Micah 2:1 is a
verse that explains the origin of evil deeds. The Bible says in Micah 2:1, “Woe to them
that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is
light, they practise it, because it is in the power
of their hand.” Any given day there are millions of evil deeds performed
on this earth. Why? Where does the evil come from? It comes from the heart of
man. This verse gives a picture of people at the start of the day, in the
“morning,” and they devise evil while they are lying in the bed. Then
throughout the day, they “practice” what they had already “devised.” Thoughts
go before actions. If you want to control your actions, then first of all
control your thoughts. If you want to have better behavior, then have better thinking.
That is one of the reasons that it says to Christians in Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service.[2] And be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove
what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” The Christian life is mainly a battle of the mind. If you
think about Jesus and His promises in relation to each circumstance that
happens each day, then you can live by faith and trust in Him. And your
behaviors will be the things that you think about doing, that you plan to do,
and that you decide to do. Will you do x or will you do y, if you could?
The fact that
actions begin with the thoughts that people have can have an ominous warning to
it because of the wickedness that can exist in the heart. It says in Genesis
6:5, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually.” One of the benefits of being a Christian is that with
Christ in you, you finally have the possibility of thinking the right thoughts
and doing the right things. It says to Christians in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus.”
The last part
of Micah 2:1 says, “it is in the power of their hand.” What was in “the power of
their hand?” To do “iniquity” was in the power of their hand. God gave them a
free choice, and they made their choice. They did what they planned to do. They
did what they thought about doing and what they dreamed about doing. What
specifically was the evil that they did? That is told to us in Micah 2:2. It
says, “And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and
houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and
his heritage.” Their great sin described here is materialism, and they
do not care whom they harm in getting what they want. They even used violence
to get what they wanted and to take from others. Human beings should be givers
and not takers. To take from innocents and to take with violence is among the
worst of sins.
What will be
the result of such great lust and covetousness? It says in Micah 2:3-5, “Therefore
thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I
devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go
haughtily: for this time is evil.[4] In that day shall one take up a
parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be
utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed
it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.[5] Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the
congregation of the LORD.” These people who oppressed the poor and who stole their
lands and houses have a very certain and definite eternal destiny. They will
reap what they have sown. It says in verse 5, “thou
shalt have none.”
That which the rich and powerful lusted for shall be taken away from them.
Jesus taught the same truth in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said in Matthew
5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall
inherit the earth.” The “meek” are those who
do not desire and lust after other people’s property or anything else. The
“meek” are those who do not try to force their will on others because the
“meek” learned to surrender their will to God. It will be quite interesting
when Jesus comes back and sets everything right. Those who appeared to have gained
through deceit and lust will lose everything. Jesus will turn the tables. Those
who are takers in this life will have what they have taken for only a very
short time, but will lose it all forever.
The Bible says
in Micah 2:6-7, “Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not
prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.[7] O thou that art
named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD straitened? are these his
doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh
uprightly?” It is not surprising that people who are not walking with
God, and who are filled with covetousness and violence, would not want to hear
God’s Word preached. They not only do not want to hear, they want to keep the
preachers quiet. “Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy.”
The people who feel guilty because of their bad behavior do not want to hear
anything that might remind them of their need to repent. And so they do not
believe in freedom of speech or freedom of religion. They want to control the
speech of others because of their own guilty conscience. We see the same kind
of craziness happening today. What people need to hear the most, they refuse to
hear.
These people
who do not want to hear the Word of God are fighting a futile battle. They cannot
cut off, or shorten (“straiten”), nor in any way stop the work of God. The
Spirit of God is everywhere and continues to do His work. The preaching of the
Word of God is primarily for believers anyway. That is why it says in Micah
2:7, “do not my words do good to him that walketh
uprightly?” Those who are in darkness cannot understand the words of
light. One of the benefits of beings a Christian is that finally you can
understand the words of the Bible, and it can become your guiding light many
times throughout your life. Psalms 119:105 says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” It says in First Corinthians 2:7-10, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the
hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:[8]
Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would
not have crucified the Lord of glory.[9] But as it is written, Eye hath
not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things
which God hath prepared for them that love him.[10] But God hath
revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth
all things, yea, the deep things of God.”
There is one primary message to the lost souls of the world: the judgment is
coming, and therefore, you need to turn from your sins and turn to Jesus. He
loves you, and He will forgive you. But most of the other messages of the Bible
are for Christians.
The Bible says
in Micah 2:8-10, “Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the
robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war.[9]
The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their
children have ye taken away my glory for ever.[10] Arise ye, and depart;
for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even
with a sore destruction.” Once someone becomes the “enemy” of God, the results of
what they do is going to be negative. The enemies of God not only hurt
themselves, they also hurt the people around them, and they especially hurt
innocent people. One of the benefits of being a Christian is that the result of
your life brings benefit and goodness to those around you. But the enemies of
God always bring pain and loss to those around them. And so the enemies of God
are described as those who “pull off” the garments of those who would otherwise
be secure. Women are described as being “cast out” from their homes. Notice
that it says, “from their children have ye
taken away my glory for ever.” Children need a
foundation learning about the love of God and the grace of God that is in
Christ Jesus. This will help give them a sound ethic and moral fiber too. The
enemies of God especially hurt the children because they give the children
nothing of what they really need, and thus in reality they take away from the
children “the glory” that the children would otherwise have. There are several
examples of that in our society: the public educational system, and the
entertainment system are examples of the enemies of God harming children and
taking from the children what they really need the most: a positive spiritual
and Christian influence.
Notice the
command that God gave to the Israelites in Micah 2:10: “depart.” Where were
they going to depart from? They were going to depart from their
The Bible says
in Micah 2:11, “If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I
will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the
prophet of this people.” The key words in this verse are: “falsehood, lie,
prophesy, and wine.” Of course, this is talking about false prophets. They are
false because of the message that they have. What they say is not true, and is
not right. The New Testament also makes many warnings about false teachers or
false prophets. It says in Romans 16:17-18, ‘’Now
I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary
to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.[18] For they that
are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good
words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” Jesus said in Matthew 24:4-5, “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no
man deceive you.[5] For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ;
and shall deceive many.” It says in Second
Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will come when
they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap
to themselves teachers, having itching ears;[4] And they shall turn away
their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
Notice that
Micah 2:11 says that the false prophets will tell the people to drink wine and
strong drink. That indicates that false prophets are not just false religious
teachers. A false teacher is anyone who teaches about lifestyle or behavior,
but who is wrong. Many people today teach that it is okay to drink alcoholic
beverages. They are wrong. The millions of alcoholics would have never become
alcoholics if they had never had that first drink. There is a reason that Nazarites were told not to drink any wine. Anyway, the wine
of the modern world has a much stronger alcohol content than the wine that was
used by the common man in the first century. Also, the word “wine” in the Bible
also simply means “grape juice,” so be careful about coming to any conclusions
because some verses appear to allow drinking of wine. The Bible allows the
drinking of “the fruit of the vine,” and grape juice fulfills that. The Bible
does not allow “wine and strong drink,” and alcoholic beverages fulfill that
description. The same principle applies to drugs or other foreign substances
that one might put into one’s body that are harmful to the body. Jesus wants us
to glorify Him with our body as well as with our mind. We owe Him that because
He gave His life for us.
___________________________________________________
Copyright; 2014 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved