Messianic Hope: Micah 5:1-15

Micah chapters 4-5 are without a doubt the heart of this little treasure of a book.  Last week, we saw Micah describe a glorious restoration for God’s people to give them hope beyond the coming judgment.  In Micah 5:1-15, Micah goes a step further, revealing that the coming restoration will ultimately be brought about by the Messiah.  In other words, God is going to restore His people through His Messiah.  The beauty of this development is that it demands that all hope for restoration beyond the coming judgment ultimately be Messianic.  It is important to distinguish between being hopeful about the future and hoping in the One who will bring about that future.  It is a good thing to have hope for the future, because God makes promises about the future.  However, that hope is just wishful thinking if the One making the promises cannot keep them!  Our hope must ultimately rest in God, and since the Messiah is the key to the coming restoration, God’s people should place their ultimate hope in person and work of Jesus Christ alone.

 [5:1]  Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. [2]  But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. [3] Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. [4] And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. [5] And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men; [6] they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances; and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land and treads within our border.

[7] Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which delay not for a man nor wait for the children of man. [8] And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, which, when it goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver. [9] Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off.

[10] And in that day, declares the LORD, I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots; [11] and I will cut off the cities of your land and throw down all your strongholds; [12] and I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes; [13] and I will cut off your carved images and your pillars from among you, and you shall bow down no more to the work of your hands; [14] and I will root out your Asherah images from among you and destroy your cities. [15] And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey. (Micah 5:1-15 ESV)  How does this text point us to ultimate hope in Christ?

I.              God’s Messiah is the Remedy for His People’s Current Distress (5:1-6)

Micah 5:1 begins with a current distress for God’s people.  God’s people are under “siege” and their “judge” (king) is being humiliated (struck on the cheek).  This probably refers to the Assyrian invasion (2 Chron. 32) under Sennacherib in 701 B.C.  What I want you to recall is the reason for this distress.  This crisis isn’t happening because the Assyrians are so big and bad; it is happening because Yahweh’s people have broken covenant with Him through idolatry and oppression.  This is a distress a distress of their own making.  But notice that this people under distress are charged to “muster” her “troops!”  Why is this charge given in such a desperate situation? 

It is given because God is about to radically reverse this situation!  God’s solution to this distress is seen in 5:2-5a, marked by the word, “BUT.”  Though God’s people are in distress, God will provide a solution: “Bethlehem” will bring forth the “one who is to be ruler in Israel.”  We saw last week that in the coming restoration, the house of David would resume its reign (Micah 4:8); here we see how God is going to raise the house of David once more.  That is the significance of “Bethlehem” (where David was from), Bethlehem being “too little to be among the clans of Judah” (David was also an unlikely candidate), and the fact that the Messiah’s coming forth is “from of old, from ancient of days” (this probably refers to the ancient covenantal promises to David).  Though the description is obviously Davidic, the promise of the Messiah stems all the way back to Genesis 3:15 and His expectation can be seen throughout the Old Testament.  The point here is simply that God’s solution is the Messiah! 

Before we move on, notice how His coming will play out in verse 3: “he” will give up His people until it is time for “she who is in labor” (4:9-10: God’s People) to give birth to Him, “then” He will gather the “rest of His brothers” to His people.  Notice also the description of His rule in Micah 4-5b.  First, “HE” will stand and shepherd His flock in Yahweh’s strength the majesty of Yahweh’s name (4a).  Second, “HE” will be great to the ends of the earth and that greatness shall cause His people to “dwell secure” (4b).  Finally, “HE” will be His people’s “peace.” 

Under the Messiah’s rule, God’s people will experience a radical reversal (5b-6).  Instead of being under siege, the Messiah shall so deliver His people from the Assyrian and the Babylonian that when an enemy comes into the land, God’s people will “raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men” (7), who will not only drive them out, but also take the fight into enemy territory!  This will extend and establish the Messiah’s rule (His shepherding) even into enemy territory (6). 

We need to make sure we understand that the New Testament declares Jesus Christ to be the fulfillment of these promises.  The religious leaders of Jesus’ day understood Bethlehem to be the birthplace of the Messiah based upon this passage (Matt. 2:6, John 7:42).  Also, to a large degree, the reign of the Messiah here is being fulfilled in the church today.  He has become both our peace with God and with one another.  As a matter of fact, Paul quotes Micah 5:5 in Ephesians 2:14, describing how the work of Jesus Christ on the cross tears down the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile and unifies them.  The reference to the Messiah’s “brothers” returning is not a reference to only Israelites.  Jesus’ brothers and sisters are His disciples who do His will (Mark 3:35) and His sheep who hear His voice.  Under Christ’s rule today, the church victoriously takes the “fight” of preaching the gospel and making disciples of all nations into enemy territory and the very gates of Hell cannot overcome His people as they do so (Matt. 16:18-20)!

What do we take from this?  Simply that Jesus Christ is the remedy for His people’s current distress.  This is seen clearer in the gospel than it is anywhere else.  We too were in a mess of our own making, dead in our sins and trespasses.  God’s Messiah, Jesus Christ, was God’s solution to that distress.  He came from Bethlehem and lived the life we could never live and He died the death that we all deserved, bearing the wrath of God for our sins.  All those who now come to faith in Jesus experience a radical reversal as well (2 Cor. 5:17). 

II.            God’s Messiah is the Champion of His People’s Future Victory (5:7-15)

The big idea in verses 7-15 is how Yahweh will give His people victory over their enemies.  Consider first their victory over enemies from without (7-9,15).  The imagery used here (dew & lions) communicates victory for God’s people as God’s kingdom undergoes expansion among the nations (7-8): “the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples,” “among the nations.”  Also, notice that the two metaphors communicate a boldness that God’s people should possess during this expansion: (1) dew and showers which do not delay nor wait for man and (2) a lion among the beasts of the forests (even among sheep!) which treads down and tears in pieces and there is NONE to deliver.  This expansion will be unstoppable!!!  Since this is being fulfilled in the mission of the church, what boldness the people of God should have as we take the gospel to the nations!  If God is for us, truly, who can be against us (Rom. 8:31-39, Matt. 16:18)?  Finally, this imagery also communicates the nature of this victorious expansion of God’s kingdom.  God’s people will be both a source of blessing (dew, showers) to some and an instrument of destruction (lion) to others.  Is this not they way Paul described the mission of the church in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16? [14] But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. [15] For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, [16] to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?  (2 Cor. 2:14-16 ESV)

Also, just as it is Christ who is always leading His people to triumphant procession, it is the Messiah who leads His people in Micah to such victory.  That is why it is very important to see the word, “then” at the beginning of verse 7.  This victory will take place under the Messiah’s rule.  It is not the result of their own power.

Finally, we not only see that God’s people will not just experience victory over their enemies from without, they will also experience victory over their enemies within (10-14).  God declares here that He is going to save His people from their idols.  Some of the idols are idols that are obvious (sorcery, fortune telling, carved images, Asherah images: female fertility goddess of the Canaanites) and some idols that are not so obvious (cites, strongholds, horses, chariots).  The fact that some of these idols are not so obvious teaches us an important lesson: that self-sufficiency and trust in human resources is just as much a form of idolatry as bowing down before a wooden or stone image.  Sometimes very good things are the very last things that we need in our lives, because they subtly erode our faith in God alone for our security.  Like the church at Laodicea, we begin to think that we are in need of nothing, including God (Rev. 3:14-22).  Nations do this when they trust in their military for security and people do this when they trust in their back account or their retirement.  May we say with David, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” (Ps. 20:7 ESV), because without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5)!

Notice also that both types of idols here are “the work of your hands” (13).  There is a tremendous irony and lunacy that the Old Testament prophets expose about idolatry.  When we worship idols, we exchange the worship of the God who made men for the worship of man-made gods.  We exchange the worship of our Creator for the worship of a created god.  Why do we do this?  We do so because as fallen people, we prefer a God who is manageable and predictable.  We also prefer a God whom we can manipulate.  That’s what the connection between idolatry and witchcraft and sorcery is all about.  Idolatry combined with witchcraft and sorcery is simply an attempt to manipulate the “gods” and “spirits” in some way to be in our favor.  Friends, Yahweh will not be molded, managed, or manipulated!  He is God! 

Martin Luther once said that the human heart was an idol factory.  That is because we are infected with it.  What are we to do?  Micah gives us an answer.  God’s promises that through His Messiah, He will save His people from their idolatry.  Notice how many times we see the phrase, “I will” (10-14).  Since we cannot free ourselves from the idolatry that is in our hearts, God will!  How will He do so?  Hezekiah may have repented and destroyed the idols in Judah in response to Micah’s preaching, but we know from the rest of the Bible that the Israelites returned to idolatry and had to be exiled. 

The gospel is the only way God ultimately saves His people from their idols.  In the gospel, Christ, the Messiah, dies on the cross to bear the penalty for our idolatry.  In the gospel, God’s people get new hearts that are no longer idol factories.  In the life of a Christian, who comes to faith in Christ, God gradually roots out the idols of our hearts and conforms us more and more into His image.  For believers, we look forward to the gospel’s final work in our lives as well, when God will ultimately deliver us from this body of death and it’s infection with idolatry.  On that day, we will be saved to sin no more!  Church, may we glory in our Redeemer today, not in our resources.  May we look to Christ as our champion in the fight with our enemies and our idolatry.  May we also look to Christ as our champion even when we fall, because His death covers our failures.  As His people, may we get back up, repent, and charge a hostile world as bold as a lion with the good news of Christ!  Muster the troops and take the world for the glory of Christ! 

Hope Beyond the Coming Judgment: Micah 4:1-13

I have no personal experience of what a woman goes through during labor, but I hear it can be pretty painful.  Can you imagine what most of history was like, before modern medicine when women had to deliver without an epidural?  Why would a woman put herself through such pain?  True, there are such things as unplanned pregnancies, but for women who plan to get pregnant, why would they subject themselves to such pain?  The reason is obvious: the joy of having children far outweighs any pain that might be experienced during pregnancy and labor.  The hope of this new little life to come helps an expectant mother get through the pains of labor. 

I bring that up this morning because Micah is going to use this very same analogy to describe what God’s people are about to go through (4:9-10).  As we’ve already seen in Micah, God’s people have broken covenant with Him, and as a consequence they are going to have to go through a painful experience.  However, God’s last word for His people is not one of judgment but one of salvation and restoration!  In Micah 4:1-13, Micah describes this restoration of God’s people to come.  His purpose in doing so is to give the same kind of hope to His people that an expectant mother has when facing labor: hope beyond the coming judgment that will fuel their endurance through what they are going to suffer.  This is so crucial for us to get down today as well, because, as you will see, God’s promises to Micah are God’s promises to us as well!  These promises about the future must be an anchor that holds us steady through our suffering. My prayer for us today is that we would become a people rooted in and driven by the hope of all that God promises about our future.

 [4:1] It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, [2] and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. [3] He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; [4] but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. [5] For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.

[6] In that day, declares the LORD, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted; [7] and the lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore. [8] And you, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, the former dominion shall come, kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.

[9] Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pain seized you like a woman in labor? [10] Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you shall go out from the city and dwell in the open country; you shall go to Babylon. There you shall be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. [11] Now many nations are assembled against you, saying, “Let her be defiled, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.” [12] But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor. [13] Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze; you shall beat in pieces many peoples; and shall devote their gain to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.  (Micah 4:1-13 ESV) How do we become a people driven by the hope of what lies beyond our suffering?   

I.              We Must Anchor Our Future in the Promises of God (4:1-8)

Micah’s prophesy in 4:1-8 is about the restoration of God’s people.  This will be a time when Mount Zion, “the mountain of the LORD’s house,” will be established and exalted as the “highest of mountains” (probably a polemic against idolatry).  Notice first that this is a sharp reversal of what we read in 3:12 last week, how this place was going to be a heap of ruins.  Notice also this promise is something that is going to take place “in the latter days” (1). This phrase can mean the very last days of history, but it normally has a much more open-ended sense.  It certainly does here, because what we are going to read today will encompass everything from Israel’s return from exile (6-7,10), to the reign of the Messiah (8), to the final consummation of God’s kingdom in the new heavens and earth.  So basically, this just means that these things will happen in a “future beyond the horizon”[1] for God’s people.  What all will this restoration entail? 

First, we see that it will be a time when God’s GLOBAL people flock to hear His Word (1-2).  The Jewish people would make multiple pilgrimages to Jerusalem every year.  Here, that idea is expanded to include a time when “all peoples shall flow” and “many nations shall come” to Zion.  Why are they coming?  They are coming to Yahweh’s temple so that He can “teach” them “his ways” and that they “may walk in His paths.”  A natural implication is that they would also take Yahweh’s teaching and ways back to the nations from which they came.  Jerusalem is no longer known as a place of rampant corruption, but as a place where “the word of the LORD” is going forth!

Also, it will be a time when the world will be at peace under Yahweh’s rule (3-5).  During this time, Yahweh will “judge between many peoples” and “decide for strong nations far away.”  When we follow this idea into chapter 5 and compare it with Isaiah 11:4, we see that Yahweh will judge the nations through His Messiah. Under the rule of Yahweh’s Messiah, people will beat their weapons into farming tools and “nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (3).  Notice also how this time of Yahweh’s rule stands in stark contrast to the injustice that saturated Judah during Micah’s day.  Since God’s leaders would not establish justice among His people, God Himself will do so.  When He does, no one will worry about someone coveting and taking their property, but “they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid” (4).  The time of coveting and fighting over things will be over.

Thirdly, it will be a time when Yahweh will gather His people under His rule forever (6-7).  Like we saw in Micah 2:12-13, the imagery here is that of a Good Shepherd King gathering His sheep, only in 2:12-13, Yahweh was gathering His sheep to protect them.  Here, Yahweh is gathering His wounded and lame sheep, which He Himself has “afflicted,” in order to transform them into a strong nation and rule over them forever.  Again, we see partial fulfillment of this not only in Israel’s return and preservation but also in the church (1 Peter 2:9-10).  We are the royal nation that is now experiencing the rule of God in our hearts. 

Fourthly, it will be a time when Yahweh will restore the Davidic Kingship to God’s people (8).  God promises to restore “kingship,” which is “the former dominion,” to “the daughter of Zion” and “the daughter of Jerusalem.”  I take this to mean that the house of David will resume its reign during these latter days that Micah speaks of.  God made a covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7:12-16 that an heir of David would rule God’s people forever.  We learn in the New Testament that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of this promise, as He currently reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords over the universe and His people.

Now these are some marvelous promises, but let’s not lose the point of all this.  The point of these glorious promises of restoration is to give hope to the people of God that will carry them through their present crisis and the judgment to come.  It’s meant to spark the kind of resolve we see in Micah 4:5.  This verse is a liturgical response to these promises.  Since this is what God is planning on doing in the future, God’s people here and now should resolve to walk in the name of their God forever and ever.  So think about it like this: hope in God’s future promises is supposed to bring about present resolve to walk with God.

We see this illustrated throughout the Bible.  Joseph was given dreams as a teenager that gave him hope through all that he suffered.  The book of Hebrews gives an entire list of people who resolved to walk with God during their present situation because of their faith in what He had promised (Hebrews 11).  Even Jesus is said to have endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). 

These promises should cause us to resolve to walk with God through all we face too.  Let me give you one example.  Consider how the promise that people from all nations will know Yahweh is fuel for missions!  We are not boarding a plane to Africa and hoping that people will believe in Jesus; we are going there knowing that His sheep will hear His voice and respond!  It’s implied that there’ll be believers among them right here in Micah!  What other promises from God about the future have you made an anchor for your soul? 

II.            We Must Anchor Our Suffering in the Sovereignty of God (4:9-13)

Not only must we anchor our future in the promises of God, we must also anchor our suffering in the sovereignty of God.  The big idea here in verses 9-13 seems to be how the coming exile and suffering of God’s people is all part of the sovereign plan of Yahweh to redeem and vindicate them.  In other words, there is suffering to come, but that suffering is part of God’s plan to redeem them.  This big idea is communicated twice: once in verse 9-10, and then again in verses 11-13.  As we saw in verse 6, Yahweh assumes responsibility for their coming affliction. 

In Micah 4:9-10, we see that the labor pains of exile will precede restoration.  Micah begins with some questions that reveal a lack of faith to some degree on the part of the people.  They are crying out “like a woman in labor” and wondering where to look in such painful times.  Micah’s questions, “Is there no king in you” and “has your counselor perished” have obvious answers: yes there is a king among God’s remnant and His name if Yahweh!  No, their counselor has not perished, He is alive and well and even this painful experience is going to be part of His wise counsel.  Therefore, they are to writher and groan just like a woman in labor, because this painful labor will be turned into a great delivery.  The painful experience spoken of is being exiled to “Babylon” (10).  However, it is “there” in Babylon that God’s people will be rescued and redeemed.

Verses 11-13 then show us that the hostility of many nations will precede restoration.  These verses look toward a time when “many nations” assemble against God’s people in order to defile Zion and destroy them.  However, God’s sovereign plan is once again emphasized in that these nations are unaware that their assembling together around Jerusalem has actually been God gathering them “as sheaves to the threshing floor.”   These hostile nations “do not know the thoughts of the LORD” and “do not understand His plan.”  God will actually give the call to His people to “arise and thresh” them with a horn of iron and hoofs of bronze.  The end result will be that God’s people are victorious over their enemies and devote the spoils of victory to Yahweh.  Here these nations will learn that Yahweh is “the Lord of the whole earth.”  Like most of what we have seen in this chapter, this last section could be referring to Sennacherib’s defeat, but it also finds fulfillment in the church’s success among the nations in making disciples.  Despite the hostility of the nations, Christ is building His church (Matthew 16:18) and no hostility will prevent Him from doing so.  Also, this prophecy will find its ultimate fulfillment at the last battle between the forces of Satan and the people of God in Revelation 19-20. 

Again, let’s not miss the point in all of this.  Two things are crystal clear in these two oracles: that God’s people will suffer and that their suffering is actually part of God’s plan to redeem them.  At the end of the day, the rulers of this world and the hostile nations are simply pawns in the sovereign plan of God to have His people.  This actually puts all suffering in perspective: it is all part of God’s sovereign plan to redeem His people. 

The clearest example of this truth is the sufferings of Jesus: [22] “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—[23] this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. (Acts 2:22-23 ESV)  [26] The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—[27] for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, [28] to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. (Acts 4:26-28 ESV)  Christ’s sufferings were part of God’s sovereign plan to redeem His people.

This truth is truly an anchor for your suffering.  One of the most important truths for you to ever wrap your mind and heart around on this side of heaven is the reality that God is sovereign in your suffering.  The New Testament is clear that we too should expect suffering before the glory of these promises are completely realized (Acts 14:22).  When that suffering comes, trust that God’s sovereign plan is at work to redeem you and make you more like Him.  We must learn to trust that God is ruling our world even when it gets turned upside down.  See, our tendency in life and especially suffering is to focus upon all that is wrong with this world and our immediate future.  This normally moves us to be worldly rather than other worldly people.  The consequences of being driven by worldly hope is that we tend to seek security and comfort here, which becomes devastating when affliction and loss of that security comes.  It also makes us very self-centered people.  The hope we are speaking of today frees us from the bondage of worldliness, selfishness, and despair.  It leads us rather to display God’s glory and take radical risks for God’s kingdom. 

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[1] ESV Study Bible Notes

Godless Leaders: Micah 3:1-12

So far in Micah we have seen some serious corruption among the people who are supposed to bear Yahweh’s name.  Yahweh’s people are not keeping covenant with him.  They are failing to love Him with all and above all by their idolatry and they are failing to love their neighbor as their self by their covetousness and their oppression of others.  What we are going to learn today is that on top of all this, the very people who should be speaking up and addressing this situation are not only not doing so, they are actually helping facilitate the corruption in order to pad their pockets.  So in Micah 3:1-12, Micah rebukes the godless leaders of God’s people in order to call them to repentance.  We learn here that godless leaders, whether they be political or religious, must repent or face God’s judgment. Truly godly leaders are people who point others to God with boldness and courage, even when wickedness abounds in a culture.

Just in case you don’t think this applies to you, let me remind you that while most of us won’t fit the categories that Micah will use, the principles hold true for all people who lead in any capacity.  Most of us in this room do lead others in some capacity.  A pastor is a leader.  A deacon is a leader.  A Sunday school teacher is a leader.  A church committee member is a leader.  A parent is a leader.  An older sibling is a leader.  A coach is a leader.  A boss or supervisor at work is a leader.  An older student in the youth group is a leader.  We could keep going, but the point is that many of us in this room lead in different capacities, so we all need to pay close attention to what we read here, because God will hold us accountable for our leadership.  My prayer today is that we would all look to God for grace to be godly leaders and resolve to wait upon Him when we find themselves under godless leadership. 

 [3:1] And I said: Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice? — [2] you who hate the good and love the evil, who tear the skin from off my people and their flesh from off their bones, [3] who eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones in pieces and chop them up like meat in a pot, like flesh in a cauldron. [4] Then they will cry to the LORD, but he will not answer them; he will hide his face from them at that time, because they have made their deeds evil.

[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 him who puts nothing into their mouths. [6] Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without divination. The sun shall go down on 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 heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who detest justice and make crooked all that is straight, [10] who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. [11] Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the LORD and say, “Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.” [12] Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height. (Micah 3:1-12 ESV) I want to show you two ways that this text points us God as leaders and followers. 

I.              God Calls All Leaders to Account for Their Leadership

Notice first the condition of these godless leaders (1-3, 5, 9-11).  Micah 3:1-12 contains three oracles that are each four verses long: 3:1-4, 3:5-8, 3:9-12.  In Micah 3:1-4, Micah rebukes the “heads of Jacob” and the “rulers of the house of Israel.”  These are government leaders, from the King (Hezekiah) all the way down to local judges and authorities.  3:11 describes this group as people who “give judgment.”  God’s beef with them is clearly seen in the question that He asks in verse 1: “Is it not for you to know justice?”  Of all people in Israel, this group should know better.  Of all people, they should know and love justice.  However, they are doing the opposite.  They accused of hating the good and loving the evil (2).  Then in verses 2-3, the abuse of their leadership is graphically described as cannibalism: they are skinning, deboning, cooking, and eating God’s people.  Rather than leading God’s people like loving shepherds, they are preying upon them. 

In Micah 3:5-8, Micah rebukes “the prophets who lead my people (Yahweh’s people) astray.”  They are leading God’s people astray for their own gain.  Basically, these false prophets are prostituting their gifts by speaking a favorable message to people will pad their pockets and fill their bellies.  To people who do not give them something, they are speaking a condemning message.  As Leslie Allen aptly puts it, their basic ministry philosophy is that “he who pays the piper calls the tune.”[1]

Finally, in Micah 3:9-12, Micah initially returns to the government leaders, but then expands his rebuke to accuse all of the corrupt leaders among God’s people: the government leaders “give judgment for a bribe,” the “priests teach for a price,” and the “prophets practice divination for a price” (11).  They are all in love with money and are presuming upon God’s grace, thinking that they will be exempt from disaster by claiming Yahweh’s covenant name without keeping Yahweh’s covenant stipulations. 

As we said earlier, the big idea here is that the leaders of God’s people, who should have been doing something about the idolatry and the oppression in Judah, are not only doing nothing, but are actually taking part in facilitating this corruption in order to pad their pockets.  Godly leaders are supposed to be marked by JUSTICE.  Notice how that word ties each of these oracles together: the government leaders were expected to know and love justice (1), Micah, who is filled with “justice,” is the contrast to the false prophets (8), and the problem in the third oracle is how these leaders again “detest justice” (9).  Being marked by justice doesn’t mean that a person is longing to dish out punishment; it means that a person loves what is right and detests what is wrong and does what is in their power to enforce that standard.

Micah is the example that this text gives us of such a leader.  Micah is the contrast to these godless leaders (3:8).  Micah is a person of valor, who will not be influenced by fear or by favor.  Unlike the godless leaders, he is full of power, justice, might, and most importantly, God’s Spirit.  This is the key to being a godly leader in the church, the home, or the workplace: being filled with the Holy Spirit of God.  There is no lasting power, might, or passion for justice apart from being filled with God’s Spirit.  Notice that the filling of God’s Spirit also enables a boldness and courage that is supernatural: Micah is faithful “to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.”

Finally, we see the consequences of their godless leadership (4,6-7,12).  These godless leaders, like the idolaters and the oppressive in Judah, will reap what they have sown (if they do not repent).  Since these leaders won’t do something, God is going to.  He is going to bring disaster that will cause them to cry out to Him, but when they do so, “He will not answer them” (4).  He will hide His face from them and turn a deaf ear to their cries just as they have done to those who have been oppressed.  They will see Proverbs 21:13 powerfully illustrated in their own lives: “Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.”  This disaster is describes in verse 12 as Zion bring “plowed as a field” and Jerusalem becoming “a heap of ruins.”  As for the false prophets who have lied to God’s people for their own gain, God is going to take away their spiritual gifts.  Since they have abused their prophetic gifts, they will now be deprived of them and will be put to shame when people seek them out for insight (6-7).   

Again, the big idea here is that God always holds leaders accountable for how they lead.  Some of the scariest words in the New Testament to me are found in Hebrews 13:17 and James 3:1.  Hebrews 13:17 says that those who lead God’s people will “give an account” for their leadership.  James 3:1 warns those who desire to be teachers of God’s people that “they will be judged with greater strictness.” 

I guess on some level words like that should be sobering to all of us.  As we said earlier, most of us are leaders in some capacity (and if we are not we will be one day).  This passage should call us to be leaders who (1) repent of wickedness when it is brought to our attention and (2) follow the example of Micah here.  He is a man full of God’s Spirit and possesses a holy passion for justice.  God’s people, especially their leaders, should have enough integrity and courage to stand for what is right and against what it wrong.  We cannot call evil good and good evil, no matter how unpopular that makes us with the majority culture.  We can’t make sin out to be something less ugly than it is.  This is what it means to care about justice in our world and in the church.  Right is right and wrong is wrong and we cannot dress up what is wrong to make ourselves feel better about it, because in the end it will not be the majority culture that we stand before in judgment, but the Lord God Almighty. 

II.            God Calls His People to Place Their Ultimate Hope in Him, not Their Leaders

Here I just want to point out that this text that explicitly addresses godless leaders also implicitly addresses those under their leadership.  Imagine seeking to live as a godly person in such an environment.  Someone has just swindled you out of your home and land.  You would appeal, but the judge to whom you would appeal is in cahoots with the people who took your land because they are padding his pockets.  If you try to seek religious advice from the priest, he will defend the wicked oppressor and judge because he is also having his pockets padded.  Perhaps you would then plead your case to a prophet who could stand up and call out these wicked leaders on their sin.  You would find a dead end there too, because the prophet is also having his pockets padded.  As a matter of fact, if you don’t pay him something, he will stand up and condemn you!  Where can you turn in such a situation?  I think this passage reminds such people that they can plead their case to Yahweh.  He is hearing their cries and is keeping score.  He will judge these wicked rulers and vindicate their suffering.  So essentially this passage is calling God’s people to look beyond their leaders and to Him.

This is a crucial point whether your leaders or godly or ungodly, right?  See, the temptation under godly leaders is to idolize them and the temptation under godless leaders is to simply despair (which we express in our country and in our churches by a lot of grumbling and complaining!).  Looking to God as our ultimate Shepherd-King saves us from doing either.  This very passage shows us that godly leaders are only godly leaders because they are full of God’s Spirit (3:8). This passage also reminds us that every godless leader will have their day before God where they answer for their godless leadership.  Don’t idolize godly leaders and don’t despair over godless leaders.  Instead, keep your eyes upon Jesus. 

Pondering godless leaders should both outrage and humble us.  It should outrage us if we truly love justice but should also humble us because apart from the grace of God we would be just as godless.  It is a battle to be a godly leader and a temptation to be discouraged when leaders become ungodly.  The only leader who will truly never fail you is the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.  Jesus will never fall short.  He is the only truly faithful Prophet, Priest, & King in history.  This is important for both leaders and the people who follow them to remember.  Godly leaders are merely blood bought men who needed Jesus to bear their sins upon His cross and still need Him to lead them and keep them by His grace.  Jesus must lead politicians, preachers, parents, and all other leaders to be the kind of example that Micah is here (3:8).  Will you surrender to Him as your Good Shepherd today?  If you have done so, will you cry out to Him in desperation to help you be the kinds of leaders that will love justice?  And will you thank Him for the cross, where He bore all the moments you will fail to? 

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[1] Leslie Allen, NICOT: Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, 311