Micah 3

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

A Denunciation of Evil Rulers and False Prophets

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. The Lord will not answer those who practice evil.

  2. The Lord will not guide those who proclaim falsehood.

  3. The Lord will not protect those who promote injustice.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Don’t have a limited view of what it means to be filled with the Spirit.

QUESTIONS

  1. A simple outline of the prophecy of Micah would be three messages of judgment and deliverance. In which chapters are these three messages found?

  2. See Micah 1:2; 3:1; 6:1. How does each exhortation begin?

  3. How were the leaders and rulers of Judah treating the people?

  4. Why didn’t the Lord answer the cry of the leaders and rulers of Judah?

  5. See Micah 3:11. What are the three types of persons noted for distorting justice?

ANSWERS

  1. Message #1 – Chapters 1-2 Message #2 – Chapters 3-5 Message #3 – Chapters 6-7

  2. Each exhortation begins with the words, “Hear (the word of the Lord)…”

  3. They were treating them like animals. See Micah 3:2-3.

  4. Because of their treatment of the people.

  5. Judges, priests and prophets.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. The Lord did not hear the cry of the leaders and rulers of Judah because of the way they treated the people. He hid His face, as it were, when He allowed the Babylonians to come in and conquer Judah. Is it possible that the Lord is not hearing your prayers right now? How are you treating others in your family, at work, within the fellowship?

  2. False prophets were denounced because they did not preach the truth. Rather, they preached what people wanted to hear and were willing to pay for. Is the same true today? Think of the lies proclaimed from some of the pulpits today. The Lord will denounce those who proclaim falsehood.

CHALLENGE

  1. The leaders in Micah’s day twisted justice and redefined what was right, while judges took bribes.  Sound familiar?  Our own nation has distorted moral standards and allowed corruption to creep in.  Micah reminds us that God does not overlook social injustice, He condemns it.  The challenge is this: will you stand silently by, or will you live with integrity and courage, refusing to compromise even when society does?

KEY VERSES

  • “Hear now, O heads of Jacob, and you rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice? You who hate good and love evil…” Micah 3:1-2

  • “Then they will cry to the Lord, but He will not hear them…because they have been evil in their deeds.” Micah 3:4

  • “…the prophets make My people stray…” Micah 3:5

  • “Truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.” Micah 3:8

  • “Her heads judge for a bribe, her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money…” Micah 3:11

  • “Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins…” Micah 3:12

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