Micah: Justice (Part 6)

Then I said, "Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel. Should you not embrace justice, you who hate good and love evil; who tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones; 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?" 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.
Micah 3:1-4

After reading through the book of Micah, I got the feeling that Micah had a very strong sense of justice. He is still defending Judah because he thinks it's not their fault. Micah says that they have been lead astray by their leaders and God agrees with him.

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. 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. The seers will be ashamed and the diviners disgraced. They will all cover their faces because there is no answer from God."
Micah 3:5-7

I can relate to Micah because I also have a strong sense of justice. God has a strong sense of justice too, but he loves us more than he loves justice. That is why he sets aside being fair and gives us something better that justice. He gives us mercy.
God has given the false prophets a chance for mercy, but he does have to have a sacrifice for sin, whether that's a lamb (old testament) or Jesus' death or, if you don't except these, you are the sacrifice. If you don't accept the savior, you must burn up in hell.
Here, God is thinking of ending the age of the prophets. Prophets were suppose to be God's way to communicate to his people, but even they were becoming corrupted and their corruptness was rubbing off on the Israelite. God knew he had to stop this, but first God gave a chance for repentance through Micah because Micah was one of the few people who still had faith in God.

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.
Micah 3:8

Micah is a righteous prophet. Even though people are against him, he stands strong because he longs to please God.
The false prophets are telling the people exactly what they want to hear. No one wants to believe that Micah is right. They don't want judgement, so they believe the false prophets and continue with their lives as if nothing's wrong.
The same is true of today. Their are false pastors and teachers who tell people what they want to hear and they usually have a huge audience because who doesn't want to be told what they want to hear? Everyone wants to be told that God is fine with their sin.
But then there are the pastor and teachers like Micah who tell you what God wants you to hear. They tell you what the bible says, not what the world says. Those are the people you should listen to.

Hear this, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right; who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness. 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." 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.
Micah 3:9-12

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Daily Reminders #21

They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?"

Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

John 8:33-36

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Micah: In Denial (Part 5)

"Do not prophesy," their prophets say. "Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us."

Micah 2:6

These are the false prophets of Judah, and they are in denial. They don't want to believe that they were sinning or that disaster would befall them. They want to live in the moment, ignoring the consequences of their sin, ignoring that it is sin, but Micah was called to change that.

Should it be said, O house of Jacob: "Is the Spirit of the Lord angry? Does he do such things?" "Do not my words do good to him whose ways are upright?
Micah 2:7

Micah now poses this question: can God be angry?
The answer is absolutely! God has a righteous anger. Anger becomes sinful when it turns into a grudge or causes you to do anything else sinful.

Lately my people have risen up like an enemy. You strip off the rich robe from those who pass by without a care, like men returning from battle. You drive the women of my people from their pleasant homes. You take away my blessing from their children forever.
Micah 2:8-9

Most of the prophets are not accepted by their people. (The only exception that comes to mind is Jonah.) There's even a parable that says this!
Micah his says people are acting like an enemy towards everyone, which probably includes himself.

Get up, go away! For this is not your resting place, because it is defiled, it is ruined, beyond all remedy. If a liar and deceiver comes and says, 'I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,' that would be just the prophet for this people!

Micah 2:10-11

We live in a time of opposition. Mathew 7:15 says "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." There are false Christians that wish to destroy the true ones.
In the time of Micah, there were no Christians, but there were prophets to lead the people. There are also false prophets that pretend to be true ones.

"I will surely gather all of you, Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people. The One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their King will pass through before them, the LORD at their head."
Micah 2:12-13

I think this is talking about Jesus. Jesus will break open the way and go before us.
Micah promises that Jesus is coming, that he will redeem us. He'll lead the way.

The One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their King will pass through before them, the LORD at their head.

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Micah: http://communitysteeple.com/spiritual/146-a-major-message-from-the-minor-prophet.html
Wolf: http://www.markmallett.com/blog/more-on-false-prophets/

Micah: The Deliberate Sinner (Part 4)

Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning's light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it.
They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud people of their homes, they rob them of their inheritance.
Micah 2:1-2

There's sin, and that's bad, but what's even worse is when someone plans their sin. Micah isn't the only bible verse that says this.

I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes. In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin. The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good. Even on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong.
Psalm 36:1-4

" 'But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD and must be cut off from the people of Israel.
Number 15:30

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
Hebrews 10:26-27

Deliberate sin is wrong, the old and new testament both agree on that.

Therefore, the LORD says: "I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.
Micah 2:3

Micah is very straightforward. He tells us "Don't do this because God will do this." If you deliberately sin, God will plan disaster for you. This might be dooming you to hell, or there might be disasters on earth.

In that day people will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song: 'We are utterly ruined; my people's possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.' "
Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD to divide the land by lot.
Micah 2:4-5

If you plan sin, you will be punished. God does punish sin. It's not always immediate, but it does happen.

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