The Pulpit Commentary — Micah — Section 44

I. TnE IlISTORI0AI, FACT OF THE MATERIAL DESOLATION wman WAS TO RESULT FROlI THE PilEVAIJ,INO NATIONAL TnA~SORESSION. (Ver.12.) Observe: 1. This prophecy was doubtless oft repeated by the prophet. 'l'bat it was uttered by him during the reign of Hezekiah is clear from Jeremiah (xxvi. 17, 19). But it had probably been uttered by him previously, for tho words which follow ( eh. iv.1-3), and which are closely connected with them, were quoted by Isaiah frnm Micah during the earlier reign of Jotham (Isa, ii. 2-4). The prophets enforced their teaching by const,mt reiteration. "To write the same things," etc. (Phil. iii. 1). 2. The faithful utterance of this "dark saying" was the means of working a temporary reformation. (See Jer. xxvi.17, 19.) It might have exposed the seer to the greatest peril. To declare such evil omens at a time when the prosperity of the land was reviving under the wise rule of Hezekiah might have involved the prophet in suffering, and even death. But, happily, it had its desired effect; it caused the king and the people to bow before God in humiliation, and "judgment" against the evil works which had been wrought "was not executed speedily" (Jer. xxvi. 19). 3. Though thus delayed, the destruction of the land was ultimately effected. Dean Stanley observed in reference to this prediction by Micah, "The destruction which was then threatened has never been completely fulfilled. Pa.rt of the south-eastern portion of the city has for several centuries been arable land, but the rest bas always been within the walls. In the Maccabean wars (1 Mace. iv. 38) the temple courts were overgrown with shrubs, but this has never been the case since"(' Jewish Church,' ii.464). It is possible to be too literal in ourinterpretations, and the facts of history are simply sufficient to indicate how entirely that which'Micah predicted (ver. 12) has come to pass (see Richardson's 'Travels,' p. 359; Keith on • Prophecy,' p. 257; Porter's' Handbook,' p. 92). II. CONSIDER 'l'HIS AS SYMBOLICAL OF THAT SPIBITUAL DESOLATION WHICH IS EVEB THE OUTCOME OF EVIL. It is the natural tendency of sin to render the transgressor desolate in heart; indeed, a man cannot indulge in a course of evil without his inner self, his sriritual being, becoming waste. A man yields to the sin of avarice, and perhaps as the result of its indulgence he gains his hundreds and thousands, gets the best of many a bargain, and at length amasses a fortune; Lut then he loses peace of mind, kindliness of heart, the joy resulting from cherishing all generous impulses, and probably also his soul; so that whilst in the worldly sense he has succeeded, he has prospered at a terrible sacrifice, even the withering of his highest and noblest powers; he has " got on," has " risen in the world,'' but his heart is left void and desolate. So also is it with unholy ambition. We think of Sennacherib saying to Hezekiah, "Where arc the gods of Hamath?" etc. (Isa. xxxvi. 19, 20), thus proclaiming defiantly his victories; or of Herod sitting upon his throne, arrayed in gorgeous apparel, making his oration to the people, and priding himself in their flattery as he heard their cry, "It is the voice of a god, and not of a man" (Acts xii. 21, 22); and whilst on the one hand we see in them representatives of tbe lovers of power, of outward show, of flattery and applause, we see on the other hand men who, amidst e.11 these outward pretences, were inwardly empty, waste, desolate. And there may be this spiritual desolation amidst much of apparent good, It does not follow that because a man is becoming thus spiritually desolate, his heart is necessarily closed against e.11 that is good, or that because a man is susceptible of some good he is not spiritually becoming waste. There may be love of kindred with all those praiseworthy acts to which this may prompt. There may be large and generous sympathies. Attl•ntion, too, may even be paid to religious observances; and yet with all this the heart may be closed to the heavenly influences of the Spirit of God, and may be found at length a mornl waste (Prov. iv. 23). 'l'hink of the inestimable value of that Sacrifice, the design of which was the putting away of sin and the raisinf? to honour and dignity those whom sin had covered with ignominy and had plunged into ruin. Our very desolation has rendered us the objects of the special concern of the Most High (John iii. 16). Trustina to Christ, we become delivered from sin with all its thraldom and misery. And th~ happy era shall at length dawn, to which we look forward with longing, t>xpectant hearts, when the entire moral aspect of the universe shall be chan!!'ed. and "thci desert rejoice and blossom as the rose."  44 THE BOOK OF MIOAH. [OII. III, 1-12.