Drunken Prophet

Micah 2:11

Sounds a bit like it should be the name of a punk band!

This verse is just stating the fact that the people of Judah and Isreal liked hearing the words of prophets, but only when their message was one of good news and joy. This is a warning against false prophets (who would tell people exactly what they wanted to hear).

Micah spoke out against prophets who made people feel comfortable in their sin-full lifestyles.

Some modern-day teachers and preachers can be guilty of this. They are SO concerned with what people want to hear or are pre-occupied with not upsetting anyone, that they can fall into the trap of speaking false-teachings.

A true teacher of God's word speaks of what is real and right, regardless of whether or not it upsets the listeners.

Love you x

This will hurt me more than it will hurt you!

Micah 2:6-7

The whole reason behind this book can be summed up in the last line in 2:7 ....

'His threats are for your own good, to get you on the path again.'

If we feel that the message in this book seems a little harsh, we must remember that God didnt want to take revenge on Isreal (they left Him with no choice, but to punish them!)

Like I have mentioned before, the two cities were like naughty children. They had disobeyed their Father, rejected what was true and right, and needed disciplining.

As a kid, I always thought that I was being picked on or treated unfairly, when my mom would punish me (and Judah and Isreal probably felt the same). However, as I look back on things now, I can see that my mom had my own best interests at heart.

If we only listen out for God's words of comfort, we risk missing many important lessons within our lives. We must listen whenever God speaks to us, even when the message is hard to take.

I was thinking (yes! I do sometimes!) earlier in the week about how most of the prophets usually only had words of 'Doom and Gloom', and that most prophets had to let people know that they were in the wrong.

I wonder what you must have thought, if you saw a known-prophet heading towards your town? . . . . "oh no!, look whose on his way to tell us how crap we are !" (its no wonder that Jonah was reluctant to take his message to the Ninevites!)

Maybe its because we are more than willing to hear God's words of "well done!", but suddenly become deaf when He wants to warn us or tell us off.

Love you x

Dirge of despair

Micah 2:3-5

After revealing that all this nasty stuff is going on in both cities (2:1-2), Micah now informs us of what is going to happen to the guilty parties of these accusations.

This passage sounds a little bit like what hell will be like.

Evil will be rewarded with evil.

Never again will they be proud after God has finished with them!

These are God's chosen people and the land they are living in was given to them by God, but now God has promised to take away that land and give it to others.

God never goes back on a promise.

Love you x

Let sleeping dogs lie

Micah 2:1-2

"Yo! Listen up!" _ Micah is warning those people in positions of power. They are taking advantage of the "little people", the folk they consider below them and God aint too happy (again!).

Back-stabbing and jealousy were happening left, right and center. Check out 1Kings 21:1-15 for an example. Isreal's very own King Ahab was sulking cuz he couldnt have what he wanted, Naboth's vinyard. So, his wife (Jezebel) arranged for Naboth to be killed, in order to gain posession of the vinyard for Ahab.

It was countless unnecessary acts of

violence and greed that got God so angry.

Micah also speaks against people who planned evil deeds at night and got up mega early to do them.

I think we need to be careful that when we lie down to sleep at night that we aint stewing over things that have happend in the daytime. It cant be healthy to keep all these feelings inside.

Evil thoughts are surely followed by evil deeds as reliably as night follows day.

Love you x