God has showed you O man, what is good

Micah, meaning "who is like the LORD",  was a prophet who prophesied from approximately 737–696 BC in Judah and is the author of the Book of Micah. He was a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah, Amos and Hosea and is considered one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament. Micah was from Moresheth-Gath, in southwest Judah. He prophesied during the reigns of kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah.

Micah's messages were directed mainly towards Jerusalem, and were a mixture of denunciations and prophecies. In his early prophecies, he predicted the destruction of both Samaria and Jerusalem for their respective sins. The people of Samaria were rebuked for worshipping idols which were bought with the income earned by prostitutes. Micah was the first prophet to predict the downfall of Jerusalem. According to him, the city was doomed because its beautification was financed by dishonest business practices, which impoverished the city’s citizens. He also called to account the prophets of his day, whom he accused of accepting money for their oracles.

Micah anticipated the destruction of the Judean state and promised its restoration more glorious than before. He prophesied an era of universal peace over which the Governor will rule from Jerusalem.   Micah also declared that when the glory of Zion and Jacob is restored that the LORD will force the Gentiles to abandon idolatry.

Micah rebuked Israel because of dishonesty in the marketplace and corruption in government. He threatened them on behalf of God with destruction. He told them what the LORD requires of them:

“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”— Micah 6:8

Israel’s response to Micah’s charges and threats consisted of three parts: an admission of guilt, a warning of adversaries that Israel will rely on the LORD for deliverance and forgiveness, and a prayer for forgiveness and deliverance.

Another prophecy given by Micah details the future destruction of Jerusalem and the plowing of Zion (a part of Jerusalem). This passage (Micah 3:11-12), is stated again in Jeremiah 26:18, Micah’s only prophecy repeated in the Old Testament. Since then Jerusalem has been destroyed three times, the first one being the fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy. The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC, about 150 years after Micah gave this prophecy.

Micah is described and his prophecies fulfilled in several places in the Bible. In Micah 5:2, there is a prophecy that reveals that Bethlehem, a small village just south of Jerusalem, would be the birthplace of the Messiah.

“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”— Micah 5:2