John Calvin Commentary Micah 7

The meaning of the first verse is somewhat doubtful: some refer what the Prophet says to punishment, and others to the wickedness of the people. The first group thinks that the calamity with which the Lord had visited the sins of the people is lamented, as though the Prophet looked on the disordered state of the whole land. But it can be easily gathered from the second verse that the Prophet speaks here of the wickedness of the people, rather than of the punishment already inflicted. I have therefore put the two verses together, so that the full meaning may be more evident to us.

Then Woe to me! Why? I have become like the gatherings. This version is too free, or rather too unrestrained: “I have become as one who seeks to gather summer fruits and finds none,” so that, being disappointed in his hope, he burns with desire. This cannot possibly be considered the rendering of the Prophet’s words.

There is indeed some difficulty in the expressions. Their import, however, seems to be this: that the land, which the Prophet undertakes here to represent and personify, was like a field, or a garden, or a vineyard, that was empty. He therefore says that the land was stripped of all its fruit, as it is after harvest and the vintage. So by gatherings we must understand the collected fruit. Some understand the gleanings which remain, as when one carelessly leaves a few clusters on the vines; and thus, they say, a few just men remained alive on the land. But the former comparison harmonizes better with the rest of the passage, namely, that the land was now stripped of all its fruit, as it is after the harvest and the vintage. Then I have become like the gatherings of summer, that is, as in the summer, when the fruit has already been gathered; and like the clusters of the vintage, that is, when the vintage is over.

There is no cluster, he says, to eat. The Prophet refers here to the scarcity of good men; indeed, he says that there were no longer any righteous men living. For though God had always preserved some hidden seed, yet it might have been justly declared with regard to the whole people that they were like a field after gathering the grain, or a vineyard after the vintage. Some residue, indeed, remains in the field after harvest, but there are no ears of grain; and in the vineyard some bunches remain, but they are empty; nothing remains but leaves. Now this personification is very powerful when the Prophet comes forth as though he represented the land itself; for he speaks in his own name and person, Woe to me, he says, for I am like summer-gatherings! It was then the same thing as though he deplored his own nakedness and lack, since there were no longer any upright and righteous men.

In the second verse he expresses his mind more clearly: Perished, he says, has the righteous from the land, and there is none upright among men. Here now he does not personify the land. It was indeed a powerful and emphatic language when he complained at the beginning that he groaned as though the land was ashamed of its barrenness.

But the Prophet now performs the office of a teacher: Perished, he says, has the righteous from the land; there is no one upright among men; all lay in wait for blood; every one hunts his brother as with a net. In this verse, the Prophet briefly shows that all were full of both cruelty and perfidy, that there was no care for justice, as though he said, "In vain are good men sought among this people, for they are all bloody, they are all fraudulent."

When he says that they all did lay in wait for blood, he no doubt intended to show their cruelty, as though he had said that they were thirsting for blood. But when he adds that each laid wait for their brothers, he alludes to their frauds or to their perfidy.

We now perceive the meaning of the Prophet. The manner he adopts is more emphatic than if God, in his own name, had pronounced the words. For, as men were fixed, and as though drowned, in their own carelessness, the Prophet here introduces the land as speaking, which accuses its own children and confesses its own guilt. Indeed, it anticipates God’s judgment and acknowledges itself to be contaminated by its own inhabitants, so that nothing pure remained in it.

This verse is properly addressed to the judges and governors of the people, and also to the rich, who oppressed the suffering common people because they could not redeem themselves with payments. The Prophet therefore complains that corruption so greatly prevailed in judicial matters that the judges readily absolved the most wicked, provided they brought bribes. In essence, what is said then is that anything could be done with impunity, for the judges were venal. This is the Prophet’s meaning.

But as interpreters differ, let us consider the meaning of the words. על הרע כפים, ol ero caphim, For the evil of their hands to do good. Some offer this explanation: “Though they are openly wicked, yet they make pretenses by which they cover their wickedness.” The sense would be this: though they had cast aside all concern for what was right, they had nevertheless become so hardened in iniquity that they wished to be considered good and holy men. For in times of disorder, the wicked always show an iron front and insist on silence regarding their shameful deeds.

Some interpreters therefore think that the Prophet here complains that there was now no difference between what was honorable and base, right and wrong. This was because wicked men dared to disguise their iniquities so effectively that they were not apparent, or so that no one ventured to say anything against them.

You, however, should examine and consider whether what the Prophet says may be more aptly connected in this way: That they may do good for the wickedness of their hands, that is, to excuse themselves for the wickedness of their hands, they agree together; for the prince asks, the judge is ready to receive a bribe. Thus, the rich saw that they could obtain exemption, for they had the price of redemption in their hands. They indeed knew that the judges and princes could be appeased when they brought the price of corruption.

And this is the meaning I endorse, for it harmonizes best with the words of the Prophet. At the same time, some give a different explanation of the verb להיטיב, laeithib, namely, that they acted vigorously in their wickedness; but this interpretation is unconvincing.

I therefore adopt the one I have just stated: that corruption so prevailed in the administration of justice that ways to conceal all crimes were readily available. For the governors and judges were lovers of money and were always ready to absolve the most guilty, but not without a reward.

For the wickedness then of their works, that they may do good, that is, that they may obtain acquittal, the prince only asks; he does not examine the case, but only regards what is offered in hand. And the judge, he says, judges for reward. The judges also were mercenary.

They did not sit to determine what was right and just. Instead, as soon as they were satisfied by bribes, they easily forgave all crimes. Thus they turned vices into virtues, for they made no distinction between white and black, but acted only according to the bribe received.

This view is consistent with what the Prophet immediately adds: The great, he says, speaks of the wickedness of his soul, even he. By “the great,” he does not mean the chief men, as some incorrectly think, but rather the rich, who had enough money to conciliate the judges.

So, those who could bring the price of redemption dared to boast openly of their wickedness. For this is how I translate the word הות, eut, as it would be unsuitable to translate it here as “corruption.” Speak then of the wickedness of his soul does the great; there was then nothing, neither fear nor shame, to restrain the rich from doing wrong.

— How so? For they knew that they were dealing with mercenary judges and could easily corrupt them. Hence, they dared to speak of the wickedness of their soul. They did not cloak their crimes, as is the case when some fear of the Law prevails and when justice is exercised. But as no distinction was made between good and evil, the most guilty boasted openly of his wickedness.

Furthermore, the pronoun הוא, eva (he himself), is also emphatic, a point that has not been observed by interpreters. He then himself speaks of the wickedness of his soul; he did not wait until others accused him of wrongdoing, but he shamelessly dared to glory in his crimes, for impunity was certain, as he could silence the judges by bringing a bribe. Speak then of the wickedness of his soul does he himself.

And further, they fold up wickedness. This means that rampant cruelty prevailed because the governors and those who wished to purchase the liberty to sin conspired together, as though they were making ropes, and thus strengthened their wickedness.

For the great man (that is, the rich and the wealthy) agreed with the judge, and the judge with him; and so there was collusion between them. Consequently, wickedness possessed, as it were, tyrannical power, for there was no remedy. We now understand the Prophet's real meaning, at least as far as I am able to discern.

The Prophet confirms what he had previously said—that the land was so full of every kind of wickedness, that those who were deemed the best were yet thorns and briers, full of bitterness, or very sharp to prick; as though he said, “The best among them is a thief; the most upright among them is a robber.” We therefore see that in these words he alludes to their accumulated sins, as though he said, “The condition of the people cannot be worse, for iniquity has advanced to its extreme point: when anyone seeks for a good or an upright man, he only finds thorns and briers; that is, he is instantly pricked.” But if the best were then like thorns, what must have been the remainder?

We have already seen that the judges were so corrupt that they abandoned themselves without feeling any shame to anything that was base. What then could have been said of them, when the Prophet here compares the upright and the just to thorns; indeed, when he says that they were rougher than briers? Though it is improper language to say that the good and the upright among them were like briers (for words are used contrary to their meaning, as it is certain that those who inhumanely pricked others were neither good nor just), yet the Prophet's meaning is in no way obscure—that such license in wickedness was then taken, that even those who retained in some measure the credit of being upright were yet nothing better than briers and thorns. There is, then, in the words what may be considered a concession.

He then adds, The day of your watchmen, your visitation comes. He here denounces the near judgment of God, generally on the people, and especially on the rulers. But he begins with the first ranks and says, The day of your watchmen; as though he said, “Ruin now hangs over your governors, though they by no means expect it.” Watchmen he calls the Prophets, who, by their flatteries, deceived the people, as well as their rulers; and he sets the Prophets in the front, because they were the cause of the common ruin. He does not yet exempt the body of the people from punishment; indeed, he joins together these two things—the visitation of the whole people, and the day of the watchmen.

And justly does he direct his discourse to these watchmen, who, being blind, blinded all the rest, and who, being perverted, led astray the whole people. This is the reason why the Prophet now, especially, threatens them; but, as I have already said, the people were not on this account to be excused.

There may indeed seem to have been here a fair pretense for extenuating their guilt: the common people might have said that they had not been warned as they should have been; indeed, that they had been destroyed through delusive falsehoods. And we see today that many make such a pretense as this.

But a defense of this kind is of no avail before God; for though the common people are blinded, yet they go astray of their own accord, since they lend a willing ear to impostors. And even the reason why God gave loose reins to Satan as well as to his ministers, and why He gives, as Paul says (2 Thessalonians 2:11), power to delusion, is this—because the greater part of the world always seeks to be deceived.

The Prophet's denunciation then is this: that as the judges and the Prophets had badly exercised their office, they would be led to the punishment which they deserved, for they had been, as it has been elsewhere observed, the cause of ruin to others. In the meantime, the common people were not excusable. The vengeance of God then would overtake them, from the least to the greatest, without any exemption. Your visitation then comes.

He afterwards speaks in the third person, Then shall be their confusion, or perplexity, or they shall be ashamed. The Prophet here alludes indirectly to the hardness of the people; for though the Prophets daily threatened them, yet they all remained secure; indeed, we know that all God’s judgments were held in derision by them.

As then the faithful teachers could not have moved wicked men either with fear or with shame, the Prophet says, Then confusion shall come to them; as though he said, “Be hardened now as much as you wish to be, as I see that you are stupid, indeed, senseless, and do not heed the word of the Lord. But the time of visitation will come, and then the Lord will constrain you to be ashamed, for He will really show you to be such as you are. He will not then contend with you in words as He does now; but the announced punishment will divest you of all your false pretenses, and He will also remove that waywardness which now hardens you against wholesome doctrine and all admonitions.”

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that since we are born in a most corrupt age, in which such license is taken to indulge in wickedness that hardly a spark of virtue appears—O grant, that we may yet continue upright in the midst of thorns; and may You so constantly keep us under the guidance of Your Word, that we may cultivate true piety and also what is just towards our neighbors; and as there is in us no power to preserve ourselves safe, grant that Your Son may so protect us by the power of the Holy Spirit, that we may continue to advance towards the end of our course, until we are at last gathered into that celestial kingdom, which He has procured for us by His own blood. Amen.

The Prophet continues with the subject we discussed yesterday—that license in iniquity had arrived at its highest point, for no faithfulness remained among men; indeed, there was no humanity left. The son did not perform his duty towards his father, nor the daughter-in-law towards her mother-in-law. In short, there was then no mutual love or concord.

He is not speaking here of that false confidence by which many deceive themselves, relying on mortals and transferring to them the glory that belongs to God. Therefore, those who philosophize here, saying that we ought not to trust in men, do so without reason, for this was not the Prophet's intention.

Instead, our Prophet complains of his times according to the tenor of Ovid’s description of the iron age, who says:

“—A guest is not safe from his host;
Nor a brother-in-law from a son-in-law; and brotherly love is rare:
A husband seeks the death of his wife, and she, of her husband;
Cruel stepmothers mingle the lurid poison;
The son, before the day, inquires into the years of his father.”

So also our Prophet says that there was no regard for humanity among men. For the wife was ready to betray her husband, and the son treated his father with reproach. In short, they had all forgotten humanity or natural affection. We now understand what the Prophet means by saying, Trust not a friend; that is, if anyone hopes for anything from a friend, he will be deceived, for nothing can be found among men but perfidy.

Put no faith in a counselor—so I render the word אלוף, aluph. Some translate it as 'an elder brother'; but there is no necessity to compel us to depart from the proper and true meaning of the word. Just as the Prophet had spoken of an associate or a friend, so he now adds a counselor.

And it proves what he had in view when he says in the next clause, that no enemies are worse than members of one's own household. Thus, we see that the Prophet simply means that the men of his age were not only avaricious and cruel to one another, but also that, without any regard for human feelings, the son rebelled against his father, thereby subverting the whole order of nature. Consequently, they lacked those affections which seem, at the same time, incapable of being extinguished in men.

The Prophet points out here the only remedy to preserve the faithful from being led away by bad examples: to fix their eyes on God and to believe that He will be their deliverer. Nothing is more difficult than to refrain from doing wrong when the ungodly provoke us, for they seem to give us a good reason for retaliation.

And even when no one injures us, custom is still considered almost a law. Thus, it happens that we think lawful what is sanctioned by the manners and customs of the age. When success accompanies the wicked, this becomes a very strong incentive.

Consequently, the faithful can only with great difficulty keep themselves within proper bounds. When they see that wickedness reigns everywhere with impunity, and still more, when they see the supporters of wickedness increasing in esteem and wealth, the corrupt lust of emulation immediately creeps in.

But when the faithful themselves are provoked by injuries, it then seems there is a just reason for doing wrong. For they say that they intentionally do harm to no one, but only resist an injury inflicted on them, or retaliate fraud with fraud; this they think is lawful. The Prophet, to prevent this temptation, instructs the faithful to look to God.

We often find the same sentiment in Psalm 119. Its meaning is that the faithful are not to allow themselves to be led away by bad examples, but to continue always obedient to God’s word, however great and violent the provocations they may receive. Let us now consider the words of the Prophet.

To Jehovah, he says, I will look. The verb צפה (tsaphe) properly means to look on, to behold (speculari); it is sometimes taken in the sense of expecting. But I am inclined to retain its proper meaning: I will look, he says, on God; that is, I will act as though the only true God were before my eyes.

How indeed does it happen that even the good indulge themselves while living among the wicked and ungodly, except that they are too much occupied with things around them? If, then, we desire to maintain integrity while the world presents us with nothing but examples of sin, let us learn to pass by these temptations as if with closed eyes. This may be done if we direct our eyes to God alone. I will look, he says, to Jehovah.

He then adds, I will wait for the God of my salvation. The Prophet says nothing new here but only explains more clearly the last clause, defining the manner of looking of which he had spoken. It is as though he said, "Patiently will I bear, while God helps me."

For when the wicked harass us on every side, we will no doubt soon turn away our eyes from God unless we are armed with patience. And how does patience come, unless we are fully persuaded that God will be our deliverer when the suitable time arrives?

We now perceive the Prophet's intention. He shows that the godly cannot otherwise continue constant in their integrity unless they turn their eyes to the only true God. Then he adds that they cannot be preserved in this contemplation unless they wait patiently for God, that is, for His help.

And he calls Him the God of his salvation, by which he implies that, relying on His word, he thus perseveres in enduring injuries. For it must be that everyone will submit himself to God and surrender himself to be protected by Him, if this truth is first fixed in his mind—that God will never forsake His own people.

This, then, is the reason why he calls Him the God of his salvation. But this title must be referred to the Prophet's present circumstances, as though he said, "Though God's hand does not now appear to help or to bring me aid, I yet feel assured of His favor, and I know that my salvation is secured by it."

He then adds, My God will hear me. He here confirms what we have already said: that, being supported by the promises of God, he thus composes his mind to patience. For patience would often vanish or be shaken off by temptations, unless we were surely persuaded that God provides for our salvation and that we will not hope in Him in vain.

Nor is it without reason that he says God was his God. He was one of His people, and this seems to have been the common privilege of all the Jews. Yet the Prophet no doubt connects God with himself here in a peculiar manner, for people in general had fallen away into ungodliness.

They all indeed gloried in the name of God, but absurdly and falsely. Hence the Prophet implies that he was under His protection in a manner different from the rest. For when anyone allows himself the liberty of doing evil, he, at the same time, renounces God and His protection.

Therefore, the Prophet no doubt alludes indirectly to the ungodliness of the people. For though the vain boasting—that they had been adopted by God, that they were the holy race of Abraham—was on everyone's lips, yet hardly one in a hundred had any regard for God.

But it is also important to notice that the Prophet, by saying, God will hear me, at the same time testifies to his own faith: that he would always apply to God for help and engage in prayer whenever necessity compelled him. For God does not hear unless He is called upon. The Prophet then recommends here, by his example, attentiveness to prayer.

Now this verse shows us in general that there is no excuse for us if we allow ourselves to be led away by bad examples, as is daily the case.

To look to God is especially necessary when all excesses of wickedness prevail in the world. When human lusts become the rule and the law, we ought then, in a manner, to renounce the society of such people, so that they do not implicate us in their wickedness.

Therefore, those who cite the examples of others for themselves employ a frivolous excuse, as many do today who set up the shield of custom. Though they are clearly condemned by the word of God, they still think it a sufficient defense that they follow others.

But we see how frivolous this confidence is, for the Prophet no doubt prescribes here a law for all the children of God as to what they ought to do when the devil tempts them to sin by the bad examples and shameful deeds of the majority. Let us go on—