The prophet Micah gives some strong words from God to the people. Although his proclamation (prophecy) should convict them, they instead take offense.
At one point they even tell Micah to stop talking — as if his silence would keep God’s plans from happening.
Micah’s sarcastic retort is that if a prophet proclaimed plenty of wine and beer for everyone, the people would flock to him. Apparently, rather than face the truth, the people prefer to anesthetize themselves from it.
Telling the people what they want to hear — as opposed to the truth — is making a false prophecy. Regarding these false prophets, Micah further notes that when the prophets are fed, they pronounce that peace will occur, but if they don’t say what the people want, the people turn against them.
Our reaction to things we don’t want to hear is much the same today. We respond as consumers, leaving the teacher of an unpalatable message and seeking someone who will tell us what we want to hear.
That’s approaching faith with a consumerism mindset: looking for what is pleasant and nice — even if it’s wrong. It happened to Micah and it’s still happening today.
[See Micah 2:6, Micah 2:11, and Micah 3:5.]
A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.
