The LORD Is Coming Down: Micah 1’s Judgment on Samaria

Scriptures for Today

Micah 1:1-7
The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.  2 Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.  3 For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.  4 And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.  5 For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?  6 Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.  7 And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.

Introduction – When God Speaks Into a Nation’s Decline

Micah appears during a crucial moment in biblical history. The northern kingdom of Israel is collapsing under idolatry and injustice. The southern kingdom of Judah is slowly following the same path. Assyria is rising. Samaria is weakening. Jerusalem is drifting. And the people believe that judgment is far from them.

Micah is not a prophet from the palace. He is from Moresheth-Gath, a farming town. He has no political ties, no religious titles, no social position. But God gives him a message that will confront kings, priests, and cities.

Micah’s message is direct, not poetic. It is plain, not decorative. It is simple, not vague. And it begins with one truth: When God warns a nation, He expects a response.

Why does God use a simple man from a village to speak to entire nations? Because God wants the message to be heard, not admired. Ask yourself: “If God warned ME today, would I listen immediately or dismiss it?”

Micah 1:1 — The Message With a Timeline

Micah 1:1
The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

This verse tells us four essential things:

1. The source of the message

“The word of the LORD” — Micah is not giving thoughts, opinions, or reflections. He is declaring God’s words.

2. The place Micah comes from

Micah is “the Morasthite” — from Moresheth-Gath, a small town near Philistia or the Philistines. He is not from Jerusalem. He is not educated among the elite. God chose an ordinary man to deliver an extraordinary message. You see this over and over again in the Bible – prophets are ordinary men used by God.

3. The time period

He prophesied during three kings of Judah:

• Jotham — generally righteous
• Ahaz — extremely wicked
• Hezekiah — brought revival

This means Micah preached through spiritual decline, collapse, and renewal.

4. The target audience

His message concerns Samaria (capital of Israel) and Jerusalem (capital of Judah). Both kingdoms are in focus because both are drifting from God.

Micah begins by making it clear — the problem is not outside the nation… It is inside the nation.

Micah 1:2 — God Calls the World to Listen

Micah 1:2
Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.

This isn’t just a message to Israel. God summons all people — the whole world — to listen.

Why?

Because Israel was meant to show the world what obedience looks like. Now God uses Israel to show the world what judgment looks like.

God says He is a witness — He has seen every idol, every injustice, every forgotten commandment. “This Bible is God’s witness — His Word records everything He has said, and everything He expects.” He is the Commander of all things. When He commands, we better do.

Begin this week by asking: “What does God see when He witnesses my life?” Think about that. As you live your life, God is witnessing everything you do and think. The only way to fix these things in your life is to focus on God and His words day and night. That will change your thoughts and actions.

Micah 1:3 — God Steps Into the Situation

Micah 1:3
For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.

The phrase “the LORD cometh forth” means God is no longer only speaking — He is acting. God “comes down” to judge the “high places” — the places where false worship stood.

High places were:

• Locations of idol worship
• Places where people tried to mix God with sin
• Pictures of pride, independence, and rebellion

God says He will tread on them — He will crush the places where His people replaced Him. When God steps in, nothing that competes with Him can stand.

10 examples in this present world of high places:

1. Churches that prioritize entertainment over Scripture: Lights, shows, emotional hype — while avoiding hard truth. People feel “spiritual,” but no repentance happens.

2. A job or career that becomes more important than obedience. Success becomes an idol: skipping church, abandoning family, compromising integrity, to “get ahead.”

3. Relationships that pull people away from God. Dating someone unsaved, ungodly, or immoral — and justifying it with phrases like: “God knows my heart. Love is love. He/she makes me happy.

4. Social media and image obsession: When people care more about followers, likes, and appearance than holiness, humility, and truth.

5. Blending Christianity with worldly beliefs. Manifesting + Bible. Horoscope + prayer.  “Positive energy” + Jesus. Self-love culture mixed with Scripture. This is exactly what Israel did.

6. Pride disguised as spirituality. “I’m fine spiritually. I don’t need counsel. I don’t need church. I already know the Bible.” That is a high place — pride standing where God should be.

7. Secret sins protected. Pornography. Bitterness. Unforgiveness. Gossip. Alcohol. Drugs. Comfort sins that people hide and defend.

8. Politics treated like a savior. When people trust political leaders more than God, or treat their party like a religion.

9. Money used as a substitute for faith. Savings, investments, security, comfort — become the source of trust, instead of God.

10. Marriage or family becoming an idol. A good thing becomes a high place when it becomes more important than obedience to God.

Any of the high places you’ve created in your life will be crushed by the Lord God Almighty because they are not good for you.

Micah 1:4 — God’s Presence Changes Everything

Micah 1:4
And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.

Mountains in the Bible represent strength and stability. Valleys represent places of growth and abundance.

But when God comes down:

• Mountains melt
• Valleys split
• Everything stable becomes unstable
• Everything strong becomes weak

Meaning: Nothing is strong enough to resist God’s judgment.

Imagine a wax candle. As the heat from fire hits that wax, it just melts immediately. Think about this. “Wax doesn’t fight heat — it changes instantly. The human heart reacts the same to God’s presence.” God is so powerful and strong. His presence changes us immediately.

Ask yourself: “Is there anything in my life I think is too stable to fall?” Are you putting confidence in things that can be taken away immediately? Micah says nothing is too strong to melt before God.

Micah 1:5 — The Cause Behind the Collapse

Micah 1:5
For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?

God explains the cause of judgment clearly: “For the transgression of Jacob… for the sins of Israel.” Why is God coming down to judge them? It’s all because of their great sin against Him.

God is not vague. He names the sin. He names the source. He names the place.

Samaria — the capital of the north — was full of idol worship. Jerusalem — the capital of the south — was full of religious hypocrisy. God says: “You want to know why destruction is coming? Look at your cities. Look at your worship. Look at your compromise.”

Israel thought the problem was Assyria. God says the problem is sin. Many time we might want to blame things on others. But the real problem is the sin in our life. Many Christians blame culture, politics, or others for their struggles — when the real issue is disobedience in their own hearts.

Hey, listen, it’s starts right here within you. If you can fix your problems by walking in the Spirit, then we can help fix the problems of others and get them to walk in the Spirit.

Micah 1:6 — When God Tears Down False Hope

Micah 1:6
Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.

God describes what He will do to Samaria:

• It will become a heap — a pile of ruins.
• As plantings of a vineyard means Samaria will be flattened and cleared like land that’s been plowed up and prepared for planting – completely leveled, nothing left standing.
• Its stones will be “poured down” — meaning the city will collapse from its heights.
• Its foundations will be uncovered — meaning God will expose everything underneath.

God destroys not only the visible sin but the hidden sin. You can’t hide sin from God. You can try to bury it all deep, but God uncovers everything.

“When God removes false foundations, everything built on them comes down immediately.” It’s like a mountain crumbling into dirt. The mountain loses it’s foundation and it’s done.

Ask yourself: “Is there anything in my life built on convenience or compromise instead of obedience?” Do you do certain things because it’s easier? It’s easier to sleep than to work. It’s easier to watch TV than read the Bible. It’s easier to play games than study the Word of God. But none of those things are more rewarding. None of them.

Are you trying to hide those things? Stop hiding and start exposing them yourself. And get rid of that sin out of your life. Sin hates the light of Jesus Christ. Walk with Jesus and get rid of that sin. Jesus will destroy that sin in your life.

Micah 1:7 — God Exposes the Idols

Micah 1:7
And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.

God says:

• Images will be smashed
• The money gained through sin will burn
• The idols will be destroyed
• Everything gained through unfaithfulness will be lost

Israel had mixed idol worship with God’s name. They built religious practices that looked spiritual but were corrupt inside.

God says they gathered these things like a harlot gathers wages — through unfaithfulness, through compromise, through selling what was holy. I want to go into a little more detail on what they do – like a harlot gathering wages. She’s just going around to anything she can to get money.

Here’s some examples:

Instead of worshipping God, they made deals with surrounding nations. They adopted the idols of those nations to get peace, protection, and prosperity. Whatever nations promised benefits, they adopted their gods. They used religion to pursue gain instead of religion to pursue God.  Just as a harlot repeatedly sells herself, Israel repeatedly gave her loyalty to idols.

What you build through sin, you will eventually see collapse. Look, just as a harlot’s wages disappear and bring no real security or peace, Israel’s false worship brought no lasting prosperity, no lasting protection, and no lasting peace. When it’s not built on the foundation of God, it will collapse. Same thing for anything in your life that’s not focused on God.

Imagine a broken clay pot that once had a purpose — but it cannot hold anything now.

Ask God to show you any idol — anything competing with Him — and break it before God has to. You want to start on that today. And you want to get that done as soon as possible.

Israel treated God like a husband they no longer wanted, and treated idols like lovers they couldn’t resist. So God exposes the relationship for what it truly is — spiritual adultery. Everything they gained through unfaithfulness would be taken from them, because sin cannot hold what it buys. For you, remember this and get the idols out of your life.

Conclusion – Humble Yourself Before God Steps In

Micah’s message is simple and serious:

• God sees. His eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth.
• God warns. He’s not playing either.
• God acts. He will do what He says.
• And God expects repentance. And you better do it fast.

Micah teaches us that collapse doesn’t begin with the world — it begins when God’s people drift from His Word. That will always cause collapse. Your life will collapse without the foundation of God’s word. If you didn’t have it, now is the time to set that foundation in place.

The good news? If we humble ourselves, God lifts us. If we turn back, God restores. If we remove idols, God rebuilds. He’ll fix it. Just go to Him and stay with Him. Don’t be like a harlot or a whore and go to everything else to find pleasure and comfort. Go to God, and He has it all.

When God comes down, pride falls — but repentance rises. And that’s what we want. We want God to be near so we get the sin out of our life.

Next Sermon – Nahum 1:1–8

“The LORD Is a Stronghold in Trouble: Nahum’s Justice and Refuge.”

Micah shows us God confronting sin. Next time, Nahum will show us God confronting the nation that tormented His people. Nahum reveals two sides of God at once:

• Justice for the wicked
• Refuge for the faithful

Nahum 1:7 says, “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble…” Micah shows us the warning. Nahum will show us the protection. Don’t miss it — the God who judges sin is also the God who shelters His people. And trust me, you need God’s shelter.

Let’s pray.