Micah Chapter 3
Against Princes and Prophets
A. God against the princes of His people.
1. (Micah 3:1–3) The violence of leaders against God’s people.
“And I said:
Hear now, O heads of Jacob,
And you rulers of the house of Israel:
Is it not for you to know justice?
You who hate good and love evil;
Who strip the skin from My people,
And the flesh from their bones;
Who also eat the flesh of My people,
Flay their skin from them,
Break their bones,
And chop them in pieces
Like meat for the pot,
Like flesh in the caldron.”
a. Hear now, O heads of Jacob:
Micah first rebuked the nation as a whole, but now he turns his attention to the leaders specifically. As heads of Jacob and rulers of Israel, they were expected to understand justice, defend righteousness, and protect the people under their care. With greater authority comes greater accountability. Instead of guarding justice, they distorted it and used their position for selfish gain.
b. You who hate good and love evil:
The leaders had become morally inverted. They were not simply careless toward righteousness, they despised what was good and openly embraced what was evil. Micah uses shocking imagery to show the severity of their corruption. He describes them as men who “strip the skin” and “eat the flesh” of God’s people. This is not literal cannibalism, but a vivid picture of rulers who devour the people for personal profit. Their oppression was so severe that it was as if they butchered the poor like meat in a pot.
i. The prophet uses graphic language to awaken the conscience of corrupt rulers.
The poor were already worn down by injustice and poverty, and the leaders only pushed them deeper into ruin. By comparing the rulers to cannibals, Micah was exposing the cruelty of those who were supposed to defend the weak. Their governance was not shepherding, it was slaughter.
ii. Leadership is never meant for personal gain, but for the good of God’s people.
Leaders are not called to ask, “What do I gain from these people?” but rather, “How do I serve them on God’s behalf?” When leadership becomes self-centered, it becomes predatory. Micah reminds Israel—and every generation—that people are not given to leaders for exploitation; leaders are given to people for protection and guidance. When this order is reversed, leadership becomes violent and abusive, as seen in the rulers Micah condemns.
2. (Micah 3:4) God’s judgment of silence against corrupt leaders.
“Then they will cry to the LORD,
But He will not hear them;
He will even hide His face from them at that time,
Because they have been evil in their deeds.”
a. Then they will cry to the LORD, but He will not hear them:
Micah declared that a day of reckoning would come for these corrupt leaders. In their time of distress, they would finally cry out to the LORD for deliverance, yet God would not respond. They had refused to hear His voice when He called them through His prophets, therefore He would not hear them when judgment fell. This silence is not due to God being uncaring, but due to their persistent rebellion and hardened hearts. Those who shut their ears to God in times of mercy will find heaven silent in times of judgment.
b. He will even hide His face from them at that time:
This language emphasizes complete withdrawal of God’s favor and presence. In the priestly blessing, Israel was accustomed to hearing, “The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you” (Numbers 6:25). The shining of God’s face meant His approval, His nearness, and His protective care. But here Micah declares the opposite — God will hide His face. This is a picture of divine rejection and the removal of His favor. Their deeds had been evil, not only in personal morality but in the misuse of authority and betrayal of their responsibilities. Therefore, the covenant God who once blessed them would now turn His face away, leaving them to the consequences of their actions.
This judgment is severe because it strikes at the heart of their confidence. These leaders assumed that because they held religious positions and national authority, God would always be on their side. Micah exposes this false security. God is not bound to protect corrupt leaders who oppress His people; instead, He stands against them. When justice is perverted, when truth is ignored, and when leaders devour those they were meant to protect, God’s silence becomes His judgment.
B. God against the false prophets to His people.
1. (Micah 3:5–7) The sin and promised judgment of false prophets.
“Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets
Who make My people stray;
Who chant ‘Peace’
While they chew with their teeth,
But who prepare war against him
Who puts nothing into their mouths:
Therefore you shall have night without vision,
And you shall have darkness without divination;
The sun shall go down on the prophets,
And the day shall be dark for them.
So the seers shall be ashamed,
And the diviners abashed;
Indeed they shall all cover their lips;
For there is no answer from God.”
a. The prophets who make My people stray:
Micah now turned his attention from corrupt political leaders to corrupt spiritual leaders. These false prophets pretended to speak on behalf of God, yet their message led people away from truth and repentance. They spoke words of “Peace” not because God had spoken peace, but because it was what the people wanted to hear. Their messages were driven by personal gain, not by divine revelation. If someone provided them with gifts or payment, they would proclaim blessing and peace; but if someone offered them nothing, they would speak curses and hostility instead. In other words, they were prophets for hire. They comforted the rebellious instead of calling them to repentance, and by doing so, they caused God’s people to stray from His path.
b. The sun shall go down on the prophets:
Because these prophets had abandoned truth for profit, God would silence them in judgment. He would give them “night without vision” and “darkness without divination,” meaning He would no longer give them revelation or allow them to speak in His name. The imagery of the sun going down conveys the end of their influence and the removal of divine light from their ministry. Their visions would cease. Their confidence would crumble. When people sought answers from them, they would have nothing to say, for “there is no answer from God.”
Shame would replace their arrogance. They shall all cover their lips — a gesture of mourning, uncleanness, or silence — because they would be exposed as frauds. The very ones who claimed to speak on behalf of the LORD would be left speechless. Their reputations would collapse, and the people would see that their messages of peace had been empty lies.
This is the serious consequence of spiritual deception. When leaders distort God’s truth for personal advantage, when they tell people what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear, they place themselves under divine judgment. God will not allow His name to be used to endorse comfort in sin. The silence of God becomes His judgment, and the downfall of false prophets becomes a warning to every generation.
2. (Micah 3:8) Micah’s confidence as a true prophet of God.
“But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD,
And of justice and might,
To declare to Jacob his transgression
And to Israel his sin.”
a. I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD:
In sharp contrast to the powerless, shame-filled false prophets, Micah declared his confidence as a true messenger of God. His authority did not come from position, popularity, or personal ability, but from the Spirit of the LORD. He was not speaking out of personal anger or political ambition; he spoke because he was filled with divine power, justice, and strength. Micah stood boldly because he stood with God. He knew that his message was grounded in truth and that the Spirit of God was the source of his courage and clarity.
i. Micah knew that the power came not from himself, but from the Spirit of the LORD.
True spiritual authority is never self-generated. It flows from a life in communion with God and submission to His Word. Micah could stand before kings and false prophets without fear because he stood under the authority of the Holy Spirit. Along with power came justice and might, meaning Micah’s message aligned with God’s righteousness and carried divine strength.
ii. Without the Holy Spirit, ministry becomes motion without effect.
As Charles Spurgeon illustrated, a church or a preacher without the Spirit is like a mill-wheel turning with no grain to grind — it makes noise but produces nothing. Many religious forms can appear active, but without the Spirit’s power, they achieve nothing for God. Micah understood this, and therefore his confidence rested solely in the Spirit, not in religious form or human effort.
b. To declare to Jacob his transgression:
Micah understood his mission clearly: he was called to confront sin. He was not sent to entertain, flatter, or soothe people with false peace. He was called to declare Jacob’s transgression and Israel’s sin. A true prophet loves the people enough to tell them the truth, even when that truth is painful. Micah did not shrink back from this responsibility, because the Spirit of the LORD had strengthened him for this very purpose.
i. The prophetic ministry under the Old Covenant was primarily confrontational.
Because the law was not written on the hearts of believers and the Holy Spirit did not indwell individuals in the same way as under the New Covenant, God often used external messengers — prophets — to call His people back to obedience. Their task was frequently one of exposing sin and calling for repentance.
ii. Under the New Covenant, the prophetic role includes edification, exhortation, and comfort.
As Paul wrote, “But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14:3). This does not mean prophets today never confront sin, but that their work is no longer primarily external condemnation. Instead, the Spirit works internally in the hearts of believers while prophecy confirms, encourages, warns, and strengthens. Micah stood in a time when the people needed strong external correction, and by the Spirit of the LORD, he declared it faithfully.
Micah’s words remind us that true spiritual authority comes only from God, that boldness in ministry is born from the Spirit’s presence, and that love for God and His people sometimes requires the courage to confront sin directly.
3. (Micah 3:9–12) Unrepentant Jerusalem will share Samaria’s fate of destruction.
“Now hear this,
You heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who abhor justice
And pervert all equity,
Who build up Zion with bloodshed
And Jerusalem with iniquity:
Her heads judge for a bribe,
Her priests teach for pay,
And her prophets divine for money.
Yet they lean on the LORD, and say,
‘Is not the LORD among us?
No harm can come upon us.’
Therefore because of you
Zion shall be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,
And the mountain of the temple
Like the bare hills of the forest.”
a. Now hear this… who build up Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity:
Micah brought his final charge in this chapter against the princes and rulers—the political and social leaders of Judah. He already addressed corrupt judges and lying prophets, and now he exposes the leaders who should have upheld justice. Instead of establishing righteousness, they were building up the city on foundations of bloodshed, oppression, and injustice. They hated justice and twisted anything that was upright. They were establishing their power and wealth through violence and sin. Jerusalem, the city meant to reflect the holiness of God, had become soaked in corruption, no different than Samaria in the northern kingdom.
b. Yet they lean on the LORD, and say, “Is not the LORD among us? No harm can come upon us”:
Despite their wickedness, the leaders of Jerusalem felt spiritually secure. They believed that because the temple stood in their midst, God was obligated to protect them. They trusted in religious ritual, national identity, and outward symbols of faith—but not in obedience to God. This was false confidence. They assumed that God would never allow His temple or His city to be destroyed, no matter how they lived. They mistook God’s patience for approval.
i. Micah’s ministry made a difference.
Unlike prophets such as Hosea and Amos, who were largely ignored, Micah’s message reached the ears of King Hezekiah and helped bring revival and repentance in Judah. This is confirmed in Jeremiah 26:17–19, where elders of the land recalled Micah’s prophecy and how King Hezekiah responded with fear of the LORD and repentance, and therefore judgment was delayed. Micah’s words—“Zion shall be plowed like a field”—became a solemn warning that protected prophets like Jeremiah a century later and reminded Judah that God honors repentance.
ii. God’s patience has limits.
When the people persisted in sin, when leaders continued to exploit, lie, and oppress—judgment became certain. Their trust in empty religion could not save them. The city they thought was invincible would be reduced to rubble. Zion would be plowed like a field, Jerusalem would become a heap of ruins, and even the sacred mountain of the temple would become barren like a forest hill stripped of trees. This prophecy was fulfilled when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
Micah’s warning is timeless—religious symbols, traditions, or national identity cannot replace obedience to God. If leaders reject justice, if people persist in sin while claiming God’s protection, then judgment will come. God desires truth, righteousness, and humility—not empty claims of religious privilege.
