Dark skies is pretty typical in the Northwest at this time of year. Yesterday was mostly blue.
“Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
and distort all that is right;
10 who build Zion with bloodshed,
and Jerusalem with wickedness.
11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,
her priests teach for a price,
and her prophets tell fortunes for money.
Yet they look for the LORD’s support and say,
“Is not the LORD among us?
No disaster will come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,
the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.”
Micah 3:9-12
Though this age-old prophecy is directed to Israel, the One True God holds an absolute standard that stays the same throughout the ages. The passage above specifically mention
- leaders and rulers who despise justice and distort all that is right
- leaders judge for a bribe
- priests teach for a price
- prophets tell fortunes for money
The list sure mirrors everything that is typical in the time we are living in. The dreadful part is the last couple of verses about those who are doing the very thing on the list and believe they are under God’s protection. It is mentioned that it is because of them and the things they are doing that are wicked in His sight that destruction is coming upon the land. Those who continue to do the things mentioned will surely be in for a rude awakening. While there is time, a tragic end can be avoidable, though some consequences are inevitable. We know going through loss via denying the self (Matthew 16:24) or any kind of loss for that matter is part of life and is an integral part in spiritual maturity (James 1:2-4).
God continues to plead for people to turn from their ways until the very last person who is receptive to Him (Luke 15:4). What we do with the truth always determines the course of our future, be it for an individual, a household or an entire country (Jonah 3:6-10).
“These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.”
1 Corinthians 10:11 NIV
Related read: Before The Storm Comes