Week 16 - Micah (1-7) & John 15 (April 16-22)

Micah

Date of Authorship:   Micah begins by giving us a historical reference point, saying that Micah’s ministry spanned the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (1:1). This marker leaves a window of 739 to 686 BC. it appears that some of Micah is written while Samaria and the northern kingdom of Israel still exist (see 1:5-7). Samaria was besieged and destroyed in 722 BC, and Assyria conducted successive campaigns into Palestine in 711 and 701 BC. Micah’s threats of destruction seem to be written in anticipation of these later Assyrian incursions. Think of Micah as contemporaneous with Isaiah, and a century before Jeremiah.

Author:  We know little about Micah other than the fact that he was from a small town in southwest Judah named Moresheth. Although Micah mentions Israel and prophesies against them, his prophecy is mainly directed to the southern kingdom of Judah. As written in 3:1 & 9 Micah is writing primarily to the leaders of God’s people.

Purpose:  Micah is constructed as a series of threat/promise iterations. Through Micah, God threatens to punish his people for unfaithfulness to their covenant. These threats are made because of the sinfulness of God’s people in both idolatry and interpersonal injustice. Justice plays a big role in Micah’s prophetic message as it becomes apparent that God is infuriated by the leaders of Israel cheating and mistreating the people. Although Micah recognizes the sin of the whole nation, he seems to take up the cause of the oppressed and powerless against the injustice of the rulers, priests, and leaders. This perspective in Micah foreshadows Jesus’ ministry which had a similar dichotomy between the Jewish leaders and the Jewish people - especially in the Gospel of Luke. In Micah, each series of condemnations and threats of punishment is followed by a promise of hope and restoration. Notice how many of these promises for restoration are pointed at the people, and not the leaders of Judah. Notice the promises for a new leader - God himself who will govern justly - when God’s people are someday restored.

Notes

MICAH 4:10: MICAH’S CLAIRVOYANCE

Micah prophesies something incredible in Micah 4:10. Can you identify which claim in this verse is incredible?

Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion,
    like a woman in labor,
for now you must leave the city
    to camp in the open field.
You will go to Babylon;
    there you will be rescued.
There the Lord will redeem you
    out of the hand of your enemies.

None of that seems out of place to the reader familiar with Old Testament history, who knows that Jerusalem is destroyed and exiled by the Babylonian Empire. However, at the time of Micah’s ministry, there is no Babylonian Empire. It would have been more logical in Micah’s day if he had assigned Ashur or Nineveh as the place of exile because it was the Assyrian empire threatening Judah. Babylon was just a subjected city & province of Assyria like all the other nation-states in the Ancient Near East. Nobody, in Micah’s day, would predict Babylon exiling anyone, but God’s foolishness is wiser than man’s wisdom. Micah here, like his contemporary peer, Isaiah, in 2nd Kings 20, is used by God to prophesy the unforeseeable ascension of, and invasion by, Babylon that would occur a century later.

MICAH 6:10-11: INJUSTICE IN JUDAH

We’re familiar with God’s condemnation of his people for the practice of Idolatry in which they worshiped the gods of their Canaanite neighbors like Baal, Asheroth, and Molech. Micah is also prophesying condemnation and punishment, but instead of focusing on Idolatry like Hosea and Isaiah, Micah is focused on injustice and immorality. In these two verses, we see that God is angered by the leaders in Jerusalem who are using dishonest scales and standards to conduct business. This message is similar to Amos and has a consistent theme throughout the Old Testament. It is an important thread for us to understand because we are not tempted, in modern times, to offer sacrifices to Baal like the people of the Old Testament were, but we do frequently encounter opportunities to lie, cheat, and have a calloused heart towards the poor and powerless. Do not think that because we don’t worship graven images, our sins will not anger God in the same way. Micah’s prophetic ministry is primarily directed toward those sins which flourish in the 21st century. In February of 2018, Brady Erickson preached on the most famous verse from the prophet of Micah, if you’re reading the study notes online, you can see that video here (adjacent) the message starts at the 24:45 mark.

John 15: the Vine and Branches

Dwelling in the Vine The word “abide” (KJV, NASB, NRSV), “remain” (NIV, GNT) or “dwell” (15:4-10) is the verb form of “dwelling place” (see comment on 14:2, 23). In the *Old Testament God had promised to dwell with his obedient covenant people always (Ex 25:8; 29:45; Lev 26:11-12; Ezek 37:27-28; 43:9). The Old Testament and Jewish literature sometimes portrayed Israel as a vineyard (e.g., Is 5:7; Jer 12:10), or less frequently as a vine (e.g., Ps 80:8; Ezek 19:10; Hos 10:1) and God as the vinegrower (Is 5:1-3). Nevertheless, the image of organic union elaborated here goes beyond most available analogies.

A celebrated golden vine in the temple may have symbolized Israel’s power, and Jesus may here portray the *disciples as the remnant of Israel (see comment on 15:16). Also relevant in light of John’s depiction of Jesus in 1:1-18, Wisdom could be portrayed as a fruit-bearing vine (Sirach 24:17), inviting others to come to her, eat and drink, and obey (24:19-22). But Wisdom is compared with various trees (24:13-17) and invites hearers to eat her fruit, not bear it (24:19-21). Again, therefore, the image of union in this passage is more organic than in the most closely analogous texts. The most basic point of the imagery is the obvious dependence of branches on the vine for their continued life. Vineyards were pervasive in the Mediterranean world, including in Judea and (where most scholars locate John’s audience) in Asia Minor. Small farmers, including most Galileans, had vines along with fig and olive trees.

The three common domestic fruit “trees” were the fig, olive and vine, and of these, the olive and vine (esp. the latter) required most attention. Those tending vines (and some kinds of trees) would cut away useless branches lest they wastefully sap the strength of the plant; in the long run, this diverted more strength into the branches that would genuinely bear fruit. The weaker the vine, the more harshly one pruned it, reducing short-term fruit but ensuring a greater measure of fruit the following year. Farmers pruned in two different ways: they pruned fruitful branches to make them more fruitful, and (as in 15:6) they removed unfruitful branches entirely. In the spring in Italy, farmers would tie vines to their supports (trees or, more often, wooden posts) and offer an initial trimming; further pruning of tendrils could occur during summer and as late as October. Some advised pruning only when the vine was strong enough to bear it, with the strongest pruning just after the fall vintage. In Palestine, fruitless branches were removed especially during winter. Here is another of John’s plays on words (see comment on 3:3): the term he uses for “prunes” normally means “cleanses,” reflecting a motif in John (e.g., 2:6; 13:10). Although the term applied to ritual purity, both Greek and Jewish sources also applied it to inward purification of the heart. The Old Testament prophets often called on Israel to “bear fruit” for God (e.g., Is 27:6; Hos 14:4-8); in an agrarian culture, one might depict God’s *law as bearing fruit in the righteous (*4 Ezra 3:20).

Keener, Craig S.. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (p. 293). InterVarsity Press.