WEEKLY
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An
international Sunday school lesson commentary
For
Sunday March 22, 2020
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AN ARGUMENT AGAINST CORRUPTION
(The LORD’s judgment against corrupt
leadership)
(Micah 3 and 6:6-8)
The prophet Micah was a
contemporary of the prophet Isaiah, and he preached to both, northern Israel,
and Judah, in the 8th century B.C. Micah lived in the small town of Moresheth,
about 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem. His message from the LORD was not only
directed to the people of Jerusalem, but also to the people of northern Israel’s
capital city, Samaria, as well.
Micah was a “pre-exilic” prophet who
prophesized during the reigns of kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. His book
contains three messages which begins with the words “listen to what the LORD
has to say to the nations!”. And although he clearly mentions the destruction of
northern Israel by the Assyrians in 722 B.C., his main focus was on the people of
the southern kingdom of Judah, who saw themselves as being “more GODly” than
their relatives to the north. History now tells us that they too, were ultimately
captured and destroyed in 586 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian forces.
GOD’s standard of measurement for our lives
has always been predicated upon the wording of the Mosiac Covenant which HE has
made with all those who desire to be HIS people. We are expected by GOD to live
according to the laws that are stipulated in that Covenant, which includes the
Ten Commandments. GOD says that, if we obey them, blessings will come, and if
we disobey them, curses will come (Deuteronomy 28:15-68).
Micah’s messages denounced the oppression
by the wealthiest citizens of Israel, upon the poor and economically challenged
sectors of its population. He also denounced the pride, greed, corruption,
arrogance, and religious hypocrisy that had begun to prevail among the
leadership of Israel in those days.
The leadership of Israel, who were supposed
to know right from wrong (one of the qualifications necessary to be in
leadership in those days, and should be now), were acting like wild beasts, who
devoured the people’s flesh and broke their bones. Instead of practicing truth
and justice, they, instead, hated “good” and loved “evil”.
“Justice” has to be the main concern of government,
and it should be contextually fair to both, the rich, and, the poor. The imagery
that Micah gives us in verses 1-4 of chapter 3, of the, “tearing of flesh from
the poor”, vividly and graphically communicates how corrupt government
officials use their position for personal gain, rather than in service to the
people who elect them. And after perpetrating all this evil upon the people,
they have the audacity to turn around and ask the LORD for HIS help in times of
trouble (v.4).
The LORD says to false prophets in verse 5;
“You are leading MY people astray! You promise peace for those who give you
food, but you declare war on anyone who refuses to pay you” (NLT).
In the Hebrew, the word used for “peace”, “shalom”
(shaw-lome), means more than just “the absence of war”. It also means “good
health, wholeness, and security”. While the false prophets lied to Israel about
her “spiritual condition”, true prophets of GOD, like Micah, spoke out strongly
for the “justice” that is needed to bring true peace to the souls of men, through
their recognizing and repentance of their sins against GOD.
Whenever religious leaders turn a blind eye
towards corruption in society against the people of GOD, they too, become
responsible for their pain. In the book of Micah, in chapter 6, verse 6-8, the prophet
tells us what we can do to make up for the things we have perpetrated against
the LORD our GOD. It is not the sacrifices from our corrupt lives, or songs
from our corrupt mouths that GOD is seeking in order to gain HIS atonement. In verse
8 Micah closes out this chapter with his, now famous, exaltation that was given
to him from the mind of GOD. There he so poetically states; “No, O people,
the LORD has already told you what is good, and this is what HE requires: to do
what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with GOD”. Amen.
A
Sunday school lesson by,
Larry
D. Alexander
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official
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