Micah: The Trinitarian Prophet
The prophet Micah utters an amazing proclamation, which seems to point to a Divine Plurality:
“But as for me, I will watch expectantly for Yahweh; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. Do not be glad over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; Though I inhabit the darkness, Yahweh is a light for me. I will bear the rage of Yahweh Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and does justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will see His righteousness.” Micah 7:7-9
Micah speaking in the place of Israel states that YHWH will plead on their behalf and will justify or make things right for them. What makes this rather perplexing is the fact that YHWH is depicted as making a defense for Israel in order to acquit them. The question this raises is, plead to or with whom, and why does he need to do so?
Here are a few English translations of the relevant text, which makes this point clearer:
"I will endure Adonai’s rage, because I sinned against him; until he pleads my cause and judges in my favor. Then he will bring me out to the light, and I will see his justice.” Micah 7:9 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
“I sinned against the Lord, so he was angry with me. But he will argue my case for me in court. He will do what is right for me. Then he will bring me out into the light, and I will see that he is right.” Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
“I have not obeyed the Lord, so he is angry with me. He will continue to punish me, until the time when he speaks for me. Then he will make things right for me. He will bring me out into the light. He always does what is really right. And I will see that then.” EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
“Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath, until he pleads my case and obtains a favorable verdict for me. He will bring me to the light. I will see his righteousness.” Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
“I have sinned against the Lord. So I will endure his fury until he takes up my cause and wins my case. He will bring me into the light, and I will see his victory.” GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
This same YHWH is further depicted as Shepherding his people with his scepter, i.e., by virtue of being their King who removes their sins completely:
“Shepherd Your people with Your scepter, The flock of Your inheritance Which dwells by itself in the forest, In the midst of a fruitful orchard. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead As in the ancient days... Who is a God like You, who forgives iniquity And passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? He does not hold fast to His anger forever Because He delights in lovingkindness. He will again have compassion on us; He will subdue our iniquities. And You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:14, 18-19
Yet earlier in his inspired writing, the prophet announced the coming of a human Ruler out of Bethlehem who would personally Shepherd his fellow Israelites by the authority of YHWH his God:
“‘But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, from you, will go out the one who will be the ruler for me in Israel. His goings forth are from the beginning (miqqedem), from the days of eternity (olam). Therefore the LORD will give them up, until the time when the woman who is in labor bears a child. Then the remaining survivors from his brothers will return to the people of Israel. He will stand and shepherd with the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. They will dwell securely, for at that time he will be great to the ends of the earth.” Micah 5:2-4 Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
What makes this King so amazing is that he is not just a Man, but is an eternal Being who has been active from the very beginning of creation. In fact, Israel’s Ruler is depicted as being as old as YHWH himself since it is YHWH who is said to be from the beginning, from the days of eternity:
“Are You not from everlasting (miqqedem), O Yahweh, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O Yahweh, have placed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to reprove.” Habakkuk 1:12
“A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, You have been our dwelling place from generation to generation. Before the mountains were born Or You brought forth the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God (umeolam ad olam attah El).” Psalm 90:1-2
“Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting (meolam attah).” Psalm 93:2
“But the lovingkindness of Yahweh is from everlasting to everlasting (meolam wa’ad olam) on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children,” Psalm 103:17
Both Jewish and Christian sources identify Micah’s Ruler as the King Messiah, who is Jesus according to the NT writings:
from you shall emerge for Me. the Messiah, son of David, and so Scripture says (Ps. 118:22): “The stone the builders had rejected became a cornerstone.”
and his origin is from of old. “Before the sun his name is Yinnon” (Ps. 72:17). (The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary: https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16191/showrashi/true#v1; emphasis mine)
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.’ And when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring of them where the Christ was to be born. And they said to him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: “And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Leader Who will shepherd My people Israel.”’” Matthew 2:1-6
“Now it happened that in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus for a census to be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was going to be registered for the census, each to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was with child. Now it happened that while they were there, the days were fulfilled for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guest room.” Luke 2:1-7
It now begins to make sense. The YHWH who pleads and intercedes on behalf of his people in order to vindicate them is not the Father. Rather, he is the Messianic King who is personally distinct from God, and yet truly divine in nature.
In other words, it is this Divine Messiah that intercedes before his God and Father for all those who put their trust in him, since he comes to remove all their sins.
This is precisely what the NT teaches in respect to Jesus.
Being the unique, divine Son of God that became Man, Jesus is both personally distinct from God, while also being identical to God in nature. As such, Jesus atones for the sins of the world and makes intercession for all those who give themselves to him:
“But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the One who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ Now all this took place in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God (ho theos) with us.’” Matthew 1:20-23
“Then He said to her, ‘Your sins have been forgiven.’ And those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, ‘Who is this man who even forgives sins?’ And He said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’” Luke 7:48-50
“Now He said to them, ‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you, but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.’” Luke 24:44-49
“Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men, brothers, what should we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.’” Acts 2:37-39
“The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which is through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all... For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.” Acts 3:13-16, 26
"Now it happened that on the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. And when they had placed them in their midst, they began to inquire, ‘By what power, or in what name, have you done this?’
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers and elders of the people, if we are being examined today for a good deed done to a sick man, as to how this man has been saved from his sickness, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.’
“Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and comprehended that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.” Acts 4:5-14
“The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging Him on a tree. This One God exalted to His right hand as a Leader and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Acts 5:30-31
“As for the word which He sent to the sons of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all—you yourselves know the thing which happened throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree. God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He appear, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people, and solemnly to bear witness that this is the One who has been designated by God as Judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” Acts 10:36-43
“Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and that in Him, everyone who believes is justified from all things which you could not be justified from through the Law of Moses.” Acts 13:38-39
“But now, quite apart from Torah, God’s way of making people righteous in his sight has been made clear—although the Torah and the Prophets give their witness to it as well—and it is a righteousness that comes from God, through the faithfulness of Yeshua the Messiah, to all who continue trusting. For it makes no difference whether one is a Jew or a Gentile, since all have sinned and come short of earning God’s praise. By God’s grace, without earning it, all are granted the status of being considered righteous before him, through the act redeeming us from our enslavement to sin that was accomplished by the Messiah Yeshua. God put Yeshua forward as the kapparah (atonement) for sin through his faithfulness in respect to his bloody sacrificial death. This vindicated God’s righteousness; because, in his forbearance, he had passed over [with neither punishment nor remission] the sins people had committed in the past; and it vindicates his righteousness in the present age by showing that he is righteous himself and is also the one who makes people righteous on the ground of Yeshua’s faithfulness.” Romans 3:21-26 CJB
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who indeed did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” Romans 8:31-34
“But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,” 1 Corinthians 1:30
“Therefore, if anyone is united with the Messiah, he is a new creation—the old has passed; look, what has come is fresh and new! And it is all from God, who through the Messiah has reconciled us to himself and has given us the work of that reconciliation, which is that God in the Messiah was reconciling mankind to himself, not counting their sins against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors of the Messiah; in effect, God is making his appeal through us. What we do is appeal on behalf of the Messiah, ‘Be reconciled to God!’ God made this sinless man be a sin offering on our behalf, so that in union with him we might fully share in God’s righteousness.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 CJB
“Not only that, but I consider everything a disadvantage in comparison with the supreme value of knowing the Messiah Yeshua as my Lord. It was because of him that I gave up everything and regard it all as garbage, in order to gain the Messiah and be found in union with him, not having any righteousness of my own based on legalism, but having that righteousness which comes through the Messiah’s faithfulness, the righteousness from God based on trust.” Philippians 3:8-9 CJB
“who has become such not according to a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life... And the former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has been made perfect forever.” Hebrews 7:23-28
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2
“In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10
Jesus is also the uncreated Word by whom all created things came into existence and who is the true Light of creation that came into the world in order to Shepherd and save his flock:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it... There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him... And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-5, 9-10, 14
“Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’” John 8:12
“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees—and the wolf snatches and scatters them— because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep, which are not from this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.” John 10:11-16
We thus have a clear indication within Micah of there being two Divine Persons, one of whom becomes a human being in order to Shepherd Israel as their King.
The foregoing helps us better appreciate why the prophet quotes YHWH as referring to another who is also YHWH:
“‘In that day,’ declares Yahweh, ‘I will assemble the lame And gather the banished, Even those upon whom I have brought calamity. I will make the lame a remnant And the outcasts a mighty nation, And Yahweh will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on and forever. And as for you, tower of the flock, Hill of the daughter of Zion, To you it will come— Even the former dominion will come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.’” Micah 4:6-8
Rather than YHWH speaking in the first person he instead refers to YHWH in the third person when speaking of his coming to rule in Mount Zion. In light of the above, this is to be explained as YHWH the Father speaking of YHWH the Son coming to Zion in order to be born of a woman so he can begin reigning over Israel as a fellow Israelite.
Micah is also aware of God’s Spirit being a Divine Person who comes to empower him to call Israel out for her transgressions:
“Is it being said, O house of Jacob: ‘Is the Spirit of Yahweh impatient? Are these His deeds?’ Do not My words do good To the one walking uprightly?” Micah 2:7
“On the other hand I am filled with power— With the Spirit of Yahweh— And with justice and might To declare to Jacob his transgression, Even to Israel his sin.” Micah 3:8
It sure looks as if this inspired Hebrew prophet was a Trinitarian!
Unless noted otherwise, scriptural references taken from the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB).
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