For this I will lament and wail… Micah 1:8
Notice Micah’s response to his own message! Here is a man with the Word of God, who also shares the heart of God.
Micah says that the wound in the Northern Kingdom is “incurable” (1:9), and that Samaria’s resistance to God has essentially reached the point of no return.
Micah cannot change the course of these events, but his tears show that he really cares. There may be times like that in your life. Things reach a point where they cannot continue as they are.
- You have to fire an employee.
- You have to tell a son or a daughter to leave.
- You have to confront an unfaithful spouse.
You have to make an intervention in the life of somebody you love—the day of reckoning has come, and it tears you apart, but you cannot avoid it. When this happens, you will say (with Micah), “Because of this I will weep and wail.”
Then Micah says, “Tell it not in Gath” (1:10). Gath was one of the five main cities that belonged to the Philistines, the long-time enemies of God’s people. Goliath came from the town of Gath.
This phrase was originally used by King David after Saul died on the field of battle: “Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice” (2 Sam. 1:20). Don’t expect sympathy from your enemies when disaster comes.
Do you share the heart of God? Where have you seen evidence of this? Can you think of a time when you wept (or wailed?) because of the Word of God?
