Series in Micah - “No Fear of God, Justice, or Truth”

 

“No Fear of God, Justice, or Truth”

Micah 3:9-12

In our technologically and economically driven world, we are our own worst enemies. We allow and embrace sin and corruption for the sake of prosperity, commercial growth, and the domination of society; we purloin and misappropriate the truth and warp right from wrong by the twisting of justice or the demolition of our moral foundation by assimilating with the world. We have distorted wrong for right and contorted impartiality for gain. And this is the issue that Micah is confronting and contending with nearly three thousand years ago. 

So let’s read the first portion of the text, “Listen to me, you leaders of Israel! You hate justice and twist all that is right. You are building Jerusalem on a foundation of murder and corruption. You rulers make decisions based on bribes; you priests teach God’s laws only for a price; you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid.” (NLT)

Micah called out with biting abhorrence the hierarchy of Israel; the rulers, the judicial, and the religious leaders.

First he calls for all of them to unplug their ears so as to hear the Word of the Lord, for they were living and operating the country in corruption and the loathing of Godly righteousness and justice. They had absconded truth like a thief and twisted justice as a Beygale (pretzel). Micah first calls out the country’s rulers for their building up the wealth and prosperity of the country on the blood of the poor and the innocent, and they have enhanced the corruption with bribing of the legal system and laws. They have been lining their pockets with exorbitant taxation and perjured rulings in favor of the highest bribes. 

Then the religious leaders participate in avaricious gain (extreme greed), with ostentatious corruption (love of money), and positions of popularity and ceremonial grandiosity. (Matt. 23:3-7; Luke 16:14-15)

The priests and prophets alike were into this protocol of greed and prosperity. The priests wouldn’t teach you the Word of God unless their palms were greased (paid off); and the prophets followed suit by giving favorable words from the Lord Almighty for a cash incentive. Other words, “A good word for a good price.” “Ḥokma of the Hands” (Jewish equivalent to Grease the palm) 

Application - Where to begin in our morass (complication or confusion) of justice, corruption, and economic scandals. Let’s start with the top and work down. Almost everyone at the top levels of government has stated as I did in the last lesson, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” We have seen the twisting, contorting of justice (established laws) and the pandering and abuse of economical wisdom through the misconduct of the fiat economic systems of the world. (We spend and print money we don’t have and can’t back). Government gets bigger and the people get poorer. As in the previous governments throughout history, it led to avariciousness among the wealthy and the collapse of the nations economically as well as morally. 

Jesus warned us to not worry about riches and material wealth, and especially not let the corruption indwell in us. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also… But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money... For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matt. 6:21, 23-24,32-34) And Paul taught us to be content, “Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:11-13)

Then the rise of the prosperity gospel is not really new, just revised and newly labeled. Throughout the history of the church, the avarice (extreme greed) of the church hierarchy was the bane and plague of many religious leaders, denominations, and the organized corporate church. Only today, we take the gospel and pander it (personally gratifying in it), prospering by it, parading it, wearing it, bragging about it, and selling it to the populace of the world, for a slight “greasing of the palm.” The gospel, whether through programs or trainings, comes with a price. So much for Jesus' admonition, “Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matt. 10:8b)

Then the uprising of the prophetic word for the masses comes with a token offering. A young christian woman came and asked me, “Do I have to give them money to get a word from God to be healed?” or “the giving of “seed” money to a gospel project, that turned out to be the purchasing of a yacht for retreats and fellowshipping or another jet for evangelism. 

I know that not all christian leaders are shysters, and that it is our responsibility to give for the needs of others. But beware, for greed knows no boundaries.

Next, the leaders had the audacity to claim that the Lord God’s blessings were on them. So let’s read the final portion of the text. “Yet all of you claim to depend on the Lord. “No harm can come to us,” you say, “for the Lord is here among us.” Because of you, Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field; Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins! A thicket will grow on the heights where the Temple now stands.” (NLT)

God had seen enough of the hypocrisy of the political and religious leader in Judah. He sent Micah with a prophetic word of doom for the nation of Judah. And it all stemmed from their disobedience to God’s covenant and commandments. They had hallowed their religious achievements to their historical relationship, that we are the children of God, of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. But God had spoken through Samuel and king David that God wants obedience and allegiance. “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” (1 Sam. 15:22; Ps. 51:17)

Micah heard the comments from the leaders that “No harm can come to us,” you say, “for the Lord is here among us.” The leadership of Judah was saying “We trust in God” “God loves us and He is here with us!” “His presence is here with us!” But Micah knew that God had already decided to judge the nation and all its people, for as the prophet Isaiah said of the people in the same time frame. “The Master said: “These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren't in it. Because they act like they're worshiping me but don't mean it, I'm going to step in and shock them awake, astonish them, stand them on their ears.” (Isa. 29:13 MSG) And the Lord Jesus would quote this about the people in Israel. (Matt. 15:18) For the leaders idolized the Temple, not God. For them God lived in the Temple and they were good because of their bloodline and heritage. 

Micah delivers God’s verdict, they have been guilty and found wanting, and God would take it all away from them, the thing that they most cherished and idolized, the Temple. Micah proclaimed in the words from God that Mount Zion, the mount and the city of David would be uprooted and plowed under, like an open field. There would be no sign of the temple or the city because of their callus hearts and harlotry, their avarice (extreme greed) and vacant-hearted worship. It would not be tolerated by Him. Mount Zion would be reduced to ruin and desolation. And only a few shrubs, bushes and trees will grow on the once glorious mount that held their hearts and adoration.

Application - We as the body of Christ are the true church, not an edifice created by man. We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead. He is Lord in our lives. He hears from the Father and the Son and guides us, comforts us, empowers us, convicts us when we quench or grieve Him, regenerates us, and sanctifies us. Outside of venerating the Father and the Son, there is no other god, edifice, or man-made product that we should worship. 

Like the religious leaders in Micah’s day, we can become ignorant, oblivious, or callous to the real presence of God, and replace it with an icon, a piece of real estate, or religious piousness.  And then we synthesize that with the desires of the world, and we get a hybrid religious system that loves both God and money, and not always in that order. We are given over to greed and pride and lose consciousness of God’s presence, will, and purpose. But we still claim and cling to God as if we are tight with Him, that we depend on Him, and that no one can harm us for we are in God’s hand and presence. 

We become like Sampson, not realizing the Spirit of God is no longer with us. But we replace the void of God’s Spirit with religious fervor and man-driven visions, dreams, and zeal. And with that passion we let it drive our ambitions for more; even to the point of claiming things by a word from God or we take offerings so that we can obtain and purchase something. We sell a book, trinket, or symbolic ribbon or bookmark for a profit.

If any of this sounds familiar, then we should go humbly to our knees and seek God’s examination. “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.” “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”(Psalms 139:23-24; Psalms 51:10-12; Jer. 17:10) 

I’m again including the ABC’s of salvation for all those who have not yet received Jesus Christ for salvation. For Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis

I have revised my webpage on Spiritual warfare. Please give it a look. Thank you. http://uss-warfare3.webnode.com