Micah 2:1-13--Woe to the Oppressors

Micah 2
English Standard Version

Woe to the Oppressors
2 Woe to those who devise wickedness
    and work evil on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
    because it is in the power of their hand.
2 They covet fields and seize them,
    and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
    a man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says the LORD:
behold, against this family I am devising disaster,
    from which you cannot remove your necks,
and you shall not walk haughtily,
    for it will be a time of disaster.
4 In that day they shall take up a taunt song against you
    and moan bitterly,
and say, “We are utterly ruined;
    he changes the portion of my people;
how he removes it from me!
    To an apostate he allots our fields.”
5 Therefore you will have none to cast the line by lot
    in the assembly of the LORD.

6 “Do not preach”—thus they preach--
    “one should not preach of such things;
    disgrace will not overtake us.”
7 Should this be said, O house of Jacob?
    Has the LORD grown impatient?
    Are these his deeds?
Do not my words do good
    to him who walks uprightly?
8 But lately my people have risen up as an enemy;
you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly
    with no thought of war.
9 The women of my people you drive out
    from their delightful houses;
from their young children you take away
    my splendor forever.
10 Arise and go,
    for this is no place to rest,
because of uncleanness that destroys
    with a grievous destruction.
11 If a man should go about and utter wind and lies,
    saying, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,”
    he would be the preacher for this people!
12 I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob;
    I will gather the remnant of Israel;
I will set them together
    like sheep in a fold,
like a flock in its pasture,
    a noisy multitude of men.
13 He who opens the breach goes up before them;
    they break through and pass the gate,
    going out by it.
Their king passes on before them,
    the LORD at their head.

---

The Jewish people may have heard Micha's message and thought it was meant for the Gentiles, but it's going to become clear that the LORD is talking to them.  He starts to enumerate their sins (verse 2 reminds me of the sin of Ahab that led to his downfall).  The LORD condemns those who devise wickedness against the innocent, but then He says that He is devising disaster against them because they are wicked.  In the day of judgment they will look for someone to blame, but there will be no one to blame but themselves.

They have tried to silence the LORD's prophets and substitute His message with their own.  They have told the people not to listen to the Word of the LORD.  Though they hear the Word clearly, their hearts are hard and will not receive it.  The LORD sees this as the enemy within and He needs to bring severe judgment for the sake of those who can still be saved.

The people will listen to a man who is drunken babbler, but they will not listen to the LORD's prophets.  The LORD will one day gather all those who are called His sheep together and He will know those who belong to Him because they will hear His voice and will obey Him and follow Him.  He will separate the sheep from the goats and all those who claim to be something they are not will be exposed for what they are.  The LORD will once again be their King and the Shepherd of His people in the coming Kingdom.