MICAH LESSON 3
We will begin this lesson in Micah 3:1 "And I said, Hear, I pray
you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; [Is it]
not for you to know judgment?"
Micah is condemning the sins of those in authority. They should
have led their people in the ways of God, instead they led them into
sin. Leaders do have a great authority, but with that prestige and
authority, go great responsibilities. They, above all the rest of the
people, should have known better.
Micah 3:2 "Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off
their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;"
This speaks of evil rulers who are out for only themselves. They
are not like the good shepherd who cares for the sheep. They have
skinned them at every opportunity. This is an expression used when you
cheat someone in a business deal, as well.
Micah 3:3 "Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their
skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in
pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron."
This does not mean they were practicing cannibalism. This is not
to be taken literally. This just means that they treated them like
animals for their own personal use, instead of like people. They had
no regard for their people.
Micah 3:4 "Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not
hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they
have behaved themselves ill in their doings."
John 9:31 "Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any
man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth."
James 2:13 "For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed
no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment." They cry out to the
LORD, but He has closed His ears to them. They showed no mercy, and
they will receive no mercy.
Micah 3:5 "Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make
my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that
putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him."
The following 2 Scriptures that Jesus spoke are a very good
explanation of this. Matthew 7:15 "Beware of false prophets, which
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening
wolves." Matthew 15:14 "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the
blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the
ditch." This next Scripture tells us exactly what becomes of these
evil leaders. II Peter 2:1 "But there were false prophets also among
the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who
privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that
bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." God does
not overlook this sinful prophet. He will be punished.
Micah 3:6 "Therefore night [shall be] unto you, that ye shall not
have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not
divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall
be dark over them."
This is speaking of prophets who are not true prophets. They are
not ambassadors to carry the Lord's Word, but their own. They prophesy
for their own personal gain. They will no longer receive any messages
from God. There will be a famine of the Word of God in their lives.
The little light they had from God will no longer shine. Their light
will go completely out. Zechariah 13:3 "And it shall come to pass,
[that] when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother
that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou
speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother
that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth."
Micah 3:7 "Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners
confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for [there is] no
answer of God."
Seers, generally, could pray and ask for answers from God for the
people. When their communication with God is cut off, they are no
longer blessed with answers for the people. "Covering their lips"
would be a sign of mourning for their inability to speak for God.
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."
Micah is defending his own ability to speak for God in this. He
is saying, "I am not one of those that God has cut off". Micah speaks
the Words that the LORD has put into his mouth. He is actually a
mouthpiece for God. These messages do not come from the heart of
Micah, but from God, through Micah. Even though the declaration of
Jacob's sins are coming from the mouth of Micah, they are actually
coming from God.
Micah 3:9 "Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob,
and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert
all equity."
Again, he speaks against the leaders of the people. This is not
just to the prophets, but to the spiritual leaders of each family.
They should be a standard that is lifted up for all of their people to
follow, but they are not. "Pervert all equity" means they are not
keeping God's laws the way they were written, but are changing them to
please themselves.
Micah 3:10 "They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with
iniquity."
This is just saying, that they grew by the bloodshed of others.
Whether this is literal, or is speaking of injustices, I cannot say.
They used Jerusalem for the promotion of their evil. Deuteronomy 27:25
"Cursed [be] he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all
the people shall say, Amen."
Micah 3:11 "The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests
thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet
will they lean upon the LORD, and say, [Is] not the LORD among us?
none evil can come upon us."
This is speaking of gross abuse of their authority. Their
judgement is easily bought, because they are judging for money. "The
priests teach for hire" is speaking of ministers who minister to no
one, but those who can pay. They are leaders for what they can get for
themselves out of it. The ridiculous thing is they expect God to bless
them for this. They believe they are a privileged few, who will not be
judged of God. Matthew 7:15 "Beware of false prophets, which come to
you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." To
be a spiritual leader of the people is a call of God, it is not a
vocation to make a living with.
Micah 3:12 "Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed [as] a
field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house
as the high places of the forest."
The blame for the destruction of Jerusalem can actually be lain
at the feet of these evil leaders. For the crimes of the priests, and
prophets, and rulers, the destruction came from God. Zion is, many
times, speaking of the church. There is an extensive lesson about the
shepherds who lead the sheep astray in Ezekiel chapter 34. This, also,
is speaking of the temple in Jerusalem which is destroyed in the
Babylonian attack. The mountain of the house is speaking of the
temple. God had moved out of the temple, because of their sins.
Micah 3 Questions
1. Who is this addressed to?
2. Micah is ____________ the sins of those in authority.
3. With prestige and authority, go great _____________.
4. What is verse 2 speaking of?
5. Does verse 3 mean they were practicing cannibalism?
6. It means they treated the people like __________.
7. Quote John chapter 9 verse 31.
8. Quote James chapter 2 verse 13.
9. Who does verse 5 say made the people err?
10. Quote Matthew chapter 7 verse 15.
11. What happens, when the blind lead the blind?
12. Quote 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 1.
13. Who is verse 6 speaking of?
14. They prophesy for their own ________ ____.
15. Quote Zechariah chapter 13 verse 3.
16. Why will the seers be ashamed?
17. What was "covering their lips" a sign of?
18. Who was Micah speaking of in verse 8?
19. Micah is actually a ____________ for God.
20. Who is verse 9 speaking against?
21. What were their special sins?
22. Quote Deuteronomy chapter 27 verse 5.
23. How were they abusing their authority?
24. Quote Matthew chapter 7 verse 15.
25. Who is actually to blame for the destruction of Jerusalem?
26. Where, in Ezekiel, do we read about the shepherds who lead the
sheep astray?
27. What country destroyed Jerusalem?
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