John Calvin Commentary Micah 1:8-9

"For this will I lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like the jackals, and a lamentation like the ostriches. For her wounds are incurable; for it is come even unto Judah; it reacheth unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem." — Micah 1:8-9 (ASV)

The Prophet here assumes the character of a mourner, so that he might more deeply impress the Israelites; for we have seen that they were almost unresponsive in their torpor. It was therefore necessary that they should be brought to view the scene itself, so that, seeing their destruction before their eyes, they might be touched with both grief and fear.

Lamentations of this kind are found everywhere in the Prophets, and they should be carefully noted; for from this we gather how great was the torpor of men, since it was necessary to awaken them by this form of speech to convince them that they were dealing with God: otherwise, they would have continued to flatter themselves with delusions.

Although the Prophet here addresses the Israelites, we should still apply this to ourselves, for we are not very different from the ancient people. For however God may terrify us with dreadful threats, we still remain complacent in our filth. Therefore, it is necessary that we be treated severely, for we are almost devoid of feeling.

But the Prophets sometimes assumed mourning, and sometimes they were touched with real grief. For when they spoke of foreigners and also of the enemies of the Church, they would introduce these lamentations. When Babylon or Egypt is mentioned, they sometimes say, Behold, I will mourn, and my bowels shall be as a timbrel.

The Prophets did not, in those cases, really grieve; but, as I have said, they transferred to themselves the sorrows of others, always with this purpose: to persuade people that God’s threats were not in vain, and that God did not trifle with people when He declared that He was angry with them.

But when the discussion concerned the Church and the faithful, then the Prophets did not feign grief. Thus, the representation here should be understood to mean that the Prophet was in real mourning when he saw that a dreadful ruin was impending over the whole kingdom of Israel. For although they had perfidiously departed from the Law, they were still a part of the holy race; they were the children of Abraham, whom God had received into favor. The Prophet, therefore, could not refrain from genuinely mourning for them.

And the Prophet here does two things: he shows the fraternal love he had for the children of Israel, since they were his kinsmen and a part of the chosen people, and he also fulfills his own duty. For this lamentation was, as it were, a mirror in which he presented to them the vengeance of God towards such extremely unresponsive people. He therefore presents this portrayal to them so that they might perceive that God was by no means trifling with people when He thus pronounced punishment on the wicked and on those who were apostates.

Moreover, he speaks not of a common lamentation, but says, I will wail and howl, and then, I will go spoiled. The word shulal, some take as meaning one out of his mind or insane, as if he said, “I will now be like one not of sound mind.” But as this metaphor is rather unnatural, I prefer the sense of being spoiled; for it was the custom for mourners, as is well known, to tear off and discard their garments.

I will then go spoiled and naked; and also, I will make a wailing, not like human wailing, but like the wailing of dragons. I will mourn, he says, as ostriches are accustomed to do. In short, the Prophet by these figures of speech indicates that the coming calamity would be far from ordinary; for if he had adopted the usual human manner, he could not have adequately conveyed the terror of God’s impending vengeance.

He then adds that the wounds are grievous, speaking as if it were happening in the present when he says, Grievous are the wounds. “Grievous” properly means full of grief, though others render it as desperate or incurable. However, that meaning is not suitable here, for אנושה, anushe, means what is expressed in French by douloureuse.

The wounds, then, are full of grief: for it came (here, something is understood; it can suitably be referred to the enemy, or, what is more accepted, to the slaughter). The slaughter, then, came to Judah; it has reached to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem itself.

He first says, “to Judah,” speaking of the land, and then he limits it to the cities; for when the gates are closed against enemies, they are forced to stop.

But the Prophet says that the cities would be no hindrance to the enemies, preventing them from approaching the very gates and even the chief city of Judah, namely, Jerusalem; and this, we know, was fulfilled. It is then as if he said that the whole kingdom of Israel would be so laid waste that their enemies would not be content with victory, but would proceed further and besiege the holy city; and this Sennacherib did.

For after subverting the kingdom of Israel, as if it were not enough to lead the ten tribes into exile, he resolved to take possession of the kingdom of Judah; and Jerusalem, as Isaiah says, was left as a tent. From this we see that the threats of the Prophet Micah were not in vain.