Sermon Tone Analysis

One would expect that the rulers or the government authorities to do all that they can to model justice and to make sure that justice prevails.

That was not the case for the Israelites.

In fact, as we break down these verses today, we’ll see that the first and third sections have to deal with the civil or government leaders.

The middle section speaks to the false prophets who were supposed to provide godly counsel to the lay people and the government authorities.

Interestingly, there are many parallels to our nation even today.

The northern kingdom had already been captured some seven years prior to chapter 3, so we can assume that what is being spoken is aimed at the Southern kingdom of Judah.

The overriding thought I would like us to remember is this:

We must be careful that we follow not after the world’s leadership, but after the Lord, Who is the only true Leader.

Micah 3:1–12 (NASB95)

And I said, “Hear now, heads of Jacob And rulers of the house of Israel.

Is it not for you to know justice?

“You who hate good and love evil, Who tear off their skin from them And their flesh from their bones, Who eat the flesh of my people, Strip off their skin from them, Break their bones And chop them up as for the pot And as meat in a kettle.”

Then they will cry out to the Lord, But He will not answer them.

Instead, He will hide His face from them at that time Because they have practiced evil deeds.

Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; When they have something to bite with their teeth, They cry, “Peace,” But against him who puts nothing in their mouths They declare holy war.

Therefore it will be night for you—without vision, And darkness for you—without divination.

The sun will go down on the prophets, And the day will become dark over them.

The seers will be ashamed And the diviners will be embarrassed.

Indeed, they will all cover their mouths Because there is no answer from God.

On the other hand I am filled with power— With the Spirit of the Lord— And with justice and courage To make known to Jacob his rebellious act, Even to Israel his sin.

Now hear this, heads of the house of Jacob And rulers of the house of Israel, Who abhor justice And twist everything that is straight, Who build Zion with bloodshed And Jerusalem with violent injustice.

Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe, Her priests instruct for a price And her prophets divine for money.

Yet they lean on the Lord saying, “Is not the Lord in our midst?

Calamity will not come upon us.”

Therefore, on account of you Zion will be plowed as a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, And the mountain of the temple will become high places of a forest.

Cannibal Caretakers - 3.1-4

The Lord continues to speak through the prophet Micah, specifically to those who were in charge of the nation.

They were supposed to watch out for the welfare and protection of Judah.

They were the heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel.

Our own nation was founded upon biblical principles and has at its foundation the idea that the government leaders were not to rule nor take advantage of the people for their own benefit, but rather serve the citizens, watching out for their welfare and the overall protection of its people from others who would do us harm.

In these verses, we see that the Lord has some charges to level against Judah’s leaders.

The first issue is found in the last part of verse 1.

Of all people, the leadership should have known about justice.

God is the giver of the law which provides guidelines about justice.

But it was more than knowing the information and nuances of the law.

The idea behind know was to not only know and understand the law, but then to apply the law to whatever the situation might be, in a fair, just manner, with no partiality.

Obviously, this was not happening.

The second problem which is noted is that these same officials hate good and love evil, as seen in verse 2. If God’s law promoted something, these leaders opposed it.

If God’s law condemned something, these leaders loved it and encouraged it.

To show just how awful the government officials were, a metaphor is given to illustrate how things were.

The citizenry are likened to a flock as seen earlier.

Here, they are vulnerable to the wild animals that would try to destroy them for their own enjoyment.

The words tear off are used in the Old Testament to describe intense oppression.

This was seen by the fact that if the citizens had money or property, it was being taken by those in the government.

This was actually the opposite of what should have been happening.

The laws were being manipulated and the process was being perverted in such a way that true justice was nowhere to be found.

The third area was the leadership’s incredible lack of compassion as seen in verse 3.

In fact, it’s so bad, that it is compared to cannibalism.

Again, this phrase is also a common phrase used for extreme oppression.

Basically, this verse is a stronger repetition of the previous verse.

The people were being treated no better than cattle, rather than part of God’s chosen people.

The comparison is meant to be quite gruesome to show how evil the leaders were.

Then we come to verse 4, which shows that the Lord is going to bring punishment as a result of the godless, self-centered lives of those in leadership in the government.

In the first part of this verse is the picture that when judgment is about to fall, the corrupt leaders will cry out to the Lord, but He will not answer them.

Any connection with God has been cut off.

The Lord will not be able to be found by those evil leaders who took advantage of the citizens which God had entrusted to them.

Why?

Because they have practiced evil deeds.

Purchased Prophets - 3.5-8

In this section, the false prophets are singled out for condemnation.

If they were truly prophets for God, then this accusation would not be necessary.

However, they were individuals who claimed to be prophets.

Many scholars refer to these people as a lying prophet, someone who claims to speak God’s word, but does not.

How can we tell that they are false prophets.

Again, we find three charges against them that prove this.

First is that they lead my people astray.

This is seen in the Hebrew as being quite intentional by those who call themselves prophets.

The word for this idea carries the thought of intentionally leading astray, misleading, lying to.

The next two areas are two sides of the same coin, if you will.

It is seen in how the prophets respond to the different groups.

If one group pays them for a good word, the false prophets give a promise of peace.

If the other group does not pay them what is wanted, then the prophets declare holy war.

Their purpose in life was to make money off of people for telling them happy lies.

If you were unwilling to pay for this, they would try to instill terrible fear and cause trouble by declaring a holy war.

Basically, if paid enough money, these charlatans would say that God would allow the people to live peaceful, prosperous, happy lives.

The other side of this coin was that if one didn’t pay them and give them what they wanted, that God was going to make life absolutely miserable for the lay people.

If they could get the laity to truly fear God as a master of judgment, then they could become wealthy.

Never mind the actual moral condition of the people; it was all about money.

It has been known throughout Scripture that those who taught spiritually were entitled to receive compensation in some form, either money or food or some other means.

However, those who were not truly godly men, chose to use this provision and abuse it for their own personal gain.

One commentator stated: the false prophets said only what their rich masters wanted to hear, the true prophet was always ready to speak against those in authority when they misused their positions and thus disobeyed God.

In verse 6, we see that the Lord will not let this continue; there will be judgment.

These corrupt prophets will no longer have any genuine influence.

This is seen in the words, night & darkness.

I appreciate the fact that their supposed importance and influence were going to be shut down and they would no longer be able to rip the people off financially.

Verse 7 goes on to show the results in that there will be no ability to predict the future.

They will be total failures.

They will end up being humiliated.

It’s almost like a weather forecaster stating that they predict highs in the 80s with sunny skies, while at the very moment that is predicted, a blizzard is taking place with temperatures in the teens.

What an embarrassment.

And what makes this even more relevant is that though these false prophets were making money in God’s name, they will discover that they are going to experience the same judgment as the governmental leaders and God will not provide for them a way out or any form of consolation.

Verse 8 serves as a transition, especially in how it points out the distinctive difference between a false prophet and a true prophet.

A true prophet is what Micah was.

One of the responsibilities of a true prophet is to point out sin and call for repentance.

If repentance is not to be found, then a true prophet will point out not only the sin, but that judgment will come if it’s not dealt with.

We see that God fills Micah with His Spirit and His power.

The picture is presented as Micah as having a godly character who can be trusted when he tells the people of Judah what needs to be done.

When Micah speaks of justice, it is in sharp contrast to the leaders and false prophets.

He will rightly present what is wrong with the country and what should be done in order to live as God wants His people to live.

Even though this would be very unpopular with many, since nobody likes to be told they are evil, Micah is filled with courage from the Lord.