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micah 2
Haystack bible commentary"Stacks and stacks of commentary...."
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==Micah 2:1-5:
Woe to those who devise iniquity,
And work out evil on their beds!
At morning light they practice it,
Because it is in the power of their hand.
2 They covet fields and take them by violence,
Also houses, and seize them.
So they oppress a man and his house,
A man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says the Lord:
“Behold, against this family I am devising disaster,
From which you cannot remove your necks;
Nor shall you walk haughtily,
For this is an evil time.
4 In that day one shall take up a proverb against you,
And lament with a bitter lamentation, saying:
‘We are utterly destroyed!
He has changed the heritage of my people;
How He has removed it from me!
To a turncoat He has divided our fields.’ ”
5 Therefore you will have no one to determine boundaries by lot
In the assembly of the Lord.
And work out evil on their beds!
At morning light they practice it,
Because it is in the power of their hand.
2 They covet fields and take them by violence,
Also houses, and seize them.
So they oppress a man and his house,
A man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says the Lord:
“Behold, against this family I am devising disaster,
From which you cannot remove your necks;
Nor shall you walk haughtily,
For this is an evil time.
4 In that day one shall take up a proverb against you,
And lament with a bitter lamentation, saying:
‘We are utterly destroyed!
He has changed the heritage of my people;
How He has removed it from me!
To a turncoat He has divided our fields.’ ”
5 Therefore you will have no one to determine boundaries by lot
In the assembly of the Lord.
==Micah 2:6-10:
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6 “Do not prophesy,” their prophets say.
“Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us.” 7 You descendants of Jacob, should it be said, “Does the Lord become impatient? Does he do such things?” “Do not my words do good to the one whose ways are upright? 8 Lately my people have risen up like an enemy. You strip off the rich robe from those who pass by without a care, like men returning from battle. 9 You drive the women of my people from their pleasant homes. You take away my blessing from their children forever. 10 Get up, go away! For this is not your resting place, because it is defiled, it is ruined, beyond all remedy. |
"False prophets are rejecting his word of coming judgement and warning of exile because of their false worship and economic oppression of the poor and vulnerable. They distort the character of God by claiming he is infinitely patient and does not act in judgement but only in salvation (2v6).
This is like so many in the contemporary church, who speak of God only as a God of love and reject the very idea of his wrath against sin, or of conservatives in the church who want to dismiss any critique of racial and social injustice as ‘cultural marxism’ rather than seeing that it might point to genuine wickedness in society with which God is rightly angry and his people should reject/seek repentant transformation. Micah’s retort is that God’s word, including his word of judgement, is ‘good’ - but only for those who are ‘upright’ - ie the repentant faithful remnant. The tragedy is that people only want to hear good news and not face up to the truth of their sin and it’s consequences : ‘If a liar and deceiver comes and says, “I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’ that would be just the prophet for you.’ (v11) Sadly there are numerous such false prophets/teachers in the church today, and people who flock to hear them. As 1 Tim 4v3 warns us ‘the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.’ --John Stevens; Expository Blog |
==Micah 2:11:
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11 If a liar and deceiver comes and says,
‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’ that would be just the prophet for this people |
The people were religious, but it was an empty ceremonialism. "Religion had become a matter of form; ceremonial observances were thought to meet all religious requirements. There was widespread misapprehension that as long as the external acts of worship were scrupulously performed the people were entitled to the divine favor and protection" (Homer Hailey). "The people have replaced heartfelt worship with empty ritual, thinking that this is all God demands. They have divorced God's standards of justice from their daily dealings in order to cover their unscrupulous practices"
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==Micah 2:12-13:
“I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob,
I will surely gather the remnant of Israel;
I will put them together like sheep of the fold,
Like a flock in the midst of their pasture;
They shall make a loud noise because of so many people.
13 The one who breaks open will come up before them;
They will break out,
Pass through the gate,
And go out by it;
Their king will pass before them,
With the Lord at their head.”
I will surely gather the remnant of Israel;
I will put them together like sheep of the fold,
Like a flock in the midst of their pasture;
They shall make a loud noise because of so many people.
13 The one who breaks open will come up before them;
They will break out,
Pass through the gate,
And go out by it;
Their king will pass before them,
With the Lord at their head.”