Micah 3
Outline
I. \\#Mic 1:1-16\\ A Nation Destroyed
A. \\#Mic 1:1\\ An Introduction
B. \\#Mic 1:2-7\\ The Coming Judge
C. \\#Mic 1:8-9\\ Micah’s Reaction
D. \\#Mic 1:10-15\\ The Sin Belt
II. \\#Mic 2:1-13\\ Loss of the Land
A. \\#Mic 2:1-5\\ Sins and Consequences
B. \\#Mic 2:6-13\\ A Message to the People
III. \\#Mic 3:1-12\\ Judgment on the Leaders
A. \\#Mic 3:1-4\\ A Word to the Rulers
B. \\#Mic 3:5-7\\ A Word to the Prophets
C. \\#Mic 3:9-12\\ A Word of Truth
IV. \\#Mic 4:1-13\\ A Bright Future
Notes:
I. \\#Mic 3:1-12\\ Judgment on the Leaders
A. \\#Mic 3:1-4\\ A Word to the Rulers
1. \\#1\\ "Hear …heads of Jacob" - God is speaking to the
leaders of the nation, primarily to Judah.
2. "Is it not for you to know judgment?" God often reveals
truth by asking questions. God was asking the leaders
that if anyone in the nation should know justice, should
it not be those appointed to lead? The answer is YES.
3. \\#2-3\\ God describes the sins of the rulers.
a. \\#2\\ They "hate the good and love the evil"
b. \\#2-3\\ Through different statements, God pictures
the rulers cannibalizing the people, that is,
devouring them for their own needs and pleasure.
c. These words vividly illustrate God’s view of leaders
who use those they lead for their own profit! It is
a abomination which God will surely punish.
4. \\#4\\ "Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not
hear"
a. God will only tolerate sin for so long until He will
refuse to have any mercy on the sinner as he receives
the reward of his sins.
b. Judah had crossed that line so that God refused both
to hear or to see them when their judgment came.
c. "as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings."
And why? Because they chose the path that lead them
to that end.
B. \\#Mic 3:5-7\\ A Word to the Prophets
1. \\#5\\ "Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets"
God turns His attention to the false prophets.
2. The sins of the false prophets:
a. "that make my people err" - The prophets had not lead
the people down the right paths either. While God
will judge the people for their sins, those charged
with leading them will face a heavier punishment.
b. "they bite with their teeth" - Like the rulers, the
prophets had devoured the people for their benefit.
c. "and cry, Peace"
(1) While God’s prophets had been warning of a coming
judgment, the false prophets had been
encouraging the people in their sins by telling
them peace and prosperity lay ahead.
(2) "he that putteth not into their mouths" - God is
the One who HAD NOT put words of peace into the
mouths of the false prophets. The false message
of peace had originated with the false prophets.
d. "they even prepare war against him" - The false
prophets by their lies and wickedness, were setting
the people against God, to resist and fight Him.
3. \\#6\\ "Therefore night shall be unto you" - God repeated
the statement in several different ways but they all
mean the same.
a. A period of darkness (judgment, evil, despair) was to
come upon these false preachers.
(1) Without doubt, God was speaking of the Assyrian
conquest.
(2) However, it is possible that this was dual
reference prophecy with God looking ahead to the
400 years of silience between the Old and the
New Testaments.
b. Although all of the nation would suffer in this
judgment, it would be a divine retribution from God
upon the false prophets.
4. \\#7\\ "Then shall the seers be ashamed"
a. When the judgment came, the false prophets would have
no word to answer the people. At that time, they
would be exposed as the frauds they were.
b. The Assyrian conquest, although swift in comparison to
how many cities were conquered and the fact that a
nations were falling, still took enough time that the
people had opportunity to realize their sin, their
destiny, and to see who the true and false prophets
were.
C. \\#Mic 3:9-12\\ A Word of Truth
1. \\#8\\ Amos contrasts himself to the false prophets
a. "But truly" - Sets the state for a sharp contrast.
b. "I am full of the spirit of the Lord"
(1) Micah was a man filled with the Holy Ghost.
(2) Yes, these were merely words and no doubt the
false prophets made the same claim; however,
Micah’s words would soon be vindicated by God.
c. "and of judgment and of might"
(1) Sadly, the vindication would come in the form of
God’s promised judgments. At which time, God
will have turned His eyes and hears from the
people \\#Mic 3:4\\.
(2) Judah had put themselves into a "no win"
situation.
d. "to declare unto Jacob …and to Israel his sin" - God
does not fill men with His Spirit for no reason.
When He does, they will have a word from the Lord.
Micah’s word would not bring repentance as much as it
would make a declaration of what was to happen.
2. \\#9\\ "Hear this …heads of …Jacob and princes"
Micah continued to speak to the same leaders he had
already mentioned in this chapter.
a. Those who "abhor judgment and pervert all equity."
b. \\#11\\ Those who "judge for reward and …teach for
hire."
c. Those who "divine for money" while "they lean upon the
Lord" - That is, they claim to speak for God,
claiming to be His servant, but all the while, merely
lining their pockets.
d. Those who say "none evil can come upon us."
3. \\#10\\ The false leaders were "building up Zion with
blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity" - How sad it is when
leaders lead people toward evil and death!
4. \\#12\\ "Therefore" - So here is what would happen.
a. "shall Zion …be plowed as a field" - Zion, one of
the hills that Jerusalem sat upon, would be cleared
of all structures. It would be vacant like a plowed
field.
b. "Jerusalem shall become heaps" - The city of Jerusalem
would be a collection (heaps) of broken stone and
rock.
c. "and the mountain of the house as the high places of
the forest"
(1) The "mountain of the house" would have been Mount
Moriah, the hill that the temple, God’s house,
was built upon.
(2) Would be used for false worship like people used
the high hills of the forest, a forbidden
practice but one being done all through this
pagan nation.
d. Because God delivered the city of Jerusalem from the
Assyrian conquest during Hezekiah’s reign, this
prophecy was not be completely fulfilled until the
Babylonians came.
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