Interesting words in the commentary for today's reading.  He says that the prophet Micah wrote that God "desires righteous thoughts and deeds and not just a show of traditional formal worship."

It seems pretty clear from the writings of the prophet Micah how God feels about “high places”.   High places were associated with pagan practices where the people offered sacrifices and burned incense to pagan gods.  However, sometimes the people listened to the prophets, came to their senses and did the right thing, what naturally followed was a return to the God-ordained holy days.

II Ki 23:21

The king gave this order to all the people: "Celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant."

“…disgrace will not overtake us.” is an example of the sin of rationalization. It could be a substitute for “There’s nothing wrong with abortion.” Or “Homosexual marriages are okay, they’re not really hurting anyone. Or “An affair isn’t so bad. We’re consenting adults. Everybody does it.” We could fill in the blank with a multitude of sins in our world, our church, our lives.

"If a liar and deceiver comes and says, "I will prophecy for you plenty of wine and beer,' he would be just the prophet for this people."
In other words, the people didn't mind hearing prophecy as long as it was something they wanted to hear and just an example of cotton candy teaching and preaching.

A foreshadowing of the ultimate restoration and deliverance is found here:
Micah 2:13
One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the LORD at their head."

Who is it that opens the way? What is the way? What does it mean to break through the gate? Do you think it has anything to do with Jesus?

Remember, Jesus’ followers were called Followers of the Way.