Micah
Micah 3
Chapter III · Vol. III, pp. 1454–1455
1 Micah reproveth the cruelty of the princes, 5 and the falsehood of the prophets. 8 The ill-grounded security of them both.
1 And I said, aHear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; bIs it not for you to know judgment?
2 Whoc hate the good, and love the evil; who pluckd off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones:
c Am.5.10, with Ps.139.20,21; 15.4. Ro.12.9.
A.M. cir. 3278. B.C. cir. 726.
d Am.5.11,12. Zep.3.3. Ps.58.2. Hab.1.2-4. Eze.22.7,12,13,27. Is.1.23. Ps.14.4. Eze.11.7.
3 Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.
4 Thene shall they gcry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them; hhe will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.
5 Thus saith the LORD concerning ithe prophets that make my people err, that jbite with their teeth, and cry, Peace: and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him:
6 Therefore knight shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision;1 and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine;2 and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.
k Eze.13.9,23. Zec.13.4. Mal.2.9. Je.23.12;14.15. Is.8.20,22. Ps.74.9.
1 Heb. from a vision.
2 Heb. from divining.
7 Then lshall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips;3 for there is nno answer of God.
8 But truly oI am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, pto declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.
9 Hearq this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.
10 They build up Zion with rblood,4 and Jerusalem with iniquity.5
r Eze.22.28. Je.22.13. Zep.3.3. Hab.2.9,12.
4 Heb. bloods.
5 They ornamented the temple and purchased their sacrifices with money obtained by bribes, extortion, cruelty, and oppression.—C.
11 Thes heads thereof judge for reward, and thet priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof udivine for money; yet vwill they lean upon the LORD, and say,6 Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.
12 Therefore xshall yZion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.
x Je.26.18. ch.1.6. Ps.79.1; 107.34. Mat.24.2.
y Having enumerated the sins of the people, the prophet here in graphic language predicts the doom that would ensue. There is a striking analogy between one part of the sin and the punishment. The rulers took delight in adorning the capital with the fruits of their crimes (ver. 10); and upon that capital is judgment specially pronounced. It is divided into three parts, and against each division a distinct curse is uttered. Zion, the site of the royal palace and citadel, is now. I have seen the plough turning over the furrows upon the site of Zion. Jerusalem, where the people dwelt, as distinguished from the palace, 'shall become heaps' of ruin. The greater part is so now. Heaps of rubbish cover the ancient foundations in some places to the depth of 100 feet. 'The mountain of the house,'—Moriah, on which the house of the Lord stood, shall be 'as the high-place of the forest.' For a long period after the destruction of the city by the Romans, the site of the temple was waste; even now a great part of Moriah is desolate.—P.
Notes
Ver. 2, 3. They cruelly oppressed their subjects, and, by exactions and rapine, took all from them that they could, barbarously making their very lives a burden to them. 5-7. Because they, by their flatteries, seduce my people into wickedness, for the sake of their own bellies, and hate and do all the mischief they can to my prophets, and all such as give them nothing, therefore such calamities shall come as will effectually refute their flatteries, and shamefully hinder them from foreseeing anything good, either for themselves or others. 8. Called and inspired by the Spirit of God, I, regardless of all your opposition, faithfully and boldly charge you with your sins, and warn you of approaching judgments. 10-12. Since ye repair the temple and palace, and the houses or walls of Jerusalem, with the money which ye have procured by taking away the lives of the innocent, and then seizing on their estates, and that obtained by bribery; and since, notwithstanding the basest dishonesty in your respective stations, ye expect prosperity, because of the Lord's temple among you, and other external privileges; therefore shall your temple and holy city, for your wickedness, be, by the Chaldeans, and especially the Romans, turned into heaps of rubbish and an absolute desert.
Ver. 1. Is it not for you to know judgment? Has not God given you the means of a superior education that you might learn and know his judgments, and raised you to high rank that you might rule in justice and mercy? C.
Ver. 2. Pluck off their skin. This may be a strong figure for cruelty and oppression, but is much more probably a literal statement—being a species of torture not confined to savages, but found, alas! in the history of nations in which civilization and Christianity had both found a name. C.
Reflections.—Dreadful is the case of nations and churches when they who ought to be chief promoters of religion and virtue become ringleaders in impiety. And they who oppress or seduce others infallibly prepare for themselves misery, contempt, and perplexity. Ministers have great need of a clear call and remarkable qualifications to render them duly faithful and bold, in opposition to universally rampant corruptions. Nor must they respect even the greatest, but in God's name rebuke with all authority. No pretences of piety can consecrate wicked conduct; but often that which is good is rendered profane by the carnality of its principle, manner, and end. And, alas! often the sins of rulers hasten ruin upon both churches and nations!