God expects more from his religious leaders and by
extension, those who follow them. He is more concerned about a relationship
than rituals. A nation is doomed to fail when it is spiritually blind. The same
must be said of individuals and churches. The Book of Micah depicts a very sad
time in the life of God’s people – Israel’s leaders were compromised, leaving
God no choice but to call them into account. We must ask ourselves the question…”How
am I doing in my spiritual walk?” For the right price, the sages (ruling
class), the priests (with the law) and the prophets (with messages from God)
were compromised because of a love for money and power. For the right price,
they could be bought. What of the contemporary church? Is it caught up in a
culture of money-loving, titles, positions, fancy churches and houses, feel-good theology, false doctrine of no pain and suffering? This kind of culture is
antithetical to the picture of God’s people painted by the prophet Micah. They
conveniently forgot that God’s presence was contingent upon ethical behavior
(Exod. 33:3,5; Num.14:14).
The reader should take note that these past few weeks of lessons are pointing
to both personal and corporate purging that God is asking of us (read Matthew
21).
