Micah 3:5-12 | Psalm 43 | 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 | Matthew 24:1-14
Micah 3:5-12
5 Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry ‘Peace’ when they have something to eat, but declare war against those who put nothing into their mouths. 6 Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without revelation. The sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them; 7 the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God. 8 But as for me, I am filled with power, with the spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin. 9 Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob and chiefs of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert all equity, 10 who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wrong! 11 Its rulers give judgement for a bribe, its priests teach for a price, its prophets give oracles for money; yet they lean upon the Lord and say, ‘Surely the Lord is with us! No harm shall come upon us.’ 12 Therefore because of you Zion shall be ploughed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.
Introduction
This evening, we’ll be looking at the Old Testament lesson. This might initially come as a relief to those of you—who were in the services this morning as well and listened to a sermon on the Gospel reading, that call to endurance and not being led astray or alarmed in the face of a depressing picture of the end of the world. Ah, not so fast. The Old Testament lesson from the prophet Micah is not really any less depressing. And in particular, I have the slightly uncomfortable task tonight of preaching two judgment oracles, judgments against the leaders of God’s people. Yes, tonight we will be looking at the failures of the clergy and what it means for the Church.
A little background first: Micah was a prophet in the 8th century B.C.E. in Judah (the southern kingdom, whose capital was Jerusalem). It was a time of increasing national and political pressure, as the rising Assyrian empire was growing more and more aggressive to the smaller kingdoms of Israel and Judah—anticipating an inevitable captivity of God’s people by the Assyrians, the reduction of Judah to a vassal state, and eventually the destruction of Jerusalem. It is into this context that Micah makes his prophecies—his alternating statements of judgment against God’s people and statements of hope.
Our passage, this evening, is one of the judgment passages—specifically urging God’s people—particularly her leaders—to recognize their sin and reform with the hope of provoking God’s mercy. The passage itself is two stanzas of prophetic poetry. The first stanza, verses 5-8, are an oracle against the prophets of God. And the second, verses 9-12, is an oracle against the leaders in general. Let’s take a closer look.
1. Against the Prophets
The first stanza, an oracle against the prophets, takes the typical shape of an oracle. First, we have an identification of who the oracle is against and for what reason. It is against the prophets for their hypocritical exploitation of people for their own worldly gain. Note the language in verse 5: ‘They preach peace when they have something to each and declare war against those who do not have anything to eat.’ In other words, as long as they their fill, they are happy to pass along a message of peace—perhaps speaking of a system in which the priests and prophets of the ancient world received their payment as a portion of the food brought for sacrifice or as gifts directly in relation to their messages. And it makes sense. The happier the people, the better the payment. The less challenged the people were, the more the prophet got paid. When the prophets re-appear in the next section, skipping down to verse 11, it is quite clear: “its prophets give oracles for money.” And if you couldn’t pay, if you didn’t have the resources to get a message of peace, you got a message of war. It was a wonderfully simple system, not unlike your own. The more you pay, the more likely you are to hear what you want to hear. The problem of course, is that this system tends to conceal the truth. This system tends to exploit the poor so that the prophets might gain. This system is fundamentally hypocritical.
And so, God, through his prophet Micah, issues a verdict and a statement of consequences for this hypocrisy and exploitation. And it is a judgment perfectly designed for the prophets. It shall be night. No more visions or dreams—no more insight. Only darkness. The one thing a prophet has going for him is his insight—his vision of God—and if he determines to abuse this gift and abuse God’s people with it, then he is cut off. His livelihood is gone and he will be exposed as a fraud.
This is, looking at the end of the stanza, all in contrast to Micah, the true prophet, who is ready to call down judgment against God’s people for their sin—whether or rich or poor. Notice how Micah describes himself: filled with power, with the spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might.” Representing God means representing God in God’s truth, according to his Spirit, and in service of his justice.
2. Against the Leaders
This next stanza follows the same general pattern of the judgment oracles that began the chapter directed at the rulers, moved on to our last oracle against the prophets, and not addresses the leaders in general. Again, we have an identification of those being called against: they are called rulers and chiefs in verse 9, and then we have specific mentions of rulers, priests, and prophets in verse 11. The rhetoric is that of a conclusion—a culmination of judgments against various kinds of leaders.
And again, we have an identification of sins. These leaders abhor justice and pervert equity. They work for selfish gain. And they clothe themselves in the seemingly righteous piety of the church while they do it. Notice the sarcasm there in verse 11: “Yet they lean upon the Lord and say, ‘Surely the Lord is with us! No harm shall come upon us.’” I could go on and on about the sickening hypocrisy of the leaders of God’s people here. But we haven’t the time this evening.
Notice the simple judgment. This time, it is not merely that they will lose their livelihoods. In this case, because they’ve led God’s people astray, the judgment is against all of God’s people. All of God’s people are complicit in this system of abuse. It is an open secret. And instead of feeling shame, God’s people let it persist. And the result is that Zion shall be ploughed as a field. Jerusalem shall be destroyed. The Temple itself will be reduced to ruins. In the immediate sense, Assyria will come and destroy Israel and Babylon will eventually come and destroy both Israel and Judah. Nothing will be left. And God’s people will be sent into slavery to await salvation. In an ultimate sense, Jesus—in the Gospel reading—understands this prophetic judgment of Micah to still be in play—with God’s people in dispersion and under persecution until he comes again at the end of the world.
3. Application
What does it mean for us? I have four applications.
First, if you’re a leader of God’s people, be warned. This is not unlike the application of the parable of the vineyard we had about four weeks ago. It is another warning. Are you a leader of God’s people? Perhaps you are a spouse, having taken a vow to care for your partner? Or a parent with the responsibility to raise children? Perhaps you’re lay leader in the church, or a Council member? Perhaps, you are part of the clergy, bearing some responsibility for the spiritual welfare of those under your charge? God has no patience hypocrisy. There is no place for selfish gain in the service of God. If you have started to think this way, be warned. Eventually, judgment will come, and not just for you, but for those you lead astray.
Second, be vigilant in who you follow. I don’t know about you, but I love looking at warning labels on things. They can be utterly astonishing. On a Starbucks coffee cup: “Caution: Contents may be hot.” On a jar of peanut butter, “Allergy warning: contains peanuts.” On toilet bowl cleaner: “Caution: Do not use for personal hygiene.” On an iron: “Warning: do not iron clothes while wearing them.” I like to sometimes just sit and think about the lawsuits that inspired manufacturers to put these labels on products. Well, sometimes I also go to churches (not this one…) and wish we had warning labels on clergy. But we don’t. So, you have to be vigilant. If you sense that a preacher or a teacher, a televangelist or the local priest, the person who wrote your devotional, is leading you astray, move on. Test what they say against the Scriptures. If you sense they are in it for the power or the money, challenge them, do what you can to get rid of them, or change churches. Do not participate in the open secret of heterodoxy and sin that provokes God’s judgment. It isn’t worth it. Now to be clear—the sin and hypocrisy here is notorious. Of course, all clergy members are hypocrites. I’m a hypocrite, and a sinner. And if I am saying something against the teaching of the Scriptures, I hope you’ll challenge me on it. The point is this, we all have a responsibility to safeguard our church—not just in the sense we normally use it—but to safeguard it in its theology, in its teaching of the Word of God. Be vigilant.
Third, be rid of your own hypocrisy. It’s not just the prophets and leaders who are subject to these particular sins. We all like our comfort and wealth—however much or little of it we have. I was reflecting on this just yesterday afternoon. I live in an area where there are a lot of homeless people on the streets, begging for change. And I travel around the world a lot, seeing the homeless everywhere. And I think: ’It would be so easy to give to them if I just had a little more money in my pocket. I have bills to pay this month and I’m worried about how low my bank balance is. So, not today homeless man. You can’t have the few Euros in my pocket. But if I were rich, maybe then.’ And I forget that comparatively, I am rich. I have a few Euros in my bank account. Now, this isn’t precisely the problem that the prophets had raised in Micah 3, but I think the attitude behind it is that which is being judged here. Looking out for yourself and your family is right and good, to some extent. But I think we, as the wealthier members of society, too easily become focused on wealth and success and power and the pursuit of happiness to the exclusion of caring for those in the greatest need. We too easily manipulate justice and equity to our advantage—whether through little white lies in the workplace or to our spouses—out a selfish desire for our own gain. We need to be rid of such hypocrisy.
Again, 1) we need to be warned if we are a leader, 2) we need to be vigilant about our leaders, and 3) we need to rid of our own hypocrisies.
Fourth, and finally, we need to be hopeful in the face of judgment. You see, judgment is coming for the sinful. And in contrast, remember, we have Micah. But as Christians, we have one who is greater than Micah—one who perfectly embodies one who is filled with power, the Spirit of the Lord, justice, and might. And whether you already believe or this is the first time you are hearing it—be comforted that this one who is filled with power, and justice and the Spirit, Jesus Christ, did not deserve the punishment reserved for the hypocritical sinners, and yet, nevertheless, he took that punishment anyway, bearing our sins upon a cross, and then rising again in defeat of death and judgment yet to come.
Conclusion
So, be hopeful. Repent, turn away from sin, and, as our Gospel reading put it, endure. ‘For those who endure will be saved.’
Let me pray: Heavenly Father, help us to be vigilant against hypocrisy in our church and in our lives, knowing that you took on the punishment we deserve. Help us to be vigilant, for the sake of your people and glory of your name. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.