Session 11 Micah 3:1-12

SELF-SERVING LEADERSHIP (MICAH 3:1-4)

Micah called out the rulers of Israel
for the distortion of justice seen in their self-serving policies.
He explained that their calls to God would go unanswered
because of their sin.

evidence of self-serving leadership.

1 Then I said,
“Now listen, leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel.
Aren’t you supposed to know what is just?
2 You hate good and love evil.
You tear off people’s skin and strip their flesh from their bones.
3 You eat the flesh of my people after you strip their skin from them and break their bones.
You chop them up like flesh for the cooking pot, like meat in a cauldron.”

4 Then they will cry out to the LORD, but he will not answer them.
He will hide his face from them at that time because of the crimes they have committed.

STATE:

Micah 3:1 begins with a rhetorical question,
“Aren’t you supposed to know what is just?”
It was very evident at this point that the leaders knowledge and their actions didn’t match.

HIGHLIGHT:

Exodus 23:6-8

6 ¶"You shall not pervert the justice
due to your needy brother in his dispute.

7 "Keep far from a false charge,
and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.

8 ¶"You shall not take a bribe,
for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just.

identify instructions that the leaders should have taken to heart.
calling attention to the behaviors described in verses 2 and 3.

Ask:

• How did the leaders’ treatment of the people in their charge compare to what was instructed in Exodus 23?

DISCUSS:

The problem was not that the leaders were inept, but that they were ungodly.

What is more hurtful, an ungodly leader or an inept leader? Explain. (p. 95)

REFERENCE:

Proverbs 21:13
for further clarification of why God would remain silent

Proverbs 21 13 He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor
Will also cry himself and not be answered.

TRANSITION:

Micah also called out the people holding religious positions in Israel
for using their positions for personal gain
at the expense of proclaiming the truth.
By contrast, Micah pointed out the sin of Jacob and Israel
as directed by the Holy Spirit.

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