Micah 1:2

Hear, all ye people - The very commencement of this prophecy supposes preceding exhortations and predictions. Hearken, O earth - ארץ arets, here, should be translated land, the country of the Hebrews being only intended. And let the Lord God be Witness - Let him who has sent me with this message be witness that I have delivered it faithfully; and be a witness against you, if you take not the warning. The Lord from his holy temple - The place where he still remains as your King, and your Judge; and where you profess to pay your devotions. The temple was yet standing, for Jerusalem was not taken for many years after this; and these prophecies were delivered before the captivity of the ten tribes, as Micah appears to have been sent both to Israel and to Judah. See Mic 1:5-9, Mic 1:12, Mic 1:13.

GOD'S WRATH AGAINST SAMARIA AND JUDAH; THE FORMER IS TO BE OVERTHROWN; SUCH JUDGMENTS IN PROSPECT CALL FOR MOURNING. (Mic. 1:1-16) all that therein is--Hebrew, "whatever fills it." Micaiah, son of Imlah, begins his prophecy similarly, "Hearken, O people, every one of you." Micah designedly uses the same preface, implying that his ministrations are a continuation of his predecessor's of the same name. Both probably had before their mind Moses' similar attestation of heaven and earth in a like case (Deu 31:28; Deu 32:1; compare Isa 1:2). God be witness against you--namely, that none of you can say, when the time of your punishment shall come, that you were not forewarned. The punishment denounced is stated in Mic 1:3, &c. from his holy temple--that is, heaven (Kg1 8:30; Psa 11:4; Jon 2:7; compare Rom 1:18).

Hear, all ye people,.... Or, "the people, all of them" (m); not all the nations of the world, but the nations of Israel, so called from their several tribes; though some (n) think the rest of the inhabitants of the earth are meant: thee are the same words which are used by Micaiah the prophet in the times of Ahab, long before this time, from whom they might be borrowed, Kg1 22:28. The phrase in the Hebrew language, as Aben Ezra observes, is very wonderful, and serves to strike the minds and excite the attention of men; it is like the words of a crier, in a court of judicature, calling for silence: hearken, O earth, and all that therein is; or, "its fulness" (o); the land of Israel and Judah, the whole land of promise, and all the inhabitants of it; for to them are the following words directed: and let the Lord God be witness against you; or, "in you" (p); the Word of the Lord, as the Targum; let him who is the omniscient God, and knows all hearts, thoughts, words, and actions, let him bear witness in your consciences, that what I am about to say is truth, and comes from him; is not my own word, but his; and if you disregard it, and repent not, let him be a witness against you, and for me, that I have prophesied in his name; that I have faithfully delivered his message, and warned you of your danger, and reproved you for your sins, and have kept back nothing I have been charged and entrusted with: and now, you are summoned into open court, and at the tribunal of the great God of heaven and earth; let him be a witness against you of the many sins you have been guilty of, and attend while the indictment is read, the charge exhibited, and the proof given by the Lord from his holy temple, from heaven, the habitation of his holiness; whose voice speaking from thence should be…

I. Israel's Banishment into Exile, and Restoration - Micah 1 and Mic 2:1-13 The prophet's first address is throughout of a threatening and punitive character; it is not till quite the close, that the sun of divine grace breaks brightly shining through the thunder clouds of judgment. The announcement of the judgment upon Samaria as well as upon the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem forms the first part (Mic 1:2-16); the reproof of the sins, especially of the unrighteousness of the great and mighty of the nation, the second part (Mic 2:1-11); and a brief but very comprehensive announcement of the salvation that will dawn upon the remnant of all Israel after the judgment, the conclusion of the address (Mic 2:12-13). The Judgment upon Samaria and Judah - Micah 1 Micah, commencing with the appeal to all nations to observe the coming of the Lord for judgment upon the earth (Mic 1:2-4), announces to the people of Israel, on account of its sins and its apostasy from the Lord, the destruction of Samaria (Mic 1:5-7) and the spreading of the judgment over Judah; and shows how, passing from place to place, and proceeding to Jerusalem, and even farther, it will throw the kingdom into deep lamentation on account of the carrying away of its inhabitants.

In this chapter we have, I. The title of the book (Mic 1:1) and a preface demanding attention (Mic 1:2). II. Warning given of desolating judgments hastening upon the kingdoms of Israel and Judah (Mic 1:3, Mic 1:4), and all for sin (Mic 1:5). III. The particulars of the destruction specified (Mic 1:6, Mic 1:7). IV. The greatness of the destruction illustrated, 1. By the prophet's sorrow for it (Mic 1:8, Mic 1:9). 2. By the general sorrow that should be for it, in the several places that must expect to share in it (Mic 1:10-16). These prophecies of Micah might well be called his lamentations.

1:2–2:13 This message of judgment introduces some of the major concerns of Micah’s prophecies and asserts God’s determination to judge his people and put them into exile (1:16; 2:4-5), but it concludes with the Lord’s assurance that he will rescue a remnant from exile (2:12-13). 1:2-7 This oracle concerns Samaria prior to 722 BC, when Samaria was destroyed and its people were deported. The Sovereign Lord was coming to judge his people. 1:2 Attention! translates the same word that introduces the Shema (“Listen!”) in Deut 6:4. • The holy Temple is the Lord’s heavenly abode, not the corrupt Temple in Jerusalem (Mic 1:2-3).