Mic. 6 God’s controversy with his people for ingratitude, Mic. 6:1–5. What service is acceptable to him, Mic. 6:6–9. He reproveth them for their injustice, Mic. 6:10–15, and idolatry, Mic. 6:16.

Hear ye: see Mic. 1:2. Now; whilst the Lord is willing to debate with you, before it be too late for you. What the Lord saith: though it is a man like yourselves who speaketh, yet he comes from the Lord, and with the Lord’s message, and it is the Lord who speaketh by Micah.

Hear ye, O mountains: in the first verse God directs Micah to take the mountains and hills for witnesses; now in this verse he doth call upon those mountains to hear: it is a prosopoeia, an elegant personating of hearers and witnesses, as Deut. 32:1, Isa. 1:2, Isa. 2:2.

O, my people; you whole house of Israel, my people chosen in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, multiplied in Egypt, and by many miracles owned, redeemed, and carried through the wilderness, and settled in the Promised Land.

Look as far back as thy coming out of Egypt, near seven hundred and forty years agone; for I brought thee up, with an out-stretched arm, out of the land of Egypt, where by servants thou wert oppressed, where thy oppressors did plot thy utter extirpation, where thou servedst in the iron furnace.

O my people, remember now; O Israel, think well of it, what I did then was worthy of a grateful remembrance to this day. What Balak king of Moab consulted: this man, though a great and warlike prince, yet would not adventure by plain force to set upon Israel; he wished their ruin, he contrived it,…

In the foregoing part of the chapter you have God’s resolution to have a hearing, Mic. 6:1–2, and his plea for himself against an ungrateful people, Mic. 6:3–5.

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams? the law did direct the offering of rams, single beasts for single sacrifices; if this be too little, they shall be multiplied, we will give many, very many; for the phrase is a hyperbole.

The prophet answers the inquiry made Mic. 6:7 otherwise than these inquirers did expect: You who make this inquiry might have spared this pains. He, God himself, hath already plainly enough told you this.

The Lord’s voice; either by his judgments, each of which is the Lord’s voice, he speaks by them; or rather by his prophets; and whether people hear it, or forbear, the Lord himself is concerned in it.

Are there yet? after so many express laws peremptorily forbidding, so many examples of punishments on such, after so many reproofs, menaces, and exhortations by so many prophets, dare you still do so unjustly? Treasures of wickedness; gotten by injurious, oppressive courses, ill-gotten wealth; the…

Shall I? it may have some reference to the prophet, as speaking of himself, appointed of God to be a reprover and impartial censurer of the sins of this people; When I am so to judge of them by their doings, shall I flatter them, and say they are better than they are? but it better refers to God…

For: this is given as an evidence of the truth of the charge, and of the justness of the resolution God had declared to punish them. The rich men; who of all men had least temptation to deal unjustly; they were so well provided for, that without a trade they might live, and in trading they should…

Therefore, for these many sins of violence, frauds, and lies, also will I make thee sick in smiting thee; some read, I have begun to smite thee, so it suits well with the history of the wars, rapine, captivity, or desolation by the Syrians, Assyrians, Arabians, &c.

Thou shalt eat; both literally and figuratively taken, for using what they have. So God threatens, Lev. 26:26. So God did punish the Jews, See Poole “Hag. 1:6”.

Thou shalt sow, be at great pains and cost in tilling and sowing, but thou shalt not reap; it shall either not thrive to a harvest, or, if it does, an enemy shall reap it.

The statutes of Omri; of which you read, 1 Kings 16:25–28. He built Samaria, to be a royal city, and seat of religion brought in by Jeroboam; thus he both strengthened and put more credit upon the idolatrous worship, which was set up by Omri in a royal city.