Micah 2
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Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.
2 And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
3 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.
4 In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.
5 Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the Lord.
6 Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.
7 O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the Lord straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?
8 Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war.
9 The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever.
10 Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.
11 If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.
12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.
13 The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them.
Public Domain KJV text from Wordproject.org
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Commentary
Micah condemns land rights violations (vv. 1-5, 9-10), a chief cause of injustice throughout history. God gave rights to land to all (Ez. 47:22-23) and it’s connected closely to Sabbaths (Lev. 25). God says greed is “the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10), but the most destructive greed is robbing land rights which God considers violence (Ez. 45:8-9), brings sorrow (Isaiah 5:7-8), causes child slavery (Neh. 5), will bring greater damnation (Matthew 23:14/Luke 20:47), etc. It starts a vicious cycle of greed, then concentration of power and then tyranny. God warns with over twenty nightmares of greed including grief to families (Prov. 15:27), terrible times (2 Tim. 3:1-2),eradication of godliness (1 John 3:17), etc.
Ellen White writes that “no devising of man” ever improved on God’s land rights plans. Most misery today come from rejecting God's plan for land rights (Welfare Ministry, 195), and no better mission work can be done for multitudes than restoring land rights (Ministry of Healing, p. 192, Lt 72, 1898).
Most land now is monopolized by the top 10% of the world's most wealthy. Since God repeatedly connects equitable land rights with peace (1 Kings 4:25) and restoration (2 Chronicles 7:14, Micah 4:4) even in heaven (Isaiah 66:22-23), how can godly Christians implement this principle now?
Bryan Bissell
Director, JOLT Ministries
