The pronouncement of judgment is a harsh reality to accept. As far as I know sane people are not gluttons for punishment, so when God issues this decree against His people, they must have been shocked.
During this time, many of the people sought “good prophecy” from prophets they paid. For Micah to give such a negative prophecy, the message probably angered the people more than caused fear. Yet here is a declaration for mourning that promised a conqueror of their nation and the division of their families.
The common practice for a conqueror was to take the kids and young adults and kill the rest. Why? You can re-teach and retrain the young people (remember Daniel and his friends) while older people would have been more set in their ways. Older people would also have been seen as a burden on long marches, and military dominance depended on the ability to move quickly. God was warning the people of such a tragedy in verse 16.
Shave your heads in mourning for the children in whom you delight; make yourselves as bald as the vulture, for they will go from you into exile. Micah 1:16 (NIV)
God knew His prophets would be rejected (v. 9) because the people who had remained true to Him – “it has come to Judah” – now were infected by their sinful practices. They were so overcome with sinful practices that the threat of losing their kids was not enough to turn their hearts back to God!
This is the sad commentary of sin. Everyday we see news stories of the horrible abuses against children by parents and others who are entrenched in sinful practices. Sin blinds people to the love of others because sin is a lust for one’s selfish desires. Sin destroys the heart and disconnects those devoured by it from those they affect by its chains of darkness.
Because of this I will weep and wail; I will go about barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl. Micah 1:8 (NIV)
Verse 8 depicts how saddened God had become with His people. Micah would “weep and wail” because God has to turn to judgment as a means of gaining the attention of His people. Micah would go “barefoot and naked” as a means of showing mourning for the loss that was sure to come.
The amazing thing about the judgment pronounced on a nation is the way people react. Americans hate when their sins are pointed out even if the sins are leading to a cataclysmic future. Many Americans have become more concerned with world opinions than in doing right. America (the United States) used to lead in the area of moral character and standards, yet today it turns a blind eye to the brutal violations of human rights of its trade partners – Russia and China to name a couple of nations which brutally violate human rights everyday.
The moral corruption that seeps from many of our leaders into the moral fabric of our society, including the church, is reducing our influence in the world as we fail to balance budgets, to care for our poor, and to maintain the biblical values that were our strength.
- Prayer is replaced with evolution in our schools.
- Moral ethics is replaced with humanistic teachings.
- Absolute truth is replaced with skepticism and doubt and individual interpretation.
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. Romans 1:25 (NIV)
Sin slides into escalation as James MacDonald puts it:
“Unrestricted passion leads to perversion which leads to pandemonium which leads to promoting sin as a means of feeling less guilty.” (Read Romans 1:24-32)
Israel needed a revival yet they lacked the proper fear of God. Sin had twisted their morality so low that relationship with God looked unattainable. But, even in this condition, was it? If the prophets can teach us anything, then it is hope in the midst of calamity.
- How did reading this section of Micah affect you?
- What can we do to start improving the moral fiber that once moved our nation?
- How do you keep yourself from falling into the pit created by unrestricted passion?
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