Micah 2

Verses 1-13, “Woe to those who devise iniquity, And work out evil on their beds! At morning light they practice it, Because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and take them by violence, Also houses, and seize them. So they oppress a man and his house, A man and his inheritance. Therefore thus says the Lord: “Behold, against this family I am devising disaster, From which you cannot remove your necks; Nor shall you walk haughtily, For this is an evil time. In that day one shall take up a proverb against you, And lament with a bitter lamentation, saying: ‘We are utterly destroyed! He has changed the heritage of my people; How He has removed it from me! To a turncoat He has divided our fields.’ ” Therefore you will have no one to determine boundaries by lot In the assembly of the Lord. “Do not prattle,” you say to those who prophesy. So they shall not prophesy to you; They shall not return insult for insult. You who are named the house of Jacob: “Is the Spirit of the Lord restricted? Are these His doings? Do not My words do good To him who walks uprightly? “Lately My people have risen up as an enemy— You pull off the robe with the garment From those who trust you, as they pass by, Like men returned from war. The women of My people you cast out From their pleasant houses; From their children You have taken away My glory forever. “Arise and depart, For this is not your rest; Because it is defiled, it shall destroy, Yes, with utter destruction. If a man should walk in a false spirit And speak a lie, saying, ‘I will prophesy to you of wine and drink,’ Even he would be the prattler of this people. “I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together like sheep of the fold, Like a flock in the midst of their pasture; They shall make a loud noise because of so many people. The one who breaks open will come up before them; They will break out, Pass through the gate, And go out by it; Their king will pass before them, With the Lord at their head.”

It is one thing to fall into sin unexpectedly, but quite another to devise it before it is even committed. So because God's people were divising iniquity, God would devise disaster against them. When you know the truth, but sin anyway, there is no sacrifice to cover your sins. Therefore, you will be punished by the living God.  Hebrews 10:26‭-‬31, “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

God sent His prophets to speak the truth to the people, but they disregarded the message as prattle, or foolish talk, of no consequence to them. But those with a false spirit who were actually speaking lies...those messages, they would receive. The church today does this very same thing. They reject the truth, yet receive fables designed to keep them in a place of divising their own sin. And in this place, they are proud and walk haughtily, rather than walking in the fear of the Lord.  II Timothy 4:3‭-‬4, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

If you want to disregard the warnings of God so you can continue in your unrighteousness, He will allow you that choice. He will even strengthen you on that path, just like He hardened Pharaoh's heart to continue working against Him. But make no mistake, you have fallen into the trap of deception set by Satan himself.  II Thessalonians 2:9‭-‬12, “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”  If people would just cling to God's word, the word of life, they would be preserved through judgement. However, rejecting His word puts you in a very vulnerable spot. It will leave you physically and spiritually empty and broken, and you will receive the full weight of His condemnation that you indeed deserve.