As Micah the prophet reacted
to the lack of good and upright men in the earth, he began to list
the disparities and wickedness found within those who remained. They
“all” laid “in wait for blood” and they hunted
“every man his brother with a net”. Rather than loving one
another as the LORD had commanded, these wicked men only sought to
take advantage of one another. In chapter seven and verse three,
Micah shares an even more descriptive statement about these evil
doers where we read:
That they may do evil
with both hands earnestly, the prince asks, and the judge asks
for a reward; and the great man, he utters his mischievous
desire: so they wrap it up.
The
verse begins, “That they may do evil with both hands earnestly,”
Micah gave more specific reasons for these evil men conspiring
against others as he wrote, “That they may do evil” which
is the Hebrew word “ra” and means “bad, unpleasant, worse, sad
and unhappy” “with both hands” or “with both palms and
hollow or flat part of the hands” “earnestly” which
means “well, good, pleasingly or gladly”. The idea is that they
work ferociously and eagerly to take advantage of their fellowman.
The
verse goes on to say, “the prince asks, and the judge
asks for a reward;” These
wicked men of whom Micah writes are guilty of asking for bribes.
Micah wrote, “the prince” which
refers to the “ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official and
captain” “asks” or “borrows or begs”, “and the
judge” who was the one who “governs, vindicates, punishes and
decides controversies” “asks for a reward” which is a
“requital, retribution or bribe”. In other words, the leadership
over the people were asking for bribes to persuade their judgments
and rulings.
Finally
the verse says, “and the great man, he
utters his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.” Micah
continued with, “and the great man”
which is a reference to the “important and distinguished man” “he
utters” or “speaks,
declares, converses, commands, promises, warns and threatens” “his
mischievous” or “engulfing and ruinous” “desire”
which means “soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite,
mind, living being, emotion and passion”. Micah added, “so
they wrap it up” which means “wind and weave it all
together”. Like a great tapestry these wicked doers weave in one
evil after another, and those over whom they have charge suffer for
their pernicious acts.
As we meditate upon these
words of Micah, we may find that we encounter some of these same
characteristics in leadership today. Do we ever hear of leaders being
influenced by payouts, personal benefits and other rewards such as
luxurious vacations and fancy dinners? Do we find “great”
men pontificating evil practices and “mischievous”
desires? One thing is for sure, as the LORD began to deal with these
wicked men we would not want to be among their company. We must
remember that there is nothing over which the LORD Jesus does not
have control, and though those around us, even if they are leaders,
judges and great men, are still under His command. As the LORD dealt
with these wicked men, we can be certain He will deal with ours. We
must not be one of them, and may the LORD Jesus help us to avoid
their pernicious ways.
Next
time Micah shares even more wicked deeds of these evil men, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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