Micah

Chapters 1, 3, and 6 of Micah begin with the word “Hear,” so I drew Micah with his hand to his ear, signaling the people to listen.

He is calling attention to the condemnation of Judah, the coming judgment upon the people, and the charges brought against them. I represented that judgment with the gavel on the desk.
Chapter 1 speaks of the smashing of Samaria’s idols, which I represented with the large golden calf. It also describes calamity coming from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem, so in the upper left corner I depicted ruined gates, tumbling stones, and battered walls.
The condemnation of leaders who oppress the poor appears in the upper left as well, where the “fat cats” who have profited from the labor of the poor are neglecting them and their children.
Yet Micah is not only a book of judgment. It also points ahead to a time of peace, justice, and comfort.
In chapter 4, the Lord judges among many peoples and brings peace. “They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.” At the top center of the painting, you can see the plow and the sword representing that change from warfare to peace.
Toward the right center, a man rests under his fig tree, reflecting Micah’s image of security and peace, when no one will make them afraid.
Chapter 5 speaks of hope, peace, deliverance, and comfort coming from one born in Bethlehem. In the center of the painting, I drew a manger, with the shadow of a tree falling across it in the shape of a cross.
Chapter 6 presents the Lord’s case against His people. It recalls what He has done for them and contrasts empty religious display with the life He truly desires.
So I included symbols of the things Micah says God wants: justice, shown by the scales at the lower left; love, shown by the two hands joined at the center right; kindness, shown by the exchange of a gift basket at the bottom center; and humble walking with God, suggested by the foot-washing scene at the lower right.
If the people refuse these things, Micah warns that there will be a price to pay. The book names the sins of the people clearly, yet it also insists that God remains the source of salvation.
Micah ends with one of the most beautiful statements in the book: “Who is a God like Thee, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love.”
This painting holds together all three movements of the book: coming judgment, coming justice, and coming comfort.