Micah 3

Micah 3:1

51

Micah speaks a message from God to all the nations An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of Micah www.easyenglish.info Les Painter This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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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 responsible for the law. They must use it in the right way. The rulers must not use the law for their own benefit. They must protect weak people and poor people. The law included everything that people did daily, in every detail.

In these 12 verses, Micah tells about 3 terrible events. These will happen to Jerusalem. For each event, there are 4 verses. Micah speaks about how people should be fair. Micah first speaks to the judges (verse 1). He then speaks to the false *prophets (verse 5). After those two groups, he talks to evil *priests (verse 11).

Micah then describes a time in the future when the situation will be better. One day, the people from *Israel will come back to their country. This will affect the whole world (Micah 4:1-8).

v1 Then I said, ‘Listen, leaders of Jacob’s people and rulers of the nation called *Israel. You ought to be fair! You should know how to distinguish right actions from wrong actions!’

Verse 1

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 speaks an urgent message to the leaders of Jacob’s people. Here ‘Jacob’s people’ and ‘*Israel’ include Judah and its capital Jerusalem (Micah 3:12).

There was a law for every situation. The words ‘be fair’ here refer to the law. That means the law that God gave to Moses (Exodus 21:1-23:19). It also referred to decisions that the *priests made (Deuteronomy 17:8-11). And it was about fair decisions (1 Kings 3:28; 7:7). Earlier, there was a case when two mothers argued about a baby. This baby had just been born. The king himself settled that argument (1 Kings 3:28). Many people have responsibilities that have a relationship to the law. Judges have a lot of responsibility in their job. They should be very serious about their responsibilities.

All rulers and judges should know how to be fair. They should know the words that the law contains. But ‘know’ here does not only mean knowledge in the mind. When someone has done something wrong to another person, the judge should have sympathy for this other person. He must make things right. He must punish a person if that person is guilty. He must make a fair decision. The person that suffered will then feel content.

v2 But you hate what is good. And you love what is evil. You do not care about my people. Instead, you behave like butchers. It is as if you tear off the skin. You tear the meat from the bones. v3 You eat the meat. You take the skin and you break the bones. You chop the bones up like meat to put in the pot.

Verses 2-3

Good leaders have delight in God’s law (Psalms 1:2; 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 needed new desires towards God. And these desires would come only from a new birth (John 3:3-8). This is the only solution to moral failures. Leaders have benefits. They should use them to help poor people and weak people.

But the leaders and judges used their positions wrongly. They lived in luxury. They robbed poor people in order to become rich. The people were very poor. They were very hungry. They died at an early age. God wanted the leaders to look after the poor people, like *shepherds who look after sheep. Instead, the leaders decided to act like butchers, who kill sheep. So these leaders used their power to make poor people suffer. The leaders did not care what happened to the poor people. The leaders only wanted to make themselves more wealthy.

v4 Then the rulers will cry out to the *LORD. But he will not listen. He will even turn his face the other way. The rulers have done evil things for a long time. That is the reason for the way in which God is dealing with them.

Verse 4

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 one for example: ‘He will hear those that cry to him. He will rescue them from their troubles’ (Psalm 107: 6, 13, 19, 28). The message in these verses is for all people. All people have done wrong things. God promises to forgive people.

But he forgives them only when they are sorry for their wrong actions. People must repent (turn away from their evil behaviour). And they must trust God. So this promise in the Psalms will not become true for these evil rulers. This is because they have not stopped their evil deeds. They have not sincerely repented.

The poor people have asked the judges (the rulers) for help. And God was speaking to these rulers by means of the poor people’s cries. But the rulers did not understand that. So the rulers did not listen to the poor people’s cries. Now God will deal with the rulers in the same way. He will not listen to them. He will act like someone who hides his face from them. There is a verse in Proverbs about this. ‘A man shuts his ears to the cry from the poor people. He too will then cry out to God. But God will not answer him’ (Proverbs 21:13).

We might ask why God would not answer these rulers’ prayers. It was because they had done evil things. The rulers had behaved badly. This had continued for a long time. It was their habit to do evil things. The rulers knew God’s demands. They understood the law. They understood the reasons for the law. The rulers knew about legal decisions. They knew the difference between right and wrong decisions.

These rulers had done evil things for such a long time that it had become a normal habit for them. In the Book of Hebrews, the writer describes their situation well (Hebrews 10:26-31). Their evil behaviour controlled their lives. They knew what God wanted them to do. But they refused to change their behaviour.

v5 Here is God’s message to the *prophets. They lie to my people. If people give food to them, those *prophets promise peace. They say, ‘All is well.’ If people do not give food to them, they even prepare war against the people.

Micah has dealt with the greedy rulers. Now he deals with the greedy *prophets. The systems of religion and politics join with each other. Both systems protect the criminals. And the criminals do wrong things to the people, who then suffer.

Verse 5 Micah speaks God’s message. The *prophets are false. They lie to the people. The things that they teach are wrong. In the Book of Deuteronomy, its writer warns about that (Deuteronomy 13:1-5). False *prophets hope to please kings. Kings will give a rich reward to them. These *prophets hope to please political and legal leaders. These *prophets hope that leaders in business will praise them. This is what the leaders say. ‘Tell us what we want to hear. Then we will pay you well. Speak a message that comforts us. Then we will feed you well.’ God has given to these *prophets the gifts that they need. But they have no courage. And they have no moral strength.

In the *Hebrew text, Micah says that the *prophets ‘bite with their teeth’. They eat the food that people give to them. But they are even more greedy. It is as if the *prophets bite like snakes. A snake will kill and eat a man. And these *prophets are as terrible as snakes! These evil *prophets would do anything in order to get money from people. So, these evil *prophets speak in order to get money. Micah makes that plain. They also speak to get food for their mouths. The political rulers pay the false *prophets. They pay them for a message that the rulers wish to hear. They pay money for lies. There is no truth in the nation any longer. There is no fair practice in business either.

Therefore, the rulers pay money to the *prophets. In that way, the rulers are feeding them. Then the *prophets speak this message. ‘Life is wonderful. There is peace for everyone.’ But if the rulers do not pay money to the *prophets, the rulers do not feed them. So the *prophets then change their message. They even prepare war against people. They promise war instead of peace.

Sometimes God sends a message about war. It is the right message for that time. But then the false *prophets speak to the people about peace. Or sometimes the right message is about peace. But then the false *prophets speak about war. However, Micah’s message is the truth.

These false *prophets cause the people to behave in wicked ways. But these *prophets do not speak any message about punishment.

v6 You will live in the dark. You will be far from the sun, so that you cannot see it. You will have no message from me (that is, from God). The sun will set for the *prophets. The day will become dark for them.

Verse 6

*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 called the Philistines. But he could not do it. Samson had lost the strength that God had given to him before. But he did not know that the *LORD had left him (Judges 16:20).

Darkness can mean that people lose knowledge (Psalms 82:5). The *prophets are receiving messages. But the messages do not come from God. God does not allow those messages. It is as if the sun has set on the false *prophets. Their days will be like night.

v7 The *prophets will be ashamed. The experts will be confused. They will all cover their faces. They will get no message from God. He will not answer them.

Verse 7

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 accounts about several such practices in the *Old Testament. People practise them even today. One such practice is to try to contact dead people. Another one is to try to get advice by means of the stars. God does not allow people to use such methods. Such behaviour is very dangerous.

Any answers that people receive come from evil spirits. Other nations served false gods. Those nations followed their own ways to do things. And the *prophets in *Israel were imitating them. But God opposed their practices.

There is no answer for the *prophets from God. He has declared the *prophets guilty. They will be ashamed. Everyone will see their shame. The *prophets will be *spiritually unclean (unholy). And everyone will see it (Lamentations 4:13-15). The *prophets will be like people with skin disease. Like those people, they will try to hide from other people. Like them, they will cover their mouths. (Look at Leviticus 13:45.) It is as if their mouths have caused the *prophets’ shame. They have used their mouths to say wrong things. Therefore they will not want people to see their mouths. So they will hide their faces.

v8 But God has filled me with his Spirit’s power. He has filled me with power, goodness and strength. He has given to me the courage to speak about *fairness. I can tell the people in Jacob’s family about their crimes. I can tell the people in *Israel about their *sins.

Verse 8

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. Micah speaks about *sin and punishment. He does not speak about peace. He wants to see people introduce *fairness into his country. That is his great desire. It might happen. It would be good evidence that God has filled him with the Spirit.

Micah speaks about the *sins that the people in *Israel have done. It is the only way that people will understand. They will understand that God is warning them. Micah warns about God’s punishments. But Micah is in great danger. People do not want to hear his message. It is often like that with a real *prophet.

God has shown his truth to Micah. Micah’s greatest desire is to speak that truth. Also, he wants to obey it completely. When Micah speaks about *fairness, he speaks with great power.

v9 So listen to my message, you leaders of Jacob’s house (family). Listen, you rulers of *Israel’s house (family). You hate *fairness. You always do the opposite. v10 You make cruelty and murder into a habit in Jerusalem. In order to build Zion (Jerusalem), you murder people. In order to build Jerusalem, you cheat people!

Verses 9-10

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, but they hate it. They hate *fairness. From their wicked hearts come wicked actions. They consider all good things as if those things were bad. Isaiah refers to this matter too (Isaiah 5:20). *Israel should be a nation that obeys God’s law. Instead just a few wicked men rule the people. They even say that good behaviour is wicked.

But God is good. He is kind. He shows his love. He appeals to these wicked people and he asks them to listen.

The 10 commandments were 10 laws that God gave to Moses. He gave them on the mountain called *Sinai. The commandments gave 4 rights to everyone:

 the right to live. (You must not murder.)

 the right to a protected (safe) home. (You must not have sex with a person that is not your husband or wife.)

 the right to property. (You must not steal.)

 the right to a reputation (the fact that people will consider you as a good and honest person). (You must not say false things about people.)

*Israel’s leaders should have given those rights to the people. But they did not care about the people. They only cared about their own wealth and importance. They built great buildings in Jerusalem. They said that they were making Jerusalem stronger. But in fact they were making God’s people weaker.

The leaders did not care about the rights that God had given to the people. So the leaders stole land to build their great buildings. They killed people who opposed them. They cheated and they lied.

v11 The leaders act as judges in order to get a reward. The *priests teach for a price. The *prophets tell the future for money. And then those leaders expect the *LORD to help them. They say, ‘The *LORD lives here with us. So nothing bad will happen to us.’

Verse 11

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 taught the law (Deuteronomy 17:8-10).

3) The *prophets. They brought messages from God.

Together these groups were responsible for the people’s safety and security. But all the leaders loved money. That was their main problem. Paul mentions this problem in his letter to Timothy. ‘When people love money, that love causes all kinds of evil things’ (1 Timothy 6:10). The judges made decisions in the courts. They demanded money from anyone who came to them. The person would pay. Then the judge would give a favourable decision. The *priests taught, but only for money. The *prophets told about the future. And they would demand money for that service.

It seemed that everything was well in Jerusalem. Its people had wonderful buildings. They were rich. Trade was good. The *Temple (God’s house) was in the centre of everything. It was on the mountain called Zion, which was also called the holy hill. That is why the people often gave to Jerusalem the name Zion. The *Temple was the most holy place. The leaders prayed there. They sang *psalms. The leaders made sacrifices. (They burnt animals that they had killed.) They offered those animals to God. The leaders tried to control God. They performed *religious duties. So they thought that God would help them.

However, they did crimes against the people. They praised God when they were in the *Temple. But they did evil things in their daily actions elsewhere. They lived in two different ways. They could not see the difference between those two ways. ‘The heart is more wicked than anything. It is very evil. Nobody can understand it’ (Jeremiah 17:9). They could not understand these things.

So all is not right. The rulers do all those evil things. Then they expect God to help them. They say, ‘God is our help, so nothing bad will happen to us.’ They live in an evil way. But they still believe that God will help them. They believe that he will protect their nation. They have forgotten that God made rules. And his protection depends on right behaviour. (Look at Deuteronomy chapter 28.)

In this message, Micah warns God’s people in every age. On Sundays we go to church. We praise God and we sing songs. Most days we are at work or we are at home. But it makes no difference where we are. Our behaviour should always be the same. We should live the same way on Monday as we do on Sunday.

There is a right way to trust God. We trust him because of his kindness and *forgiveness. We trust him for strength. We trust him to guide us. (Look at Psalms 71:5-6.) But Micah is speaking about something different. These people said that they were trusting God. But they were not obeying God. They said that they had security. But God would not protect them. They said that God was with them. But in fact, they were wicked and God was opposing them. Because of their wicked deeds, God would destroy Jerusalem.

v12 People will plough Zion (Jerusalem) like a field. Jerusalem will become a heap of rubbish. Weeds and bushes will cover the mountain where the *Temple now stands. You rulers will be responsible for this. It will happen because of you.

Verse 12

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 unholy. It would become a heap of rubbish. Wild animals would occupy it. *Israel’s Holy God would leave his holy *Temple. Jesus said the same thing about the *Temple in Jerusalem. He accused the *religious leaders. They had not used the *Temple in the right way. They had used it for their own honour and profit (Matthew chapter 23). Jesus spoke about a time when enemies would ruin the *Temple (Matthew chapter 24).

But we need to take notice of this message today. We must not use Christian things in the wrong way.

Certain people remembered what Micah had said. This was nearly a hundred years later. This is what happened. *Religious leaders planned to kill Jeremiah. Then some other leaders spoke to the people. All the people listened. These leaders reminded the people about Micah’s message (Jeremiah 26:16-18). The result was that these leaders saved Jeremiah’s life.

Hezekiah, the king of Judah, did not kill Micah. Neither did anyone else. King Hezekiah listened to what the *prophet said. The king began to respect the *LORD very greatly. The king asked for God’s help. God heard his prayer. God had said that he would make something evil happen to that country. But it did not happen at that time. God saved Jerusalem because of King Hezekiah’s prayer. But after Hezekiah’s death, the rulers, the judges and the other important people became even more evil. In the end, enemies destroyed Jerusalem, as the *prophets had warned.

© 2007, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

January 2007

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