By REV. LAWRENCE ALTHOUSE
The Bible Speaks 

July 12, 2015

In Micah’s day, as well as in our own times, there were two kinds of prophets. There are those who tell what people want to hear and there are those who tell what people do not want to hear – much less believe.

It may surprise you to learn there were prophets in Israel and Judah who were greatly appreciated by the people because they told the people God was pleased with them. We tend to think of prophets as outcasts, rebels, bringers of bad news. Isaiah, Amos, Hosea and Micah were that kind of prophet. It is interesting to consider that we know their names and words, but not the words and names of those who were proclaiming, "After all, we’re God’s people: three cheers for Israel and Judah!"

It is always that way: Prophets who tell you what you want to hear are "wonderful!" and prophets who tell you what you don’t want to hear are "traitors," "cranks" or "dead wrong!" That’s why, as we experience it, the only "good prophet" is a "dead prophet"- one who does not have any more opportunity to make you feel guilty.

Josh Billings was on target when he said: "Don’t ever prophesy: for if you prophesy wrong, nobody will forget it; and if you prophesy right, nobody will remember it."

The prophet Joel proclaimed: "Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions" (Joel 2:28). But no parent ever rejoiced when a son or daughter proclaimed: "Dad, Mom, I’m going to be a prophet!"

We have no record of what Micah’s parents thought when he answered God’s call to be a prophet, but from his message we can assume they were not pleased. Micah addressed his prophecies to four different groups of people: the corrupt public officials, the selfish wealthy, the deceiving false prophet and the hypocritical priests.

Micah starts with: "Listen you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Should you not know justice? – you who hate the good and love the evil, who tear the skin off my people, and the flesh off their bones; who eat the flesh of my people, flay the skin off them, break their bones in pieces and chop them up like meat in a kettle, like flesh in a caldron" (3:1-3).

Obviously, Micah leaves no room for misconstruing what he proclaims. These authorities may fool their constituents, but there is no deceiving the Lord and, thus, deceiving Micah the Prophet. What makes their evil more ominous is they are the very people who should know better.

In their society, and maybe ours today, evil is often painted over and whitewashed. Thus, says Micah: "Then they will cry top the Lord, but he will not answer them; he will hide his face from them at that time, because they have acted wickedly" (3:4).

The false prophets are next in line for con-demnation: "Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry ‘Peace’ when they have something to eat, but declare war against those who put nothing into their mouths."

Because these prophets are swayed by material gain, and tell the people only what they want to hear: "Therefore it shall be night to you, without revelation. The sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them" (3:6).

Now, the point in studying prophets such as Micah is not just to learn about these servants of God from long, long ago, but to let a prophet’s words illuminate our lives and societies. Who are the "rulers" of today who, although they above all others should know what is injustice and their own roles in that terrible sin, seem to be purposely oblivious to the evils in our own society?

So, who are the "false prophets" who assure us that black is white and evil is good? Further, what are the evils which, although plain in our sight, we willfully overlook? Why do we cry "Peace!" when we are perpetually standing on the edge of more and more war?

Martin Luther King said: "The church must be reminded that it is not the master, nor the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state." As Christians, do we even attempt to play the role of the conscience of the state?

I shudder when I find the churches merely blessing our politics and joining with our politicians in carrying on the constant battles between liberals and conservatives. Neither the Republican nor the Democratic parties should claim our highest loyalties. If we are Democrats first and Christians second, or if Conservative values stand higher than the teachings of Jesus Christ, then we are in for the same judgment that Micah promised the people of his day.

A.M. Stroud III, a former prosecutor in Louisiana, recently confessed regret for the role he played in the 1984 sentence that sent a black man, Glenn Ford, to Death Row. Stroud now says: "I was 33 years old. I was arrogant, judgmental, narcissistic and very full of myself. I was not as interested in justice as I was in winning."

He acknowledges he used dubious evidence, kept black people from the jury and knew the appointed defense attorney had never tried a criminal or capital case. Ford was later exonerated and Stroud hopes that "providence will have more mercy for me than I showed Glenn Ford."

The false prophets of Israel betrayed God’s trust. The leaders of Israel and Judah also betrayed the trust of the Lord. But Micah did not betray his mission. And Stroud, though he had failed the Lord, saw the error of his ways and had the integrity and courage to place himself in God’s hands.

Can we? Have we? Will we?

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Rev. Althouse may write to him in care of this publication.