Micah 3 Devotional

Leaders Who Answer to God

“As for me, however, I am filled with power by the Spirit of the LORD, with justice and courage, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.”Micah 3:8 (BSB)

Micah turns to the rulers of Israel, who should know justice but hate good and love evil (3:1-2). He describes their exploitation of the people as butchery, as if they were stripping flesh from bones (3:2-3). When disaster comes, they will cry to the LORD and he will not answer (3:4). Prophets promise peace to anyone who feeds them and declare war on anyone who does not (3:5). Judges take bribes, priests teach for a price, and prophets tell fortunes for money, yet they all lean on the LORD and insist that no disaster can reach them (3:11).

Against them stands Micah, filled with power by the Spirit of the LORD, with justice and courage to name Israel's sin (3:8). He warns that Zion will be plowed like a field (3:12). Elders in Jeremiah's day recalled this word, remembering that Hezekiah feared the LORD and the LORD relented (Jeremiah 26:18-19). God will not be used as cover for corruption, yet he hears those who turn. His Spirit still gives courage for honest words.

To think about: Where might you be counting on God to bless you while ignoring a wrong he has already named?