|
From among the saints commemorated on the 14th of August, we especially remember the life and works of the
Prophet Micah.
The Prophet Micah, the sixth of the Twelve Minor Prophets, was descended
from the Tribe of Judah and was a native of the city of Moresheth, to the south of Jerusalem. His prophetic service began
around the year 778 before Christ and continued for almost 50 years under the kings of Judah: Jotham, Ahaz, and Righteous
Hezekiah (721-691 B.C., August 28). He was a contemporary
of the Prophet Isaiah. His denunciations and predictions were in regard to the separate kingdoms of Judah and Israel. He foresaw
the misfortunes threatening the kingdom of Israel before its destruction, and the sufferings of Judah during the incursions
under the Assyrian emperor Sennacherib. To
him belongs a prophecy about the birth of the Savior of the world: “And thou, Bethlehem, house of Ephratha, art too
few in number to be reckoned with the thousands of Judah; yet out of thee shall come forth to Me, one who is to be a ruler
in Israel, and His goings forth were from the beginning, even from eternity” (Mic. 5: 2). From the words of the Prophet
Jeremiah (Jer. 26: 18-19), the Jews evidently were afraid to kill the Prophet Micah. His relics were discovered in the fourth
century after the Birth of Christ at Baraphsatia, through a revelation to the Bishop of Eleutheropolis, Zeuinos.
|
