The warning of coming judgment is a common theme in the Bible. But only in a few places is this expressed as the land itself crying out because of the sins that have taken place on it (Isa. 33:9; Jer. 12:4, 23:10; Hos. 4:3, Joel 1:10; Zech. 12:12). Here in Micah, the land speaks directly to lament the tragedies it has suffered and those that were coming in the future.
Micah spoke shortly before the devastating Assyrian conquest of the northern kingdom of Israel. This northern kingdom, which had broken away after the time of Solomon, ruled the northern ten tribes for two hundred years. But almost immediately, it began a dangerous spiritual decline. Micah’s message came at a time of political turmoil: The northern kingdom had been ruled by five rulers in the space of twenty years. Two of these had ruled for less than a year, and three of them had gained the throne by murdering its former occupant. False prophets filled the land with false hope (Micah 3:5-7). And this spiritual and moral corruption was spreading south to Judah. But despite the judgment and destruction that Micah warns was coming, in the end God will restore his people.
The Lament of the Land is the climax and final chapter of the book of Micah (Micah 7):