Micah 3:5-12 (NRSV)
Read Micah 3:5-12 on biblegateway.com
Verse 5Thus 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. Verse 6Therefore 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; Verse 7the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God.
Verse 8But 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. Verse 9Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob and chiefs of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert all equity, Verse 10who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wrong! Verse 11Its rulers give judgment 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." Verse 12Therefore 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.
Devotion
For those who find themselves called to preach God’s word, Micah’s condemnations in these verses find their mark: “Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets … who cry 'Peace' when they have something to eat, but declare war against those who put nothing in their mouths.”
There is always the temptation to tell people what they want to hear. We think things will go better for us if we keep people happy and not point to the truth of sin, even when it’s bearing down on us. Micah had no time for such prophets and rulers, and his words remind us what it means to speak God’s word.
Each of us is called to speak God’s word in its fullness, as law and gospel. This is not what people are looking for; it is simply what they – and we – need to hear. For only in the fullness of the Word will we find life and true peace.
Prayer
Lord God, thank you for your life-giving word. Give us, like Micah, the will to proclaim it, that your people might find real peace. Amen.