Miquéias 1:3 Midrash: Bereshit Rabbah & Midrash Tehillim

“He took from the stones of the place” (Genesis 28:11) – Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Neḥemya, and the Rabbis, Rabbi Yehuda said: He took twelve stones. So, the Holy One blessed be He decreed that he would produce twelve tribes. He [Jacob] said: ‘Abraham did not produce them, Isaac did not produce them, I, if these twelve stones join with one another, I know that I will produce twelve tribes.’ When the twelve stones joined together one to another, he knew that he would produce twelve tribes.
Rabbi Neḥemya said: He took three stones. He said: ‘Abraham, the Holy One blessed be He designated His name upon him; Isaac, the Holy One blessed be He designated His name upon him; I, if these three stones join with one another, I know that He will designate His name upon me.’ When the three stones joined with one another, he knew that the Holy One blessed be He would designate His name upon him.
The Rabbis said: The minimum number of “stones” is two. Abraham, waste emerged from him – Ishmael and all the sons of Ketura. Isaac, Esau and all his chieftains emerged [from him]. I, if these two stones join with one another, I will know that waste will not emerge from me.
Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Yosei bar Zimra: He made them in the shape of a roof gutter and placed it beneath his head because he feared the beasts.
Rabbi Berekhya and Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina: It is written: “For, behold, the Lord emerges from His place, and will descend and tread on the heights of the earth. [The mountains will melt under Him, and the valleys will burst like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a slope]” (Micah 1:3–4).¹⁶Even in a place where God only ‘passes through,’ valleys burst like wax. All the more so for one in a place where the Holy One blessed be He has revealed Himself.¹⁷The stones melt and are joined together in a place where God's presence is not transient.
Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Levi: Those stones that Jacob placed under his head became like a bed and a feather pillow under him. What blossoming did he blossom there? “The beams of our houses are cedars, [and our rafters are junipers]” (Song of Songs 1:17) – the righteous men and women that emerged from him.
“And lay in that place” – Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda said: He lay here, but all fourteen years that he was hidden in the house of Ever, he did not lie. Rabbi Neḥemya said: He lay here, but all twenty years that he stayed in Laban’s house, he did not lie. What would he recite? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: The fifteen songs of ascent in the book of Psalms.¹⁸Psalms 120–134. What is his source? “A song of ascents, by David. [If the Lord had not been with us,] Let Israel now say” (Psalms 124:1) – Israel the elder.¹⁹Jacob. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: He would say the entire book of Psalms. What is the source? “Yet You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel” (Psalms 22:4) – Israel the elder.

Another thing the rivers of God lifted up. Rabbi Berechiah said in the name of Ben Azai that the waters were rising and reaching up to the throne of glory, as it is said, "And the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2). And it also says, "As an eagle awakens its nest, hovering over its young" (Deuteronomy 32:11). And when the bee emerges from the mouth of the Almighty (Genesis 9:10), the waters would gather together. Mountains and hills rose up from the ends of the earth and spread throughout the land, creating valleys upon valleys in the midst of the earth, and the waters would roll and gather into the valleys, as it is said, "And he called the gathering of the waters 'Seas'" (Genesis 1:10). Immediately, the waters swelled and covered the land, until God rebuked them and pressed them beneath His feet, forming a border for the sea as a man makes a fence around his vineyard. And when the waters rose and saw the sand before them, they receded, as it is said, "Fear not, O Jacob My servant," says the Lord, "for I am with you; for I will make a complete end of all the nations where I have driven you, but I will not make a complete end of you. I will rightly correct you, for I will not leave you wholly unpunished" (Jeremiah 46:28). And before the waters were gathered together, the deeps were created. These are the depths that are beneath the earth, and the earth above them is split like a crack in a vessel, gazing into the heart of the sea. Thus, the earth is anchored upon the waters, as it is said, "Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever" (Psalm 104:5). And where did those waters go? Rabbi Berechiah said in the name of Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Yehudah, the son of Rabbi Shalom: "What is this thing like? It is like two bowls, one full and one empty. But if they were both full, what could they do? When they are full, they pour into the channel, and when the wind passes through them, they turn to one place. So the whole world was filled with water. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He restrained them, and they dried up, as it is said, 'He holds back the waters, and they dry up; also, he sends them out, and they overturn the earth' (Job 12:15). And it also says, 'He walks on the high places of the sea' (Job 9:8), "He holds back the waters, and they dry up." And it also says (Micah 1:3), "He treads upon the high places of the sea." And it says (Psalm 33:7), "He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap." And where did they go? Rabbi Levi said, "These whisper to these, 'Where are we going?' And they say, 'The way of the sea, the way of the sea, to make war with that country, to make war with that country.'" Rabbi Huna drew out a tongue of fire to each side. Rabbi Joshua ben Karcha said, "We have received that the voice of the Holy One, blessed be He, was roaring before them, as it is said (Psalm 29:3), 'The voice of the Lord is upon the waters.' The rivers raise their voice."

"The word of God stands firm in the heavens forever. Isaiah said (Isaiah 40:8), 'The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.' Similarly, David said (Psalm 89:3), 'Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.' And why is it standing firm without change, not based on one witness or two, but every supreme court appoints it? And so it says (Psalm 89:8), 'O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O Lord, with your faithfulness all around you?' And so Daniel says (Daniel 4:14), 'According to the decree of the watchers, the sentence is announced, and the decision of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.' And it says (Daniel 2:28), 'But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.' And why does it say 'and a great army'? They said that a great army is appointed over it. Therefore it says (Daniel 4:31), 'The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.' Job said (Job 23:13), 'But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does.' They said to Micah, 'What have you seen?' He said (1 Kings 22:19-20), 'I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him.' " And the Lord said, "Who will entice [him]...?" (2 Samuel 24:1). And one [commentator] says this [means] one thing, and another [commentator] says [it means] another thing. But they all agree upon it. Therefore it is said: "Forever, O Lord, Your word stands firm in heaven" (Psalms 119:89). What is the meaning of "Your word stands firm in heaven"? What is this thing that stands firm in heaven? Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "Upon what do the heavens stand? Upon that which I said, 'Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters,' and it was so" (Genesis 1:6-7). And it is written, "For He spoke, and it was; He commanded, and it stood" (Psalms 33:9). That very thing which He said, He made. Therefore it is said (Psalms 148:5), "He commanded, and they were created." In the word of the Lord, the heavens were made, and in that very thing with which He created them, they stand forever. Therefore it is said, "Forever, O Lord, Your word stands firm in heaven" (Psalms 119:89). "Your faithfulness endures to all generations" (ibid. v. 90). The heavens and the earth stand [firm] based on faith, as it is said (ibid. 89:3), "The world stands firm with Your kindness." And likewise it says (Proverbs 20:9), "Who can say, 'I have purified my heart, I have cleansed myself from my sins'?" And (Job 15:15), "Behold, He does not trust in His holy ones; even the heavens are not pure in His eyes." And who can escape, as everything stands in judgment. Therefore it is said (Micah 1:3), "For behold, the Lord is coming out of His place, and He will descend and tread on the high places of the earth. And the mountains will melt under Him, and the valleys will split open like wax before the fire, like water poured down a steep slope" (Micah 1:3-4).