seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Micah 3:1
Then I said,
“Listen, you leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel.
Should you not embrace justice,
2 you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people
and the flesh from their bones;
3 who eat my people’s flesh,
strip off their skin
and break their bones in pieces;
who chop them up like meat for the pan,
like flesh for the pot?”
you rulers of Israel.
Should you not embrace justice,
2 you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people
and the flesh from their bones;
3 who eat my people’s flesh,
strip off their skin
and break their bones in pieces;
who chop them up like meat for the pan,
like flesh for the pot?”
4 Then they will cry out to the Lord,
but he will not answer them.
At that time he will hide his face from them
because of the evil they have done.
but he will not answer them.
At that time he will hide his face from them
because of the evil they have done.
5 This is what the Lord says:
“As for the prophets
who lead my people astray,
they proclaim ‘peace’
if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
who refuses to feed them.
6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions,
and darkness, without divination.
The sun will set for the prophets,
and the day will go dark for them.
7 The seers will be ashamed
and the diviners disgraced.
They will all cover their faces
because there is no answer from God.”
8 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,
to Israel his sin.
who lead my people astray,
they proclaim ‘peace’
if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
who refuses to feed them.
6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions,
and darkness, without divination.
The sun will set for the prophets,
and the day will go dark for them.
7 The seers will be ashamed
and the diviners disgraced.
They will all cover their faces
because there is no answer from God.”
8 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,
to Israel his sin.
9 Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
and distort all that is right;
10 who build Zion with bloodshed,
and Jerusalem with wickedness.
11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,
her priests teach for a price,
and her prophets tell fortunes for money.
Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say,
“Is not the Lord among us?
No disaster will come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,
the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets
you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
and distort all that is right;
10 who build Zion with bloodshed,
and Jerusalem with wickedness.
11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,
her priests teach for a price,
and her prophets tell fortunes for money.
Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say,
“Is not the Lord among us?
No disaster will come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,
the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets
This is from Bible-studys.org.In beginning the second oracle, Micah first addressed Israel’s corrupt rulers, who should be aware of injustice. Yet their conduct toward the poor was like the butchering of animals. Therefore, when judgment came and they cried for help, God didn’t answer.
False prophets, also stood guilty before the Judge because they misled the people, prophesying peace when they were fed, but predicting war when they were not. Like the rulers, they too were motivated by greed. Therefore, having blinded others, they would be struck with blindness and silence.
All ruling classes are guilty: rulers judged for reward, priests taught for hire, prophets divined for money. All the while, they were self-deceived into thinking the Lord would give them favor because they identified themselves with Him. Consequently, the nation would be destroyed (fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C.).
This is from bibletrack.org.Micah's prophecy takes off on these bad leaders of Israel/Judah and their prophets. As I said, they prophesied prosperity falsely. So why did they do it? For the same reason so many people get off track with God today. As a wise friend in the ministry is noted for saying in such matters, "It's not the money; it's the money." In other words, he has noted over the years that, while people will justify their actions with spiritual-sounding rhetoric, very often their actions are motivated by prospective prosperity. Sure enough! There it is in verse 11 - the money, "The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us." By the way, verse 12 once again states the consequences of their godless actions - DESTRUCTION!
We should also take note of another verse in this chapter. About 100 years later this verse would rescue Jeremiah from execution by his own people. Notice Micah's prophecy that Jerusalem would be destroyed in verse 12, "Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest." When Jeremiah was on trial (Jeremiah 26) for saying such things, one of the elders of Jeremiah's day makes reference to the fact that Micah had made the same prophecy during the days of Hezekiah; he had not been executed for making such a prophecy. As a result of this reasoning, Jeremiah was permitted to live. In that sense, it is obvious that this prophecy extends beyond the assault of the Assyrians all the way down to the Babylonian onslaught beginning in 605 B.C. and continuing until Jerusalem's demise in 586 B.C. (II Kings 24-25).
See it's mornings like this that drive me nuts. I don't understand what this second paragraph of the commentary is saying. I think it's saying... when Jeremiah was on trial.... someone said "Hey Micah preached the same thing and no one killed him.... so you have to let Jeremiah go.". But I'm not sure.
The problem with being an old lady with an online Bible and some online commentary.... is confusion. See, I've learned just enough to make me really dangerous. I could say, "based on what I have read so far God is a god of love and we have nothing to worry about because God loves everybody and we will all be safe"..... but that's a lie. I can't say that anymore with a straight face.
Leaders, prophets and priests were responsible for the religious and civil education of the people. Instead, however, they were [and IMHO are] distorting what the Bible actually says. The Old Testament is about a contract God made with Abraham, Isaac, and David. God promised that there would always be someone from their line. It was hard to do.... but He did it..... there are still those who do believe in God..... we're a remnant apparently.
I hear it all the time.... "He/she has been good his/her whole life. I just know they are with the Lord". Being "good" don't cut it. Suppose I sat down with another person to take a standardized test.... the kind that test IQ for example. If I read all the questions and answer to the best of my ability based on what I have learned...... and the person taking the test beside me just fills in the answers willy nilly..... who's to know the difference? If the person taking the test beside me gets lucky.... there might be more answers marked correct on their test even if they didn't know the answers. They would have a "good" grade. Who's to know? Well.... the test monitor would know..... the person giving the test would be watching and they would know that I read each question, considered, and then answered..... while the other just filled in random dots on the answer page. God is the monitor. God knows who believes in Him and who is faking it.
If being good and doing the right thing was a ticket to heaven.... who would know when a person has earned that ticket? How many good things would a person have to do to be considered "good". If the bar for heavenly goodness is set at 100 good things and a person dies after only completing 99 good things.... is that person going to hell.... after all.... they were a "good" person 99 times... they just didn't get to 100. The leaders, prophets, and priest of Micah's day [and IMHO today] were preaching.... "good" is good enough..... even if you don't believe.
If a horrible army, cancer, or other demise was on the way..... how would the preachers, teachers, and leaders handle it? Would they sway to a good message saying "everything is fine.... hang on" or would they sway to the truth? Micah says everything was turning to poop and the people didn't know because the leaders, prophets, and priests were all handing rose colored glasses to everyone. The leaders knew that if the people knew they were about to be castrated, raped, murdered or enslaved.... they would not go to the fields or tend the vines.... they would leave and the economy would fall. The leaders then took control of what the prophets and priests were reporting. The leaders told the prophets and priests what story to tell..... and the prophets and priests did as they were told because if they failed the leaders..... they would loose their job and their home and their money. See.... those shiny baubles.... coins of precious metal meant more to the people than God..... and the people were suffering because of it.
All the leaders, false prophets and priests were chasing idols, shiny baubles, and self gratification. They were feeding feel good messages to the masses so the masses would continue to work, increasing the funding for the chasing of idols, shiny baubles and self gratification. God wasn't talking to the leaders, prophets, or priests.... but the people didn't know that.... because the leaders, prophets, or priests were lying to them.
