No Weeping and Dust Rolling Micah 1:10

As Micah the prophet shared the judgment of the Lord against Samaria and Jerusalem, he began to mourn within because of the “incurable wound” of apostasy which was spreading throughout the region. Not only was the worship of false gods affecting Samaria, but it had entered into Judah and into the very gates of Jerusalem. In chapter one and verse ten of Micah's prophesy, he shared about not declaring this in “Gath”, not weeping, and rolling in the dust where we read:

Declare it not at Gath, weep not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll yourself in the dust.

The verse begins, “Declare it not at Gath, weep not at all:” Micah began with the words, “Declare it not” or “do not be conspicuous, tell, make known, announce, report or expound” “at Gath” which means “winepress” and was “one of the five royal or chief cities of the Philistines and the native city of Goliath”. Those within “Gath” were enemies of Jerusalem and would rejoice over their punishment, so the idea was not to allow them to know the horrific conditions which were to fall upon Samaria and Jerusalem. Micah added, “weep not at all” which refers to no outward “crying and wailing” so those who would rejoice over their judgment would not have knowledge of their plight.

The verse goes on to say, “in the house of Aphrah roll yourself in the dust.” As though keeping their judgment a secret from their enemies wasn't enough, Micah mentions “in the house of Aphrah” which means “house of dust” “roll yourself in the dust” which was a practice that demonstrated great grief and anguish over their conditions. This was a sign of great humility and deep sorrow, and though they were to keep their conditions hidden from their enemies, they were to be filled with sorrow on their own.

The Hebrew for this verse reads, “nagad Gath bakah bakah, Beyth-le-Aphrah palash palash aphar”. By the repetition of the words “bakah” and “palash” we can almost feel the anguish Micah felt as he wrote these words. The idea was for his readers to have sorrow and humility over their condition, and he was passionate as he declared to them the pending judgment which was to befall them. As we ponder these words, how long has it been since we have had such sorrow over our country's spiritual condition? Do we see the “apostasy” which has taken place and “declare it not” nor “weep” over it even within ourselves? Are we vexed within our spirits enough that we should “roll” ourselves “in the dust” over the way people have rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ? Let us allow the Holy Spirit of God to show us the depth of the sorrow of Micah, and in turn know how He really feels over the culture in which we live. O' Lord, please continue to send your grace upon us we pray.

Next time Micah will share about Saphir, Zaanan and Bethezel, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.