the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 5 of 5
Micah 3:1-12
The false prophets have already been mentioned in ch. 2. How were they to be identified? They tried to silence the true servants of God, such as Micah and Isaiah. They adapted their speeches to the people’s desires to curry favour (cf. Romans 16:18). They flattered the passions of their hearers (Micah 2:11) and lulled their souls to sleep in a false confidence. Worst of all, in addition to their search for popularity, they accepted payment for their services (v. 11). They showed insatiable greed and sold their lies at a very high price (v. 5; Isaiah 56:11; Jeremiah 6:13). But their task was so much easier in that the world, by and large, "heap to themselves teachers . . . after their own lusts", so as to cover their own misdeeds (2 Timothy 4:3). Think of King Ahab, sadly referred to in yesterday’s notes: 400 prophets deceived him, telling him what he wanted to hear. He listened to them . . . whilst he threw into prison the prophet Micaiah, the only one who told him the truth (1 Kings 22:1-53; 2 Chronicles 18:1-34).
God’s servant is "full of power by the spirit of the LORD" (a state which ought to characterise all of us: v. 8; Ephesians 5:18). He warns the responsible element among the people – the rulers and the princes. Jeremiah 26:17-19, quoting our v. 12, teaches us what a salutary result this prophecy achieved.
