Micah means one who is from God, or, as we find elsewhere, one who is the son of the Morashite, in other words son of the heir. Who is the heir but the Son of God, who says, All things have been delivered to me by the Father,^[1] who, being the heir, wished us to be co-heirs. It is well to ask, Who is he? He is not one of the people but one chosen to receive the grace of God, through whom the Holy Spirit speaks. He began to prophesy in the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. By this order the progress of the vision is signified, for it goes from the times of evil kings to those of the good king.

Now let us also consider Jesus’ statement, I have proceeded and come from God.^[1] It seems useful to me to juxtapose to these words the following words from Micah: Hear my words, you people, and let the earth and all who are in it pay attention; and the Lord shall be among you for a witness, the Lord from his holy house. Therefore behold, the Lord proceeds from his place and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth, and the mountains will be shaken under him, and the valleys will be dissolved like wax, before fire and like water tumbling down in a waterfall. Now consider whether the statement, I have proceeded from God, is equivalent to the statement, The Lord proceeds from his place, since, when the Son is in the Father, being in the form of God before he empties himself,^[2] God is his place, as it were. . . . Unless you understand that the Son is in the Father in a different way than he was before he proceeded from God, it will seem contradictory that he has both proceeded from God, and, after he has proceeded from God, is still in God.

I have descended, the text says, to see. When responses are delivered to Abraham, God is not said to descend but to stand before him, as we explained above. Three men, the text says, stood before him.^[1] But now because sinners are involved, God is said to descend.

Beware lest you think of ascending and descending spatially. For these metaphors are frequently found in the sacred literature, as in the prophet Micah. Behold, Scripture says, the Lord departed from his holy place and came down and will tread upon the high places of the earth. Therefore God is said to descend when he deigns to have concern for human frailty. This should be discerned especially of our Lord and Savior, who thought it not robbery to be equal with God but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.^[2] Therefore he descended. For no other has ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven.^[3] For the Lord descended not only to care for us but also to bear what things are ours. For he took the form of a servant, and although he himself is invisible in nature, inasmuch as he is equal to the Father, nevertheless he took a visible appearance and was found in appearance as a man.^[4]

On another occasion when he^[1] was sitting by himself some place reading the book of the twelve prophets, he came to the prophet Micah. An angel of the Lord appeared to him and asked him about this verse from Micah: Like water coming down from its source. He said to him, What do you think it means? While he was still puzzling over it, trying to understand, the angel answered, Theodore, why do you not perceive its meaning? Is it not obvious that it is the water of the river coming down from paradise? As soon as the angel had said this, he ceased to see him.

As wax cannot endure the nearness of the fire, and as the waters are carried headlong, so all of the ungodly, when the Lord comes, shall be dissolved and disappear.

That happened which we know to have been foretold of Judea by the prophet: enlarge your baldness like the eagle. For baldness befalls man in the head only, but the eagle in its whole body. For when it is very old, its feathers and pinions fall from all its body. She lost her feathers who lost her people. Her pinions too fell out, with which she was accustomed to fly to the prey, for all the mighty men—through which she plundered others—perished.