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Woe to the Oppressors
2 Woe to those who devise wickedness
and work evil on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
because it is in the power of their hand.
They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
a man and his inheritance.
Therefore thus says the LORD:
behold, against this family I am devising disaster,
from which you cannot remove your necks,
and you shall not walk haughtily,
for it will be a time of disaster.
In that day they shall take up a taunt song against you
and moan bitterly,
and say, “We are utterly ruined;
he changes the portion of my people;
how he removes it from me!
To an apostate he allots our fields.”
Therefore you will have none to cast the line by lot
in the assembly of the LORD.
“Do not preach”—thus they preach—
“one should not preach of such things;
disgrace will not overtake us.”
Should this be said, O house of Jacob?
Has the LORD grown impatient?
Are these his deeds?
Do not my words do good
to him who walks uprightly?
But lately my people have risen up as an enemy;
you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly
with no thought of war.
The women of my people you drive out
from their delightful houses;
from their young children you take away
my splendor forever.
Arise and go,
for this is no place to rest,
because of uncleanness that destroys
with a grievous destruction.
If a man should go about and utter wind and lies,
saying, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,”
he would be the preacher for this people!
I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob;
I will gather the remnant of Israel;
I will set them together
like sheep in a fold,
like a flock in its pasture,
a noisy multitude of men.
He who opens the breach goes up before them;
they break through and pass the gate,
going out by it.
Their king passes on before them,
the LORD at their head.
(ESV)
Micah 2 Commentary
by Hank Workman
Premeditated sin – this is the topic here as Micah opens up with some pretty harsh statements to these who think and plot against the character of God and His ways. They carry out oppression against the weak. The people as a whole have rejected the nature of God. They’ve strayed from His ways, taken their own selfish behaviors as a foundation. As expected, the response from God is it’s going to become terrible for them.
What was Micah’s response as the mouthpiece for God? How did he live the character of Him before these people? Seriously, how did he go on and keep his head through such disappointment? Hold on, we’ll get to that in a moment.
What do you do with the burdens you have for people? How does it affect your relationship even? What about how you pray, what you speak of when with them and so forth? How do you handle these who continue to throw their lives away?
These are hard questions. Honestly, there have been many books written on such a topic. But these are questions we truly should wrestle with concerning the people in our lives who deliberately walk from the ways of God, premeditate sinful choices and are so far from the presence of the Holy Spirit.
This feels deeply personal as I write this, simply because I’m wrestling with the same questions today. After investment in someone, having labored throughout the years, I have witnessed God show up to this person in ways beyond belief. Those miracle stories are tremendous. I mean, God showed himself, revealed himself in ways that almost were catered to this individual’s mindset and spoke deeply to the heart.
Choices however led him far away from the Presence of God. Actually, I’m more shocked at where things are now than where he had been. He stands in a pile of wreckage unfathomable as he’s lost everything. The stranger part of the story is simply, so many terrible things have come his way that should jolt his attention, grab his heart and it’s done nothing of the kind.
Maybe you have a relationship like this as well. Maybe you have someone you’ve watched God work in their lives boldly and with direct purpose. Yet for whatever reason, they’ve made an about face and are far, far away from the God they love; The God who redeemed them.
Within the prophecy written in this chapter of destruction, God has a message for the people who remain faithful. He speaks to Israel itself but the words are a great reminder of such a conflict.
“I will surely assemble all of you, Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel. I will put them together like sheep in the fold; Like a flock in the midst of its pasture They will be noisy with men. 13 “The breaker goes up before them; They break out, pass through the gate and go out by it. So their king goes on before them, And the LORD at their head.”
Micah 2:12-13 NASB
Though judgment promised, what this reminds us is there is no way to ‘out sin’ the grace of God. He promises restoration to the faithful remnant. But it is the last verse speaking of the Breaker who goes before them, ultimately the King Jesus who leads the way. He is the One advancing the remnant of the faithful through whatever comes upon them. He’s the Head, the Trailblazer through the hardship.
Even when we’re struggling in our dealings with those burdens of people who have wandered far from the grace of God – the reminder is to rely on Jesus as our Head who leads the way. He’s the One who will help us know how to respond, what to do and where to go as He’s in front of us.
Now back to the original question posed of Micah and how he responded to the burdens he carried.
Micah’s ministry began under King Jotham. No one listened. After this King passed, King Ahaz took the throne. Micah continued to speak. No one listened. Finally, during King Hezekiah’s reign, he continued his prophesies and the leaders and people repented. Micah never gave up. Even though the results were slow, hard to see anything changing, he remained consistent. They estimate it was anywhere between 16-25 years before he witnessed any change.
The charge for us? Don’t give up with the burden that burns within. Don’t underestimate the grace of God for these in your life. Keep Jesus at the head, as the leader, and rely on Him to instruct what to say, how to respond and let the Holy Spirit do the rest in the lives of the people of whom you can’t escape such sorrow for. He is the Master of breakthroughs and is at work even when we don’t comprehend or see it. Stay consistent. Stay in prayer. Dare not make a move or voice a thought without His instruction.
Micah 2 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
People only want to hear what tickles their ears. They don’t want to hear the truth.
“Men haven’t changed much. They don’t want to hear really of the judgment of God that is to be meted out against a sinful generation. They want to hear, “All is well. All is going to be good. Don’t worry, it’s all going to work out. Cheer up! Keep your head up. Think positively because we’re going to come through on top.” People say, “Oh, tell me more, tell me more,” as the whole thing is going down the tubes. And so they don’t want to hear the truth. And God is rebuking them that they will not listen to His truth. They would rather hear a lie than the truth.”
Chuck Smith
God always takes what is left and begins a new work. He always focuses on the remnant who follow Him.
“But even from captivity God would restore His people, breaking the way through walls of difficulty. Our Breaker is the Lord Jesus who broke the way for us from the prison-house of death. Let us follow Him as He passes on His way to victory.”
F.B. Meyer
“In this blackest hour he looked forward with confidence to a fresh revelation of the God whom Israel had found to be their help in ages past.”
New International Commentary – OT
It’s always been about God. From beginning to end, He is the One who changes a human heart. He is the One who begins a good work. He is the One who goes to the cross to pay for our sin. God has always offered hope in the midst of sorrow and destruction. Can you believe this today?