• Download Video
• Download Audio
• Print
• Email
• Save As PDF

"There is no cluster to eat"

Text: Micah 7:1

PERSONAL SORROW FELT

The prophet Micah would also feel the sorrows that he had warned the nation about. He shares his personal experience of the devastation of the land.

“Woe is me!
For I am like those who gather summer fruits,
Like those who glean vintage grapes;
There is no cluster to eat
Of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires.”
Micah 7:1

1. “Woe is me”

a) This is an expression of deep sadness.

b) Micah felt deeply when food became scarce.

2. Two imageries employed:

a) These imageries are better understood in the light of an old Mosaic law.

b) There was a law concerning fields and vineyards at harvest time (Deuteronomy 24:19-22).

i) Sheaves must be left behind for the poor to glean.

ii) Olive trees must leave behind olives for the poor.

iii) Vineyards must allow for some grapes for the poor to glean.

iv) The poor would include the stranger, the fatherless and the widow.

c) The imagery of a gatherer of summer fruits:

i) Great joy would fill the hearts of the poor as they venture out to gather summer fruits.

ii) That would be turned into sorrow when no fruits are found.

d) The imagery of a gleaner of vintage grapes:

i) Grapes grow in clusters.

ii) The very sight of grapes left behind by kind owners would bring much joy.

iii) But that joy would turn into sorrow if there were no clusters to be found.

3. “First-ripe fruit which my soul desires”

a) Micah had developed a taste for “first-ripe fruits”.

b) In happier times, good friends may have invited him to partake of these fruits.

i) These are usually not as sweet.

ii) But a special liking was developed in Micah and this was a happy memory.

c) But the land had fallen on hard times and these fruits were no longer available to him.