Verses 1-12, “And I said: “Hear now, O heads of Jacob, And you rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice? You who hate good and love evil; Who strip the skin from My people, And the flesh from their bones; Who also eat the flesh of My people, Flay their skin from them, Break their bones, And chop them in pieces Like meat for the pot, Like flesh in the caldron.” Then they will cry to the Lord, But He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, Because they have been evil in their deeds. Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets Who make my people stray; Who chant “Peace” While they chew with their teeth, But who prepare war against him Who puts nothing into their mouths: “Therefore you shall have night without vision, And you shall have darkness without divination; The sun shall go down on the prophets, And the day shall be dark for them. So the seers shall be ashamed, And the diviners abashed; Indeed they shall all cover their lips; For there is no answer from God.” But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, And of justice and might, To declare to Jacob his transgression And to Israel his sin. Now hear this, You heads of the house of Jacob And rulers of the house of Israel, Who abhor justice And pervert all equity, Who build up Zion with bloodshed And Jerusalem with iniquity: Her heads judge for a bribe, Her priests teach for pay, And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord, and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No harm can come upon us.” Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, And the mountain of the temple Like the bare hills of the forest.”
Micah is addressing the leaders of the people, because they are accountable to God for what they did with the authority that was entrusted to them. Instead of guiding and protecting the people, the leaders were stripping the skin off the bones of them, feasting on them like cannibals. Ezekiel 34:2-10, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.” ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock”— therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”
Micah declared to the people that his authority comes from God...His power from the Spirit of the Lord. The others may think they have authority, but God will not even hear them, and will hide His face from them because of their sin. He is simply not among them! Their prophets speak lies and receive no word from the Lord, yet they somehow think they are safe because they are people called by God's name. Although they might have a name among the other nations, they are not the people of God because they refuse to obey Him. And His name will not protect them in their day of calamity. The church today is very much the same. The use God's name to somehow feel safe in their iniquity. But God's spirit is not among them. One of the churches rebuked in Revelation also had a name, but God tells them they are dead. There will be no peace or safety for those who are disobedient on that day of judgment, no matter how much they believe the false prophecies of lies.
“Then they will cry to the LORD, But He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, Because they have been evil in their deeds. Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets Who make my people stray; Who chant “Peace” While they chew with their teeth, But who prepare war against him Who puts nothing into their mouths: “Therefore you shall have night without vision, And you shall have darkness without divination; The sun shall go down on the prophets, And the day shall be dark for them. So the seers shall be ashamed, And the diviners abashed; Indeed they shall all cover their lips; For there is no answer from God.””
ReplyDeleteMicah 3:4-7
This is God’s judgement on the corrupt leaders. Because of there evil dead’s they will be judged by God. There are many corrupt leaders today, who are leading people astray. We need to make sure as christians that we do not follow them. That we are deceived by these leaders, who are speaking false doctrine. These people are used by Satan to bring people down and we need to make sure that we aren’t one of them. We need to pray that we are not deceived and pray for the Holy Spirit to help us descern these people. For these corrupt leaders, they will be judged for their evil deeds on the day of judgement.