Christ First Forum

by **Jeani** » 17 May 2009, 21:17

And I said:

1.Hear now. O heads of Jacob,
And you rulers of the house of Israel:
Is it not for you to know justice?

2. You who hate good and love evil;
Who strip the skin from My people,
And the flesh from their bones;

(In perverting justice the leaders and rulers of the nation were acting like wild beasts. They were the one who should know and carry out justice. But instead of practicing justice they hated good and loved evil. Of course this is the opposite of the way leaders should act. (Amos 5:15). Their perverse standards (Micah 3:9) showed that they did not love the Lord (Ps. 97:10) or fear HIm.

3. 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.

(Micah likened the unjust leaders to hunters who killed and ate God's people, who were supposed to be under their care. The leaders were so harsh that they were not satisfied with tearing off the skin and eating the flesh. They even chopped their bones as if they were preparing a stew. By unfair legal actions, by bribery, by theft , by oppression, and even by bloodshed, left the people helpless. The people in Micah's day were being betrayed by their leaders, for if they really cared about the people, they would have turned them back to the Lord.)

4. 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.

(Because of Israel's sins a time would come when they would not answer them. Micah was speaking of the time when israel would be taken into captivity. The false prophets and leaders had refused to believe that the Lord would actually follow through and punish them for their behavior. However, when the captivity came they would realize that God was actually punishing them. Then it would be too late for Him to deliver them. They would have to live with the consequences of their actions, enduring the punishment for their evil. Of course, God listens to the prayers of His people, but sometimes he refuses to relieve them immediately from the consequence of their actions.)

5. 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;

(Rather then serving as shepherds of the nation, caring for them, and leading them properly, the false prophets were leading the people astray. These leaders were giving the people false hope by telling them they would not be punish by God. If someone paid the false shepherds well they would pronounce peace on him. The prophets were concern with their own welfare rather than the nation's welfare. Materialism was their master.)

6. Therefore you shall have night without vision.
and you shall have darkness
without divination;
The sun shall have night without divination;
The sun shall go down on the prophets,
And the day shall be dark for them.

7. So the seers shall be ashamed,
And the diviners abashed;
Indeed they shall all cover their lips;
For there is no answer from God.

(Because the false prophets were not leading the people correctly and they were taking advantage of them materially, these leaders would be shame. Night would come over them. Nightfall pictures impending doom. The prophets would have no vision. They had been counseling the people to go on living as they had been, thinking that God surely would not judge His own nation. But sudden judgment would come. And when it did, the people would ask the prophets why it came and they would be unable to explain it. The false prophets would cover their faces realizing they had no answer from God. The people would then see that the prophets were not true prophets after all. Because God would hide His face the false shepherds would cover their faces.

Remember Micah (true prophet) warned the people and leaders about the impending judgment so that they would see the folly of their ways and turn back to God.

8. 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.

( In contrast with the leaders and false prophets, who had not been speaking God's message, Micah, filled with God's power spoke with the authority of the Spirit of the Lord in denouncing the people's sins and predicting judgment. Micah's words, he said, were with justice because God is just in carrying out His judgment against the covenant people. The leaders dealt unjustly and the false prophets had no spiritual strength. Micah could see God's perspective what was going on in the nation. Because Israel and Judah was not living according to God's covenant standards, He had to punish her.)

9. Now hear this
You heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who abhor justice
and pervert all equity,

10. Who build up Zion with bloodshed
and Jerusalem with iniquity,

11. 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.

(Micah boldly confronted the leaders about their sins and eventual outcome. He first called the rulers and leaders to listen to him. Micah then described what their leadership was like. They despised justice and distorted all that is right. Of course, a ruler over God's people was supposed to be just like God himself. A leader was to desire righteous behavior in his own life and in the lives of his people. Instead of this, these rulers deliberately perverted uprightness. They even encouraged and took part in bloodshed.)

(Micah noted that the leaders priests, and prophets were always out for money and yet had the audacity to say that God was still with them and that therefore the nation would not face destruction. (Due 16:19)

12. Therefore because of you
Zion shall be plowed like a field.
Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins.

(Destruction would come on the nation because of the leaders. This does not suggest that the people were guiltless and that only the leaders were sining. Probably the leaders were leading the people into wicked behavior and therefore the whole nation was guilty before God. Jerusalem would be ruin,and we know they were taken into capitivity.)
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I taught the women this morning,and this is what we studied.

This lesson sounds just like America today,and we are held accountable for those we put in office.

If God held Israel responsible during Micah's time, then He will hold us accountable even today because he is a 'just' God.
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What can Christians do when justice is denied and rulers fail to lead wisely?

How are you making a difference as a Christian?

What kind of example are you setting?

Is your influence true to God's standards?

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