John Calvin Commentary Micah 6:9

"The voice of Jehovah crieth unto the city, and [the man of] wisdom will see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it." — Micah 6:9 (ASV)

The Prophet complains here that he and other teachers accomplished little, though their cry resounded and was heard by the whole people. He therefore says that the voice of God cried; as if he had said that there was no excuse for ignorance, for God had indiscriminately exhorted them all to repentance. Now, since what was taught was common to all of them, the Prophet deplores their perverseness, for very few were attentive; and the fable was sung, according to the proverb, to the deaf. We must then notice the word cry; the voice of God, he says, cries. God did not whisper in the ear of one or two, but He intended His voice to be heard by all, from the least to the greatest. The Prophets then cried loud enough, but there were no ears to hear them.

We may take the word לעיר, laoir, in two ways. עיר, oir, means a city. But some derive it from עור, our, and render it as if it were written להעיר, laeoir. If ה, he is put in, it must be rendered, To rouse; and the letter ה, he, may be concealed under the point chamets. This sense would be the most suitable: The voice of Jehovah cries to arouse or awaken.

That is, though the people are torpid and, as it were, overpowered with sleep (for they indulged themselves in their sins), yet the voice of God should be sufficient to arouse them all. However sleepy they might have been, there was still power enough in the doctrine of the Law, which the Prophet daily proclaimed. But still this voice, by which the whole people should have been awakened, was not heard!

He says, The man of understanding will see thy name. The word תושיה, tushie, properly means understanding, as is clear from many other passages. But the Prophet means that there was a very small number who were teachable, and he calls them men of understanding. At the same time, he indirectly reproves the foolishness of the people, though they all boasted that they were wise and also boasted that they were learners of the Law.

The Prophet shows here by implication that understanding was a rare thing among that people, for few listened to the voice of God. And thus we see what his object was: he wished to convict the Jews sharply, so that they might acknowledge their lack of mind and understanding, because they had hardened themselves against God, so that His voice did not reach their hearts.

He therefore shows that they were all out of their minds. For if they had any true understanding, they would have listened to God speaking to them, as they were His disciples. What indeed could have been more strange, or rather, more inhuman, than for people to reject the doctrine of their salvation and to turn aside from hearing even God Himself? Thus the madness of the people was reproved; for though the voice of God sounded in the ears of all of them, it was still not listened to.

If one prefers reading, In the city, then no doubt the Prophet means that the voice of God was proclaimed through all the cities; for to confine it, as some interpreters do, to Jerusalem or to Samaria, seems inadequate. We must then understand a change of number and take "city" to mean any large gathering of people, as if he had said that there was no city in which God did not cry, and yet there were ears nowhere.

It afterwards follows, Shall see thy name. Some render it, "Shall fear," as if it were from ירא, ira; but on the contrary, it comes from ראה, rae, and the rules of grammar do not allow it to be viewed otherwise. And the Prophet speaks in a striking manner when he says that the intelligent man sees the name of God. For from where did the contempt of wicked men proceed, so that they disregarded the voice of God, except from this: that His majesty had no effect on them; that is, they did not acknowledge that they had to do with God?

For if they really understood what I have said—that God spoke to them—His majesty would have immediately come to view; it would have arrested all their thoughts. God then would have constrained even the most heedless to fear Him, if they had not imagined that the voice which sounded in their ears was that of a human being.

Significantly then, the Prophet says that it was an act of singular prudence to see the name of God, that is, to understand from whom the doctrine proceeded. For as soon as we listen to God, His majesty, as I have said, must so penetrate all our thoughts as to humble us before Him and constrain us to do Him homage.

The contempt then of spiritual doctrine, and also the perverseness of ungodly men, proceed from this: that they do not see the name of God, that they do not understand that it is His name.

He afterwards adds, Hear ye the rod, and him who proclaims it to you. By "rod" he means threatening, as if he said: “Your arrogance in mocking God shall not go unpunished, as if His voice were an empty sound. There is then no reason for you to deceive yourselves with the hope of impunity, for God will avenge the contempt of His word.”

Now the Prophet’s design was to denounce an approaching vengeance on those who did not come willingly to God and did not receive His word with genuine docility of mind. Whenever, then, people despise the voice of God, as if it proceeded only from a mortal being, on such individuals Micah denounces an impending vengeance, for the contempt of His word is a thing intolerable to God.

This is the reason why he immediately adds, after having complained of the contempt of His word, that vengeance was not far off: Hear ye then the rod, and who declares or testifies concerning it.

This last clause should be especially noticed. For the ungodly are not terrified when God declares that He will be an avenger, because they do not think that they must give an account of their life, or they look only on a mortal man, saying, “Ah! Who speaks? Is He indeed our God? Is He armed with celestial power? Do we not see a mortal man, one like ourselves?”

We daily see that the ungodly thus cast away every fear and willfully harden themselves against His judgments. It is not then without reason that the Prophet bids the Jews seriously to consider who testifies of the rod.

It is as if he said: “I indeed confess that I am a mortal man, but remember who has sent me. For I do not go forth as a private individual, nor have I presumptuously intruded into this office; but I am armed with God’s command. Indeed, God Himself speaks through my mouth. If then you despise me, the Lord is present, who will vindicate His own commands. For He will not suffer Himself to be despised in His servants; though they may be contemptible according to the flesh, He will yet ensure His word receives the reverence it deserves.” We now perceive the real meaning of the Prophet.