Who was Micah in the Bible?

This is the testimony of the book of Jeremiah to Micah, who prophesied under the reign of Hezekiah, as well as Jotham and Ahaz. The first verse of the book of Micah gives us this information. While Jonah was a Galilean, Micah was a Judean. He came from Moresheth-Gath, which distinguishes him from another prophet of the same name, Micah the son of Imlah. (See 1 Kings 22:8; Micaiah is the same as Micah.) The name Micah means "who is like the LORD?"

This prophet was at the same time as Isaiah, Hosea, and Amos: see the first verse of each of the books of these prophets. Micah is called "the Morasthite" from Moresheth-Gath, a small town in southern Judea, not far from Jerusalem. There is not in this book such a range of subjects or such full treatment as in Isaiah, yet Micah in some respects resembles his great contemporary. Both give special attention to Israel's political foe and outside enemy in the future Jewish crisis, namely "the Assyrian" or "king of the north"; and both predict the blessedness of the coming kingdom in the same eloquent terms (Isa. 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-3).

They should cry to Jehovah. But He would not hear them. No prophet should enlighten them with the light of His word. The seers should be confounded; there should be no answer from God (v. 1-7). It was not so with the prophet, full of power by the Spirit of Jehovah to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin (v. 8). This he does by again denouncing the chiefs among the people who judged for reward, and the prophets who divined for money, while they claimed the privilege of Jehovah's presence.

Now this instance from Hezekiah's reign was all the more striking because Micah had prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple in the days of a good king. Surely, then, his prophecy was more surprising than Jeremiah's prediction of the same thing in the days of a bad king. The defence of the prophet was therefore complete. "Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear Jehovah, and plead with Jehovah, and Jehovah relented of the disaster He had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves."

Just as the prophecy of the virgin's Son is recalled in Matthew 1, so this is quoted in Matthew 2, and both are there applied to Christ. Bethlehem was of small importance in itself, insignificant among the thousands of Judah, yet it was to leap into undying fame. And why? "From you shall come forth for Me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days."

He looks through the desolation that must come because of Israel's sins to the restoring of all things in the latter day, when the nations shall be ashamed of all their might, and lick the dust. "Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not keep His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as You have sworn to our fathers from the days of old" (Micah 7:18-20).

A man of Mount Ephraim, whose history reveals the sad state of private life in Israel, as well as the mixing of idolatry with the name of Jehovah, early in the times of the Judges… He had a house of gods, and made an ephod and teraphim, and set apart one of his sons to act as priest. A wandering son of Levi, finding his way to Micah's house, was gladly received by him… Then Micah said, "Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest." … There was no king in Israel, and every man did what was right in his own eyes; and God, though owned in name, was in reality ignored. Judges 17, Judges 18.