SCRIPTURE: MICAH 2
MAN’S PLANS AND GOD’S (vs. 1-5)
MAN’S PLANS
- Iniquity (v. 1a)
- Evil (v. 1b)
- Covetousness on fields, houses, home, and inheritance (v. 2)
GOD’S PLANS:
- Disaster against the people (v. 3a)
- There will be calamity (v. 3b)
- They will be ridiculed with mournful song
FALSE PROPHETS (vs. 6-11)
- They prophesy that disgrace will not overtake them. (v. 6)
- The Spirit of the Lord will not be angry. (v. 7)
- They prophesy that they will have plenty of wine and beer. (v. 11)
WHAT THE FALSE PROPHETS DID:
- They strip off the rich robe from those who pass by without a care. (v. 8)
- They drive the women from their pleasant homes. (v. 9a)
- They take away God’s blessings from their children forever. (v. 9)
DELIVERANCE PROMISED
“I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people. One who breaks open the way will go up before them. They will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the Lord at their head.” (vs. 12-13)
THOUGHTS:
The sins of the people are: covetousness, idolatry and rejecting God’s word. When Micah mourned their sins, then the false prophets tried to silence him. They wanted a pleasant message about security and blessings. The prosperity preachers were popular but those who declared God’s word were often persecuted.
Those who oppressed other will find the table turned. They will end up having no share of land because they won’t have any surviving relatives. God ended with a promise of hope. He will spare a remnant and gather them together to his future kingdom. This king will be their shepherd.