Who build with wickedness

“who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness.” (Micah 3:10)

 

Micah the prophet prophesied on God’s punishment and recovery by God willing to punish Judah. The persons concerned to be punished were corrupt and wrong leaders, and those who would recover were devout and sincere people of faith. Leaders should follow justice deservedly, but the reality does not seem to be neither so in the past nor in this times. Even those who didn’t that at ordinary time seem to change easily if they take special positions. It is too sorrowful to see that not only ordinary politicians but also even religious leaders are changed to be secular so. In the end, spiritual darkness will cover upon them, and sin would have to overflow at Jerusalem where they are living. Is it wrong word, if saying that the current situation of the church is the same as it in Jerusalem at that time in the past?

 

Whether the prophet is famous or not so, the importance of the role each one has is the same. To divide the prophets in the Old Testament into Major Prophet and Minor Prophet is classification based on the volume of the Bible recorded by them. With thinking in that way, is it possible to call Paul of the New Testament as Major Apostle and Peter as Minor Apostle? However, such division are by the subjective standards for later people's study. Micah wouldn’t be inferior as a prophet to Isaiah or Jeremiah. For the authority for delivering God’s word as a servant of God is the same for all prophets. It is very difficult thing to teach on God’s judgment and punishment to people. Because it is never easy for the church, for the pastor, to point out the corruption and degradation of society, leaders and the people. Even it does so, the right leader have to perform one’s part faithfully, at the expense of damages and risks.

It’s a world where it’s hard to find a leader who’s only trying to seize power, but doing justice in person. If a right leader, he will follow good, keep away from evil, and try not to give the people a hard. If leaders do like that, it will naturally create a peaceful atmosphere in country. But because they do not so, the Lord is not pleased. Accordingly, they cannot hear any answers from the Lord even if they cry out to Him. Because the Lord is a righteous Being, He does not accept the demands of the wicked. Furthermore, if the church leader does work not to be right, where would do we have any hopeful expect? False leaders who are pastors working for only money play tricks on and mislead people. They always shout for peace out of habit with lips. But those things are not sincere but only false peace.

True peace is given from the Holy Spirit in Jesus, and that cannot be bought with money and does not change. But the peace that false leaders shout is peace that is created only when eating enters their mouths. When there isn’t something to eat, their mouths pour out hatred, resentment, and vitriol. For what they spoke is a false peace that burst out of the mouth of a hypocrite who is different from the outside. That’s like a merchant saying bad words behind customers back if they leave without buying anything though he flattered to a customer who visited the store. If a worker of the gospel conveying the word of God shows like those vulgar behaviors, it is an indeed lamentable thing. Such leaders will meet night and darkness, and pure ideals wouldn’t be seen in their mind. For they are spiritual blind persons who lives without the light of God.

The light of God can be interpreted in theology as meaning Christ. Christ is the True Light of the world. It says in John 3:19, “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” People cannot love by themselves Christ who is the Light because their spirits are belonging to the darkness. But the one who is saved by Christ is the one who was loved by Christ, so he can love Christ and follow Him through the life of light. By the way, if a prophet does not follow the Light of God, how will it be? Likewise, a leader who does not get God’s response is a lifeless, dead leader. Such those men, like the magicians who had been in front of Pharaoh the king of Egypt, are only the people doing the tricks of injustice.

 

Those who hate justice and do not practice the upright are like those who construct Jerusalem or Zion with crimes and blood. They try to follow bribes, wages, and money, also boast with lies that Jehovah is always with them. And, they argue, there will be no disasters. But a castle made for sin, it never lasts long. Just as Jerusalem, the city with holy temple, will fall, even if it named the Church of Christ, the false things will be all destroyed.

 

(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on Dec 4th 2022)