CHAPTER II _Here the prophet denounces a wo against the plotters of_ _wickedness, the covetous and the oppressor_, 1, 2. _God is represented as devising their ruin_, 3. _An Israelite is then introduced as a mourner, personating his_ _people, and lamenting their fate_, 4. _Their total expulsion... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Micah 2:2. _THEY COVET FIELDS_] These are the rich and mighty in the land; and, like Ahab, they will take the vineyard or inheritance of any poor Naboth on which they may fix their covetous eye; so that they take away even the _heritage_ of the poor.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Micah 2:3. _AGAINST THIS FAMILY_ (the Israelites) _DO I DEVISE AN_ _EVIL_] You have _devised_ the evil of _plundering_ the upright; I will devise the evil to you of _punishment_ for your conduct; you shall have your _necks_ brought under the yoke of servitude. Tiglath-pileser ruined this kingd... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Micah 2:4. _TAKE UP A PARABLE AGAINST YOU_] Your wickedness and your punishment shall be subjects of common conversation; and a _funeral_ _dirge_ shall be composed and sung for you as for the _dead_. The _lamentation_ is that which immediately follows: _We be utterly_ _spoiled_; and ends, _Are... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Micah 2:5. _NONE THAT SHALL CAST A CORD_] You will no more have your inheritance divided to you by lot, as it was to your fathers; ye shall neither have fields nor possessions of any kind.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Micah 2:6. _PROPHESY YE NOT_] Do not predict any more evils-we have as many as we can bear. We are utterly ruined-shame and confusion cover our faces. The original is singular, and expressive of sorrow and sobbing. Literally, "Do not cause it to rain; they will cause it to rain; they cannot m... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Micah 2:7. _IS THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD STRAITENED?_] This is the complaint of the Israelites, and a part of the lamentation. Doth it not speak by other persons as well as by Micah? Doth it communicate to us such influences as it did formerly? Is it true that these evils are threatened by that S... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 8. _MY PEOPLE IS RISEN UP AS AN ENEMY_] Ye are not only opposed to me, but ye are enemies to each other. Ye rob and spoil each other. Ye plunder the peaceable passenger; depriving him both of his _upper_ and _under_ garment; _ye pull off the robe_ from those who, far from being spoilers themse... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 9. _THE WOMEN OF MY PEOPLE_] Ye are the cause of the women and their children being carried into captivity-separated from their pleasant habitations, and from my temple and ordinances-and from the blessings of the covenant, which it is my _glory_ to give, and theirs to receive. These two vers... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Micah 2:10. _ARISE YE, AND DEPART_] Prepare for your captivity; ye shall have no _resting_ place here: the very _land is polluted_ by your iniquities, and shall vomit you out, and it shall be _destroyed_; and the _destruction_ of it shall be great and _sore_. Some think this is an exhortation... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Micah 2:11. _IF A MAN WALKING IN THE SPIRIT AND FALSEHOOD_] The meaning is: If a man who professes to be _Divinely inspired_ do _lie_, by prophesying of plenty, c., then such a person shall be _received_ as a _true prophet_ by this people. It not unfrequently happens that the Christless worldl... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Micah 2:12. _I WILL SURELY ASSEMBLE_] This is a promise of the restoration of Israel from captivity. He compares them to a flock of sheep rushing together to their fold, the _hoofs_ of which make a _wonderful noise_ or _clatter_. So when _one hundred_ sheep run, _eight hundred_ toes or divisio... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Micah 2:13. _THE BREAKER IS COME UP_] He who is to give them _deliverance_, and lead them out on the way of their return. He who takes down the _hurdles_, or makes _a gap_ in the _wall_ or _hedge_, to permit them to pass through. This may apply to those _human agents_ that shall permit and ord... [ Continue Reading ]