The rulers of *Israel had not brought the people together. (They were like *shepherds that had not gathered their sheep together.) The rulers had caused the people to scatter in many directions. They had destroyed the way in which families lived. There was no peace in their neighbourhoods. So Micah... [ Continue Reading ]
MICAH SPEAKS A MESSAGE FROM GOD TO ALL THE NATIONS MICAH _LES PAINTER_ CHAPTER 3 SECTION 2 3:1-5:15 MICAH ACCUSES FALSE LEADERS. HE PROMISES THAT A GOOD, FAIR KING WILL COME 3:1-12 THE FALSE LEADERS OF OLD JERUSALEM WILL FAIL AND THAT CITY WILL FALL *Israel’s rulers are also judges. They are... [ Continue Reading ]
Good leaders have delight in God’s law (Psalms 1:2; Psalms 19:7-11). But the leaders at the time when Micah lived were different. They hated God’s law. Micah understood the problem. These leaders did not any longer behave as God’s special people. They had forgotten God’s *covenant with them. They ne... [ Continue Reading ]
These rulers have hated good things and they have loved evil things. This has happened for a long time. They are now asking God for help in their troubles. Probably they have often met to pray to God. But that has not helped them. They are in great trouble. They know God’s promises. They know this o... [ Continue Reading ]
*Prophets have dreams. The dreams often come at night. God speaks to *prophets in this way. It is God’s gift to them. But God now takes away that gift from these *prophets. So they do not receive money for it any longer. It is like Samson earlier. He tried to free himself from his enemies, who were... [ Continue Reading ]
Some people try to know the future. They try to discover things that God has hidden from us. But God does not allow that. There are some things that God does not allow us to know about. Some people try to discover things by magic. It is a very wrong practice (Deuteronomy 18:10-13). There are account... [ Continue Reading ]
This verse starts with the word ‘but’. In this way, the writer emphasises that there is a big difference between Micah and the false *prophets. Micah is a real *prophet. He works by the power of God’s Spirit. He is full of *fairness and power. The false *prophets work by their own wicked thoughts. M... [ Continue Reading ]
Micah calls together the wicked leaders and rulers. ‘Leaders’ means all types of leaders in *Israel. Isaiah gives examples of what kinds of people these might be (Isaiah 3:2-3). They include strong men and soldiers, judges, *prophets and skilled workmen. Micah accuses these leaders. The law is right... [ Continue Reading ]
God himself was the real king (ruler) of *Israel. He chose to teach his words (his law) by means of the leaders. These were in three groups. 1) The rulers. They were the judges. They used the law in practice. It was their responsibility to give fair decisions in the courts. 2) The *priests. They t... [ Continue Reading ]
God’s punishment will therefore be as serious as the crime. ‘Because of you’ refers to the rulers (the judges). They were proud of their buildings. But they had made the buildings unholy. Soon, the hill with its *Temple would not still belong to the *LORD. That would make it *spiritually unclean and... [ Continue Reading ]