Micah 2:1-13

Micah speaks a message from God to all the nations

Micah

Les Painter

Chapter 2

2:1-11 Evil leaders and false *prophets will suffer

v1 Trouble will come to people that plot evil things. Those people make their evil plans while they lie on their beds. Then morning comes and they have the opportunity to do these things. So they do the bad things that they plotted. v2 They want fields, so they take them. They want houses, so they take them. They cheat a man and they take his house. They cheat a man and they take his land from him. Verses 1-2

These people plot evil things. God is against them. They will suffer a terrible punishment. Micah now gives real examples of these people’s *sins. He has referred to their *sins already in chapter 1 (Micah 1:5; Micah 1:13). But Micah sees that it is necessary also to name particular *sins. Otherwise it is not clear what they are. These *sins begin as wrong ideas in the mind. Then the people carry out their plans. People’s wrong behaviour is against what God wants. Wrong actions affect our relationship with God. They affect our relationships with each other.

Thieves usually come at night, when it is dark. These rich people made their evil plans at night. In the morning, they did the bad things that they had planned. They had all the power over the poorer people. The rich people owned most of the land. They could do whatever they wanted. Nobody could stop them. They made plans against ordinary people. These ordinary people owned fields and houses. Maybe they had just one field and one house. It was all that they could pass on to their children. The evil people wanted fields. So they took them. They wanted houses. So they took them. That was not a good, honest occupation. Rich people were cheating the poor people. The rich people became richer. The poor people had nothing. But both God and Micah knew the rich people’s plans.

‘You must not be jealous of your neighbour’s house or land’ (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21). This is the 10th Commandment (law that God gave). God gave the 10 Commandments (his laws) to Moses on the mountain called *Sinai. Jealous attitudes like this are wrong. Such attitudes are a main cause of the wrong character that is inside us. People say, ‘I want it and I intend to get it.’ These words clearly express the nature of this evil behaviour.

v3 That is why the *LORD says these things. I am planning trouble against this family. This trouble will be like a trap round your necks. And you will not be able to save yourselves. A time is coming when bad things will happen to you. You will not still be proud.