hardness, which is not His.
He comes invisibly now, in that it is He who punisheth, through whatever power or will of man He useth; He shews forth His Holiness through the punishment of unholiness. But the words, which are image-language now, shall be most exactly fulfilled in the end, when, in the Person of our Lord, He shall come visibly to judge the world. Jerome, Theoph.: In the Day of Judgment, Christ shall come down, according to that Nature which He took, from His Place, the highest heavens, and shall cast down the proud things of this world.
And will come down – Not by change of place, or in Himself, but as felt in the punishment of sin; and tread upon the high places of the earth; to bring down the pride of those (see Amo 4:13; Job 9:8) who being lifted up in their own conceit and lofty, sinning through pride and proud through sin, were yet created out of earth. For why is earth and ashes proud? (Ecclesiasticus 10:9). What seems mightiest and most firm, is unto God less than is to man the dust under his feet. The high places were also the special scenes of an unceasing idolatry. God treadeth in the good and humble, in that He dwelleth, walketh, feasteth in their hearts 2Co 6:16; Rev 3:20. But He treadeth upon the proud and the evil, in that He casteth them down, despiseth, condemneth them.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mic 1:3-7
For, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place
Gods procedure in relation to sin
This is a highly figurative and sublime representation of the Almighty in His retributive work, especially in relation to Samaria and Jerusalem.
He is represented as leaving His holy temple, coming out of His place, and marching with overwhelming grandeur over the high places of the earth, to deal out punishment to the wicked. The description of this theophany, says Delitzsch, is founded upon the idea of a terrible storm and earthquake, as in Psa 18:8. The mountains melt (Jdg 5:4, and Psa 68:9) with the streams of water which discharge themselves from heaven (Jdg 5:4), and the valleys split with the deep channels cut out by the torrents of water. The similes like wax, etc. (as in Psa 68:3), and like water are intended to express the complete dissolution of mountains and valleys. The actual facts answering to this description are the destructive influences exerted upon nature by great national judgments. The reference is undoubtedly to the destruction of the king of Israel by Shalmaneser, and the invasion of Judah by the armies of Sennacherib and Nebuchadnezzar, by the latter of whom the Jews were carried away captive. The passage is an inexpressibly grand representation of Gods procedure in relation to sin.
I. As it apears to the eye of man. The Bible is eminently anthropomorphic.
1. God, in dealing out retribution, appears to man in an extraordinary position. He cometh forth out of His place. What is His place? To all intelligent beings, the settled place of the Almighty is the temple of love, the pavilion of goodness, the mercy seat. The general beauty, order, and happiness of the universe give all intelligent creatures this impression of Him. But when confusion and misery fall on the sinner, the Almighty seems to man to come out of His place, to step aside from His ordinary procedure. Judgment is Gods strange work. He comes out of His place to execute it.
2. God, in dealing out retribution, appears to man in a terrific aspect. He does not appear as in the silent march of the stars or the serenity of the sun; but as in thunderstorms and volcanic eruptions. The mountains shall be molten under Him, etc.
II. As it affects a sinful people. In Gods procedure in relation to sin what disastrous effects were brought upon Samaria and Jerusalem!
1. God, in His procedure in relation to sin, brings material ruin upon people. Sin brings on commercial decay, political ruin; it destroys the health of the body, and brings it ultimately to the dust.
2. God, in His procedure in relation to sin, brings mental anguish upon a people. A disruption between the soul and the objects of its supreme affections involves the greatest anguish. The gods of a people, whatever they may be, are these objects, and these are to be destroyed. Conclusion–Mark well that God has a course of conduct in relation to sin, or rather, that God, in His beneficent march, must ever appear terrible to the sinner, and bring ruin on his head. It is the wisdom as well as the duty of all intelligent creatures to move in thought, sympathy, and purpose, as God moves–move with Him, not against Him. (Homilist.)
Gods way of taking vengeance
The justice of God taking vengeance on enemies is further described from the way of manifesting thereof, which is slowly but certainly; the Lord forbearing, neither because He purposes to give, nor because He wants power; as may appear from His majesty and state, when He appeareth environed with whirlwinds and tempests raised by His power. Doctrine–
1. The Lord, even toward enemies, is long suffering, and slow in executing of anger, that their destruction may be seen to be of themselves, that in His holy providence they may stumble more upon His indulgence, and fill up their measure; and that His Churchs faith and patience may be tried.
2. When the Lord spareth His enemies, it is not because He is not able to meet with them, nor ought we to judge from any outward appearance that they are invincible; for, how unlikely soever the destruction of enemies may be in the eyes of men, yet the Lord who is slow to anger is also great in power.
3. As the Lord is able to reach His enemies when He pleaseth, so His forbearing of them is no evidence that they shall be exempted altogether; but He will undoubtedly give proof of His power, in dealing with them as their way deserveth.
4. The Lord is able by His power speedily to bring to pass greatest things, and can, when He pleaseth, overturn, confound, and darken all things which appeared to be stable, well ordered, and clear.
5. The Lord, manifesting Himself in His great glory, doth but, so to say, obscure Himself in respect of our infirmity, which cannot comprehend His glory in its brightness; for so much doth His manifestation of Himself environed with dark storms or tempests and thick lowering clouds teach.
6. Gods dispensations, even when they are most dreadful and terrible in effects, may yet be deep and unsearchable, and His purpose and counsel in them hard to discern; for so much doth His way in whirlwinds, storms, and clouds (which involve and darken all) teach. (George Hutcheson.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 3. For, behold, the Lord cometh forth] See this clause, Am 4:13. He represents Jehovah as a mighty conqueror, issuing from his pavilion, stepping from mountain to mountain, which rush down and fill the valleys before him; a consuming fire accompanying him, that melts and confounds every hill and dale, and blends all in universal confusion. God is here represented as doing that himself which other conquerors do by the multitude of their hosts; levelling the mountains, filling some of the valleys, and digging for waters in others, and pouring them from hills and dales for the use of the conquering armies, by pipes and aqueducts.
And why is all this mighty movement? Mic 1:5. “For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
For, behold; there is great reason for my earnestness with all people, and therefore once more I advise you to consider it well. Behold, attend to what is said.
The Lord cometh forth; who is Judge himself, Psa 50:1,4, whose holy majesty you have provoked to displeasure, who is a jealous God, and hath an almighty power to dash his enemies into pieces. He cometh forth as a judge prepared to hear, determine, and punish. Now when God, who is in all places at all times, is said to come forth, it is not to be meant of his leaving a place where he was, to come to a place where before he was not; but it is to be understood of his discovering his presence by some effects of it, which before in that place were not, discovered.
Out of his place; heaven, the place of his glorious throne.
Come down; show by the effects of his power, justice, and wisdom that he is more eminently present there.
Tread upon; trample under foot, stain, abase, and break.
The high places of the earth; all that is high, excellent, and matter of your glorying, whether the flourishing state of your kingdoms, or the power of your kings, or strength of your fortresses, temples, and altars, or cities and palaces. In that day the haughtiness of man shall be laid low, and the pride of man shall be brought down, Isa 2:17. Your sins will procure this to you, O Samaria and Jerusalem, of which God is my witness I have plainly told you.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. tread upon the high places of theearthHe shall destroy the fortified heights (compare Deu 32:13;Deu 33:29) [GROTIUS].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place,…. Out of heaven, the place of the house of his Shechinah or Majesty, as the Targum; where his throne is prepared; where he keeps his court, and displays his glory; from whence he removes, not by local motion, since he is everywhere; but by some manifest exertion of his power, either on the behalf of his people, or in taking vengeance on his and their enemies; or on them sinning against him, in which sense it is probably to be understood. It signifies not change of place, but of his dispensations; going out of his former customary method into another; removing, as Jarchi has it, from the throne of mercies to the throne of judgment; doing not acts of mercy, in which he delights, but exercising judgment, his strange work. So the Cabalistic writers q observe on the passage, that
“it cannot be understood of place properly taken, according to
Isa 40:12; for God is the place of the world, not the world his place; hence our wise men so expound the text, he cometh forth out of the measure of mercy, and goes into the measure of justice;”
or property of it. Some understand this of his leaving the temple at Jerusalem, and giving it up into the hands of the Chaldeans; but the former sense is best:
and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth; which are his footstool; Samaria and Jerusalem, built on mountains, and all other high towers and fortified places, together with men of high looks and haughty countenances, who exalt themselves like mountains, and swell with pride: these the Lord can easily subdue and humble, bring low and tread down like the mire of the street; perhaps there may be an allusion to the high places where idols were worshipped; and which were the cause of the Lord’s wrath and vengeance, and of his coming forth, in this unusual way, in his providences.
q Kabala Denudata, par. 1. p. 408.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Prophet pursues the same subject; and he dwells especially on this — that God would be a witness against his people from his sanctuary. He therefore confirms this, when he says that God would come from his place Some interpreters do at the same time take this view — that the temple would hereafter be deprived of God’s presence, and would hence become profane, according to what Ezekiel declares. For as the Jews imagined that God was connected with them as long as the temple stood, and this false imagination proved to them an allurement, as it were, to sin, as on this account they took to themselves greater liberty, — this was the reason why the Prophet Ezekiel declares that God was no longer in the temple; and the Lord had shown to him by a vision that he had left his temple, so that he would no longer dwell there. Some, as I have said, give a similar explanation of this passage; but this sense does not seem to suit the context. I therefore take another view of this sentence — that God would go forth from his place. But yet it is doubted what place the Prophet refers to: for many take it to be heaven, and this seems probable, for immediately after he adds, Descend shall God, and he will tread on the high places of the earth This descent seems indeed to point out a higher place: but as the temple, we know, was situated on a high and elevated spot, on mount Zion, there is nothing inconsistent in saying that God descended from his temple to chastise the whole of Judea as it deserved. Then the going forth of God is by no means ambiguous in its meaning, for he means that God would at length go forth, as it were, in a visible form. With regard then to the place, I am inclined to refer it to the temple; and this clause, I have no doubt, has proceeded from the last verse.
But why is going forth here ascribed to God? Because the Jews had abused the forbearance of God in worshipping him with vain ceremonies in the temple; and at the same time they thought that they had escaped from his hand. As long then as God spared them, they thought that he was, as it were, bound to them, because he dwelt among them. Besides, as the legal and shadowy worship prevailed among them, they imagined that God rested in their temple. But now the Prophet says, “He will go forth: ye have wished hitherto to confine God to the tabernacle, and ye have attempted to pacify him with your frivolous puerilities: but ye shall know that his hand and his power extend much farther: he shall therefore come and show what that majesty is which has been hitherto a derision to you.” For when hypocrites set to sale their ceremonies to God, do they not openly trifle with him, as though he were a child? and do they not thus rob him of his power and authority? Such was the senselessness of that people. The Prophet therefore does not say without reason that God would go forth, that he might prove to the Jews that they were deluded by their own vain imaginations, when they thus took away from God what necessarily belonged to him, and confined him to a corner in Judea and fixed him there, as though he rested and dwelt there like a dead idol.
The particle, Behold, is emphatical: for the Prophet intended here to shake off from the Jews their torpidity, inasmuch as nothing was more difficult to them than to be persuaded and to believe that punishment was nigh at hand, when they flattered themselves that God was propitious to them. Hence that they might no longer cherish this willfulness, he says, Behold, come shall the Lord, forth shall he go from his place Isaiah has a passage like this in an address to the people, Isa 26:0; but the object of it is different; for Isaiah intended to threaten the enemies of the Church and heathen nations: but here Micah denounces war on the chosen people, and shows that God thus dwelt in his temple, that the Jews might perceive that his hand was opposed to them, as they had so shamefully despised him, and, by their false imaginations reduced, as it were, to nothing his power.
He shall tread, he says, on the high places of the earth. By the high places of the earth I do not understand superstitious places, but those well fortified. We know that fortresses were then fixed, for the most part, on elevated situations. The Prophet then intimates, that there would be no place into which God’s vengeance would not penetrate, however well fortified it might be: “No enclosures,” he says, “shall hinder God from penetrating into the inmost parts of your fortresses; he shall tread on the high places of the earth.” At the same time, I doubt not but that he alludes, by this kind of metaphor, to the chief men, who thought themselves exempted from the common lot of mankind; for they excelled so much in power, riches, and authority, that they would not be classed with the common people. The Prophet then intimates, that those, who were become proud through a notion of their own superiority would not be exempt from punishment.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Mic. 1:3. Tread upon the proud and idolatrous (high places) people, as Ruler over all the earth.
Mic. 1:4.] Imagery from storms and earthquakes, to describe the terrors of Gods judgments (Psa. 18:8). The similes, like wax. (as in Psa. 68:3), and like water, are intended to express the complete dissolution of mountains and valleys. The actual facts answering to this description are the destructive influences exerted upon nature by great national judgments [Keil].
Mic. 1:5. Trans.] as the cause of this judgment. Samaria and Jerusalem, the capitals of Israel and Judah, are the centres and source of corruption which has filled the kingdoms.
Mic. 1:6. Heap] Samaria, judged first, will be destroyednot a trace of the city will be leftand become like a heap of stones gathered from the field. Pour] Dash down the stones of the city into the valley beneath. The stones of the temples and palaces of Samaria have been carefully removed from the rich soil, thrown together in heaps, built up in the rude walls of terraces, and rolled down into the valley below [Porters Handbook].
Mic. 1:7.] Her treasures were gathered from the hire of a harlot, and to the hire of a harlot must they return. Literal prostitution was practised in Babylon and Syria, and the hire was dedicated to the support of the priesthood, and idolatrous worship.
Mic. 1:8.] The Prophet first laments himself, that he may touch others. Stripped] i.e. of shoes or sandals. Naked] i.e. without upper garment (1Sa. 19:24). This representation accords with Isa. 20:2, and symbolizes what would befall the people. Dragons] Jackals or wolves (Job. 30:29), whose howlings are at night most lamentable. Ostrich] Remarkable for its peculiar shrieks in pain.
Mic. 1:9. Wounds] Lit. the strokes inflicted upon her. Public calamities are often compared to diseases (Isa. 1:6). Gate] Because in it, par excellence, the people went out and in. Even the capital would not be spared.
HOMILETICS
THE AWFUL JUDGMENT.Mic. 1:3-7
To quicken attention to his message, the Prophet declares Gods purpose to humble the most eminent and manifest his justice to all.
I. The seat of judgment. The Lord cometh forth out of his place. If the place means either the temple or heaven itself, the procedure is not ordinary. God quits the temple, and turns the mercy-seat into a throne of judgment. He has not retired from the government of the world, but rends the heavens and comes down in awful justice to sinful nations. His daily providence affords no rule to guide us when he comes out of his place. He manifests himself in surprising wrath (Isa. 26:21), and performs terrible things which we looked not for.
II. The circumstances of judgment. The mountains shall be molten under him, &c. This may be figurative language, but it conveys a real truth. Nature trembles, and its stability dissolves at Gods presence. The hills melt like wax before the fire, the mountains pour down like floods into the valley. The earth in its lowest depths feels the indignation of a righteous God. Nature often realizes the destructive power of Divine judgments. History proves that all her forces are yoked to accomplish Gods purposes. The hardest will melt, the strongest cannot resist; for, behold, the Lord will come with fire, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
III. The cause of judgment. For the transgressions of Jacob, is all this. Jerusalem, the centre of holiness, and the residence of Jehovah, was the seat of idols, and the fountain of uncleanness (2Ch. 28:24). The unity, the claims, and the being of God were denied in the worship of Baal (Eze. 16:31; 2Ch. 28:24-25). Samaria, the rival capital, was the seat of injustice, and the corrupter of the country. The sins of these places were obstinate and aggravating. Sin is the cause of all ruin, material and moral. Multiplied sins (transgressions) will bring severe strokes. External rites and outward profession will not secure the house of Israel. Wealth and population cannot defend Samaria. All have provoked God to anger, and must feel his severity. Those who take no warning and feel no shame, ought to learn that shame and warning are a desert and a presage to ruin. They are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
IV. The effects of judgment. The order of the sin was the order of the punishment, says one.
1. High places would be overturned. God will tread upon the high places of the earth. Men of eminence, scenes of idolatry, and military fortifications; everything set in opposition to him would be trampled down and levelled in the dust. The lofty and the proud, the mighty and the secure, will be cast down. Those who trust in the height of the mountain or in the fertility of the valley, the munitions of rocks or the abundance of wealth, will be disappointed. There is no security against Divine judgment but in Christ Jesus.
2. Idolatry would be derdolished. The idols themselves would be stripped by the foe and destroyed. All graven images would be beaten to pieces. Gross superstitions and refined idolatry are spiritual adultery, and provoke God to jealousy. The hire and support of idolatry would be taken away. Micah adopts the language of Hosea (Hos. 2:5-8; Hos. 9:1; Hos. 10:6). The wealth or rewards received for worshipping idols, the gifts and votive offerings laid upon the altars, would enrich another nation. They had been gathered as the hire of a harlot, and they shall return to the hire of a harlot. Riches gained without God will be scattered away. Cursed in their origin, cursed in their end. Ill got, ill spent. Whatever material prosperity is gained by ignoring or dethroning God is the hire, the price of the soul, and shall be burned out with fire. Men shall be put to shame that abuse their gifts, and their sinful gain shall turn to everlasting loss.
3. The city would be destroyed. Samaria, the crown of pride (Isa. 28:1), was to be reduced to its original meanness, the site of vine-plantings. Its gorgeous palaces and noble temples would be destroyed. The stones would be rolled down the hills, and gathered into heaps as monuments of ruin. The foundations would be laid bare, and not one stone left upon another. The destruction would be complete; fragments of human habitations, emblems of mans labour and luxury, should lie amid the beauty and fertility of nature. Traces of sin and punishment are written in commercial ruin, national disgrace, and natural scenery. Whatever we build without God, church systems or family fortunes, and cement by strongest sins, will be hurled down with the storm; great will be their fall and eternal their ruins. See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.
THE INCURABLE WOUND.Mic. 1:8-9
The strokes inflicted by God are most severe. The wound is incurable. Morally and politically, individually and generally, the case is desperate. Hence the Prophet is moved to bitter sorrow.
I. The moral disease of men is incurable. Obstinacy in sin will bring Divine judgments, and no hand can cure the wounds that God inflicts but his own.
1. It is a deadly disease. Her wound is incurable, lit. she is grievously sick of her wounds. The centre, the vital parts of the kingdom, are tainted, the capital is corrupted.
2. It is a universal disease. The calamity begins with Samaria and comes to Jerusalem, the seat of justice and of religion.
3. It is a hopeless disease. The Prophet saw no remedy in the present state of things. This is a sad picture of the condition of the sinner. He is not simply in distress, but morally diseased and morally incurable. There are anodynes that may deaden their pains, and death will relieve them of their torture, says a writer; but a morally incurable soul is destined to pass into anguish, intense and more intense as existence runs on, and peradventure without end. Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous.
II. This morally incurable wound should create intense sorrow. The Prophet vents his grief in all ways of expressing grief. He goes stripped, half-naked, as we say, without garments of beauty, despoiled, plundered by an enemy. He wails like the pitiable cry of a jackal in the night, or an ostrich bereaved of her young. He mourns with increasing feeling for the chastisement, and as an example to his people. We should lament not only the sufferings of saints but the punishments of sinners. Ministers themselves must be affected with the message they deliver to others. To win souls they must be men of sympathy. The impending ruin of the ungodly must move them to tears before God. I will grieve from the heart over those who perish, said one. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I burn not? Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed?
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 1
Mic. 1:3-4. Earth. Inanimate nature knows its Creator, and worships him in its own fashion. States and kingdoms which stand out upon the world like mountains are utterly dissolved when he decrees their end. Systems as ancient and firmly-rooted as the hills pass away when he does but look upon them [Spurgeon].
Macbeth is ripe for shaking, and the powers above
Put on their instruments [Shakespeare].
Mic. 1:5. Transgression. Gods justice on offenders goes not always in the same path, nor the same pace; and he is not pardoned for the fault who is for a while reprieved from the punishment [Fuller].
Mic. 1:6-8. Heap. Travellers speak of the site of Samaria as strewed with masses of ruins; of its rich soil now cultivated in terraces; and of the stones that are collected together into heaps. The whole face of this part of the hill suggests the idea that the buildings of the ancient city had been thrown down from the brow of the hill. Ascending to the top, we went round the whole summit, and found marks of the same process everywhere [Narrative of Scottish Mission].
Mic. 1:7. Broken. Its idols in whom she trusts, so far from protecting her, shall themselves go into captivity, broken up for the gold and silver whereof they were made. The wars of the Assyrians being religious wars, the idolatry of Assyria destroyed the idolatry and idols of Israel [Pusey].
Mic. 1:9. Incurable. Moral disorganization can never be remedied by intellectual culture. Social reforms may alter circumstances, but the gospel only can remove the evils of society.
Pause not; for the present times so sick
That present medicine must be ministered,
Or overthrow incurable ensues [Shakespeare].
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Mic 1:3. For, behold, the Lord cometh, &c. He pictures out to us the Lord as a mighty conqueror, marching forth from his royal palace to reduce his enemies. The prophet in this whole description manifestly alludes to God’s descent on mount Sinai. See Exo 19:16-18. Deu 4:11-12; Deu 32:13. Psa 18:8; Psa 18:50.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mic 1:3 For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.
Ver. 3. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place ] That is, say they, out of Judea and his temple there, leaving it to the Chaldeans and Assyrians. See Eze 3:12 , and chapters 9-11, where God makes various withdrawals from the cherubins to the threshold, from thence to the east gate, from thence to mount Olivet, quite out of the city, Eze 11:23 , and when God was gone, then followed the fatal calamity, in the ruin of the city. But by God’s coming forth out of his place here I conceive is meant his descending from heaven to do justice on this hypocritical nation, Isa 26:21 , and because hypocritis nihil stupidius; hypocrites, resting on their external performances and privileges, will hardly be persuaded of any evil toward them. Mic 3:11 , “Is not the Lord,” say they, “among us? none evil can come upon us”; therefore we have here an emphatic Ecce, “Behold, the Lord cometh”; he is even upon the way already, and will be here with the first. He will come down as once at Sodom, when their sin was very grievous, Gen 18:20 , when they were overcharged with the superfluity of naughtiness; God came from heaven to give their land a vomit; and so he would do here; for unregenerate Israel was to God as Ethiopia, Amo 9:7 , as the rulers of Sodom and people of Gomorrah, Isa 1:10 .
And tread upon the high places of the earth
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6.
tread upon, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deu 32:13; Deu 33:29). App-92. Compare Amo 4:13.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
cometh: Isa 26:21, Isa 64:1, Isa 64:2, Eze 3:12, Hos 5:14, Hos 5:15
place: Psa 115:3
and tread: Job 40:12, Isa 2:10-19, Isa 25:10, Isa 63:3, Isa 63:4, Amo 4:13
the high: Deu 32:13, Deu 33:29, Hab 3:19
Reciprocal: Gen 18:21 – I will go down 1Sa 22:1 – the cave Psa 74:3 – Lift Psa 97:5 – hills Psa 114:4 – General Isa 2:19 – when he Amo 8:8 – the land Amo 9:5 – toucheth Zec 14:4 – cleave Mat 27:51 – the earth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE LORDS ADVENT
The Lord cometh forth out of His place and the mountains shall be molten under Him.
Mic 1:3-4
God, said the prophet, would come down in judgment. He loved His people too well to give them over to their sins. Gods one purpose is to set us free from the dominion of evil, for He knows that we can never be really blessed until our bonds are broken and our uncleanness removed. How shall we ever be thankful enough that Jesus Christ has come forth out of His place in the glory to deliver us; and whatever mountains may oppose Him in His great redemptive work, surely they shall flow down at His presence!
I. There must be suffering.The suffering of chastisement. As it was with Israel, so it must be with us. We must learn that it is an evil and bitter thing to indulge in known sin. The strokes will fall quick and fast, although the rod is held by a Fathers hand. Where conscience is not quick enough to admonish us, outward discipline must be called in to supplement her.
II. We must claim the shelter of Christs Cross and grave.Israel knew nought of these as we know them. But how great our privilege and power to retreat to the cleft of the rock and hide there whilst storms of temptation sweep past! Satan cannot reach the soul that is sheltering there. This is being truly dead unto sin.
III. We must look up for the indwelling energy of the ascended Christ.The Ascension means even more than the Resurrection. From the glorious height of His Ascension, the Lord Jesus comes to indwell us, and to melt down the strong mountains of our rebellious will, substituting His own.
Illustrations
(1) The sublime imagery of the opening paragraph was probably supplied by the traditions of the great earthquake which took place in the reign of Uzziah. The Almighty God is depicted as coming down to judgment, and nature trembles before His advent. He judges Samaria first, and pronounces the dread sentence of its approaching overthrow by Assyria.
(2) Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea. Jeremiah quotes Mic 3:12 (Jer 26:18); and there are several correspondences between his words and Isaiah. He denounces the idolatries perpetrated in Samaria, so soon to fall, and Jerusalem. Gods coming to judge his guilty people is attended by earthquake and storm. Samaria would be made desolate, and all the wealth which Israel boasted of having received from her idols, as her reward or hire for worshipping them, would return to them again when she was carried into captivity. The prophet describes his own anguish, as he sees the approaching calamity, which should involve, not Samaria only, but Jerusalem.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Mic 1:3. The holy temple in heaven is the Lord’s personal duelling place, hut He is everywhere at all times in a spiritual sense. And He. is spoken of as being in or coming to specific spots on the earth when some definite work is to be accomplished, such as inflicting a chastisement on His people for their sins.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1:3 For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come {c} down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.
(c) Meaning by this that God will come to judgment against the strong cities and strongholds.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Lord was about to intervene in the affairs of His people. He is not only transcendent above all but immanently involved in the world, one of the most basic revelations in Old Testament theology. When He came, all the earth would melt, split, and quake before His awesome power (cf. Jdg 5:4-5). Since He could affect the physical creation so drastically, His people needed to fear Him. Treading on the high places of the land, where the Israelites worshipped in idolatry (cf. 2Ch 33:17), probably also implies that He would crush pagan worship. [Note: McComiskey, p. 404; John A. Martin, "Micah," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, p. 1477.]
"If men would tremble before God, instead of before each other, they would have nothing to fear." [Note: Waltke, in Obadiah, . . ., p. 152.]