Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity,
Micah turns from the nation as a whole to the men at the top: the heads and princes who hate justice and bend what is straight. Why does God single out leaders, and what happens to a city whose rulers trade on His name while selling the law for money?
This call opens a new movement in the book. Micah's prophecy has three divisions, each starting with a command to hear, and this verse stands in the second.
It is made up of three main divisions. Each one is introduced by a call to listen: "Hear, you peoples, all of you" (Micah 1:2); "Hear, I ask you, you heads of Jacob and princes of the house of Israel" (Micah 3:1); and "Hear now what Jehovah says" (Micah 6:1).
The same wrong does not carry the same weight in every pair of hands.
We know, of course, that all the people have their responsibility. Even so, the chief weight must fall according to a person's position. Wickedness in a man who holds an office of trust is worse than the same evil in someone under him, and justly counts as more serious. Wrongdoing in a judge, for example, is graver than dishonesty in a stable-hand or his master. Corruption or tyranny in a king is deeper guilt than failings here and there in any of his subjects.
Inside that leadership one group draws special notice.
The sin of the people had been exposed in the first two chapters; the sin of the heads comes forward here, and among them the wickedness of the prophets.
One thing moved every class of leader in Micah's day: money.
He tells the heads and rulers that they build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. He speaks of the influence of money. Judges acted for reward, priests taught for hire, and prophets prophesied for money.
One line covers all of them, judges and false prophets alike.
It is all summed up in one sentence, "who hate the good, and love the evil."
The men Micah addresses were not irreligious. They wore God's name, and they used it as cover.
Nothing offends Jehovah more than when those who bear the name of His people wrap themselves in the privilege of His presence. They use that claim to honour themselves and to excuse evil, or to keep up a divine claim despite the evil.
The verse opens a paragraph, and that paragraph ends with the city itself.
Zion and Jerusalem would come to complete desolation (Micah 3:9-12). But Micah 4 follows with the glowing picture that opens Isaiah's chapter 2.
The words were not empty. Jerusalem fell as Micah said, and it fell again later.
Jeremiah 26:18 mentions this verdict of judgment. This prophecy came true when Babylon conquered Jerusalem. And when the people who had returned from exile finally rejected the Lord of Glory, their King, Zion and Jerusalem became heaps once more.
One thing still stands out against the ruin.
Waste and desolation are to follow the pollution. But in the middle of all this, the prophet himself is full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and he speaks of judgment in the hearing of the nations.
- Hear — Micah's book turns on three calls to listen. This one goes to the heads and princes. The people came first; their leaders come next.
- Weight — the higher the office, the heavier the guilt. Wrong in a judge is graver than dishonesty in a servant. Corruption in a king is deeper guilt than failings in his subjects.
- Money — what bent their judgment was payment. Judges ruled for reward, priests taught for hire, prophets spoke for cash. They hated the good and loved the evil.
- Cover — the worst of it was religious. Nothing offends God more than people who wear His name, then use His presence to honour themselves and excuse evil.
- Ruin, then glory — the address ends with Zion and Jerusalem in ruins, and Babylon later made it fact. Yet the next chapter opens a glowing scene. In the wreckage one man is full of power by the Spirit to speak.
that build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with unrighteousness.
Micah names the men who ran Jerusalem. These leaders were meant to guard justice. Instead they built the city on bloodshed and profit. What happens when God's own city rises on foundations like that?
The problem was not one bad ruling. One writer traces every level of city life back to money:
He tells the heads and rulers that they build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. He speaks of the influence of money. Judges acted for reward, priests taught for hire, and prophets prophesied for money.
Cities like this can look impressive. One writer describes what lay under the splendour:
Their cruel oppression, their ungodly gains, had built up a magnificent city. Digs have shown what an amazing civilisation was at work when Babylon ruled the world. But the foundations of it all were iniquity and the blood of victims. Is it any better today?
The verse names two places, but they are not two cities:
Zion was really a part of Jerusalem. It was one of the hills Jerusalem stood on. Zion is often called "the city of David"; it was where he lived… Zion failed as a part of Jerusalem, so it was to be ploughed like a field.
These men still claimed to be God's people while they sold their verdicts. One writer calls that claim the most offensive thing of all:
He does this by condemning the leaders again. They judged for payment, and the prophets told fortunes for money. All the while they claimed the privilege of Jehovah's presence, a privilege God had given to this people alone. Nothing can be more offensive to Jehovah than this: people who carry the name of His people wrap themselves in the privilege of His presence. They use that claim to honour themselves and to excuse evil, or to keep up a divine claim despite the evil.
The next verse shows them certain that God was among them. One writer sets that against Israel's early doubt and calls it the worse error:
If there is one thing worse than unbelief it is self-satisfied presumption, such as we find in Micah 3:11. At the start of their history as a nation, Israel doubted that God was among them, when He was. Later in their history they were absolutely sure He was among them, when He was not. They were ripe for judgment.
Micah's charge ends in a sentence: Zion ploughed like a field. Commentators point to more than one fulfilment:
This prophecy was fulfilled when Babylon conquered Jerusalem. And when the returned remnant finally rejected the Lord of Glory, their King, Zion and Jerusalem became heaps once more, as he announced: "Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."
Another writer names the man who drove the plough:
Zion was to be "ploughed as a field" (Micah 3:12), and Samaria made "as a heap of the field" (Micah 1:6). Turnus Rufus proved the first prediction true. Obeying the emperor's orders, he drove the Roman plough over Zion after the destruction of the city in A.D. 70.
The ruin of a city built by corrupt hands is not the end of the story. Micah's hope looks to the last days:
So we wait in hope for these last days. We are not waiting for the empty dream of man's proud ambition. We wait for the day when God puts down corruption and lawlessness and sets up His own way. That will be the peaceful reign of the Man who was once despised and is now exalted for ever — the Lord Jesus, Jehovah, Messiah of Israel, and Son of Man.
- Who builds. The charge falls on leaders, not the crowd — judges, priests and prophets, each moved by money.
- What they build with. Grand cities have risen on oppression before. Their foundations were iniquity and the blood of victims.
- What they build under. God's name. They used the privilege of His presence as cover for self-interest, and nothing offends Him more.
- What they stand on. A false certainty. Being sure God is with you when He is not is worse than doubting He is there at all.
- What God builds after. The plough went over Zion. Yet the last days bring God's own way: the peaceful reign of the once-despised Messiah.
The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money; yet do they lean upon Jehovah, and say, Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? no evil shall come upon us.
Micah speaks to the leaders of Jerusalem while the city looks safest. Courts sit, priests teach, prophets speak, and everyone is sure God is on their side. This verse names what really drove all three offices — money — and the slogan that silenced every warning.
The prophet does not start with the crowd. He starts with the men who hold office, and one writer explains why the same sin weighs more on them.
Wickedness in a man who holds a position of trust is worse than the same evil in someone under him. It is rightly treated as more serious. Wrongdoing in a judge, for instance, has a graver character than dishonesty in a stable hand or his master. Corruption or tyranny in a king is deeper guilt than faults here or there in any of his subjects... The first two chapters exposed the sin of the people. The sin of the heads comes forward here, and among them the wickedness of the prophets.
Micah names three offices, and one thing links them. Justice, teaching, and prophecy have all become services for sale.
He tells the heads and rulers that they build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. He speaks of the influence of money: judges acted for reward, priests taught for hire, and prophets prophesied for money. The sentence of judgment is mentioned in Jeremiah 26:18. This prophecy was fulfilled when Babylon conquered Jerusalem.
One writer sees the same pattern wherever religion becomes a career.
Their religion was a matter of pay. They were teachers who worked for wages... To them the cross was only a useful stepping-stone to worldly position and fame. The care of souls was a way to ease and comfort. And so Christianity, so-called, has become one of the most profitable businesses of the day.
The last line of the verse is the worst part. These men bought and sold their offices while claiming the God of Israel stood behind them.
He does this by again denouncing the chiefs among the people, who judged for reward, and the prophets, who practised divination for money. All the while they claimed the privilege of the LORD's presence, a privilege granted to this people alone. Nothing can be more offensive to the LORD than this. Those who bear the name of His people clothe themselves with the privilege of His presence. They use the claim to honour self and justify evil, or to keep up a divine claim despite that evil.
Early in their history, Israel asked whether the LORD was among them at all. Here they insist He is. One writer sets the two moments side by side.
If there is one thing worse than unbelief, it is self-satisfied presumption, such as we find in Micah 3:11. At the start of their national history, Israel doubted whether God was among them, when He was. Near the end of their history, they were absolutely sure He was among them, when He was not. They were ripe for judgment.
The same confidence can be faith or presumption. It depends on how the person is walking.
It is sin not to have confidence in the LORD, not to be quite sure that He will help us in any need, when we are walking in His ways. When we are going on wickedly and by our own will, and say, "Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us," that is quite a different thing. Our God will indeed be with us, if we are His children, even then — but to chasten us.
The same trust can attach itself to a building and to outward worship. One writer says it is alive well beyond Israel.
Their worship was only external. They trusted in the temple of the LORD, as if the building itself carried a blessing and would shield them from disaster. Micah describes the same delusion in the people who had turned away from God: "yet they lean on the LORD and say, 'Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us'" (Micah 3:11). Such false trust in religious ceremonies and outward worship is only too obvious in the Christian world as well. Crowds of unsaved people keep up their religious routines. They think this protects them and secures the Lord's help and blessing.
- Position raises the stakes. The same sin is graver in a judge or a king than in the person under him. So Micah names the leaders first.
- Money bought all three offices. Judging for reward, teaching for hire, prophesying for pay. Money corrupted the court, the priesthood, and the pulpit alike.
- The name of God became the cover. They wore His name and claimed His presence. Nothing offends Him more than using that claim to honour self and excuse evil.
- Certainty is not safety. Early Israel doubted God was among them when He was. Later Israel was sure He was among them when He was not. Self-satisfied presumption is worse than open doubt.
- He is present, but to chasten. For a child of God living in self-will, the answer to "Is not the LORD in the midst of us?" is yes. That is the danger, not the shelter.
Therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed [as] a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.
Micah has just named the men who ran Judah's public life. Rulers took bribes, priests taught for pay, prophets sold their messages — and each one still claimed the Lord was with them. Verse 12 is the sentence that follows. Zion, Jerusalem and the temple hill are all handed over to ruin, and the word "therefore" pins that ruin on the men in charge.
The verse says the ruin comes "because of you." One writer traces that sentence back to men who took money for their work while claiming God's presence:
The prophet does this by again denouncing the chiefs among the people. They judged for reward, and the prophets divined for money, while they claimed the privilege of Jehovah's presence — a privilege granted to this people alone. Nothing offends Jehovah more than this: people who bear His name wrap themselves in the privilege of His presence, and use that claim to honour self and justify evil. Therefore Zion should be plowed as a field, and the mountains, now decorated with palaces, should be made like the heights of a forest.
Why the leaders, and not the whole nation? Because responsibility rises with position:
All the people have their responsibility. But the chief weight must fall according to a person's position. Wickedness in someone who holds an office of trust is worse than the same evil in someone under him, and it is right to treat it as more serious. Wrongdoing in a judge, for instance, is graver than dishonesty in a stable-hand or his master.
The men Micah answers were not worried about God's presence. They were sure of it. One writer sets that confidence against Israel's opposite failure at the start of their history:
If there is one thing worse than unbelief, it is self-satisfied presumption, such as we find in Micah 3:11. At the beginning of their national history Israel doubted whether God was among them, when He was. Towards the end of their history they were completely sure He was among them, when He was not. They were ripe for judgment.
Micah does not say "Jerusalem" three times. He gives Zion, the city, and the temple hill each their own name. One writer explains why that matters:
The royal throne and the divine throne are therefore in the same place. They can still be told apart, and Micah does tell them apart: for him, Zion and the mountain of the house have their separate names.
Commentators read the verse as coming true more than once:
Jeremiah 26:18 mentions the verdict of judgment. This prophecy came true when Babylon conquered Jerusalem. Then the returned remnant rejected the Lord of Glory, their King. Zion and Jerusalem became heaps once more. This is what He announced: "Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."
Another writer names the man who drove that plough over Zion:
Zion was to be "plowed as a field" (Micah 3:12), and Samaria made "a heap in the open country" (Micah 1:6). Turnus Rufus proved the first prediction true. Under orders from the emperor, he passed the Roman plough over Zion after its destruction in A.D. 70.
Generations later, this same sentence came up in court. Jeremiah was on trial for saying much the same thing. Micah's words became his defence:
This example from Hezekiah's reign was all the more striking. Micah had prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple in the days of a good king. So his prophecy was even more surprising than Jeremiah's prediction of the same thing in the days of a bad king. The defence of the prophet was therefore complete.
The chapter ends in rubble. The next chapter does not. One writer reads them as a single prophecy: the plowed field first, then the lifted hill:
Micah 4 is part of the same prophecy. The prophecy first denounces Jerusalem and declares that she will be plowed as a field. Then Micah 4 declares that in the last days everything will be changed: the mountain of Jehovah's house established on the tops of the mountains, and lifted above the hills, and the peoples flowing to it.
- Because of you. Micah lays the ruin of Zion on its leaders — bribed judges, paid priests, hired prophets. Guilt weighs heaviest where trust was highest.
- Privilege abused. Their offence was using God's presence as a shield for evil: certain He was among them, at the very hour He was not.
- Sentence named. Three things fall together: Zion, the city, and the temple hill. The king's throne and God's house go down in one sentence.
- Sentence executed. Babylon fulfilled it once. After the people rejected their King, Rome's plough passed over Zion and fulfilled it again, to the letter.
- Sentence outlived. At Jeremiah's trial, Micah's words became the defence — he had said the same under a good king. And Micah 4 lifts that plowed hill above every mountain at the last.