Micah 3:9 Komentář

What the apostle says of another of the prophets is true of this, who was also his contemporary - "Esaias is very bold," Rom 10:20. So, in this chapter, Micah is very bold in reproving and threatening the great men that were the ringleaders in sin; and he gives the reason (Mic 3:8) why he was so bold, because he had commission and instruction from God to say what he said, and was carried out in it by a higher spirit and power than his own. Magistracy and ministry are two great ordinances of God, for good to his church, but these were both corrupted and the intentions of them perverted; and upon those that abused them, and so abused the church with them, the prophet is very severe, and justly so. I. He gives them their lesson severally, reproving and threatening princes (Mic 3:1-4) and false flattering prophets (Mic 3:5-7). II. He gives them their lesson jointly, putting them together, as acting in conjunction for the ruin of the kingdom, which they should see the ruins of (Mic 3:9-12).

INTRODUCTION TO MICAH 3 In this chapter the prophet reproves and threatens both princes and prophets, first separately, and then conjunctly; first the heads and princes of the people, civil magistrates, for their ignorance of justice, and hatred of good, and love of evil, and for their oppression and cruelty; and they are threatened with distress when they should cry unto the Lord, and should not be heard by him, Mic 3:1; next the prophets are taken to task, for their voraciousness, avarice, and false prophesying; and are threatened with darkness, with want of vision, and of an answer from the Lord, and with shame and confusion, Mic 3:5; and the prophet being full of the Spirit and power of God, to declare the sins and transgressions of Jacob and Israel, Mic 3:8, very freely declaims against princes, priests, and prophets, all together; who, though guilty of very notorious crimes, yet were in great security, and promised themselves impunity, Mic 3:9; wherefore the city and temple of Jerusalem are threatened with an utter desolation, Mic 3:12.

Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel,.... As an instance of his boldness, courage, and impartiality, he begins with the principal men of the land, and charges them with sins, and reproves for them, and denounces judgments on account of them; See Gill on Mic 3:1; that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity; a sad character of princes, rulers, and judges, who not only ought to know but to love judgment, justice, and equity, and do them; even take delight and pleasure in the distribution of them to everyone, and in every cause that came before them; but, instead of this, hated to do that which was right and just; and perverted all the rules and laws of justice and equity, clearing the guilty, and condemning the innocent.

(Verse 9 onwards) Hear this, rulers of the house of Jacob, and judges of the house of Israel: you who abhor justice and pervert all that is right, who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity. Its rulers give judgment for a bribe, its priests teach for a fee, its prophets divine for money, yet they lean upon the Lord and say, 'Is not the Lord in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.' Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field, Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height. LXX: Hear this, you leaders (or judges) of the house of Jacob and the remnant of the house of Israel, who despise justice and pervert all that is right; who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity. Its leaders make judgments for a bribe, its priests teach for a price, and its prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the Lord and say, 'Is not the Lord in our midst? No disaster will come upon us.' Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will be a watchman's hut, and the mountain of the Lord will be a wooded hill. No one doubts that Jerusalem, because of the crimes described in this chapter, was overthrown, and that a warning had preceded to either the judges or the false prophets: Listen, leaders of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel. And after a few verses: Thus says the Lord about the prophets who deceive my people, and the rest: now, generally and against the judges, and against the false prophets, and against the priests, and against those who promised themselves knowledge of God, the prophetic discourse is woven, and it accuses them that because of their crimes, Zion will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will collapse like a heap of stones, and the mountain of the temple will become a high forest. We see the fulfillment of what was said: the eloquence of the lips is proven by the eyes; the testimony of prophecy is seen. This very testimony is also written in the volume of Jeremiah (Jer. 26), where mention is made of the prophet Micah and the devastation of Jerusalem. The judges and rulers of the house of Jacob, and the house of Israel, that is, the twelve tribes, not only did not administer justice, but they abhorred it and twisted everything that was right, so that not even a little justice remained in the city. Those who built Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity, plundering the poor, killing the innocent, and slaying the saints. And if any of the princes seemed to judge what was right, they would sell their verdict, and they would judge based on bribes. The priests also did not teach the people unless they received payment; and when it is said to the holy ones, 'You have received for free, give for free' (Matt. X, 8), they, bringing forth money as payment, sold the grace of the Lord for a greedy wage. And after these evils, not understanding their sin, they would pretend to redeem the love of God with their wickedness, saying that they were judges, priests, and prophets of God, and according to their unrepentant heart they would say: The Lord is among us, and no evils will come upon us. Therefore, because they did not repent, and the entire people followed the vices of the leaders, priests, and prophets, Zion will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will become a heap of stones, and the temple, which once shone with gold and silver, will collapse into complete ruin. These things happened against the Jewish people, whose true captivity and extreme destruction, and not only because of previous crimes, but especially because of the shedding of the Lord's blood, were inflicted. Hence Zion was plowed like a field, and Jerusalem was turned into mounds of stones, and that once noble and towering temple was reduced to ashes. But if anyone applies these things that are said about Jerusalem and Zion to the Church (for it is indeed the house of Jacob and the house of Israel, according to what is written in Isaiah: 'Jacob, my servant, I will uphold him' - Isaiah 41:8), And that to Timothy: That you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church (1 Tim. 3:15), this will clearly see that the rulers of the house of Jacob, and the rest from the house of Israel (or, as it is better written in Hebrew) the judges of the house of Israel, are none other than bishops, presbyters, and deacons, who, unless they diligently keep their hearts guarded, abhor judgment and overturn all that is right: for when they judge according to the person, and in the dispute of a case the merit of the cause does not hold, but the power of the offenders, do they not abhor judgment and pervert all that is right? But it can also be understood in another way, that the leaders of the house of Jacob and the judges of the house of Israel detest and reject judgment, turning away from the judgment of God and distorting every rule of the Scriptures with evil interpretations. These people build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with wickedness. For when Scripture commands: 'Do not bring the wicked into the dwelling of the righteous' (Psalm 5), and the Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit: whoever ordains clerics from among their followers and exposes their way of life as a scandal to the people, they are guilty of the unfaithfulness of those who are scandalized (Matthew 18). Where it is said to be expedient for a man, that a millstone be tied around his neck and be thrown into the depth, so as to scandalize one of the least of the Church. And when the prophet Malachi calls the priests angels (Malachi 2), and their mouth is the oracle of the Lord (Deuteronomy 19), they judge without accepting bribes, reading: Gifts blind even the eyes of the wise, and like a bridle on the mouth turn away reproof (Ecclesiasticus 20); and when it is said to the apostles: Do not possess gold, or silver, or brass in your belts (Matthew 10, 9): and let money earned even through labor be cast out of the hands of a holy man, they sell the words of the Lord, and buy doves in the temple. But even the prophets of Jerusalem practiced divination for money, not realizing that prophecy and divination are two different things: for divination is never regarded favorably in the Scriptures. 'There is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel,' says the augur (Num. 23:23). The prophets thought they were prophesying, but because they accepted money, their prophecy became divination. The Apostle Peter declared, 'Silver and gold I do not have' (Acts 3:6). He could have sold what Simon Magus was seeking, or he could have pretended to sell it (for the Holy Spirit cannot be bought or sold), but Peter condemned the money offered to him along with the offerer (Acts 8). Now you see that the prophets of Jerusalem do not have prophecy in their mouths; but they rest in the Lord and say: No evil will come upon us. Their cause, which is God's watchtower, is divided by the hostile plow; and the once peaceful place is filled with ruins, and the temple of the Lord is turned into thorns and thistles, and it becomes a dwelling place for beasts. Let no one be moved by what we read in the first book of Kings, when Saul wanted to go to Samuel and said to his servant that he could not go because he did not have the price to offer for the prophecy. And the servant replied: Behold, I have found in my hand a quarter of a shekel of money, and I will give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way. For it is not written that Samuel received, or that they offered him, but rather they are fed by the prophet and invited to a meal. But let him receive, the stakes of the tabernacle are more to be valued than the gifts of prophecy. For a shekel is worth twenty obols, and a quarter shekel is worth five obols. And therefore, if our priests want to sell prophecy and offer doves in their chairs, which the Lord overturned with a whip (John 2), let them receive five obols, not the prices of villas. This is also stated in the third book of the Kings, when the wife of Jeroboam, her son being sick, goes to the man of God Achias, and brings him bread and raisins, and a little jar of honey (3 Kings 14). For it is said what she carried with her, and yet it is not written that the prophet received it: for even though he rebuked her and predicted the coming sorrow, those who were accustomed to go to soothsayers (because there were many diviners and soothsayers in Israel) could have mistakenly assumed the same about the prophets, and wished to offer to holy men what they were accustomed to offer to the gods, and to only recount what the prophets desired, without actually bringing what they themselves were either daring to offer or the prophets to receive. The Apostle Paul: Those who serve the altar, he says, partake of the altar and live by it (1 Corinthians 9:13). It is permitted for you, O priest, to live by the altar, not to indulge in luxury. The mouth of the ox that treads out the grain is not muzzled (ibid., 9). We know these things, and yet the Apostle does not abuse this permission: he is content with food and clothing. He labors night and day with his own hands so as not to be a burden to anyone. And he swears in his letters that he has lived in a holy and unselfish manner in the gospel of Christ, and not only of himself, but also of his disciples. He asserts that he has not sent anyone to ask for anything from the churches, nor has he desired to receive anything (1 Thessalonians 3). But if he rejoices in certain Epistles, and calls the gifts of those who send them the kindness of God, he does not collect them so much for himself as for the poor of the saints, who were in Jerusalem. But the holy poor, these were in Jerusalem, who first believed in Christ from the Jews, and were driven out by their parents and relatives, as well as by their affinities, wasting both possessions and all the furnishings of the temple, and had lost everything. If they are such poor people, let them receive. But if a few houses become enriched under the guise of the poor, and we eat gold with glass and clay dishes, or exchange treasures and clothing, or if a poor person does not seek the riches of senators in their attire. What profit is there in not having a linen cloth around the neck to wipe away sweat? What good is it to be a monk and prefer poverty in dress, when our purse is envied by the entire crowd of the poor? Because of this, the reason for our existence, we who are such, who build Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity, who judge for bribes, who answer for rewards, who divine in money, and claiming a false sanctity for ourselves, we say: No evil will come upon us. Let us heed the judgment of the Lord that follows: Zion and Jerusalem, and the mountain of the temple, a watchtower, and a vision of peace, and the temple of Christ in its fulfillment, and in the end, when charity grows cold, and faith becomes rare, as if a field were plowed and turned into mounds, and it will become a high forest or a keeper of fruits: so that where once there were spacious houses and countless heaps of grain, there will scarcely be a small hut preserving the appearance of food, providing nourishment for those who have none.

But when some of those accustomed “to pervert what is right” turn my words aside into what seems best to them, let your holiness not wonder at this. [Know] that those involved in every heresy collect from the divinely inspired Scripture as pretexts of their own divination whatever was spoken truly through the Holy Spirit, corrupting it by their own evil ideas and pouring unquenchable fire upon their very own heads. But since we have learned that some have published a corrupt text of the letter of our all-glorious father, Athanasius, to the blessed Epictetus, a letter which is itself orthodox, so that many are done harm from it, thinking that for this reason it would be something useful and necessary for our brothers, we have sent to your holiness copies of it made from the ancient copy which is with us and is genuine.

In this chapter the prophet inveighs with great boldness and spirit against the princes and prophets of Judah; and foretells the destruction of Jerusalem as the consequence of their iniquity, Mic 3:1-12. The last verse was fulfilled to a certain extent by Nebuchadnezzar; but most fully and literally by the Romans under Titus. See Josephus.

Hear this - An appeal similar to that in Mic 3:1.

THE SINS OF THE PRINCES, PROPHETS, AND PRIESTS: THE CONSEQUENT DESOLATION OF ZION. (Mic 3:1-12) princes--magistrates or judges. Is it not for you?--Is it not your special function (Jer 5:4-5)? judgment--justice. Ye sit in judgment on others; surely then ye ought to know the judgment for injustice which awaits yourselves (Rom 2:1).

Hear--resumed from Mic 3:1. Here begins the leading subject of the prophecy: a demonstration of his assertion that he is "full of power by the Spirit of Jehovah" (Mic 3:8).

II. Zion's Deepest Degradation and Highest Exaltation - Micah 3-5 The prophet's second address is of a predominantly Messianic character. The announcement of the utter desolation of Zion on account of the corruption of both the civil rulers and the spiritual leaders of the nation, with which this address opens in Mic 3:1-12, serves to a certain extent simply as a foil for the prophecy which follows in Mic 4:1-13 and Mic 5:1-15 of the salvation with which the remnant of Israel, that has been rescued throughout the judgment, will be blessed in the future. This salvation is depicted first of all in all its fulness (Mic 4:1-7); then in its gradual development, in the re-erection of the former dominion of the daughter of Zion, by her redemption out of Babylon, and her victory over the powers of the world (Mic 4:8-13); and lastly, in its realization by the Ruler proceeding out of Bethlehem, and by the power and blessing of His rule (Mic 5:1-15). Sins of the Leaders of the Nation, and Destruction of Jerusalem - Mic 3:1-12 The threatening of punishment contained in this chapter is specially directed against the heads and leaders of Israel, and proclaims, in three strophes of four verses each, (a) to the princes, who turn right into wrong and flay the people (Mic 3:1-4), and (b) to the false prophets, who lead the people astray and confirm them in their sin by lying prophecies of peace (Mic 3:5-8), retribution for their wicked conduct; and (c) to all three classes of the divinely-appointed chiefs of the nation - the princes, the priests, and the prophets - the destruction of Jerusalem, and the turning of Zion and the temple mountain into a ploughed field and wooded heights on account of their degeneracy (Mic 3:9-12).

Third strophe. - Mic 3:9. "Hear this, I pray, O he heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, who abhor right, and bend all that is straight. Mic 3:10. Building Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with wickedness. Mic 3:11. Their heads, they judge for reward; and their priests, they teach for hire; and their prophets, they divine for money, and lean upon Jehovah, saying, Is not Jehovah among us? evil will not come upon us." With the words "Hear this, I pray," the address returns to its starting-point in Mic 3:1, but only to announce to the leaders of the people the threat of punishment for which the way has been prepared by Mic 3:2-7. To this end their God-forgetting conduct is briefly summed up once more in Mic 3:10, Mic 3:11. The summons to hear is really attached to the end of Mic 3:8. They are to hear the sin of Jacob (Mic 3:9-11); but they are also to hear the punishment for their sin, to which the word "this" points. The civil rulers only are addressed in Mic 3:9, - namely, those who were charged with the administration of justice and of the affairs of the state, but who did the very opposite, who abhorred justice, and made the straight crooked, because they passed sentence for bribes (Mic 3:11). They thereby build Zion with blood, etc., i.e., obtain the means of erecting splendid buildings by cruel extortions, and partly also by actual judicial murders, as Ahab (1 Kings 21 compared with Mic 6:16), and after him Jehoiakim, had done (Jer 22:13-17). The Chaldeans built with blood in a different sense (Hab 2:12). The participle bōneh (building) is also in apposition to râ'shē bēth (heads of the house, etc.), and the singular without the article is to be taken collectively. They do not, however, truly build the city by this, they simply labour for its destruction (Mic 3:12). But before saying this, Micah once more sums up briefly all the sins of the leading ranks. The teaching of the priests for reward refers to the fact that they had to give instruction as to the ritual requirements of the law, and were to do this gratuitously (cf. Lev 10:11; Deu 17:11; Deu 33:10), and that in disputed cases the judges were to pronounce sentence accordingly. At the same time, these men (not the prophets merely, but also the priests and the heads of the nation as the administrators of justice) placed their reliance upon Jehovah, upon the assurance that He was in the midst of them enthroned in His temple at Jerusalem, and that He would protect the city and its inhabitants from misfortune, without ever reflecting that Jehovah as the Holy One demands sanctification of life, and exterminates the sinners out of His people.