Micah 1:3

3 For behold, the LORD is coming forth out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.

Micah 1:3 Meaning and Commentary

Micah 1:3

For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place
Out of heaven, the place of the house of his Shechinah or Majesty, as the Targum; where his throne is prepared; where he keeps his court, and displays his glory; from whence he removes, not by local motion, since he is everywhere; but by some manifest exertion of his power, either on the behalf of his people, or in taking vengeance on his and their enemies; or on them sinning against him, in which sense it is probably to be understood. It signifies not change of place, but of his dispensations; going out of his former customary method into another; removing, as Jarchi has it, from the throne of mercies to the throne of judgment; doing not acts of mercy, in which he delights, but exercising judgment, his strange work. So the Cabalistic writers ^F17 observe on the passage, that

``it cannot be understood of place properly taken, according to ( Isaiah 40:12 ) ( 1 Kings 8:27 ) ; for God is the place of the world, not the world his place; hence our wise men so expound the text, he cometh forth out of the measure of mercy, and goes into the measure of justice;''

or property of it. Some understand this of his leaving the temple at Jerusalem, and giving it up into the hands of the Chaldeans; but the former sense is best: and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth;
which are his footstool; Samaria and Jerusalem, built on mountains, and all other high towers and fortified places, together with men of high looks and haughty countenances, who exalt themselves like mountains, and swell with pride: these the Lord can easily subdue and humble, bring low and tread down like the mire of the street; perhaps there may be an allusion to the high places where idols were worshipped; and which were the cause of the Lord's wrath and vengeance, and of his coming forth, in this unusual way, in his providences.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 Kabala Denudata, par. 1. p. 408.

Micah 1:3 In-Context

1 The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Mo'resheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezeki'ah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Sama'ria and Jerusalem.

2 Hear, you peoples, all of you; hearken, O earth, and all that is in it; and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.

3 For behold, the LORD is coming forth out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.

4 And the mountains will melt under him and the valleys will be cleft, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.

5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Sama'ria? And what is the sin of the house of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?