Prophets for Hire
Opening Prayer
O Lord, You are the paragon of integrity. Teach me how to walk in according the integrity of God.
Read Micah 2:6—3:12
6 “Do not prophesy,” their prophets say.
“Do not prophesy about these things;
disgrace will not overtake us.”
7 You descendants of Jacob, should it be said,
“Does the Lord become impatient?
Does he do such things?”
“Do not my words do good
to the one whose ways are upright?
8 Lately my people have risen up
like an enemy.
You strip off the rich robe
from those who pass by without a care,
like men returning from battle.
9 You drive the women of my people
from their pleasant homes.
You take away my blessing
from their children forever.
10 Get up, go away!
For this is not your resting place,
because it is defiled,
it is ruined, beyond all remedy.
11 If a liar and deceiver comes and says,
‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’
that would be just the prophet for this people!
Deliverance Promised
12 “I will surely gather all of you, Jacob;
I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in its pasture;
the place will throng with people.
13 The One who breaks open the way will go up before them;
they will break through the gate and go out.
Their King will pass through before them,
the Lord at their head.”
Leaders and Prophets Rebuked
3 Then I said,
“Listen, you leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel.
Should you not embrace justice,
2 you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people
and the flesh from their bones;
3 who eat my people’s flesh,
strip off their skin
and break their bones in pieces;
who chop them up like meat for the pan,
like flesh for the pot?”
4 Then they will cry out to the Lord,
but he will not answer them.
At that time he will hide his face from them
because of the evil they have done.
5 This is what the Lord says:
“As for the prophets
who lead my people astray,
they proclaim ‘peace’
if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
who refuses to feed them.
6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions,
and darkness, without divination.
The sun will set for the prophets,
and the day will go dark for them.
7 The seers will be ashamed
and the diviners disgraced.
They will all cover their faces
because there is no answer from God.”
8 But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression,
to Israel his sin.
9 Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
and distort all that is right;
10 who build Zion with bloodshed,
and Jerusalem with wickedness.
11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,
her priests teach for a price,
and her prophets tell fortunes for money.
Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say,
“Is not the Lord among us?
No disaster will come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,
the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“Riches I heed not, nor earth’s empty praise, thou mine inheritance, now and always; thou, and thou only, the first in my heart, high King of heaven, my treasure thou art” (8th-century Irish hymn revised by Eleanor H. Hull, 1860–1935).
For Micah, the failure of God’s people was largely a failure of leadership. He perceived that leaders in all spheres had failed the people. They had become so corrupt that they approved what was evil and hated what was good. Even priests and prophets, who ought to
have provided a moral compass, were no better than the rest. No longer did they seek to express what was true but only what the rich wanted to hear. Micah, then, cut a lonely figure as he denounced those who pronounced “peace” or well-being (shalom) on well-paying clients but opposed those who could not pay.
I wonder what Micah would say to the social and political leaders of our world today. What would he make of politicians who shape their policies for the benefit of those likely to re-elect them while ignoring the needs of others? What would he make of those who pay more attention to opinion polls and focus groups than to genuinely held values?
Preachers and faith leaders sometimes face similar temptations. This is especially true when their financial support comes directly from those to whom they minister. Should they say what needs to be said and risk impoverishing themselves, or should they say what people want to hear and guarantee their own financial support? Preachers and leaders whose income relies on the goodwill of their hearers are vulnerable to being compromised. Congregations can help their ministers as well as themselves by encouraging them to speak what they see and assuring them of the congregation’s support even when addressing what they see challenges or provokes the people.
Apply
Pray for all who are responsible to speak the truth as they see it. Ask how you might support those who speak and lead with integrity.
Closing prayer
O God, help me as a member of my church to take heed to what the pastor teaches and to apply it to my life.
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