©Michael Player
Chapter 2:1-5 (ESV) - Woe to those who devise wickedness
and work evil on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
because it is in the power of their hand.
They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
a man and his inheritance.
Therefore thus says the Lord:
behold, against this family I am devising disaster,
from which you cannot remove your necks,
and you shall not walk haughtily,
for it will be a time of disaster.
In that day they shall take up a taunt song against you
and moan bitterly,
and say, “We are utterly ruined;
he changes the portion of my people;
how he removes it from me!
To an apostate he allots our fields.”
Therefore you will have none to cast the line by lot
in the assembly of the Lord.
Question to consider: What are some examples of righteous and unrighteous wealth?
After Micah’s lamentation over the judgment that was coming upon the countryside of Judah, he brings the LORD’s charges against those who created the iniquity that required God’s justice: the oppressors, rulers, and prophets.
The oppressors were those who gained wealth and influence in the land through sinful means. The Bible does not consider wealth in itself evil. It is the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil. The charge against those in today’s passage devised wicked plans in order to gain their wealth. The example given in today’s passage was in coveting fields of their Judean brothers and implementing an evil plan to take ownership of them.
Some modern examples would be companies who lobby government officials to pass favorable laws or rulings that overlook health and safety standards or require people to purchase their products. Large corporations use economies of scale to drive out competition from smaller businesses. People may enjoy the discount, but it equates to unequal scales which is something that God hates. “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.” (Proverbs 11:1)
An example in scripture of someone who had honest wealth and compassion was Boaz. He was loved by his employees and was depicted as the antithesis of Ruth’s late husband, brother-in-law, and father-in-law who fled Bethlehem during the famine and turned to wicked Moab. “And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, ‘The Lord be with you!’ And they answered, ‘The Lord bless you.’” (Ruth 2:4) Someone who builds a business in which employees are treasured, business dealings are honest, and products and services are beneficial to customers can call himself blessed.
Those with ill-gotten wealth and power walk haughtily because they believe they are untouchable and superior to everyone else. God’s curse against them was that the root of their wealth, the land, would be given to apostates, and their necks would be shackled in slavery to them. The “apostates” would of course be the Assyrians.
Earthly wealth is ephemeral and undeserving of our faith. We do well to fulfill our vocations to the glory of Christ and let the Lord supply our needs.
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for supplying our daily needs. Help us to focus on the work in front of us and be good stewards of whatever benefits that work brings. May we desire that which has eternal value and grow less and less attached to things that don’t last. Amen.