Miquéias 3

Miquéias 3

Constable - The sun, a symbol of God who bestows blessings and favor, would set on their day, and they would have to live in the darkness of His disfavor. And the day will become dark over them (NLT = "your day will come to an end") - Darkness is a metaphor for divine judgment and even death (Job 10:21, Pr 20:20, cf Jesus' words in Mt 8:12, 22:13, 25:30) Criswell - The false prophets will say anything for a man who feeds them. When disaster comes, unlike Micah (Micah 3:8), they will have no answer from God (Micah 3:7). Waltke - By taking away their gift (cf. Jdg. 16:20 [Ed: One of those truly tragic passages -Samson losing his gift and not even knowing it!]; 2Sa 17:14), he removes the source of their illicit gain...As other poets liken the loss of knowledge to darkness (cf. Ps 82:5; 69:23), Micah compares their loss of clairvoyance to the setting of the sun. Their ‘crystal balls’ will become black. Davis has an interesting application - We might pause to ponder this. Some might say that God can’t withdraw his word today thanks to Gutenberg; after all, we have Scripture, the Word of God, in writing—and fifty-eight kinds of study Bibles available from evangelical publishers. But God can still ‘take away’ his word. He may take away the desire for it or interest in it. Who can doubt that this judgement may well be upon the church, the evangelical church, in the West? Our people know more about Britney Spears than the book of Ezekiel. In my part of the USA most professing Christian men know more about Southeastern Conference football than they do about the Psalms. We abuse—and then lose—the Word of God. (Ed: Woe!) Micah 3:7 The seers will be ashamed and the diviners will be embarrassed. Indeed, they will all cover their mouths because there is no answer from God. seers Exodus 8:18,19; 9:11; 1 Samuel 9:9; Isaiah 44:25; 47:12-14; Daniel 2:9-11; Zechariah 13:4; 2 Timothy 3:8,9 cover Leviticus 13:45; Ezekiel 24:17,22 mouths 1 Samuel 14:37; 28:6,15; Psalms 74:9; Amos 8:11 PROPHETS ARE PUBLICLY DISGRACED! The seers will be ashamed...embarrassed - Seer is another word for prophet (1Sa 9:9). A seer who cannot see! He is a prophet without a word from God and is not much value! This is their judgment for perverting prophecy. On the day of God's wrath. Seer is the word hazah (02372) which is used of those who see visions (Isa. 1:1-note; Lam 2:14; Ezek 12:27; Hab 1:1-note; Zech 10:2). In addition when the judgment comes, those who prophesied "peace" will clearly be recognized as having giving false predictions and would be have any glory they may have attained replaced by shame and embarrassment! Jeremiah described such men... They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace. (Jer 6:14) Ashamed (0954)(bosh) Strong says means "properly to pale and by implication to be ashamed, disappointed or delayed." The TWOT says the primary meaning is "to fall into disgrace, normally through failure, either of self or of an object of trust." The word has overtones of being or feeling worthless. Bôsh means "to be ashamed Bôsh and its derivatives are used in five somewhat distinct ways. First, it is used idiomatically to express long delay or cessation. In Judges 3:25; 2 Kings 2:17; 2 Kings 8:11 it is used to express the sense of confusion which either the waiter or the waited upon feel when a delay becomes excessively long. The two occurrences of the Polel form are also used to express this idiom, e.g. Exodus 32:11 where the people of Israel say that Moses was "ashamed" (ASV and RSV "delayed") to come down from the mountain. While the idiomatic use of bôsh to express cessation may be related to the above, it is more likely that it represents an interchange in meaning with yābēsh "to dry up." Four of the five occurrences of this usage are in Joel 1:10-17 where Hiphil forms indistinguishable from those of yābēsh are used. (Cf. Gesenius-Kautzsch-Cowley, 2d ed., p. 220.) The second usage of bôsh expresses that sense of confusion, embarrassment, and dismay when matters turn out contrary to one's expectations. Thus, Job speaks of the shame of the caravaneers when they do not find water in the expected place (Job 6:20). So also, Israel will be shamed when God cuts off the rain (Jeremiah 14:3). In a more profound sense, Israel and the nations will be shamed by their idols when they fail them (Isaiah 42:17; Jeremiah 22:22; Hosea 10:6). The third usage and the one that is most common carries the above thought further expressing the disgrace which is the result of defeat at the hands of an enemy, either in battle or in some other manner. In particular, the awful shame of being paraded as captives is thought of (Micah 1:11; cf. also Jeremiah 2:26). Involved here are all the nuances of confusion, disillusionment, humiliation, and brokenness which the word connotes. The prophets normally use the word with this sense, promising Israel that unless she repents and turns from her idolatrous ways, she will certainly experience the shame of defeat and exile. (Cf. Isaiah 1:29; Isaiah 30:5; Jeremiah 2:36; Jeremiah 9:19 [H 18]; Ezra 9:6; Daniel 9:7, etc.) Intimately associated with this third use of the word is the question of trust. If Israel seeks to insure her own glory by refusing to trust in God but rather trusts in idols (Isaiah 1:29) or in foreign nations (Isaiah 20:5; Isaiah 30:3, 5), she will not get glory, but shame and disgrace. On the other hand, if one will humbly submit to God, he will find his true glory, for God will not let that person come to shame (Isaiah 29:22; Joel 2:26, 27; Zeph. 3:19). It is this promise of which the Psalmist continually reminds God (Psalm 25:3; Psalm 31:17 [H 18]; Psalm 37:19; Psalm 119:46). Similarly, although Israel's enemies may triumph over her for a period, they must inevitably, because of their idolatry and their lack of trust in God, be brought to abject shame (Isaiah 41:11; Jeremiah 46:24; Jeremiah 51:47.) Again, it is the Psalmist's fervent expectation that because he trusts in God, those who are attempting to destroy him must themselves be brought low in disgrace (Psalm 6:10 [H 11]; Psalm 22:6; Psalm 40:14 [H 15]; Psalm 109:28). Fourthly, shame results from imprudent or immoral action. This use is found in 1 Samuel 20:30. From Saul's perspective Jonathan made a fool of himself not only by committing a grave injustice against the reigning king, but also by jeopardizing his mother's position who would become part of David's harem. Likewise Joab accused David of not thinking things through and thus acting foolishly (2 Samuel 19:5 [H 6]). But this usage is largely restricted to Proverbs. All the occurrences are Hiphil participles in references which describe explicitly or implicitly the actions of those who bring disgrace upon their parents or spouses (Proverbs 10:5; Proverbs 12:4; Proverbs 14:35, etc.). The final use of bôsh is the one which coincides most closely with the common English connotation: a feeling of guilt from having done what is wrong. Jeremiah (Jeremiah 6:15) is horrified that the people are not ashamed having committed abomination (idolatry). Similarly, Ezekiel (Ezekiel 16:63) indicates that God's grace, manifested in the restoration, will not allay, but increase Judah's sense of shame. Not until then will she see what a terrible thing it was to trust idols instead of the living God. Ezra, discovering the situation in Jerusalem, cries out that he is ashamed because "our iniquities are higher than our heads." (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament) Bosh often occurs in contexts of humiliation and shattered human emotions. It is the feeling of public disgrace. The confusion, embarrassment, or dismay when things do not turn out as expected (Micah 7:16 describes the arrogant anti-Semitic Gentile world powers who will definitely be surprised when things do not turn out as they had expected!). Bosh not only conveys the idea of shame, but of a type of shame in which utter defeat pervades the mood. Disillusionment and a broken spirit follow (Ezra 9:6; Isa 1:29; 30:5; Jer 2:36; 9:19). Ashamed - Affected by shame (see below); abashed or confused by guilt or a conviction of some criminal action or indecorous conduct, or by the exposure of some gross errors or misconduct, which the person is conscious must be wrong, and which tends to impair his honor or reputation. Confused by a consciousness of guilt or of inferiority; by the mortification of pride; by failure or disappointment.(Webster, 1828). Shame - A painful sensation excited by a consciousness of guilt, or of having done something which injures reputation; or by the exposure of that which nature or modesty prompts us to conceal. Shame is particularly excited by the disclosure of actions which, in the view of men, are mean and degrading. Hence it is often or always manifested by a downcast look or by blushes, called confusion of face. (Webster, 1828). Bosh is translated in Micah 3:8 and Micah 7:16 with the Greek verb Kataischuno Always take a moment to ponder what is being explained. Kataischuno can also refer to the shame and disappointment that come to one whose faith or hope is shown to be vain. The prophet Zechariah uses bosh in issuing a similar judgment in the end times declaring "it will come about in that day (when Messiah returns) that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive (Note: This is one of the goals of a false prophet = to deceive. Like father, like son - Jn 8:44, Ge 3:1-5, 2Cor 11:3, Rev 12:9) ." (Zech 13:4) NAS translates bosh as - acted shamefully(1), acts shamefully(3), ashamed(60), ashamed at all(1), became anxious(1), become dry(1), been confounded(1), been put(8), been put to shame(8), been shamed(1), brings shame(1), covered with shame(1), delayed(1), disappointed(2), feel...shame(1), put me to shame(1), put them to shame(1), put to shame(32), shame(1), shamed(3), shameful(1), shames(1), utterly dejected(1), utterly put(1), utterly put to shame(1). Bosh - 113 v - Ge 2:25; Ex 32:1; Jdg 3:25; 2Sa 19:5; 2Kgs 2:17; 8:11; 19:26; Ezra 8:22; 9:6; Job 6:20; 19:3; Ps 6:10; 14:6; 22:5; 25:2f, 20; 31:1, 17; 35:4, 26; 37:19; 40:14; 44:7; 53:5; 69:6; 70:2; 71:1, 13, 24; 83:17; 86:17; 97:7; 109:28; 119:6, 31, 46, 78, 80, 116; 127:5; 129:5; Pr 10:5; 12:4; 14:35; 17:2; 19:26; 29:15; Isa 1:29; 19:9; 20:5; 23:4; 24:23; 26:11; 29:22; 30:5; 37:27; 41:11; 42:17; 44:9, 11; 45:16f, 24; 49:23; 50:7; 54:4; 65:13; 66:5; Jer 2:26, 36; 6:15; 8:9, 12; 9:19; 10:14; 12:13; 14:3f; 15:9; 17:13, 18; 20:11; 22:22; 31:19; 46:24; 48:1, 13, 20, 39; 49:23; 50:2, 12; 51:17, 47, 51; Ezek 16:52, 63; 32:30; 36:32; Hos 2:5; 4:19; 10:6; 13:15; Joel 1:11; 2:26f; Mic 3:7; 7:16; Zeph 3:11; Zech 9:5; 10:5; 13:4. Embarrassed (02659)(chapher) means to be abashed, disgraced, humiliated or ashamed. In Psalms we read the antithesis of the state of these prophets perverted prophecies... They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces will never be ashamed (chapher). (Ps 34:5) Chapher - 15 v - Job 6:20; Ps 34:5; 35:26; 70:2; 71:24; 83:17; Prov 13:5; 19:26; Isa 1:29; 24:23; 33:9; 54:4; Jer 15:9; 50:12; Mic 3:7. NAS Usage: abashed(1), ashamed(1), confounded(1), disgraced(1), disgraceful(1), embarrassed(2), humiliated(6), shamed(1), shamefully(1). Indeed, they will all cover their mouths - Again we see God's "poetic justice!" The very organ they used to promote their prophecies is now the organ they will cover! They were soon to be "spiritual lepers" who would cover their mouth much like lepers covered their mustaches (Lev 13:45)! See also Ezek 24:17, 22 for covering one's face as a sign of mourning. Allen - Micah dramatically refers to a common gesture of grief to which his opponents will resort in their shocked despair, that of covering the upper lip. Ironically it will also be a fitting sign that they have nothing to say; dumbfoundedness will be an apt reaction to their being silenced. Matthew