Micah 3:1 I said, “Please listen, you heads of Jacob,
and rulers of the house of Israel:
Isn’t it for you to know justice?
Micah begins his second sermon by again asking the people to listen.
He begins by addressing the civil leaders, the rulers of the Northern and Southern kingdoms.
And what does Micah say?
The rulers were to understand God’s law and rule with justice. Genesis 18:19 So that they could understand and rule with justice, the kings of Israel were required to read from God’s law every day. Deuteronomy 17:18-20 But because they neglected God’s Word, the rulers of the house of Israel had actually inverted the system of justice, turning it on its head. They should have loved the good and hated the evil but because evil men do not understand justice, Proverbs 28:5, instead they loved evil and hated the good.
Micah 3:2 You who hate the good,
and love the evil;
who tear off their skin,
and their flesh from off their bones;
3 who also eat the flesh of my people,
and peel their skin from off them,
and break their bones,
and chop them in pieces, as for the pot,
and as meat within the cauldron.
Nothing ever changes. Like Israel of old, the Church today needs to know justice.
God’s justice teaches:
It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgment.
Proverbs 24:23
Do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.
Exodus 23:2-3
Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great. Judge everyone fairly.
Leviticus 19:15
Perhaps you have heard of the counterfeit term for God’s justice known as social justice. Social justice is nothing more than a deceptive philosophy invented by those who hate the good and love the evil. Because Biblical justice reflects the ultimate good of God’s character true justice never changes.
God is the Rock. His works are perfect and all His ways are just… upright and just is He. Deuteronomy 32:4
Rulers are to imitate God and judge everyone equally under the law. In contrast, by placing the adjective social in front of justice, social justice reflects an ever-changing social standard. And what is the new standard?
According to the UN, (un.org), Social justice is defined as “redistributive” justice, meaning that people are judged differently based on artificial categories, such as race, gender, income, education, religion, nationality, and economics. The stated goal of social justice is equity rather than justice. This means that regardless of where you started in life, the decisions you have made, how much education you have, how hard you have worked, how much you have risked, how much you have saved, or even what crimes you have committed, under social justice everyone is to have the exact same outcome. There are to be no inequities in terms of income, wealth, authority, education, or benefits in society. This naturally breeds division within the society or within the Church, pitting races, classes, and genders against one another: “You have more than me. That’s not fair!”
However, as you read through the Bible you will discover that God’s justice is based on obedience to His law not on shifting social categories. Unfortunately some in the Church are in the process of discarding God’s true justice while teaching the lie of social justice.
Judging people by differing standards on the basis of race, ethnicity, melanin, nationality, wealth, sex, gender, age, intelligence, beauty, and other worldly categories encourages people to see themselves as victims and encourages suspicion, mistrust, resentment and hostility. In contrast, God teaches that believers are to never harbor resentment. We are to be characterized by love. We are to freely forgive those who wrong us. Matthew 6:12, 1 Corinthians 13:5
Christ chided the religious leaders of His day for making the same mistake. Saying…
When it is evening you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening. You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. Matthew 16:1-3
Similarly, some Church leaders, having lost the ability to interpret the signs of the times, have brought the false cultural teachings of social justice into the Church.
Without the eternal reference point of God’s law the new standard is a moving target based on the selfish character of men who want to do things their way, ignoring God or pretending that God does not exist. The “God is dead” movement in the 1960’s intentionally created a vacuum by discarding God’s truth.
For hundreds of years higher values were rooted in the assumption of an absolute order in the universe, guaranteed by God. Where God and morality and religion were relativized Western Culture was undermined.
(Michael Harrington, The Politics at God’s Funeral. Penguin Books, 1983).
Social justice is a philosophy of the father of lies. It has purposefully given the world the bitter fruit of conflict, division and rivalry, intentionally stirring up conflict in the community, but that is a discussion for another day. (See my book, And Justice for All)
The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties — but right through every human heart…
(Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago , Harper Collins, 1974)
Biblical justice insists on judging every man and every woman equally by the God’s Law. As strange as it may sound to folks today, the Biblical idea that everyone is equal before God’s law literally changed the world bringing order, prosperity, health, literacy, and true compassion.
Justice is the pillar of society and truth is the necessary foundation. A society that fails to be a just society will soon become a society where injustice prevails giving way to chaos… Without grounding in the Transcendent justice becomes relative where right is measured by conflicting social constructs.
(Bruce Little PhD, Professor of Philosophy, Wake Forest, Can Justice Exist Apart From Truth?)
If there are no absolutes, if truth is relative then there can be no stability, no meaning in life. If reality is socially constructed, then moral guidelines are only masks for oppressive power.
(Gene Veith, Postmodern Times, Crossways Books, 1994)
Micah condemned the wicked Old Covenant leaders, because instead of being good shepherds who fed the sheep they discarded God’s truth and were unjust. Because they controlled the system they were the criminals who avoided justice. Micah describes them graphically as feeding on the sheep, usurping the wealth of the sheep for their own advantage. Centuries later Jude warns the New Covenant Church to be on the lookout for the very same type of leaders: Shepherds who feed only themselves. Jude 1:12
Because they only looked out for themselves and not for the people that God had entrusted to their care, God says that when trouble inevitably comes, He will turn a deaf ear to their pleas for help. They had turned a deaf ear to God and His Revelation. They had turned a deaf ear to their people who cried for justice. God will return the favor and turn a deaf ear, ignoring their pleas for help.
Micah 3:4 Then they will cry to Yahweh,
but he will not answer them.
Yes, he will hide his face from them at that time,
because they made their deeds evil.”
5 Yahweh says concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; for those who bite with their teeth, and proclaim, “Peace!” and whoever doesn’t provide for their mouths, they prepare war against him:
6 “Therefore night is over you, with no vision,
and it is dark to you, that you may not divine;
and the sun will go down on the prophets,
and the day will be black over them.
7 The seers shall be disappointed,
and the diviners confounded.
Yes, they shall all cover their lips;
for there is no answer from God.”
Because the leaders of Israel had ignored and turned away from God’s law and had instead made up unjust laws and followed unjust practices to their own advantage God said that when the invading armies arrive He will ignore and turn away from their cries for help:
He will not answer, He will hide His face.
When God refuses to answer their prayers they will cry to their false prophets for help, however, the seers shall be disappointed, the diviner’s confounded. Because God will not answer them, He has left them without vision.
It may seem like a tantalizing idea to live ‘Your Best Life Now’ doing whatever seems right to you in your own eyes, Judges 17:6, but that ignores reality as the Creator made reality. And, as Micah has taught, ignoring or defying God puts you on a collision course with the judgment of God.
How many of us are willing to oppose the injustice in our world by proclaiming the undiluted message of sin, repentance, and hope, in our churches and in our world, to our friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family?
Listen to what Micah says.
Micah 3:8 But as for me, I am full of power by Yahweh’s Spirit,
and of justice, and of might,
to declare to Jacob his disobedience,
and to Israel his sin.
Micah had uncommon courage. He was willing to boldly go before the Kings of his day, the most powerful and fearful rulers of his land, with the uncompromising proclamation of God’s justice. He was full of power by Yahweh’s Spirit… and of might.
The amazing thing about the New Covenant Church is that, like Micah, God has filled us with His Spirit. Acts 4:31 As such, our God expects us to display the same boldness in our world. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 And though our witness may not be easy or accepted we may say with the Apostle Paul:
For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. 2 Timothy 1:12
Just like in Micah’s day, the only hope for our confused, wicked, and unjust world is the courageous proclamation of God’s truth.
What was Micah’s message?
Micah 3:9 Please listen to this, you heads of the house of Jacob,
and rulers of the house of Israel,
who despise justice,
and pervert all equality.
10 They build up Zion with blood,
and Jerusalem with iniquity.
11 Her leaders judge for bribes,
and her priests teach for a price,
and her prophets tell fortunes for money:
yet they lean on Yahweh, and say,
“Isn’t Yahweh among us?
No disaster will come on us.”
12 Therefore because of you Zion will be plowed like a field,
and Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble,
and the mountain of the temple overgrown with thickets.
Micah implores the leaders to please listen because the rulers of the land despised justice and perverted equality.
What did that look like?
1. The judges demanded bribes. Her leaders judge for bribes. The judges were more interested in lining their pockets with gold than administering the law equally and blindly as God required. They willingly played favorites for the elites who could afford to pay for the desired outcomes, ignoring the Word of God:
It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgment.
Proverbs 24:23
Do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.
Exodus 23:2-3
Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great.
Leviticus 19:15
God is perfectly holy and so He is also perfectly just. Regardless of a person’s economic standing, God is for justice. Regardless of a person’s skin color, God is for what is right. Regardless of any category of person we can think up, God is for righteousness regarding that person.
(A.D.Robles, Social Justice Pharisees: Woke Church Tactics and How to Engage Them, Morgan James Publishing, 2022)
2. The priests who were commissioned by God to preach the undiluted Word of God were, like the corrupt judges, willing to tell the people what they wanted to hear for a price. Her priests teach for a price.
Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. Philippians 3:18-19
Rather than being God’s representatives, faithfully teaching the words that bring life, these priests taught comforting delusions for a price.
3. Finally, the prophets who were commissioned by God to bring God’s Word and, as necessary, reprimand the unjust judges and the false priests, were in on the game as well. Her prophets tell fortunes for money.
The people, wanting their guilty consciences cleared, were willing to pay the prophets to tell them comforting lies. And the prophets, having no shame, were more than willing to accept payoffs to keep the good times rolling, saying: Isn’t Yahweh among us? No disaster will come on us.
For cash they were willing to:
dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious
‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.
Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
No, they have no shame at all. Jeremiah 6:14-15
If the prophets had been faithful they would have honored the checks and balances that God had designed in His Law and fearlessly reminded the leaders, judges, priests and people of the wonderful Promise of God:
Follow justice and justice alone so that you may live and possess the land that the Lord is giving you.
Deuteronomy 16:19-20
Had they been faithful to God they would have possessed the land forever. However, in their greed and avarice they lost it all, both the land and their ill gotten gain; the bribes that they had accepted to enrich themselves and keep their deep state clients happy.
Their intention was to make a name for themselves. They were trying to build up a paradise on earth for themselves, to be the masters of their universe. But instead of following God’s way of establishing dominion they elected to take a short cut: social justice. They built their kingdom on the blood money of injustice.
They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
Because they perverted justice God declared:
Micah 3:12 Therefore because of you Zion will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble,
and the mountain of the temple overgrown with thickets.
Their plans were about to backfire. Because they enriched themselves while building the paradise that they wanted; because they neglected God’s Word, because they neglected justice and equality, their nation/city/church would be demolished. In trying to gain the world they had lost their souls. Matthew 16:26
Although these words were written thousands of years ago in a different time and different place none of this should surprise us. The actions of Israel’s judges, priests, and prophets are all too familiar.
Are our civil judges ever appointed for political reasons today because they will render rulings consistent with the wishes of those big money or political interests who appointed them?
Are judges or juries ever swayed to alter their verdicts by the threats of the ruling elite, or the crowd, or by the threats of mob violence?
Are the judges in our Church courts under any pressure to compromise, voting along the party lines of the men who conspired to appoint them? Are they willing to conform to and adopt the world’s standards making back room deals?
Do pastors ever tailor their message to winsomely satisfy the demands of both unbelievers in the world and to appease the apostates within their congregations?
Pulled by the lure of social justice do pastors compromise the hard words of God parroting the accepted wisdom of the world in order to keep their soft positions?
We have redefined justice as social justice, when in the reality that God created, justice is based on God’s perfect and holy character not on artificial social categories. Deuteronomy 32:4 Biblical justice means holding everyone to God’s standard, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female. Galatians 3:28
We have redefined equality as equity, when in the reality that God created, all men and women are created in God’s image, are of equal value, and as a result their actions are to be judged equally. Genesis 1:27
We have redefined shame as pride, when in the reality that God created, humbly acknowledging and repenting of our shameful sins leads to life. 2 Chronicles 7:14
We have redefined love as sentimental feelings and desires, when in the reality that God created, to love truly and fully means to follow Christ’s commands. John 14:15, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
God expects His children to be humble, acknowledging that they are dependent upon God for all that they have including life itself.
God opposes the haughty but gives grace to the humble.
James 4:6-7
Because God has shown mercy to His children, rescuing us even while we were in rebellion, God expects us to extend mercy to all.
Judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.
James 2:13
Because God is just he demands that his children be just in all of their dealings.
Judge the people fairly. Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent. Follow justice and justice alone.
Deuteronomy 16:18-20
The God of Sinai is a God of justice. His character is just, and His commands are just. God’s justice constantly opposes all forms of prejudice and abuse of power – and above all, the abuse of power through which some humans oppress other humans… Oppressing any person made in the image of God is an affront to God Himself and a desecration of the image of God in the person. He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, he who is kind to the needy honors him.
Proverbs 14:31(Os Guinness, The Magna Carta of Humanity: Sinai’s Revolutionary Faith and the Future of Freedom, InterVarsity Press, 2021)
Westminster Larger Catechism Question 143-145
Q. 143. What is the ninth commandment?
A. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Q. 144. What are the duties required in the ninth commandment?
A. The duties required in the ninth commandment are, the preserving and promoting of truth between man and man, and the good name of our neighbor, as well as our own; appearing and standing for the truth; and from the heart, sincerely, freely, clearly, and fully, speaking the truth, and only the truth, in matters of judgment and justice…
Q. 145. What are the sins forbidden in the ninth commandment?
A. The sins forbidden in the ninth commandment are, all prejudicing the truth, and the good name of our neighbors, as well as our own, especially in public judicature; giving false evidence, suborning false witnesses, wittingly appearing and pleading for an evil cause, outfacing and overbearing the truth; passing unjust sentence, calling evil good, and good evil; rewarding the wicked according to the work of the righteous, and the righteous according to the work of the wicked; forgery, concealing the truth, undue silence in a just cause, and holding our peace when iniquity calleth for either a reproof from ourselves, or complaint to others; speaking the truth unseasonably, or maliciously to a wrong end, or perverting it to a wrong meaning, or in doubtful or equivocal expressions, to the prejudice of the truth or justice…
Because the people of Israel, God’s Old Covenant Church neglected justice, because they were haughty, merciless, and unjust, Micah pronounces a terrible judgment. Because they had rejected God, God was going to reject them.
Therefore because of you Zion will be plowed like a field,
and Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble,
and the mountain of the temple overgrown with thickets.
However, this picture of complete destruction is not the end of Micah’s second sermon. He has shown the people the law, and although the law must be preached first, the requirements of God’s law are never to be preached without the mercy and hope of the Gospel. God leads His people to despair bringing us to the place where we understand the utter wickedness of our sin so that we understand that our only hope is in the undeserved mercy of God. As in the first sermon Micah again concludes with words of mercy and hope.
The essential act of mercy was to pardon; pardon in its very essence involves recognition of guilt…which deserves punishment…The humanitarians want simply to abolish justice and substitute mercy.
(C.S.Lewis, The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment, God in the Dock, Eerdmans)