Micah 3:8

But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. BUT TRULY I - in contrast to the false prophets (; ). AM FULL OF POWER BY THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD - that which "the Spirit of Yahweh" imparts for the discharge of the prophetic function (; ; , "Ye shall receive power afar that the Holy Spirit is come upon you"). AND OF JUDGMENT - a sense of justice (Maurer); as opposed to the false prophets' speaking to please men, not from a regard to truth....

Here Micah, in a courageous spirit, stands up alone against all the false teachers even when he saw that they were a large number, and that they appealed to their number, according to their usual practice, as their shield. Hence he says, _I am filled with power by the Spirit of Jehovah _(104) This confidence is what all God’s servants should possess, that they may not succumb to the empty and vain boastings of those who subvert the whole order of the Church. Whenever then, God permits his pure truth to be corrupted by false teachers, and them to be popular among those high in honor, as well as the multitude, let this striking example be remembered by us, lest we be discouraged, lest the firmness and invincible power of the Holy Spirit be weakened in our hearts, but that we may proceed in the course of our calling, and learn to oppose the name of God to all the deceptions of men, if indee...

1-8 Men cannot expect to do ill, and fare well; but to find that done to them which they did to others. How seldom do wholesome truths reach the ears of those in high stations or in authority! Those who deceive others are preparing confusion for their own faces. The prophet had ardent love to God and to the souls of men; deep concern for his glory and their salvation, and zeal against sin. The difficulties he met with did not drive him from his work. He had this strength; not from and of himself, but he was full of power by the Spirit of the Lord. Those who act honestly, may act boldly. And those who come to hear the word of God, must be willing to be told of their faults, must take it kindly, and be thankful....

Verse 8. _BUT - I AM FULL OF POWER_] Here is the character of the true prophet. _He is filled_, all his soul is occupied with power, כח _coach_, with heavenly energy; _by the Spirit of the Lord_, the fountain of all truth and might; _and of judgment_, which enables him to make a proper discernment between the precious and the vile; _and of might_, גבורה geburah, prevalent power, against which vice shall not be able to prevail, and before which iniquity shall not be able to stand: but all shall fall together, and be confounded....

AND TRULY I - (Literally, contrariwise I,) that is, whereas they shall be void and no word in them, “I am full of (or filled with) power by the Spirit of the Lord and of judgment and might.” The false prophets, walked after their own spirit, Ezekiel 13:3. Their only power or influence was from without, from favoring circumstances, from adapting themselves to the great or to the people, going along with the tide, and impelling persons whither they wished to go. The power of the true prophet was inherent, and that by gift of “the Spirit of the Lord”. And so, while adverse circumstances silenced the false prophets, they called forth the more the energy of the true, whose power was from Him in whose Hands the world is. The adverse circumstances to the false prophets were God’s judgments; to the true, they were man’s refractoriness, rebellion, oppressiveness. Now was

EXPOSITION VERSE 3:1-5:15 Part II. DENUNCIATION OF THE CRIMES OF THE GRANDEES, FOLLOWED BY A PROMISE OF THE GLORIFICATION OF ZION, THE BIRTH OF MESSIAH, AND THE HIGHEST EXALTATION OF THE PEOPLE. MICAH 3:1 § 1. _Sins of the rulers, and their punishment._ MICAH 3:1 The

BUT TRULY I AM FULL OF POWER BY THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD,.... Or, "full of power, even, the Spirit of the Lord", as Gussetius f, by way of contrast, and as explaining what is meant by power; for so the Spirit is sometimes called from his gifts and graces, which are powerful in men; see Luke 24:47. These are the words of Micah concerning himself, in opposition to the false prophets, who are destitute of the Spirit of God; men of mean sordid dispositions, that had nothing but sinister and selfish ends in view, and not in the least qualified for the office and character they bore; whereas he could say of himself, with truth, that he was possessed of sufficient abilities for such an employment; and which he had, not of himself, but from the Spirit of God, who gives gifts to men, and divides them to each as he will; so that this was no vaunt and vain boast, or a piece of arrogance and ostentati...

THE SECOND PROPHETIC MESSAGE CHAPTER 3 _ 1. Address to the godless princes and judges (Micah 3:1) _ 2. Address to the false prophets (Micah 3:5) 3. The verdict of judgment (Micah 3:9) Micah 3:1. The second prophetic message of Micah contains the great Messianic prophecies. But first the prophet gives a description of the degradation of the nation, the moral corruption of the leaders and judges, as well as the false prophets. It is all summed up in one sentence, “who hate the good, and love the evil.” The princes and judges robbed the people, treated them like cattle ...

THE UNJUST RULERS AND FALSE PROPHETS OF JUDAH. Micah first addresses those whose official duty it is to know justice, _i.e._ sympathetically, and declares that in fact they love its opposite, and cruelly oppress (_cf._ Isaiah 3:15) those they govern. In their (coming) distress, Yahweh will not heed them (_cf._ Isaiah 1:15). Micah then turns to the false prophets, whose utterances are dictated by self-interest, and proclaims against them, instead of the well-being they have foretold, the darkness of the Day of Yahweh (Amos 5:18), when there shall be no response to the diviners, and they shall go mourning. In contrast with them, Micah declares that Yahweh's Spirit has given him the inner qualities of independent strength a

SPIRIT. Hebrew. _ruach._ App-9. JACOB... ISRAEL. Compare Micah 1:5. See note Micah 2:7. TRANSGRESSION. Hebrew. _pasha'._ App-44. SIN. Hebrew. _chata._ App-44....