Woe to the Oppressors
“Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands. They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance. Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I am planning against this nation a disaster from which you cannot free your necks. Then you will not walk so proudly, for it will be a time of calamity. In that day they will take up a proverb against you and taunt you with this bitter lamentation: ‘We are utterly ruined; He has changed the portion of my people! How He has removed it from me; He has allotted our fields to traitors!’” Therefore, you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD to divide the land by lot.
Reproof of False Prophets (Ezekiel 13:1-23)
“Do not preach,” they preach. “Do not preach these things; disgrace will not overtake us.” Should it be said, O house of Jacob, “Is the Spirit of the LORD impatient? Are these the things He does?” Do not My words bring good to him who walks uprightly? But of late My people have risen up like an enemy: You strip off the splendid robe from unsuspecting passers-by 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.
Arise and depart, for this is not your place of rest, because its defilement brings destruction—a grievous destruction! If a man of wind were to come and say falsely, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be just the preacher for this people!
The Remnant of Israel (Micah 5:7- 15)
I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will collect the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in the midst of its pasture—a noisy throng. One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate, and go out by it. Their King will pass through before them, the LORD as their leader.”
To understand how horrific these prophecies are, we must refer back to the tenets God gave Moses concerning the ownership of land among the tribes. When Joshua parceled out land to the various tribes, certain pieces of land were assigned to tribes and to families. Land ownership was hereditary, and it was such a serious business that if a man had no sons, his daughters were to inherit the land and to marry within their tribe so that the land would not pass out of the tribe. Land that was sold was to be returned when the year of Jubilee came. One of the terrible sins King Ahab committed was to seize the ancestral lands of Naboth, simply because he wanted a vegetable garden next to the palace, and to have Naboth murdered.
“Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands. They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance.” Unfortunately, there are many people who have copied Ahab’s example, and are seizing ancestral lands, even turning people out of their homes. God will not ignore such behavior; eventually, these monsters will lose their land permanently to invaders. Some of these people are even striping unsuspecting passers-by and driving women and children from their homes. “Do not My words bring good to him who walks uprightly? But of late My people have risen up like an enemy: You strip off the splendid robe from unsuspecting passers-by 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.”
There are also false prophets who are trying to get Micah to stop prophesying because he speaks out against the abuses of the corrupt rich. “If a man of wind were to come and say falsely, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be just the preacher for this people!”
In the midst of this chaos, God still has a remnant of people who fear Him and worship Him. God is promising that He will preserve those who fear Him. “I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will collect the remnant of Israel.”
APPLICATION: Sometimes when things are falling apart around us, we wonder if God really is paying attention. That’s certainly how Micah must feel. Rich people are seizing land, putting even the most vulnerable groups out of their homes, and stealing anything that isn’t red hot or nailed down. To make matters even worse, there are self-styled prophets doing everything they can to shut Micah up! Many of these prophets may be making a great deal of profit from being a prophet, despite God’s warnings regarding the dangers of pretending to be a prophet.
Deuteronomy 18:20 tells us, “But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.” Even though these scriptures have been available for hundreds of years, these would – be prophets are behaving as if God is blind or deaf or both.
Today, there are still self-styled prophets, just as there were in Micah’s day. Why does God allow such practices? God gives wrong-doers multiple chances to repent. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
How can we sort out false prophets from real ones? False prophets are generally eager to collect money for their prophecies. Such prophets may also be manipulative and make unrealistic promises. One test of a prophet is whether or not the prophecies come true. Another test is whether or not the prophecies line up with Scripture. Yet another test is the humility of the prophet. True prophets realize that prophecies come from God while pretenders generally take credit for everything.
As we continue to study Micah, we will learn more about the life of a prophet. We can praise God that there are true prophets and that Micah, Isaiah, and others are sterling examples. May God guide us so that we will not be deceived by imitations!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to hear Your voice clearly and to trust that You can guide us and that You do not play games with Your children. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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