Book of Micah - Chapter Three: Do We Follow the Lord or Traditions of Men?

3.1-4...I said, Hear, I pray you, O princes of Jacob, and ye heads of the house of Israel. Did it not pertain to you to know that which is right? Who hate the good, and love the evil, who steal their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; and 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. Then they shall cry unto the LORD, but he will not respond to them: he will even hide his face from them at that time because of their evil doings.

Historically the destruction of Jerusalem is explained by Micah as due to the failures of leadership. In the Torah the king is told he must read and copy the law in order that he wouldn’t stray (Deut 17.18). Micah is talking to the nation--God’s people. In our day we must be able to discern the truth. We are moving towards a new or one world order. That means there will be a “harlot” world church. We are to come out from that beast system.

God’s people were given the truth and then led away from it. Today many are allowing themselves to be led astray. Everyone talks about a remnant. The remnant are those who formerly were rebellious but have repented and returned to the Lord. They walk in obedience and often seem peculiar to those who are lukewarm in the faith. God wants us to hunger for the truth and walk in a close personal relationship with Him. Nobody can do that for us. No institution can do it for us. We need to hunger and thirst for God Himself.

3:5-8...Thus hath the LORD said concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that does not give them something to eat, they even prepare war against him…the vision shall be made night unto you, and darkness unto those that divine, and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them…Then the prophets shall be ashamed, and the diviners confounded; and they shall all cover their lips because they shall have no answer from God. But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his rebellion, and to Israel his sin.

The prophets of Micah’s day spoke to please their clients in order to increase the gifts and payments from them. They were perverting their office for gain. Micah was stating that he was prophesying by the power of the Lord--he was speaking a message of judgment and exposing sin.

Many in the church are practicing sin rather than righteousness. Many couples live together refusing to marry. Many find no harm in abortion. Others do not understand that gay marriage is an attack on God’s family values. Many have been seduced by human secularism. Many follow astrology, witchcraft, and other pagan beliefs--in the church! The Lord is crying out to the leaders and the people to turn away from these things and return to Him.

In Micah’s time children were sacrificed by fire unto idols! This is the same as the sin of abortion today. An abortion can be had for any reason. We are sacrificing our future to the idol of our selfish desires. More than 60 million abortions have been done in this country alone. There is blood on many hands. God is not pleased. He is crying out to His people. Micah was full of the Spirit of the Lord and declared the sin and rebellion to the nation.

3:9-12...Now hear this, ye heads of the house of Jacob and captains of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment and pervert all equity; that build up Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity; the heads thereof judge for bribes, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet they come near unto the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? No evil can come upon us…Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.

Micah is speaking to Zion and Jerusalem, the house of God. They are sacrificing their children’s blood to idols, they pervert justice and equity. They are comfortable in their sin. Is not the LORD among us? No evil can come upon us they say.

This is our nation today. We export our culture overseas--tie it to financial aid. We export abortion, homosexuality, porn, sexual music and videos to mention a few. We mistake immorality for righteousness. Many churches go along with this. God’s people are at ease. They find teachers that will tickle their ears. It is the same in our day as in Micah’s day. This is an end time book. The world is racing towards wrath and judgment--nuclear destruction. We will do it to ourselves because we refuse to obey God’s commandments. He will leave us to our own imaginations. Only those who repent and turn to Him will find salvation.

Next: Chapter Four: The Good News of the Future Millennial Kingdom