As Micah the prophet
continued his concern over the absence of good men being on the
earth, he described the way people continually conspired to trap and
take advantage of one another. He told how they used “both
hands” as leaders and judges eagerly asked for bribes and
uttered “mischievous desires” as they weaved together
their plans. In chapter seven and verse four, Micah describes these
wicked leaders as “a briar” and “a thorn hedge”
and promises the “day of your watchman and your visitation”
where we read:
The best of them is
as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge:
The
verse begins, “The best of them is as a brier:
the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge:” As
a description for the way these men were, Micah wrote, “The
best” or “good, pleasant and most agreeable” “of them
is as a briar” which means “thorn or prickly plant”. He
continued, “the most upright” which refers to the most
“straight, correct, right, pleasing, proper and straightforward”
“is sharper than a thorn hedge” or a “hedge made from
thorn bushes”. Anyone who dared to be involved with these
pernicious men were going to be “scratched or pricked” by their
activity and would be as those who are trapped without escape by a
hedge of thorns surrounding them.
The verse continues, “the
day of your watchmen and your visitation comes; now
shall be their perplexity.” Micah
gave a warning as he declared, “the day”
or “time period” “of your watchmen”
which refers to those who “look out or about, spy, keep
watch, observe and watch closely” “and your visitation”
or “oversight, care, custody, mustering, store and punishment”
“comes” which means “enters, is brought in or
introduced”. Though these wicked doers may have thought they
escaped even the judgment of the LORD, Micah warned their “watchmen”
would see the retribution in a time when the LORD would judge
them for their evil, and the result would be “now shall be their
perplexity” or “confusion and confounding”.
As we think about Micah's
words, we may have have thought of people whom it seems are like
briars and thorns when we are around them. Every effort we make to
align ourselves with them seems to result in nothing more than
prickles and scratches, and we wonder if their pernicious efforts
towards us are meant to “hedge” us in by their wicked ways. We
can be sure the LORD knows our plight, and sometimes the best we can
manage is to realize the LORD is watching and will exercise
retribution in His good time. Though they believe themselves to be
carefree in their abrasive and prickly devises, we can be certain
there will be a time when their “watchmen” and
“visitation” comes. When these people enter our lives, and
every effort we make seems to result in a trap, we should take advice
from David the King of Israel who in chapter seven and verse ten in
the book of Psalms wrote:
My defense is
of God, which saves the upright in heart.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment