The Book of Micah with Brit-Am/Hebrew Awareness Commentary
Continued from Micah ch.6. part 1.
Micah (ESV) 6:
6 With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
This is a rhetorical question. God does not require expensive sacrifices. You do not have to go to a great deal of trouble and expense. A person is not commanded to offer up their first born child as a sacrifice. This is not the way of the Bible. It is however what happens with MODERN SECULAR HOUSEHOLDS. Young couples often put off bringing a child into the world. If by accident the wife gets pregnant it is not unheard of for the fetus to be ripped out of the womb and thrown away.
The Almighty does not want this.
8 He has told you, O man, 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?
This is a well-known passage and an important one. God wants you to be fair, not to cheat others, nor to speak harshly to them, to be considerate, polite, and humble. Life can be hard and life is short. Why make it hard for others?
9 The voice of the LORD cries to the city
and it is sound wisdom to fear your name:
Hear of the rod and of Him who appointed it!
The city. This says "Daat Mikra" is the city of Shomron translated into English as "Samaria" after the Phoenician-Greek name for the place. "Samaria" is also similar to the name given to it by the Assyrians. "Samaria" may be the name that the Northern Israelites themselves applied to it. The Hebrew Language we have at present and in which most of the Bible is written is that familiar to the Kingdom of Judah in the south. In the north and east there may have been dialectical differences. Archaeological finds such as as those of Dir Alla (the Biblical "Succoth") on the east back of the Jordan indicate that different dialects were indeed to be found. In Dir Alla (probably pertaining to the Tribe of Gad), for instance, the language appears to be some type of Ancient Aramaic mixed in with a variant of Hebrew a little different from what we are familiar with. Samaria (i.e. "Shomron") was the name for the capital city of the northern Ten Tribes and also for the province surrounding it. It was in the territory of the Tribe of Manasseh. Further on (6:16) in this present passage there is mention of "the statutes of Omri." King Omri built the city of Samaria and made it his capital.
1-Kings (ESV) 16:
24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, and he fortified the hill and called the name of the city that he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.
Hear of the rod and of him who appointed it! The Almighty gives reward and punishment according to HIS understanding.
10 Can I forget any longer the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked,
and the scant measure that is accursed?
11 Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales
and with a bag of deceitful weights?
12 Your rich men are full of violence;
your inhabitants speak lies,
and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,
making you desolate because of your sins.
The Commentary, "Me'am Lo'az," opines:
"Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow," is said regarding the Ten Tribes [in the northern area of "Israel" separate from Judah]. All the above curses refer to the time of their Exile. This is what is means below, "You shall sow but not reap" (6:15) , etc. What you have preserved fro yourself will be destroyed and you will be exiled.
14 You shall eat, but not be satisfied,
and there shall be hunger within you;
you shall put away, but not preserve,
and what you preserve I will give to the sword.
15 You shall sow, but not reap;
you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.
16 For you have kept the statutes of Omri,
and all the works of the House of Ahab;
and you have walked in their counsels,
that I may make you a desolation, and your inhabitants a hissing;
so you shall bear the scorn of my people.
Ahab was the son of Omri. Omri was quite famous in the Middle East. In addition to his exploits mentioned in Scripture there were also military victories to his credit that the Bible does not recall. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was later referred to by the Assyrians as "House of Omri" after he and his dynasty no longer ruled over Israel. The Hebrew name "Omri" begins with the letter "ayin" which the Assyrians pronounced as Aking of "G." House of Omri became "Bit-Ghom ri" or even (in one palce) just "Ghomri." Old British Israelite writings and also a few secular scholars (e.g. Kristiansen) derived the name given tot he Cimmerians "Gimirri," "Gomri," as derived from Omri. They identified the Cimmerians and Scythians with the Lost Ten Tribes. This is also an equation that we too have adopted (but not necessarily for the same reasons) in our published works.
Brit-Am/Hebrew Awareness even now already has the most complete coverage in existence of Biblical References to the Ten Tribes. God willing we will improve on all this, merit to reach the truth andf impart it to others.
1-Kings (ESV) 22:
28 And Omri slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and Ahab his son reigned in his place.
29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.
30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him.
31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.
The son of Ahab was Ahaziah. In the reign of Ahab the Prophet Eliyahu was active. After him came the prophets Elishah and Micayahu (Micaiah) the son of Imlah (1-Kings 22:8). He is also known as "Micah" and he is the author of the Book of Micah we are now studying.
CONTINUED at Micah ch.7 part 1.