MICAH

Verse 1:3

THE DESCENT OF CHRIST INCARNATE PRE­FIGURED. ORIGEN: "I have descended," the text says, "to see," When responses are delivered to Abraham, God is not said to descend but to stand  before him, as we explained above, "Three men," the text says, "stood before him."' But now be­cause sinners are involved, God is said to descend. Beware lest you think of ascending and de­scending spatially. For these metaphors are fre­quently found in the sacred literature, as in the prophet Micah. "Behold," Scripture says, "the Lord departed from his holy place and came down and will tread upon the high places of the earth." Therefore God is said to descend when he deigns to have concern for human frailty. This should be discerned especially of our Lord and Savior, who "thought it not robbery to be equal with God but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant."' Therefore he descended. For "no oth­er has ascended into heaven, but he that descend­ed from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven." For the Lord descended not only to care for us but also to bear what things are ours. "For he took the form of a servant," and although he himself is invisible in nature, inasmuch as he is equal to the Father, nevertheless he took a visible appearance "and was found in appearance as a man."' HOMILIES ON GENESIS 4.5

2:11

THE READINESS OF THE PROPHET. JOHN CASSIAN: St. Paul wished that he could be accursed if the people of Israel be saved to God's glory. The man who knows that death is not the end is con­fident in his readiness to die for Christ. Again, "We rejoice when we are weak, but you are strong." It is no wonder if St. Paul, for the glory of Christ and the conversion of his brother Jews and of the Gentiles, should be ready to be ac­cursed of Christ. Even the prophet Micah wanted to be a liar and to lose the inspiration of the Holy Spirit if the Jews could escape the punishment and the destruction which he had prophesied: "Would that I were not man that had the Spirit, and that I rather spoke a lie." And there was the case of the lawgiver, Moses, who did not refuse to perish with his brothers who were doomed to die but said, "I beseech you, 0 Lord, this people have sinned a heinous sin; either forgive them this trespass, or, if you do not, blot me out of the book which you have written." CONFERENCE 9,18.17

3:1-4

GOD's ACCUSATION. THEODORET OF CYR: He delivers this address to the leaders: those entrusted with judgment trampled on justice; hence he puts it in the form of a question, Was it not you who had responsibility for judging, for punishing the guilty and letting the innocent go free with­out blame? How did you, then, who were entrusted with administering the laws, turn from the practice of good works and ardently supported evil? You exercised such greed in regard to the needy as to strip them of all their possessions (suggesting this by saying "robbing people of their skins and the flesh from their bones"). COMMENTARY ON MICAH 3.1-4.;

3:5-12

WITHOUT VISION. EPHREM THE SYRIAN: "The sun will go down" upon those prophets who lead my people astray, dwelling in darkness. "It will be night for you, without vision, and it will be dark for you, without dawn." "For, when [the spirit] goes out of a man, it goes about wandering." It does this quite by nature, [The Lord] rendered this judgment with regard to [the people]: "Thus will it be for this generation."' That is, in the days of the prophets the evil spirit had gone out from them, [that spirit] that was sin itself. COMMEN­TARY OF TATIAN's DIATESSARON IT.8."

3:9

THE PERVERSION OF HOLY TEXTS CONTINUES, CYRIL of ALEXANDRIA: But when some of those accustomed "to pervert what is right" turn my words aside into what seems best to them, let your holiness not wonder at this, [Know] that those involved in every heresy collect from the di­vinely inspired Scripture as pretexts of their own divination whatever was spoken truly through the Holy Spirit, corrupting it by their own evil ideas and pouring unquenchable fire upon their very own heads, But since we have learned that some have published a corrupt text of the letter of our all-glorious father, Athanasius, to the blessed Epictetus, a letter which is itself orthodox, so that many are done harm from it, thinking that for this reason it would be something useful and necessary for our brothers, we have sent to your holiness copies of it made from the ancient copy which is with us and is genuine. LETTER 39.8.12

4:1-3 (Nations come to God’s House)

THE MOUNTAIN OF THE PROPHETS. AUGUS­TINE: The prophet Micah employed the symbol of a high mountain to speak of the gathering of the nations in Christ. He has this to say: "And it shall come to pass in the last days that the moun­tain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared in the top of the mountains and high above the hills; and people shall flow to it. And many nations shall come in haste, and say, 'Come, let us go tip to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for the law shall go forth out of Zion, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people and rebuke strong nations afar off,'" Further, the same prophet foretold even the place in which Christ was to be born: "But You, 0 Bethle­hem Eph'rathah, who are little among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from old, front ancient days."' CITY of GOD 18,30,2

MICAH'S PROPHECY FULFILLED BY THE APosTLES. JUSTIN MARTYR: When the prophetic Spirit speaks as prophesying things to come, he says, "For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he shall judge in the midst of the nations and rebuke many people. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, and nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn to war anymore." We can show you that this has really happened. For a band of twelve men went forth from jerusa­1em, and they were common men, not trained in speaking. But by the power of God they testified to every race of humankind that they were sent by Christ to teach to all the Word of God. And now we who once killed each other do not make war on each other, but in order not to lie or deceive our inquisitors we gladly die for the confession of Christ. For it would be possible for us to follow the saying, "The tongue has sworn, the mind remains unsworn." But it would be ri­diculous if the soldiers whom you' have recruited and enrolled remain loyal to you instead of to their own life, parents, native land and all their families. For you have nothing incorruptible to offer those who desire incorruption. Rather, en­dure all things in order to receive what we long for from him who is able to give it. FIRST APOL­OGY I.39.

APOSTOLIC PREACHING FULFILLED THIS PROPHECY. THEODORET OF CYR: The evangelical and divine preaching coursed to the ends of the earth, according to the Lord's prophecy contained in the sacred Gospels: "This good news will be preached to all the nations in witness to them: And he urged the holy apostles in the words, "Go, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I commanded you." This evangelical law and ap­ostolic preaching began with Jerusalem as with a fountain and traveled across the whole world, of­fering irrigation to those who made their ap­proach with faith. It is also possible to see the divine houses situated in the middle of cities, vil­lages, fields and remote areas, conspicuous for their size and beauty, so that they are illustrious and famous even on the highest mountains. COMMENTARY ON MICAH 4.I-3.'o

4:6 Gather the Afflicted

PRUNED TO BEAR MORE FRUIT. JUSTIN MAR­TYR: Now it is obvious that no one can frighten or subdue us who believe in Jesus throughout the whole world. Although we are beheaded and cru­cified, and exposed to wild beasts and chains and flames, and every other means of torture, it is evi­dent that we will not retract our profession of faith, The more we are persecuted, the more do others in ever-increasing numbers embrace the faith and become worshipers of God through the name of Jesus. Just as when one cuts off the fruit­ bearing branches of the vine, it grows again and other blossoming and fruitful branches spring forth, so it is with us Christians. For the vine planted by God and Christ the Redeemer is his people. But the rest of the prophecy will be ful­filled at his second coming. The prophet Micah says, "In that day, says the Lord, I will gather her that is bruised, and will receive her that is cast out, and those whom I rejected," This indicates that you do nor have the last word then when you and all other people, having the power, cast out every Christian not only from his own property but even from the whole world, for you allow no Christian to live. DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO

4:8 The Former Dominion

THE DEVIL THE CLOUDY SHEPHERD. EPHREM THE SYRIAN: "And you, O tower, O cloudy shep­herd of the daughter of Zion, your time shall come." These words refer to the impious king Zedekiah, whom the prophet calls "tower" because the people of Judea stayed under his shadow, and "shepherd" because of his administration of the kingdom, and "cloudy" because of the error of idol­atry to which he adhered, Again, in the symbolic meaning of his words he calls the devil a cloudy shepherd, because in an allegorical sense he always attacks the daughter of Zion under a cloudy sky. And, after catching her, he drags her away from the light-indeed the one who acts maliciously hates the light. But later, the supreme and legiti­mate prince of the mystical Jerusalem destroyed this tyranny with his advent and drove the obscure shepherd away. COMMENTARY ON MICAH

5:2

ETERNAL BUT BORN IN A TEMPORAL PLACE CYRIL OF JERUSALEM: It is enough for piety for you to know, as we have said, that God has one only Son, one naturally begotten, who did not be­gin to be when he was born in Bethlehem but is before all ages. For listen to the prophet Micah: "And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephratha, are lit­tle to be among the thousands of Judah. From you shall come forth for me a leader who shall feed my people Israel; and his goings forth are from the beginning, from the days of eternity. There­fore do not fix your attention on him as coming from Bethlehem simply but worship him as be­gotten eternally of the Father. Admit no one who speaks of a beginning of the Son in time, but ac­knowledge his timeless beginning, the Father.

CATECHETICAL LECTURE II.

5:3

THE MAGI, THE STAR AND BETHLEHEM FORETOLD. AUGUSTINE: But now, the same star which led the magi to the place where the infant God was to be found with his virgin mother could of course have led them right to the very city. But it withdrew, and didn't appear at all to them again, until the Jews themselves had been questioned about the city where Christ was to be born. This was to oblige them to name it themselves, on the evidence of divine Scriptures, and to say them­selves, "In Bethlehem of Judah. For so it is writ­ten, 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are not the least among the princes of Judah; for from you shall come forth the leader who will rule my peo­ple Israel.'"" What else can divine Providence have meant by this, but that among the Jews would remain only the divine Scriptures by which the nations would be instructed, they themselves being blind? This evidence they would carry about with them not as an assistance to their own salvation but as evidence of ours. Be­cause today it may happen that when we bring forward prophecies about Christ, uttered long be­fore and now made clear by the events that have fulfilled them, the pagans whom we wish to gain will say that they weren't foretold so long ago but have been composed by us after the event, so that what has later occurred may be thought to have been previously prophesied. Then we can cite the volumes owned by the Jews, to clear the doubts of the pagans, who were already prefigured in those magi, whom the Jews instructed from the divine books about the city in which Christ was born, without themselves either seeking or acknowl­edging him, SERMON 200.3."

6:8 What Is Good

ONE WHO KNOWS GOD. TERTULLIAN: "But God,"[adulterers and fornicators say,] "is good and most kind." He is "merciful, compassionate and rich in mercy," which "he prefers to every sacri­fice "He desires not so much the death as the re­pentance of the sinner. He is "the Savior of all people, and especially of the faithful."" Therefore the children of God must also be "merciful"" and peacemakers; "forgiving each other as Christ also forgave us, "not judging, lest we be judged."" For to "his master a man stands or falls; who are you to judge the servant of another?" "Forgive, and you will be forgiven.!" Yet many such things as these are only said, not done, merely bandied about, unmanning rather than strength­ening discipline, flattering God and pandering to themselves, ON PURITY 2.32

*LOVE OF GOD AND NEIGHBOR. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Forget about burnt offerings, countless sacrifices and oblations of firstborn, he is saying. If you are concerned to appease the di­vinity, practice what God ordered you in the be­ginning through Moses. What in fact is that? To deliver fair judgment and decision in all cases where you have to choose better from worse, to continue giving evidence of all possible love and fellow-feeling to your neighbor, and be ready to put into practice what is pleasing to God in every way. He means, in short, "You will love God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul, and you will love your neighbor as yourself," as was said of old through Moses. Do this, he is say­ing, as something preferable to sacrifices in God's eyes. COMMENTARY ON MICAH 6.6-8.18

THE LORD REQUIRES THE SELF. AUGUSTINE: You ask what you should offer: offer yourself. For what else does the Lord seek of you but you? Because of all earthly creatures he has made nothing better than you, he seeks yourself from yourself, because you have lost yourself. SER­MON 48.2.39

7:1 Like Summer Gleanings 4,

WHO Is READY FOR HARVEST? ORIGEN: Who is speaking when the prophet says, "Woe is me, soul, for I have become one as gathering straw in harvest?" For did the prophet literally "gather" or even want to "gather"? Does the prophet have a farm? Anyway, the only one who rightly gathers from what has been planted for harvest is not the prophet but the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Since there are many faults among the pagan na­tions but also among those who are supposed to be from the church, the prophet laments and mourns for our sins when he says, "Woe is me, for I have become as one who gathers straw." Let each of us scrutinize himself. Is he an ear of corn? Will the Son of God discover something in him to pick or harvest? Do we find that some of us are those swept by the wind? Even as we have still a little in ourselves, two or three kernels, our sins are many against us. Seeing that the churches, or those so­ called, are filled with sinners, he says, "Woe is me, for I have come as one who gathers straw in the harvest and as one gathering grape gleanings in the vintage." [The Lord] comes seeking fruit on the vine, for each of us is planted also as a vine "in a fertile place"' or as a vine "transplanted our of Egypt," 2 yet planted to bear fruit.' He comes, he seeks in what way to pick, he discovers some "grape gleanings" and a few "clusters," neither flourishing nor plentiful. Who among us has "clus­ters" of virtue? HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH I5.3.2.4

MAKE CLEAR WHO YOUR FATHER IS. GREGORY OF NYSSA: A man, then, who remains the same and yet prattles to himself about the change for the better that he has undergone in baptism should attend to what Paul says: "If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he de­ceives himself.""' For you are not what you have not yet become. The Gospel says of the regener­ate, however, that "he gave all those who received him the power to become God's children," Now the child born of someone certainly shares his parent's nature. If then you have received God and have become his child, let your way of life testify to the God within you. Make it clear who your father is! The marks by which we recognize God are the very ones by which a son must show his relation to him. "He opens his hand and fills everything living with joy."  "He overlooks iniq­uity." "He relents of his evil purpose: "The Lord is kind to all and is not angry with us every day." "God is straightforward, and there is no unrighteousness in him."" This is what fathers do for children. Similar sayings are scattered through Scripture for our instruction. If you are like this, you have genuinely become a child of God. But if you persist in displaying the marks of evil, it is useless to babble to yourself about the birth from above. ADDRESS ON RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION 40.27

7:15 The Days of the Exodus

THE EXODUS PREFIGURES BAPTISM. AUGUS­TINE: Hear what is even more wonderful, that the hidden and veiled mysteries of the ancient books are in some degree revealed by the ancient proph­ets, For Micah the prophet spoke thus. "Accord­ing to the days of your coming out of Egypt will I show unto him marvelous things." ... Our sins are overwhelmed and extinguished in baptism, just as the Egyptians were drowned in the sea. "He does not retain his anger forever because he delights in steadfast love, ... You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea," EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 114.5,'

Next time – read Nahum