Mic 2 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Mic 2:1-2: 2:1-2 Power had corrupted the wealthy, who should have been ready to help their fellow Israelites (cp. Gen 4:9 ; Josh 1:14 ). • Thinking up evil plans ... because you have the power to do so indicates a corrupt heart, mind, and character (Gen 6:5 ). • When you want: They possessed the property of others in a way that amounted to stealing and broke God’s law that forbids coveting (Exod 20:17 ). A family’s inheritance was a sacred gift from the Lord, intended as a permanent possession (Lev 25:8-55 ; cp. 1 Kgs 21 ; Isa 5:8 ). God looked for righteousness among his people, but instead he found oppression (1 Kgs 10:9 ; Isa 5:7 ; 2 Pet 2:13 ).

Summary for Mic 2:1-2: 2:1-2 ^a Power had corrupted the wealthy, who should have been ready to help their fellow Israelites (cp. Gen 4:9 ^b; Josh 1:14 ^c).

• Thinking up evil plans ... because you have the power to do so indicates a corrupt heart, mind, and character (Gen 6:5 ^d).

• When you want: They possessed the property of others in a way that amounted to stealing and broke God’s law that forbids coveting (Exod 20:17 ^e). A family’s inheritance was a sacred gift from the Lord, intended as a permanent possession (Lev 25:8-55 ^f; cp. 1 Kgs 21 ^g; Isa 5:8 ^h). God looked for righteousness among his people, but instead he found oppression (1 Kgs 10:9 ⁱ; Isa 5:7 ^j; 2 Pet 2:13 ^k).
Summary for Mic 2:3-5: 2:3-5 ^l The Lord, the Judge, reads out the sentence. He would pay back his people’s evil hearts and actions with evil in kind. The prophet is engaging in wordplay here. The Hebrew word translated “evil” has a wide range of meaning. It can connote moral evil, as in the first instance; it can also connote calamity or disaster as in the second instance. The Lord would bring calamity on them in response to their wickedness.
2:4 ^m The power brokers would be ruined financially as their enemies confiscated their property. The land that they had seized unjustly from fellow Israelites would be violently taken from them (2:5 ⁿ).
2:6 ^o There was a pathetic attempt to stifle the words of a true prophet.

• the people respond: They thought that exile and other such disasters could not happen to them, but they were wrong.
Summary for Mic 2:7-10: 2:7-10 ^p The maltreatment of their fellow Israelites was tantamount to an attack against the Lord and his prophet. The fault lay with the people, not with Micah’s inspired and righteous message.
2:11 ^q a prophet full of lies: These evil people loved to hear deceptions from their favorite good-time prophets (cp. Jer 28:8-9 ^r). False prophets proclaimed assurance that Israel and Judah could escape from judgment. When judgment came, they had no comfort to give.
Summary for Mic 2:12-13: 2:12-13 ^s God showed his love and care for his rebellious people by giving them a promise of hope even as he spoke of exile and despair. Israel would be scattered, but they would be brought back (cp. Deut 4:26-29 ^t; 30:1-6 ^u).
2:13 ^v The Lord did lead Israel out of exile, foreshadowing the even greater freedom from slavery that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, would later bring.