Woe is Me! Micah 7:1

After dealing with the “wicked rich men” who were in Samaria and Jerusalem and the correction prophesied concerning them, Micah the prophet is overwhelmed with grief and sorrow for living in such an evil age. In chapter seven and verse one of his prophesy, Micah declared, “Woe is me” as he began to describe the depth of his anguish over the conditions surrounding him. We read:

Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.

The verse begins, “Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage:” Micah began this description of his sorrow with the word “woe is me” which means “lamenting” and refers to “suffering, misery, wretchedness and mournfulness”. Micah is in great grief over what he sees among his people and the conditions of his day. He continued with a description of his sorrow by stating, “for I am as when they have gathered” or “harvested or collected” “the summer fruits” which refers to “the harvest during the summertime” and “as the grapegleanings” or “drawing, gathering or extracting” “of the vintage” or “the grape crop”. Those within this agrarian society would know exactly what Micah meant as he began to describe his woeful agony over their manner of living.

The verse goes on to say, “there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.” We can almost imagine Micah continuing in sorrow as he adds, “there is no cluster” or “stems with grapes upon them” “to eat” which means “devour, burn up or feed from”. He added, “my soul” which refers to one's “self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion” “desired” which means “coveted, waited longingly, wished, sighed for, wanted, was greedy for, preferred and craved” “the firstripe fruit” or “the early fig”. The first fruits were known to be the sweetest and best tasting fruit among the harvest, and Micah desired to enjoy the sweet taste of the fruit he knew from the past. However, as he attempted to describe his anguish and woe, he declared how his desire was unfulfilled because when he went as a harvester of fruit, there was nothing to eat.

As we think through this prophesy and declaration of Micah, we can only attempt to know the “woe” he felt inside. He desired the warmth and fellowship of a people who trusted in, relied upon and clung to the Lord, but instead he saw wickedness, trouble and sin among them. Though he appealed to their sensibilities and referenced the care and love of the Lord for them, the people rejected God who had given them provision and protection throughout the years. Micah went forth as a harvester and grapegather, but he found no fruit among them and therefore his desire and longing were unfulfilled. Perhaps we have experienced times where we have desired the sweet fruit of the Spirit of God and have gone places to find it but have found that there was no fruit there. In times like these, may the Lord help us to know that when satisfying fruit is lacking and deficient it may be because we are attempting to harvest in barren fields and empty vines.

Next time Micah shares how the good and upright men are gone, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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