Micah 3
Notes
Transcript
The middle Gloom
The middle Gloom
All of chapter 3 is gloom this week but that does not mean we need be depressed or overly gloomy ourselves when we read it. We can take as warning the doom of those from before us. We again start the second section with the word Shema. Like I mentioned two weeks ago this word should perk up our ears when paired with Israel as it is here to see what fundamental thing is being said.
And I said:
Hear, you heads of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel!
Is it not for you to know justice?—
What is the purpose of government? Rom 13:3-4
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
Here we see what government should be in the business of, namely justice.
Is it not for you to know justice - at the end of verse one isn’t implying justice should happen to the leadership - although we could and certainly will see that the leaders will suffer because justice will be done upon them - but here it means they should know what justice is, it’s righteousness and they should see that it is done. What are they doing instead? We see that clearly in the next two verses through this idiom Micah paints with his words.
you who hate the good and love the evil,
who tear the skin from off my people
and their flesh from off their bones,
who eat the flesh of my people,
and flay their skin from off them,
and break their bones in pieces
and chop them up like meat in a pot,
like flesh in a cauldron.
WOW instead of understanding Justice and their role to ensure it they’re being compared to cannibals. Instead of pastoring people their picnicking upon them. They hate good and love evil. A phrase that might make us remember the same phrase turned the right way around from Amos.
Hate evil, and love good,
and establish justice in the gate;
it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
Dealing with the same basic concept of the responsibility in government and leadership of the people Amos told them to do what was right, Micah however is calling out what is already going wrong. This gets accentuated with the violence of the verbs here.
Tear
Eat
Flay
Break
Chop
put together you have a picture in your mind of such violence that it should be a vivid picture that draws you in to the plight of the people.
With this in mind of the leaders who do this, it seems silly that they would, in the midst of their sin, still call out to God. They do however and God doesn’t answer as we see in vs 4
Then they will cry to the Lord,
but he will not answer them;
he will hide his face from them at that time,
because they have made their deeds evil.
They might be so in sin that they’ve convinced themselves they aren’t doing evil. People get to that point. But they dont’ get there without knowing at some point they’re heading down the path of sin and unrighteoussness. The silence of God and the deeds made evil are absolutely connected. In the very same way that Romans 8:28 is connected all the way through.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
We cannot ignore that God has a purpose for us and for those of us that Love God he works things together for good. But if we are not God’s this verse has no comfort. Everything isn’t all going to be alright for everyone.
Therefore we get to judgment pronounced on prophets and leaders.
Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray,
who cry “Peace”
when they have something to eat,
but declare war against him
who puts nothing into their mouths.
Here we see the false prophets, the ones who lead God’s people away from God. The phrasing here gives us a clue that they’re just speaking good of whoever pays them and ill of those who don’t pay to play for their prophet-teering.
The standard for ministry leaders in church expects the same idea of integrity when it comes to money. The requirement for a pastor to not be a lover of money in 1 Timothy 3:3 “not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.” helps to safeguard the church down the road who has been filled with 2 Tim 4:3 people.
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,
It has already happened. This is why we must so dilligently stick to the Word of God as the Truth that lays all our foundations.
Moving on the consequences…
Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,
and darkness to you, without divination.
The sun shall go down on the prophets,
and the day shall be black over them;
the seers shall be disgraced,
and the diviners put to shame;
they shall all cover their lips,
for there is no answer from God.
Something will change that disgraces these money-hungry peace and prosperity prophets. Ther will be no word from God to them, the things they divine over will become nonsense in some way. e.g. The horoscopes will all be wrong and everyone will know it and see it as idiotic. But there is also an implication that at some point they did hear from God. Or at least did speak what God had said through preaching his Word. This then serves us as a warning that not all false prophets start as a charlatan but some did speak rightly before turning away from truth for money.
In verse 8 we really see the stark difference for a true prophet.
But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression
and to Israel his sin.
Here is a big contrast. Micah is not boasting of himself but boasting of the Lord. He is filled with power, the spirit, justice and might. The world continues to need prophets like Micah who call out the sins and injustices we see. Yes even within the church we need prophets who speak the truth. We see that’s true from
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
After the prophets we have the leaders and rulers in view.
Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel,
who detest justice
and make crooked all that is straight,
who build Zion with blood
and Jerusalem with iniquity.
Have you ever bent a pipe cleaner or a coat hanger then tried to make it straight again? It never goes back to perfect once bent.
They started ruling with cruelty to build up what they wanted. Becoming harsh task masters to improve the cities.
They were also corrupt like the prophets were.
Its heads give judgment for a bribe;
its priests teach for a price;
its prophets practice divination for money;
yet they lean on the Lord and say,
“Is not the Lord in the midst of us?
No disaster shall come upon us.”
While doing that they keep up a pretense that they’re still on the same side as God and in doing so they will be immune to disaster.
Because of this we see the results, or the wages of their sin.
Therefore because of you
Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height.