Is it not for you to know Justice? God's Absense from

Introduction: God is Absent from Unjust Officials

Heads and Rulers: The enforcers of justice hate good and love evil

“And I said” signals the beginning of a new section but a continuation of same themes from chapter 2.

Three groups that Micah will preach against:

The corrupt officials.

The Lying Prophets.

The Unjust rulers.

A call “Hear!” Listen up, pay attention. These are not words of suggestion or opinion, but the work of God. This word can never be passed off, because it is proclaimed with the authority of the God of this people. Micah cannot be shy or make any compromises about its content; he preaches it like it is: the Word of God.

“To know Justice.” not simply intellectual knowledge, but to believe, participate, and promote it.

Believe the word of God, which defines it.

participate in and practice it in their own lives.

Promote it through their place as “heads” of Israel.

The reality: They hate good and love evil. This irony is not funny, those whose job it is to know Justice love the opposite. Like a baker who hates bread or a policeman who hates laws is a ruler who hates good and loves evil.

Butchers of the People of God

If the rich and powerful in Israel were guilty of robbing the shirts of people’s backs (2:8) the rulers are guilty of stealing their own skin! The Assyrians had practices of torcher that could be comparable, but it is the wicked rulers that are the true cause of this horrible fate.

They are not content to rip people off from their possessions, but from their own lives and bodies. Again, this is done from a heart that seeks control and not one submitted to God.

Micah’s language than turns cannibalistic, a grotesque scenes of stripping off the skin and breaking the bones as they devour human flesh.

Rulers are appointed to promote justice as defined by the two great commandments. This results in a society where God is lifted up and people are kept safe. Good rulers make laws that are in accord with Godly ethics and enforce them in a way that is both biblical and practical. a rulers job is to protect and provide for their people, like a shepherd does to the sheep.

But the Rulers, who we see later in the chapter refer to prophets, priests, and political leaders, do the opposite because they value the opposite. They love evil, not good, and so they will devour those they are meant to protect. They will seem to promote justice in political campeigns only to trample on it when it suits them.

Don’t expect justice from someone who hates it.

God’s Silent Judgement

The judgement of God comes and it is: silence.

While he spoke they did not listen, so when they speak to him he won’t listen either. Loving God means listening to his Word and expecting, in faith, God’s listening ear. But if we don’t listen, neither will he.

They cry. While trouble is not only for the wicked, the righteous know that their cries are heard.

Psalm 77:1 ESV

I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me.

This kind of confidence is something these rulers cannot have. There is no confidence in God’s listening ear for those who have the responsability to know justice and don’t practice it.

God hides from them because they’ve made their deeds evil. They have chosen a way of leadership that makes God unapproachable.

Peter applies this to Husbands who would wish to be heard by God.

1 Peter 3:7 ESV

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Conclusion

All leadership is the responsability to enforce and promote the two great commandments.

When those who are supposed to promite justice don’t, God becomes silent to them. When they inevitably need him, he is nowhere to be found.

A warning: don’t presume on God’s ear if you ignore his justice.