TOPIC: Exploitative Leadership Denounced
TEXT: Micah 3:1-12 (NKJV)
1. And I said: “Hear now, O heads of Jacob, And you rulers of the house of Israel: [Is it] not for you to know justice?
2. You who hate good and love evil; Who strip the skin from My people, And the flesh from their bones;
3. Who also eat the flesh of My people, Flay their skin from them, Break their bones, And chop [them] in pieces Like [meat] for the pot, Like flesh in the caldron.”
4. Then they will cry to the LORD, But He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, Because they have been evil in their deeds.
5. Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets Who make my people stray; Who chant “Peace” While they chew with their teeth, But who prepare war against him Who puts nothing into their mouths:
6. “Therefore you shall have night without vision, And you shall have darkness without divination; The sun shall go down on the prophets, And the day shall be dark for them.
7. So the seers shall be ashamed, And the diviners abashed; Indeed they shall all cover their lips; For [there is] no answer from God.”
8. But 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.
9. Now hear this, You heads of the house of Jacob And rulers of the house of Israel, Who abhor justice And pervert all equity,
10. Who build up Zion with bloodshed And Jerusalem with iniquity:
11. Her heads judge for a bribe, Her priests teach for pay, And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the LORD, and say, “Is not the LORD among us? No harm can come upon us.”
12. Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed [like] a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, And the mountain of the temple Like the bare hills of the forest.
The progress of any church or society hinges squarely on leadership. In today’s passage, Micah denounced greedy false prophets who twist the word of God and exploit the church of God for their own personal gains. They mislead the people of God (vv.5-8). The word of God also addresses leaders of Israel and Judah who detest justice and take bribes to pervert justice (vv.9-11). These ungodly practices of leaders made the rest of the people to stray from the Lord God (v.9), and as a result, the nation suffered serious consequences.
This scenario clearly reflects our country today. People continue to suffer abject poverty even in the midst of abundance, because leadership has become greedy and self-seeking. The dignity and well-being of any society is determined by the moral position of its leaders. The same principles apply even to the church. When clergymen become greedy and self-seeking, the church becomes a field to be ploughed, plundered and exploited instead of a garden to be nurtured and cherished (v. 12). But thank God for prophets like Micah, who determined to stand out in righteousness despite the moral decay of their time (v.8). These are the kind of clergymen and leaders God is looking for today for the church and society. May we rise, like Prophet Micah, to stand against the moral decay of our time!
PRAYER: Lord, make me a leader who will stand boldly for righteousness, justice and truth.
Daily Fountain Quote of the Day
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.— Galatians 3:28-29
