Miquéias 3
Matthew Henry · Citado em PreceptAustin
Miquéias 3
Henry - How they might expect that God should deal with them, since they had been thus cruel to his subjects. The rule is fixed, Those shall have judgment without mercy that have shown no mercy. There will come a time when the most proud and scornful sinners will cry to the Lord, and sue for that mercy which they once neither valued nor copied out. But it will then be in vain God will even hide his face from them at that time, that time when they need his favor, and see themselves undone without it. At another time they would have turned their back upon him but at that time he will turn his back upon them, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings. Note, Men cannot expect to do ill and fare well, but may expect to find, as Adoni-bezek did, that done to them which they did to others for he is righteous who takes vengeance. (Commentary) The tragedy of this verse is that corrupt leaders and judges are "endemic" in America, and as this note is written (2014) even appear to be approaching an "epidemic," for in recent months liberal judges have even been so brazen as to reverse the wishes voted upon by the people. Government by the people and for the people is becoming an "Anachronism!" As was Israel in Micah's day, America also is in desperate need of God glorifying, Word centered, Spirit empowered, Christ exalting revival. Let us pray like the psalmist... My (our) soul cleaves to the dust. Revive me (us) according to Your Word. Ps 119:25 Because they have practiced evil deeds - Always pause and ponder terms of explanation like because. Here we see the human reason for the divine revulsion and the righteous condemnation. God is just (see Divine Justice) and His punishment always perfectly fits the crime! In this case the perpetrators of evil have not listened to the cries of others for justice and so they reap what they have sown - divine refusal to hear their cries! (cp "punishment in kind" to Gal 6:7-8-note) Proverbs also reiterates the principle... He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered. (Pr 21:13-note by Charles Bridges) Davis applies Micah 3:1-4 writing - Western secularists may tout their sacred cow of ‘separation of church and state’, but that mantra will not win them immunity from the scrutiny and judgement of God’s word. Micah’s attitude is akin to that of Robert Bruce (d. 1631), who, when James VI rudely and repeatedly talked with his cohorts during the sermon, cut him down to size with: ‘The Lion of the tribe of Judah is now roaring in the voice of His Gospel, and it becomes all the petty kings of the earth to be silent.’ Micah 3:5 Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; When they have something to bite with their teeth, they cry, "Peace," But against him who puts nothing in their mouths They declare holy war. concerning Micah 3:11; Isaiah 9:15,16; Jeremiah 14:14,15; 23:9-17,27,32; 28:15-17; 29:21-23; Ezekiel 13:10-16; 22:25-29; Malachi 2:8; Matthew 15:14 that bite Micah 2:11; Isaiah 56:9-12; Ezekiel 13:18,19; Matthew 7:15; Romans 16:18 NET Micah 3:5 This is what the LORD says: "The prophets who mislead my people are as good as dead. If someone gives them enough to eat, they offer an oracle of peace. But if someone does not give them food, they are ready to declare war on him. PROPHETS PROSTITUTE DIVINE GIFT FOR PERSONAL PROFIT In the previous section it was corrupt judiciary, and now it is corrupt "clergy." Thus says the LORD - this "messenger formula" (McComiskey) is also used in Mic 2:3 (and a total of 417 times in the Old Testament!) The prophets who lead my people astray - A working definition of a false prophet! Note that Micah 3:5-8 deals with the judgment of these False Prophets. "It is not the need of the people, but the greed of the prophets which drives them." (Davis) In the aftermath of the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah analyzes the role of the false prophets in Judah's defeat... Your prophets have seen for you false and foolish visions; and they have not exposed your iniquity so as to restore you from captivity, but they have seen for you false and misleading oracles. (Lam 2:14, cf 2Ti 4:3-4-note) Lead astray (08582)(taah) means literally to wander, to wander off, to stagger, to roam about, to travel about without any specific goal (e.g., physical roaming = Ex 23:4). Figuratively taah means to err or go astray (active) or in passive sense, to be led astray or to be deceived) as when false prophets led the people astray by their false words and false gods (idols) (Jer 23:13, 32, Mic 3:5; false shepherds in Jer 50:6). In short, figuratively taah refers to mental, moral, or spiritual wandering (Ps 95:10) or ethical wandering (Ezek 44:10). Almost half of the occurrences of taah are in the hiphil form which means to cause someone to stray (which is what kings, prophets, and priests did to the nation). Manasseh, Judah’s most evil king Manasseh seduced (misled) Israel by erecting altars to Baal and placing the Asherah pole in the temple, so that they did more evil than the surrounding pagan nations which Jehovah had destroyed! Woe! (See 2Ki 21:9; 2Chr 33:9). Wikipedia has an interesting note - "Some biblical archaeologists have suggested that until the 6th century BC the Israelite peoples had household shrines, or at least figurines, of Asherah, which are strikingly common in the archaeological remains." (Asherah pole) The 6th century BC would be about the time Israel was disciplined by Jehovah for her idolatry and taken off for 70 years in Babylon. If the interpretations of the archaeology finds are accurate, this is a sad note at how far Israel had wandered off from the true and living God, that they would dare place these abominable images in their homes! Now, that's being led astray! Do we have any "Asherah poles" in our homes as believers? Taah was used of a lost person wandering such as Hagar in the wilderness (Ge 21:14, cp Joseph in Ge 37:15) or of a person staggering from a drunken stupor (Isa 28:7, Isa 19:14). The picture is wandering off spiritually (or being lead away from) the correct path, the godly path (eg see the "Highway of Holiness" Isa 35:8). (Ps 95:10; 119:110; Pr 7:25; 14:22; 21:16; Isa 29:24; 35:8; 47:15; 53:6; Ezek 14:11; 44:10,15; 48:11). In Ezekiel Jehovah gives a prophet promise "that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me and no longer defile themselves with all their transgressions. Thus they will be My people, and I shall be their God." (Ezek 14:11) NIDOTTE - Language about loss of physical orientation or erroneous orientation was useful for talking about ways of living, especially living apart from God. Religiously, to go astray (תָּעָה) is to leave a point of orientation. To be lost is to be without a reference point such as might be offered by: (a) wisdom, (b) the teaching of the law, or (c) God. Counsel is given not to go astray (תָּעָה) in the ways of Dame Folly (Pr 7:25). As for Torah teaching, the psalmist testifies that he did not stray (תָּעָה) from God’s precepts, the law (Ps 119:110). Of Israel it is said that they “went astray (תָּעָה) and … wandered (תָּעָה) from me [God himself]” (Ezek 44:10). The good from which one strays, whether represented by wisdom, the law, or God, leaves one disoriented. In Micah 3:5 the Lxx translates taah with the verb planao (in present tense = continually lead astray). Wander - To rove; to ramble here and there without any certain course or object in view; as, to wander over the fields; to wander about the town, or about the country. Men may sometimes wander for amusement or exercise. Persons sometimes wander because they have no home and are wretched, and sometimes because they have no occupation. (Webster, 1828) Taah is used in the famous passage - All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. (Isaiah 53:4) Taah - 45v - translated as deceived(1), deceiving(1), err(2), go astray(3), goes astray(1), gone astray(3), lead my astray(1), lead you astray(1), leading them astray(1), leads them astray(1), leads to ruin(1), led my astray(2), led them astray(3), led...astray(2), misled(1), reels(1), seduced(1), stagger(3), staggers(1), stray(3), wander(5), wandered(4), wandering(1), wandering away(1), wanders(1), went astray(5). Genesis 20:13 and it came about, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, 'This is the kindness which you will show to me: everywhere we go, say of me, "He is my brother."'" Genesis 21:14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba. Genesis 37:15 A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, "What are you looking for?" Exodus 23:4 "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him. 2 Kings 21:9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh seduced them to do evil more than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the sons of Israel. 2 Chronicles 33:9 Thus Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the sons of Israel. Job 12:24 "He deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth's people And makes them wander in a pathless waste. 25 "They grope in darkness with no light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man. Job 15:31 "Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; For emptiness will be his reward. Job 38:41 "Who prepares for the raven its nourishment When its young cry to God And wander about without food? Psalm 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth. Psalm 95:10 "For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways. Psalm 107:4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region; They did not find a way to an inhabited city. 40 He pours contempt upon princes And makes them wander in a pathless waste. Psalm 119:110 The wicked have laid a snare for me, Yet I have not gone astray from Your precepts. 176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments. Proverbs 7:25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths. Proverbs 10:17 He is on the path of life who heeds instruction, But he who ignores reproof goes astray. Proverbs 12:26 The righteous is a guide to his neighbor, But the way of the wicked leads them astray. Proverbs 14:22 Will they not go astray who devise evil? But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good. Proverbs 21:16 A man who wanders from the way of understanding Will rest in the assembly of the dead. Isaiah 3:12 O My people! Their oppressors are children, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray And confuse the direction of your paths. Isaiah 9:16 For those (See who they are in Isa 9:15) who guide this people are leading them astray; And those who are guided by them are brought to confusion. Isaiah 16:8 For the fields of Heshbon have withered, the vines of Sibmah as well; The lords of the nations have trampled down its choice clusters Which reached as far as Jazer and wandered to the deserts; Its tendrils spread themselves out and passed over the sea. Isaiah 19:13 The princes of Zoan have acted foolishly, The princes of Memphis are deluded; Those who are the cornerstone of her tribes Have led Egypt astray. 14 The LORD has mixed within her a spirit of distortion; They have led Egypt astray in all that it does, As a drunken man staggers in his vomit. Isaiah 21:4 My mind reels, horror overwhelms me; The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. Isaiah 28:7 And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions, They totter when rendering judgment. Isaiah 29:24 "Those who err in mind will know the truth, And those who criticize will accept instruction. Isaiah 30:28 His breath is like an overflowing torrent, Which reaches to the neck, To shake the nations back and forth in a sieve, And to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which leads to ruin. Isaiah 35:8 A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it. Isaiah 47:15 "So have those become to you with whom you have labored, Who have trafficked with you from your youth; Each has wandered in his own way; There is none to save you. Isaiah 53:6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. Isaiah 63:17 Why, O LORD, do You cause us to stray from Your ways And harden our heart from fearing You? Return for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage. Jeremiah 23:13 "Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray. 32 "Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams," declares the LORD, "and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit," declares the LORD. Jeremiah 42:20 For you have only deceived yourselves; for it is you who sent me to the LORD your God, saying, "Pray for us to the LORD our God; and whatever the LORD our God says, tell us so, and we will do it." Jeremiah 50:6 "My people have become lost sheep; Their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn aside on the mountains; They have gone along from mountain to hill And have forgotten their resting place. Ezekiel 14:11 in order that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me and no longer defile themselves with all their transgressions. Thus they will be My people, and I shall be their God,"' declares the Lord GOD." Ezekiel 44:10 "But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who went astray from Me after their idols, shall bear the punishment for their iniquity. 15 "But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood," declares the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 48:11 "It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept My charge, who did not go astray when the sons of Israel went astray as the Levites went astray. Hosea 4:12 My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner's wand informs them; For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray, And they have played the harlot, departing from their God. Amos 2:4 Thus says the LORD, "For three transgressions of Judah and for four I will not revoke its punishment, Because they rejected the law of the LORD And have not kept His statutes; Their lies also have led them astray, Those after which their fathers walked. Micah 3:5 Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; When they have something to bite with their teeth, They cry, "Peace," But against him who puts nothing in their mouths They declare holy war. When they have something to bite with their teeth - I.e., something to eat. These greedy prophets are motivated by what they can gain (cf Mic 3:11). Paul warned about these genre of men For many (NB: "many" not "few"!) walk (speaks of the general conduct of their life), of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the Cross of Christ, whose end is destruction (apoleia = not loss of existence but much worse loss of purpose for their existence!), whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. (Php 3:18-19-note) Davis - As long as the prophets are feeding on the ‘perks’ people give them, they promise those folk prosperity and success (‘peace’). (Ed: This sounds like the modern day "prosperity gospel!" "Snakes" always seem to slither into the sanctuary!) Bite (05391)(nashak) means to bite, to seize with the teeth. Considering the "serpentine nature" of the false prophets, it is notable that this verb is often used to describe the bite of a snake as it strikes its victim! (Nu 21:6; Eccl 10:8, 11; Amos 5:19; 9:3). It can also describe the intoxicating "bite" of wine (Pr 23:32)! In Nu 21:6 just as the serpent's bite resulted in death to many, the "bite" of the false prophets were in a sense poisoning (spiritually speaking) to their victims. The Lxx translates nashak in Mic 3:5 with the verb dakuo which means literally to bite and figuratively to act "spitefully or injuriously toward others" so as to cause them harm (Gal 5:15). Baker nashak "refers to a snake’s bite as it strikes. It is used figuratively of the character of Dan, one of the twelve tribal ancestors of Israel (Ge 49:17); and of serpent bites in general (Num. 21:6; Eccl. 10:8, 11; Amos 5:19; 9:3). It describes the bite of an alcoholic beverage like wine (Prov. 23:32); and of the enemies the Lord sent against His people (Jer. 8:17). False prophets are described as biting at what is available to them (Mic. 3:5). Nashak - 12 v - Ge 49:17; Num 21:6, 8f; Pr 23:32; Eccl 10:8, 11; Jer 8:17; Amos 5:19; 9:3; Mic 3:5; Hab 2:7. NAS Usage: bit(2), bite(4), bites(4), bitten(1), creditors(1). Genesis 49:17 "Dan shall be a serpent in the way, A horned snake in the path, That bites the horse's heels, So that his rider falls backward. Numbers 21:6 The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 8 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live." 9 And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived. Proverbs 23:32 At the last it bites like a serpent And stings like a viper. Ecclesiastes 10:8 He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall. 11 If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer. Jeremiah 8:17 "For behold, I am sending serpents against you, Adders, for which there is no charm, And they will bite you," declares the LORD. Amos 5:19 As when a man flees from a lion And a bear meets him, Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall And a snake bites him. Amos 9:3 "Though they hide on the summit of Carmel, I will search them out and take them from there; And though they conceal themselves from My sight on the floor of the sea, From there I will command the serpent and it will bite them. Micah 3:5 Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; When they have something to bite with their teeth, They cry, "Peace," But against him who puts nothing in their mouths They declare holy war. Habakkuk 2:7 "Will not your creditors rise up suddenly, And those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you will become plunder for them. Cry (07121)(qara) means to call or to proclaim. It was a technical word for making an announcement. In the Lxx of Micah 3:5, qara is translated with the verb kerusso which means preach, proclaim loudly, publicly. In the NT kerusso meant to function as a herald (a public crier, an official crier), especially of divine truth Cry "Peace" (shalom - see detailed word study) (cf false prophets in Jer 6:13,14, 8:10,11) - In Micah 3:11 we see they "justify" this claim, "“Is not the LORD in our midst? Calamity will not come upon us.” In Micah 5:5 the prophet foretells of the coming of a true peace, but Micah's peace is not an abstract concept but a Almighty Christ, the Prince of peace (Isa 9:6). You can see the "advertisement" in the Morning Edition of the Jerusalem Post (circa year 700BC) = "Prophets for hire! Our message is guaranteed to tickle your ears!" (2Ti 4:3-4-note) "Prophecy for pay!" (cf our modern ungodly "televangelists!) If the price is right they proclaim pious platitudes of peace (thus they counterfeit the true peace proffered by the true Prophet, Messiah in Mic 5:5, cf Eph 2:14-note). The perversion of the office of prophet (speaking forth variety) is sadly still rampant in the modern church! Compare a true prophetes rebuke of sin (Mic 3:12). But (term of contrast) - a "change of tune" for those who refuse perks to the prophets! Against him who puts nothing in their mouths, they declare holy war ("jihad," the antithesis of shalom or peace) - A declaration of war was the false prophet's price for anyone not paying their price for prophecy! This is a clear case of "Holy coercion!" Jesus' warning is apropos... Beware (prosecho in the present imperative = calls for continual vigilance) of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. (Mt 7:15-see notes on false prophets) Allen - To “preach holy war” or “wage a religious campaign” refers to the sacred preparations made in ancient Israel before undertaking a war against God’s enemies, a crusade against infidels. In this high-sounding phrase Micah echoes the pretentious claims of racketeering prophets to proclaim the vengeance of God against those who could not or would not give them a penny. Davis - There is nothing wrong with a prophet receiving a ‘clergy fee’. As Achtemeier points out, it was customary for prophets in Israel to be given gifts or fees in return for services (1Sa 9:7–8; 1Kings 14:3; 2Kings 4:42; 8:7–9). The sin of Micah’s opponents, however, is that ‘they are letting the size of the fee determine the content of their prophecy’. If you were to butter them up and stump up the shekels from your money-market account, there was a ‘prosperity gospel’ for you. The prophet’s eyes would light up and he would exclaim, ‘Something good is going to happen to you!’ Micah 3:6 Therefore it will be night for you--without vision, and darkness for you--without divination. The sun will go down on the prophets, and the day will become dark over them. night Ps 74:9; Isaiah 8:20-22; Jeremiah 13:16; Ezekiel 13:22,23; Zechariah 13:2-4 without vision Isaiah 29:10; 59:10; Jeremiah 15:9; Amos 8:9,10 NET Micah 3:6 Therefore night will fall, and you will receive no visions; it will grow dark, and you will no longer be able to read the omens. The sun will set on these prophets, and the daylight will turn to darkness over their heads. Therefore - (term of conclusion) Pause and ponder "What's the therefore there for?" In view of the false prophets leading the people astray. Kaiser says therefore "signals the commencement of the sentencing upon those who had violated the sacred and public trust given to them." Allen adds that Micah "prefaces the verdict with “therefore,” which attests its logic and justice. These who have abused their prophetic gifts are doomed to be deprived of them." Beloved, for those of us who have the gift of preaching and teaching, this last statement by Allen (and God's statement in Micah 3:6) should make us tremble at the thought we might be guilty of purposefully mishandling God's holy Word of Truth and Life! It will be night for you--without vision (cp Ps 74:9, Lam 2:9) - No vision means no word from God for these prophets! This declaration is taken by some commentators that Micah is in a sense acknowledging that these prophets have divine enablement to speak. But even if they did have that gift, it is clearly now voided by their misuse of it. Vision (02377) (chazown/chazon from chazah = to see or behold) is a masculine noun meaning a revelation by means of a vision, an oracle, a divine communication. The emphasis is not so much on what is seen but on the message that is conveyed by what is seen. Thus chazon describes a divine revelation conveyed by something seen ("seer"). In this sense vision is somewhat similar to a dream, but as used in Scripture however, a vision is not a typical "dream" but represents an actual experience in which the individual is given superhuman insight or awareness. Dreams (not "day dreams"!) occur only when one is asleep whereas visions can occur while one is awake (cp Da 10:7). Some visions were conveyed by angels to men (Da 10:14). Visions usually conveyed prophetic truths that related to Israel (Da 9:21, 10:14). One of my favorite uses of chazon is Pr 29:18-note "When there is no vision ("prophetic vision"; Lxx = exegetes = literally one who leads on [great description of pastors, teachers!], expounder, interpreter - only 2 other uses in Bible - Ge 41:8, 24; related verb exegeomai of Jesus - Jn 1:18-note), the people are unrestrained, ("run wild!" which is what is transpiring in America circa 2016!), but happy (better "blessed") is he who keeps (observes) the law." The NET Note on Pr 29:18 says "The Hebrew word “vision” (from the verb חָזָה [khazah, “to see”]) refers to divine communication to prophets (as in 1 Sa 3:1) and not to individual goals or plans. C. H. Toy sees a problem here: The most calamitous period of Israel’s history was when prophetic vision was at its height, whereas people were often more obedient when God was silent. He also notes that in the book of Proverbs there is no mention of prophetic teaching with wisdom as a guide. So he emends the word to “guidance” following the LXX (see Proverbs [ICC], 512). The TEV has “guidance”; the NIV retains “revelation.” It must be stated that the prophetic ministry was usually in response to the calamitous periods, calling the people back to God. Without them the downward rush to anarchy and destruction would have been faster than with these prophetic calls from God. Jeremiah 23:16 is instructive "Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the LORD." False prophets give a message from human origin (cp Ezek 13:16), not the Lord and the result is not surprising - futility! Darkness for you--without divination (see note). - Darkness reinforces the decree of no revelation (reminiscent of the days of 1Sa 3:1). The oxymoron of seers unable to see, without spiritual vision. Micah is not giving his "okay" to their practice of divination (forbidden in Dt 18:10), but is saying that even their occult techniques will be futile and fruitless. Divination (07080)(qasam) is derived from an Arabic root which primarily means to distribute, divide, decide (by God or so-called fate) and then to determine by lot or magical scroll, and thus to divine. The pagans (and sadly Israel) would divine by various methods -- sometimes by examining the position of the stars, and other times through casting lots with arrows, consulting idols, examining animal organs such as the liver (see esp Ezek 21:21) or through conjuring up the dead (a sin King Saul committed in 1Sa 28:8). The goal of divination was to attempt to predict the future or discern hidden knowledge by one of these occult methods. A soothsayer was one who attempted to predict the future by magical, intuitive, or more rational means. Notice that divination was just one of a group of evil (occult) spiritual practices (Dt 18:10) Qasam in this verse is translated in the Lxx by the noun manteia which means divination, prophetic power, power of divination or oracle (manteia also used in Nu 22:23, Dt 18:10, 14, 2Ki 17:17) Zechariah gives an excellent summary of the practices of these men and how their occult "arts" deceived Israel declaring "For the teraphim (see Kitto's interesting discussion) speak iniquity, and the diviners see lying visions and tell false dreams. They comfort in vain. Therefore (term of conclusion) the people wander like sheep, they are afflicted, because there is no shepherd." (Zechariah 10:2) Vine on qasam - Divination was a pagan parallel to prophesying (Dt. 18:10, 14-15—first occurrence.) Qasam is a seeking after the will of the gods, in an effort to learn their future action or divine blessing on some proposed future action (Josh 13:22). It seems probable that the diviners conversed with demons (1Cor 10:20). The practice of divination might involve offering sacrifices to the deity on an altar (Nu 23:1ff.). It might also involve the use of a hole in the ground, through which the diviner spoke to the spirits of the dead (1Sa 28:8). At other times, a diviner might shake arrows, consult with household idols, or study the livers of dead animals (Ezek. 21:21). Divination was one of man’s attempts to know and control the world and the future, apart from the true God. It was the opposite of true prophecy, which essentially is submission to God’s sovereignty (Dt. 18:14). Hagan defines divination as "Communication with a deity (Ed: I would add - a false one at that!) for the purpose of determining the deity's knowledge, resulting in clarification of a decision or discernment of the future. Two forms of divination developed in the ancient Near East, one using inductive manipulation of natural or human phenomena and the other taking intuitive forms of inner revelation." (See the full article on Divination in Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology) Qasam - 20v - conjure(1), divination(2), divine(2), diviner(2), diviners(7), divining(1), practice(1), practiced(1), use(1), uses(1), utter...divinations(1). Notice the prevalence of qasam in the prophetic books. Deuteronomy 18:10 "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 14 "For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do so. Joshua 13:22 The sons of Israel also killed Balaam the son of Beor, the diviner, with the sword among the rest of their slain. 1 Samuel 6:2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, "What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we shall send it to its place." 1 Samuel 28:8 Then Saul disguised himself by putting on other clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, "Conjure up for me, please, and bring up for me whom I shall name to you." 2 Kings 17:17 Then they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and practiced divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him. Isaiah 3:2 The mighty man and the warrior, The judge and the prophet, The diviner and the elder, Isaiah 44:25 Causing the omens of boasters to fail, Making fools out of diviners, Causing wise men to draw back And turning their knowledge into foolishness, Jeremiah 27:9 "But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, 'You will not serve the king of Babylon.' Jeremiah 29:8 "For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. Ezekiel 13:9 "So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, that you may know that I am the Lord GOD. 23 therefore, you women will no longer see false visions or practice divination, and I will deliver My people out of your hand. Thus you will know that I am the LORD." Ezekiel 21:21 "For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he shakes the arrows, he consults the household idols, he looks at the liver. 23 "And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes; they have sworn solemn oaths. But he brings iniquity to remembrance, that they may be seized. 29 while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you-- to place you on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end. Ezekiel 22:28 "Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD has not spoken. Micah 3:6 Therefore it will be night for you-- without vision, And darkness for you-- without divination. The sun will go down on the prophets, And the day will become dark over them. 7 The seers will be ashamed And the diviners will be embarrassed. Indeed, they will all cover their mouths Because there is no answer from God. 11 Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe, Her priests instruct for a price And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the LORD saying, "Is not the LORD in our midst? Calamity will not come upon us." Zechariah 10:2 For the teraphim speak iniquity, And the diviners see lying visions And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd. Allen - The sinister figure of night is a multiple metaphor which alludes to calamity afflicted by God as well as to the loss of prophetic enlightenment. Shades will gather and smother in their gloom that good light which has been put to evil ends. Matthew Henry - They kept others in the dark, and now God will bring them into the dark. The Proverbs describe the consequence of a people who don't have a word from God and are therefore in darkness... Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law. (Pr 29:18-in depth commentary) Kaiser comments - The Hebrew verb pāra [no restraint], was used earlier in Ex 32:25 when Moses saw that the people at the golden calf “were running wild” [or “were unrestrained”] and no doubt influenced its use here. The point is this: abandon the revelation or Word of God, even for forty days, as Israel did at the mount, and people become ungovernable and cast off all restraint! The absence of God’s Word is fatal to any people. Micah concludes that the sentence (unable to see spiritual things) will match the crime (their false visions and divination). It is indeed ironic that the revelations of the false prophets will be cut off at night (NET = "night will fall, and you will receive no visions"), the time they often received their "visions!" (cf NLT paraphrase - "Darkness will cover you, making it impossible for you to predict the future.") Davis - The judgement does not consist in blazing fire or foreign invasion, but in silence and darkness. Compare the words of God through His prophet Amos... Behold (this interjection is always a call for the hearer to "listen up!"), days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “When I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the Words of the LORD. People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east. They will go to and fro to seek the Word of the LORD, but they will not find it. (Amos 8:11-12) The sun will go down on the prophets - As noted above "The coming of night (and darkness in the following line) symbolizes the cessation of revelation." (NET)
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Henry - Those who deceive others are but preparing confusion for their own faces. Because - Pause and ponder this term of explanation - Pause and ask yourself "What is Micah explaining?" There is no answer from God - In the day of God's wrath the prophets' mouths will be stopped because God does not speak to or through them (cp Ps 66:18-note). This judgment parallels that given to the corrupt leaders in Micah 3:4. They are left speechless and with no answers. Micah 3:8 On the other hand I am filled with power-- with the Spirit of the LORD-- and with justice and courage to make known to Jacob his rebellious act, even to Israel his sin. I am Job 32:18; Isaiah 11:2,3; 58:1; Jeremiah 1:18; 6:11; 15:19-21; 20:9; Ezekiel 3:14; Matthew 7:29; Mark 3:17; Acts 4:8-12,19,20; 7:54-57; 13:9-12; 18:5,6,9-11; 1 Corinthians 2:4,12,13 to declare Isaiah 58:1; Ezekiel 16:2; 20:4; 22:2; 43:10; Matthew 3:7-12; Acts 7:51,52 NET Micah 3:8 But I am full of the courage that the LORD's Spirit gives, and have a strong commitment to justice. This enables me to confront (NAS has "courage to make known") Jacob with its rebellion, and Israel with its sin. MICAH'S POWER NOT HIMSELF BUT THE SPIRIT On the other hand I = this an abrupt, strong "adversative" or term of contrast - What/who is being contrasted? False versus true. Darkness versus light. Wrong versus right. Deflated windbags (cf Mic 2:11 - "walking after wind [ruah]" versus a man filled with the "wind" (Spirit = Ruah = wind in motion) of God! Fortunately, God did not leave His people without a true witness, a real prophet, one unafraid to speak the truth, even when the truth hurts. Being a prophet for God is often a lonely calling and requires that one swim against the stream of sin (energized by the the world, the flesh and the devil)! But Micah like Jesus some seven centuries later could say "I am not alone" (Jn 16:32) I am filled with power with (by) the Spirit of the LORD (cf another OT prophet = Isa 48:16, cp NT "prophets" = Acts 1:8-note) - Note that the Holy Spirit is identified with the power! Thus Micah gives the credentials of a true prophet - the power and presence of the Spirit (in addition to justice and courage). Micah's authority was not in his self but God's Spirit! (cf Isa 48:16, 2Pe 1:20-21-note) His power was from the Spirit even as Jesus as the God-Man laid aside His divine prerogatives to give us the perfect example of a Spirit filled Man (cf Jesus in Lk 4:14, Acts 10:38). Every believer today has access to this same supernatural power (dunamis) because of the indwelling Spirit of Christ. (Eph 5:18-note, Ro 15:13-note). Kaiser - What comparison has chaff to wheat or placebos of false preachers to the mighty word of God? None! Chisholm is correct - "The Spirit of God is the sine qua non for effective ministry." It was in Micah's day and is still the case in our day. Lord, give America men like Micah, filled with power by Your Spirit and for Your glory. Amen. John
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Henry asks - Are we full of power at any time, for that which is good? It is purely by the Spirit of the Lord, for of ourselves we are weak as water it is the God of Israel that gives strength and power both to his people and to his ministers. Paul gives us many NT parallels describing his (and our) absolute need for supernatural power... But (contrast = 1Cor 15:9-note) by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. (1Cor 15:10-note) Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2Cor 3:5-6-note, cf Jn 6:63) And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power (dunamis) is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power (dunamis) of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2Cor 12:9-note ; 2Cor 12:10-note) Perhaps as you read this, you sense you are weak and are not experiencing the power which is available to you. You might take a moment and meditate on Isaiah 40:31 which also uses the Hebrew word koach for strength... Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. (Isa 40:31-see in depth discussion of this great passage) Power (3581)(koah/koach - word study) means strength, might, power in many different contexts. It describes physical and psychological strength to stand up against opposition and discouragement. Basically koach is the capacity to do or act and often describes physical strength (Jdg 16:5). Micah 3:8 describes the prophet filled with supernatural power. When koach is applied to God, it suggests His omnipotence in creation (Jer 10:12; 32:17), in the Exodus events (Ex 9:16;15:6), in his capacity to subdue his enemies (Job 36:19), in His power to deliver His people (Isa 63:1). The man is strongest who has discovered the finite limitations of his own capacities in the light of the limitless resources of God through his Spirit (Job 36:22; Isa 40:31; Mic 3:8; Zec 4:6). This same Strong's number and word koach in some contexts means lizard or reptile (Lev 11:30). In Isa 40:29 the prophet uses koach declaring "He (Jehovah) gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power (koach)." The Lxx often translates koach in Micah 3:8 and Isa 40:20 with the Greek word ischus (word study) describes inherent ability, not necessarily the accomplishment. Ischus is inherent power or force. A muscular man’s big muscles display his might, even if he doesn’t use them. It is the reserve of strength. Ischus therefore conveys the sense of endowed power or ability. Vine - The basic meaning of koach is an ability to do something. Samson’s “strength” lay in his hair (Jdg 16:5), and we must keep in mind that his “strength” had been demonstrated against the Philistines. Nations and kings exert their “powers” (Josh 17:17; Da 8:24). It is even possible to say that a field has koach, as it does or does not have vital “powers” to produce and harvest: (Ge 4:12—first occurrence). In the OT it is recognized that by eating one gains “strength” (1Sa 28:22), whereas one loses one’s “abilities” in fasting (1Sa 28:20; 1Ki 19:8). Koach - 121v - NAS translates koach -- ability(3), able(1), able*(2), force(1), fruit(1), might(4), mightily(1), mighty(1), power(40), powerful(1), powerless*(1), strength(65), strong(1), wealth(1). Ge 4:12; 31:6; 49:3; Ex 9:16; 15:6; 32:11; Lev 11:30; 26:20; Num 14:13, 17; Dt 4:37; 8:17f; 9:29; Josh 14:11; 17:17; Jdg 6:14; 16:5f, 9, 15, 17, 19, 30; 1Sa 2:9; 28:20, 22; 30:4; 1Kgs 19:8; 2Kgs 17:36; 19:3; 1Chr 26:8; 29:2, 12, 14; 2Chr 2:6; 13:20; 14:11; 20:6, 12; 22:9; 25:8; 26:13; Ezra 2:69; 10:13; Neh 1:10; 4:10; Job 3:17; 6:11f, 22; 9:4, 19; 23:6; 24:22; 26:2, 12; 30:2, 18; 31:39; 36:5, 19, 22; 37:23; 39:11, 21; 40:16; Ps 22:15; 29:4; 31:10; 33:16; 38:10; 65:6; 71:9; 102:23; 103:20; 111:6; 147:5; Pr 5:10; 14:4; 20:29; 24:5, 10; Eccl 4:1; 9:10; Isa 10:13; 37:3; 40:9, 26, 29, 31; 41:1; 44:12; 49:4; 50:2; 63:1; Jer 10:12; 27:5; 32:17; 48:45; 51:15; Lam 1:6, 14; Da 1:4; 8:6f, 22, 24; 10:8, 16f; 11:6, 15, 25; Hos 7:9; Amos 2:14; Mic 3:8; Nah 1:3; 2:1; Hab 1:11; Zech 4:6. With the Spirit of the LORD (cf the prophet Ezekiel - Ezek 2:2; 3:12, 14, 24 and Amos in Amos 3:8) - Here is a beautiful example of the OT ministry of the Spirit. Recall that when we are "filled with" something (like say wine), that something "controls" us. (See Eph 5:18-see in depth discussion regarding the meaning of being filled with the Spirit). So here we see Micah yielding to the control of the Spirit. And of course it is no surprise that the Spirit's presence is accompanied by power to accomplish the task at hand. It was that way in Micah's day and remains true in our day. We need the Spirit and His power to life the Christian life ("Christ" life), which was always meant to be a supernatural life not a life lived depending on our natural strength and natural tendencies! Recall Jesus' words to those who were to make up the first Church (suggesting that the same "Church" needs the same Source!)... but you will receive power (dunamis) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and (Purpose for the power) you shall be My witnesses (Living supernaturally empowered lives - that testify not just that something is different about their life, but that Someone different indwells them!) both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8-see in depth discussion of this important verse, cf Acts 3:12 = man's dunamis) Peter affirms the role of the Spirit in the OT prophets... But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for (a strategic term of explanation) no prophecy (propheteia) was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (2Pe 1:20-21-see discussion of this frequently misinterpreted passage) Comment: From this passage we see that Micah is claiming in essence to be inspired by the Spirit. Spurgeon agrees that - We must have the Holy Spirit, and if we have Him not, all our machinery will stand still; or if it goes on, it will produce no effect whatever. I heard of a Christian man whose mill-wheel was noticed to be in motion on a certain Sunday. The people going to worship greatly wondered there at; but one who went by set their minds at rest by pointing out that the wheel was only turning idly round, because the water, by accident, was allowed to flow over it. But the man said, ‘It is very like our minister and his sermons. There is no work being done, but the wheel goes round, clickety click, clickety click, though it is not grinding anything.’ Therein it also greatly resembles many an organization for spiritual service: the water is passing over it, glittering as it flows; but the outside motion does not join on to any human need, nor produce any practical result, and nothing comes of the click and hum. Patterson - The work of the Spirit in the lives and ministries of the Old Testament prophets speaks to the very nature of God’s person as a “plurality” of being. A W Tozer - If God were to take the Holy Spirit out of this world, much of what we’re doing in our churches would go right on and nobody would know the difference!...I do not believe in a repetition of Pentecost, but I do believe in a perpetuation of Pentecost—and there is a vast difference between the two. Bill Crowder gives us a pithy Illustration of the Modern Church's Crucial Need for Power... The first winter that my wife Marlene and I were married was marked by severe blizzards. I can vividly remember one Sunday when we awoke to find that the electricity had been knocked out by an ice storm. Huddled around a battery-powered radio for news on that frigid Sunday, we heard a most unusual announcement. The announcer, before giving the list of church services canceled due to the ice storm, said, “The following churches will be closed due to lack of power.” What an interesting comment! I knew what he meant, but I was struck by what he said. The idea of churches closing due to lack of power conjures up some spiritual parallels that directly tie into Jesus’ promise of the Spirit. Just prior to His ascension, Jesus told His men in Acts 1:8, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” He directly attached the coming of the Spirit to the empowering of believers. (Bill Crowder - RBC Ministry - Promise of the Spirit) Vance Havner - Satan has scored a point in making us so afraid of extremism about the Holy Spirit—which abounds indeed—that we may miss the true in our fear of the false. We can be so wary of getting out on a limb that we never go up the tree! John
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Henry - Thus was this man of God thoroughly furnished for every good word he had to say, and every good work he had to do. Those he preached to could not but perceive him to be full both of power and judgment, for they found both their understandings opened and their hearts made to burn within them, with such evidence and demonstration, and with such power, did the word come from him. (Commentary) Micah was like Isaiah who testified... For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed. 8 He who vindicates Me is near; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; Who has a case against Me? Let him draw near to Me. (Isa 50:7-8) Henry