You have filled the streets with the dead. Micah 3:1-7

Just last week California had two major fires burning at the same time, and in the case of the “Camp” fire, they lost the entire town of paradise, and I believe Megalia. If they are alive, then they have something to be thankful for, but not much else.
Today 11/22/2018 is Thanksgiving day in America, and I have much to be thankful for. But, I wonder how much worse it is going to get before that day when Jesus comes back for His church. I know many of you don't understand that or care about it, but someday you will.
One of the primary tenets of a follower of Christ is hope. Hope works by faith and this hope is embedded in the fact that Jesus, a believable witness, told us that there is a life with the Father and that He would come back for His church. Moments after Jesus returns for His church the wrath of God will begin to be poured out upon the earth. This wrath will be happening at the same time as man's wrath and greed, which are expressed in death and destruction as well.
You should understand something; we were not promised an escape from things like what we see in Micah. In John's gospel chapter 16:33 we are told, in the world you have tribulation. We do ourselves and others a huge disservice when we call the time of God's wrath the tribulation. Oh, no doubt, it will be a time of great distress, but it is all God's wrath, and nothing to be compared with what we deal with on a daily basis. However, 1Thessalonians 1:10 and 1Thessalonians 5:9 tell us that we have been rescued from, nor are we destined for God's wrath.
Micah 3:1 ERV  Then I said, "Listen, leaders of Jacob and officers of the nation of Israel! You should know what justice is.
Immediately we know who God/Micah is addressing.

• The heads of Jacob
• The rulers of the house of Israel

What is the assertion? You, of all people, should know what justice is!
Justice is the Hebrew word mišpāṭ: A masculine noun meaning a judgment, a legal decision, a legal case, a claim, proper, rectitude. The word connotes several variations in meanings depending on the context. It is used to describe a legal decision or judgment rendered: it describes a legal decision given by God to be followed by the people. Word Study Dictionary
You have to assume from Micah's words, that Jewish leadership knows what they did wrong. Isaiah denounced the house of Jacob on a previous occasion.
Isaiah 58:1 MKJV  Cry aloud, do not spare, lift up your voice like aram's horn, and show My people their rebellion, and the house of Jacob their sins.
However, the context for Isaiah 58:1 comes from Isaiah 57 verses 20, 21.
Isaiah 57:20-21 MKJV  But the wicked are like the troubled sea, which cannot rest, and its waters cast up mire and dirt.  (21) There is no peace, says my God, to the wicked.
Here Israel, the northern and southern kingdoms are told they are wicked.
Malachi 2:17 AMPC  You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, In what way have we wearied Him? [You do it when by your actions] you say, Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them. Or [by asking], Where is the God of justice?
Pay attention to the words of Malachi, but note the italicized words. Those words were added for clarity, and yet we have many in the Congress and the Senate of the United States still telling us that the brutal killing of unborn babies is appropriate, while conveniently putting someone in prison for life because they killed the mother of an unborn child. Which is it, we can't have it both ways?
Civility alone shouts out that you should not openly call for the assassination of the president, and yet these public officials do just that. I am intentionally vague here, but there is no doubt that we too are living in this wickedness now, especially is we, by our actions, say“Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord and He delights in them.” This will come to a violent end for those who choose to live in such perversion.
The one last passage before I move on. While it is clear that God is going to remove all the beneficial aspects, pay attention to verse 5 where it says, “the youth will storm against the elder and the inferior against the honorable.” Here in America, we have this stupidity called Antifa. These “youth” and they are not all youth; some are merely the down and out that want to make some fast money, are blockading roads and attacking people for reasons that change in accordance with the most recent sign one of them is carrying.
Isaiah3:1-5 NASB For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah Both supply and support, the whole supply of bread And the whole supply of water; (2) The mighty man and the warrior, The judge and the prophet, The diviner and the elder, (3)The captain of fifty and the honorable man, The counselor and the expert artisan, And the skillful enchanter. (4) AndI will make mere lads their princes, And capricious children will rule over them, (5) And the people will be oppressed, Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; The youth will storm against the elder And the inferior against the honorable.
Micah 3:2 now paints an even more gruesome picture.
Micah 3:2 NET.
yet you hate what is good,
and love what is evil.
You flay my people's skin
and rip the flesh from their bones.
Isaiah3:14-15 MKJV  Jehovah will enter into judgment with the elders of His people, and their kings; for you have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.  (15)  What do you mean? You crush My people and grind the faces of the poor? Says the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts.
Ezekiel11:6-7 MKJV  You have multiplied your dead in this city, and you have filled its streets with the dead.  (7) Therefore so says the Lord Jehovah: Your slain whom you have laid in her midst, they are the flesh, and this city is the pot. But I will bring you out of her midst.
Joseph Benson's commentary claims that Micah 3:2 is “an allusion to lions bears, or wolves, which devour the flesh, and break the bones of the defenseless lambs.”
“Your slain whom you have laid in her midst, they are the flesh, and this city is the pot.”
Micah 3:3 NET.
You devour my people's flesh,
strip off their skin,
and crush their bones.
You chop them up like flesh in a pot --
like meat in a kettle.
“All these words (we see in Micah 3:3) are metaphorical expressions, to signify the oppression of the people by their heads, or great men; and, how they, by one means or another, deprive them of their substance and divide it among themselves.” “So, even though it is written for the purpose of expressive style, the overall impact is still the same, as it is a horrendous depiction of how they treat people; God's people.”
I wanted to think these words were entirely symbolic, but what did Saul, the Pharisee do? He pursued the Jewish converts, reasoning that he was doing the Lord's work. He had people locked up in prisons; and, he held the cloaks of those stoning Stephen, which made him an accomplice to their crime of murder.
Acts 22:3-4 KJV  I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.  (4) And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
When Pilate wished to free Jesus Christ because He had done nothing contrary to Roman law, it was the Jewish council that persisted until the Romans carried out their wishes. Because of their hatred and tenaciousness Jesus had the skin flayed from His back, ribs, and legs. It was the Jewish high priest that put the perfect lamb on that cross that day.
Micah3:4 MSG The time's coming, though, when these same leaders will cry out for help to GOD, but he won't listen. He'll turn his face the other way because of their history of evil.
The NASB says it like this:
“Then they will cry out to the LORD, But He will not answer them. Instead, He will hide His face from them at that time Because they have practiced evil deeds.”
This usage of the phrase, “they will cry out,” leaves you hanging as you try to figure out, once again, to whom he is speaking. This is a good reason to have other translations, and, as you can see Eugene Peterson sorted it out and declared that “these leaders will cry out for help to God, but He won't listen.”
“Instead, He will hide His face from them at that time Because they have practiced evil deeds.”
We make the assumption that all of Israel has practiced evil deeds, when that may not be true. When Elijah cried out that he was the only one left, the Lord told him, no, I have reserved other. So the idea that they have all practiced evil is not right. Is it possible then that Jewish leadership has bullied most of Israel into a false belief and misunderstanding of God? Absolutely.
“Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray.”
Obviously, this happens; it is happening today, all around us.
Micah 3:5-7 NASB Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; When they have something to bite with their teeth, They cry, "Peace, "But against him who puts nothing in their mouths They declare holy war. (6) Therefore it will be night for you--without vision, And darkness for you--without divination. The sun will go down on the prophets, And the day will become dark over them. (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.
“When they have something to bite with their teeth, They cry, "Peace," But against him who puts nothing in their mouths They declare holy war.”
One might read this and interpret it as people who are no longer starving. How easy it is for them to cry peace. I am not sure this makes sense, but these same people are declaring a holy war against the one who did not put food in their mouths.
The Amplified translation adds some clarity as it refers to the false prophets and leaders.
“Thus says the Lord: Concerning the false prophets who make My people err, when they have anything good to bite with their teeth they cry, Peace; and whoever gives them nothing to chew, against him they declare a sanctified war.”
This entire scenario has a soap opera feel to it, as these characters are willing to chew up those who do not take care of them in some lucrative manner.
Perhaps I can understand this idea of biting with their teeth from Ezekiel's words.
Ezekiel13:19 NASB "For handfuls of barley and fragments of bread, you have profaned Me to My people to put to death some who should not die and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies."
Breton's is a translation that I do not refer too often, but in this case, it gives clarity.
Ezekiel13:19 Brenton  And they have dishonored me before my people for a handful of barley, and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls which should not die, and to save alive the souls which should not live, while ye speak to a people hearing vain speeches.
The “they” in this sentence is Jewish leadership. The essence of the passage wreaks of graft and collusion. In this verse they are doing it for barley and bread; in a sense, food in their mouths while most are struggling to survive. Keep in mind that the Northern Kingdom, Israel, and the Southern Kingdom, Judah, had been under attack for some time; first at the hand of the Assyrian and then the Babylonian kingdoms.
“Therefore it will be night for you--without vision, And darkness for you--without divination. The sun will go down on the prophets, And the day will become dark over them.” Micah 3:6
Albert Barnes commentary
“In the presence of God's extreme judgments, even deceivers are at length still; silenced at last by the common misery, if not by awe. The false prophets had promised peace, light, brightness, prosperity;” and yet, what befell them all, trouble, anguish, darkness, and fear.”
This idea of the day being dark over them, may not lend itself entirely to things like uncertainty, perplexity, and big troubles. The prophet Joel adds to our understanding.
Joel 2:1-2 NASB Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the LORD, is coming; Surely it is near, (2) A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, So there is a great and mighty people; There has never been anything like it, Nor will there be again after it To the years of many generations.
Certainly much of this prophecy is metaphorical; however, even though much has been fulfilled, it will again see fulfillment at some point. For the day of the Lord is coming!

My people behave like an enemy. Micah 2:8-12.

Once again, I find myself struggling to keep a clear picture of who is being addressed.

As you can witness, in Micah 2:6, we have Micah speaking against those who want him to shut his mouth, as they say, “Enough of your preaching!”

Micah 2:6-7 CEV "Enough of your preaching!" That's what you tell me."We won't be disgraced, so stop preaching!"  (7) Descendants of Jacob, is it right for you to claim that the LORD did what he did because he was angry? Doesn't he always bless those who do right?

Israel asserts “We won't be disgraced.” To call the voices speaking against Micah, Israel is a broad assumption but a fairly logical one. Why?

• Based upon Micah 2:1,2 we know that the word Micah speaks applies to both sides of the divided kingdom – Israel and Judah; he is talking to those who have the power to rob and defraud the people of their land and therefore their inheritance. And, God is never speaking this way to everyone, although, such as in the case of humankind, all suffered the effects of Adam's treasonous act - something we like to call sin – something that is so much easier to understand if you consider the “sin” a genetic modification that impacted ALL peoples since that day.

(Seeing as the Assyrians and Babylonians will soon take everyone captive or kill them, inheritance is somewhat of a moot point; unless there is that one person that remembers that God promised His people the land of Canaan. As long as someone is keeping records in their head there is the probability that land could be reclaimed if that opportunity ever arose again; and apparently, it did. Looking to a time well over 2700 years later this becomes important again, as the words of Micah 2: 4,5 indicate that there will be no left that could reestablish inheritance claims.)

• Israel, for the longest time, was ruled by judges. Samson and Gideon are two that come quickly to mind. But Israel cried out; we want a king like the nations around us have, and so their first king was Saul. How quickly that went sour on them, and God warned them that it would. By the time Micah is speaking out against what is going on it feels more like some twisted struggle between the monarchical, aristocratic, and an oligarchical system. How is that possible? Well, consider that in Jesus day, although the Romans seemed to have the final say, who did Pontius Pilate turn to for the last word on the fate of Jesus? The Jewish council, which itself was a blend of oligarchical and aristocracy leadership.
  The kings, for the most part, followed God in name only, and the relatively, wealthy Jewish council were the voices that spoke for the people, whether they wanted them to or not.

So Micah is, for the most part talking to the ruling bodies.

Micah then retorts – "this is what you are saying, Does GOD lose his temper? Is this the way he acts? Isn't he on the side of good people?”(MSG)

On a personal note, I was told by a particular pastor not to give words to the body of Christ any longer because several people expressed to the pastor that they thought I made God sound angry. Why do we believe God would not get annoyed, particularly if we are operating contrary to the will of God?
In contrast to the kind, pleasant, and somewhat encouraging words of verse 7, where it says, “doesn't he always bless those who do right?” there is verse eight through eleven to bring us back to reality.

Micah 2:8 - 11 NET.“ but you rise up as an enemy against my people. You steal a robe from a friend, from those who pass by peacefully as if returning from a war. 9) You wrongly evict widows among my people from their cherished homes. You defraud their children of their prized inheritance. 10) But you are the ones who will be forced to leave! For this land is not secure! Sin will thoroughly destroy it! 11) If a lying windbag should come and say, 'I'll promise you blessings of wine and beer,' he would be just the right preacher for these people!”

The Complete Jewish Bible opens with this: “But lately my people behave like an enemy,” “ against my people.”(NET)

If God can generalize, using a sentence such as, " rising up as an enemy against my people," while saying "you are the ones who will be forced to leave," about whom is He talking? Ruling bodies, which, for the most part, is the Jewish priestly council.

To refresh our memories -
Micah 2:1-2 MSG Doom to those who plot evil, who go to bed dreaming up crimes! As soon as it's morning, they're off, full of energy, doing what they've planned. (2) They covet fields and grab them, find homes and take them. They bully the neighbor and his family, see people only for what they can get out of them.

Since God called Israel Babylon at one point, and Babylon is not a clearly defined entity, is it possible that He is speaking about the ruling class and those who think they have a right to oppress merely because of money? Absolutely, and we see this despicable activity throughout history.

Isn't it the people with money who own the land from which the widows are being evicted? And that is the lead into verse 9.

Micah 2:9 NIV  You drive the women of my people from their pleasant homes. You take away my blessing from their children forever.

Naomi is a good example of verse 9. When we meet Naomi, her husband is dead, and now her sons have died as well. [You can find much of this information in the first chapter of the book of Ruth] Naomi knowing she is the inheritor of land in Israel decides she will go back there. She tells the two daughters-in-law to go back home to their families, butRuth stays with her. Even in Israel, repossessing her land does not mean she will eat or pay any taxes owed, and so Ruth sets out to glean from a field so that they can survive.

In response to Israel's claim that no harm will come to them, God says,

Micah 2:10 NIV  Get up, go away! For this is not your resting place, because it is defiled, it is ruined, beyond all remedy.

Daniel had spent most of his adult life in Babylonian captivity (Daniel 1:2-4). Sitting quietly one day, reading the scroll of Jeremiah the prophet, he understood “that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.” That time, which was almost over, was the result of Israel disregarding the Sabbath years.

When I point these things out to people, many immediately come back at me with, I have never seen that in scripture. I have, but I don't have it memorized and had to look it up.

2 Chronicles 36:20-21 KJV  And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:  (21)  To fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years.

The command was to let the earth rest every seven years. Obviously, Israel did not do that. This idea of the seven-year sabbatical time plays a role in the time of God's wrath, as at the end of that time there is a restoration of all things. You see, nothing in God's scheme of things happens by coincidence, nor outside of God's timing.

Micah 2:11 NIV  If a liar and deceiver comes and says, 'I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,' that would be just the prophet for this people!

The NIV is a somewhat loose translation, but it conveys what Hebrew is saying through the mouth of Micah. Let me show you another translation that demands an explanation.

Micah 2:11 KJV  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.

Walking in the spirit — The Hebrew for walking is haw-lak' and means to walk continually and be conversant. The Hebrew for spirit is rûachand means wind, but it also means breath or spirit. The Hebrew word rûach is the counterpart to the Greek word pneuma meaning a current of air, breath, or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively a spirit.

Is Micah, in verse 11, defining a “prophet” that is walking in Spirit of God? Not a chance. This analogy of a false prophet is precisely what they have all been calling for, plenty of beer and wine for all; nothing will happen but good!

Micah 2:12 MKJV  I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel. I will put them together like the sheep of Bozrah, like the flock in the midst of their fold. They shall be in commotion because of men.

I frequently forget that the limitations within my mind do not limit God. This statement, by the mouth of Micah, is just another word picture that shows Israel diminished in number to where the imagery of a shepherd, tending to a manageable number of sheep immediately comes to mind.

Just for the fun of it, I looked up the population of Israel. It is 8,907,000. A loss of 2/3 reduces the population to just over 3 million.

Seeing as we see God gathering the remnant the Message translation makes sense.

Micah2:13 MSG Then I, GOD, will burst all confinements and lead them out into the open. They'll follow their King. I will be out in front leading them."

By comparison

Micah2:13 AMP The Breaker [the Messiah] will go up before them. They will break through, pass in through the gate and go out through it, and their King will pass on before them, the Lord at their head.

Seeing as the Jewish mind has been trained to refuse flamboyant words, the prophecies that are respected and valued are those that fall into repeated patterns and are verifiable by scripture. Micah 2:13 is just such a prophecy, an example, can be found in the words of prophets like Amos.

Amos 9:11 AMP In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David, the fallen hut or booth, and close up its breaches; and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old,

Yeshua/Jesus Christ the Messiah will come as the conquering King that Israel has longed for; it just won't happen in Israel's timing, and that is proven out by the fact that Israel will take a horrendous beating. If you are not aware, Israel has been sustaining a large volume of missiles being shot at them from Gaza.

A friend of mine asked me, do I think that Israel is experiencing that time called Jacob's troubles. Initially, I responded with, it seems like it, doesn't it, but an intense look at the passages surrounding the verse where Jacob's trouble is referenced indicates that this time is specific to the midpoint of the seven-year period.

Jeremiah 30:7 KJV  Alas! for that day is great so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.

While the troubles Israel, all of Christianity, and the innocent bystanders of the world are experiencing can easily be classified as trials. Jesus told us that tribulations would be a part of our lifestyle, this is especially true for those who, like me, live on the front lines of this battle called life.


 John 16:33 MKJV  I have spoken these things to you so that you might have peace in Me. In the world, you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.

You won't have anyone left! Micah 2:5-7

Micah 2:5 NIrV  So you won't even have anyone left in the LORD's community who can divide up the land for you.

I must include the context that leads to this sad statement.

Micah 2:3-4 NIrV  So the LORD says to them, "I am planning to send trouble on you. You will not be able to save yourselves from it. You will not live so proudly anymore. It will be a time of trouble.  4)  At that time people will make fun of you. They will tease you by singing a song of sadness. They will pretend to be you and say, "We are totally destroyed. Our enemies have divided up our land. The LORD has taken it away from us! He has given our fields to those who turned against us.'"
It often helps of me to break things down in a childlike manner.

• I am planning to send trouble on you.
• You will not be able to save yourselves from it.
• You will not live so proudly anymore.

Search for similar verses that speak of pride and arrogance, and you will find that there are many; more than I want to bog you down with them all.

• It will be a time of trouble.
• At that time people will make fun of you. They will tease you by singing a song of sadness. They will pretend to be you and say, "We are totally destroyed.
• Our enemies have divided up our land.
  • that breaks out and burns up something, whether people, things, or animals (Exo_22:6 [5]).
  • Both idols and the golden calf were burned up by fire (Exo_32:20; Deu_7:5, Deu_7:25; Deu_12:3).
  • In some cases, it was fire from the Lord which consumed sacrifices (Lev_9:24; 2Ch_7:1, 2Ch_7:3).
  • It was used to depict lightning in the plagues in Egypt (Exo_9:23-24.
• The LORD has taken it away from us!
• He has given our fields to those who turned against us.”

Since we now understand how bad it will get, the realization sets in.

Micah 2:5 NIrV  So you won't even have anyone left in the LORD's community who can divide up the land for you.

Who are those who divide the land?
I suppose you could say that real estate agents do. But then, even they have to submit to county records, and then there is the county assessors office who taxes you on what you own. Maybe the bottom line is that governments divide the land. When Israel came out of Egypt God spoke through Moses, and He divided the land, we now call Israel, among the twelve tribes. Since ownership among the tribes was done away with through captivity and foreign domination, it would seem that the government has taken over.

The point is, this onslaught is so bad that there is no one left of God's people that could redistribute the land.

Have you ever endured harassment from “believers” about the things you understand and words you say?
I have, and so did Micah. Hopefully, your words are in line with scripture and not so much about your opinion, otherwise, these zealots we have to deal with could be correct in their assessments of us.

Micah 2:6 AMP) Do not preach, say the prophesying false prophets; one should not babble and harp on such things; disgrace will not overtake us [the reviling has no end].

He just as easily could have said, this is what I hear: Do not preach; one should not babble and harp on such things; disgrace will not overtake us. Micah continues with, this reviling has no end.

A “brother in Christ” and a pastor, both, at different times, pointed out that the admonition that we wait expectantly for the Lord was given well over 2000 years ago. They say Jesus is not coming back anytime soon. They both effectively told me that I should not babble and harp on such things; Jesus will not come anytime soon.

The word translated disgrace is the Hebrew word k^elimmāh: It is a feminine noun referring to disgrace, shame, humiliation. It has the meaning of embarrassment.

So, in majority, Israel, then and now, are saying they will not be overtaken by:

• shame
• humiliation
• embarrassment
• And of course, disgrace.

One would think that the German death camps would have fulfilled all those terms, and they did. So we are really talking about some future event, aren't we?

Do you read any of the news coming out of Israel? They are not so different from any other modern nation, as they are barraged with scandal, not only in the government, but within the priesthood of Israel; and this is not accounting for the multiple, daily attacks on citizens, police, and the military.
What is being conveyed by Micah's words is far beyond the scope of the ordinary harassment that occurs daily. Two-thirds of Israel will be killed, buildings and homes will be turned into rubble, and there will be no one left to live in them - much like Damascus.

First, I want you to see Micah 2:7 in the King James Version, as it is archaic and hard to decipher at times.
Micah 2:7 KJV  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?

The Modern KJV reads like this: “House of Jacob, it is said, The Spirit of Jehovah is limited if these are His doings. Do not My words do good to him who walks uprightly?”

Clearer, but I still don't get it. Well, what is the prophet trying to say?

• First, Micah is addressing God's people. However, I also have to take into consideration the fact that Micah is speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and therefore this is God talking. Whoever the speaker is, he is addressing the House of Jacob – Since all Israel has descended from Jacob, then the speaker is talking about Israel/God's people. Keep in mind that the nation has split into two kingdoms; Israel in the North, and Judah in the South.
• What do the people say? “it is said, The Spirit of Jehovah is limited if these are His doings.” What are his doings? As stated in Micah 2:3,4 I am planning to send trouble on you. You will not be able to save yourselves from it. You will not live so proudly anymore. It will be a time of trouble.  4)  At that time people will make fun of you. They will tease you by singing a song of sadness. They will pretend to be you and say, "We are totally destroyed. Our enemies have divided up our land. The LORD has taken it away from us! He has given our fields to those who turned against us.'"

Perhaps another translation may help us.
Micah 2:7 CEV  Descendants of Jacob, is it right for you to claim that the LORD did what he did because he was angry? Doesn't he always bless those who do right?

Do you really think that God cannot be angry? He warned Israel repeatedly that they should turn from their evil ways, but they did not, nor would they turn back to God. Do we think that these great countries we live in will be excluded from God's wrath? Haven't we too turned our backs on God?


God has always been relatively straightforward, spelling out the good and the bad and then giving the hearer a choice. Note what Micah/God says, “Do not My words do good to him who walks uprightly?” And they will; God's word will do good to those who follow it.

They covet ... houses, and take them away. A look at Micah 2:1-4

These studies on Micah started as personal readings as I had no understanding of Micah and who he was talking to. Having been accosted by a pastor who told me to stay away from Eschatology, I was thrilled to see that Micah spoke with precision about such things.

 Another aspect of Micah that has troubled me for years was the division of the Northern and Southern Jewish kingdoms, Israel in the north, and Judah in the South. I feel strongly that I have a clear picture of much of that.

The men I sit with several days a week, are always asking me what I am studying, that prompted me to turn my own questions and thoughts into something that might help someone else understand. I realize that much of scripture is self-evident, however, if you grew up in church, as I did, then you have a lot of tales, traditions, and false teachings to undo. Undoing these things takes some dedication on your part, and that lack of commitment to God's word becomes evident as the people around you will fight with you to maintain those tales and traditions.

Here it is November 9, 2018, and this morning we learned that a beautiful, peaceful, retirement community of Paradise, Ca. has pretty much burned to the ground. The lady who put up the video and showed you the destruction as they drove out of town to safety, continually said, "Oh my God!"  You see, the majority of us have just enough experience with a self-serving and convenient religion that we can fight back with religious terminology. We are not fooling anyone, for we have chosen to do what Israel not only did but still does, they turned their back on God. They will, however, just like the person on the street, fight to protect what they think is right. 

If I had one purpose it would be to get people interested and excited about reading the Word of God. I find it a fascinating journey, and I know the end of the story. 

Enough of this, on with the study. 

Micah 2:1 MKJV  Woe to those who plot wickedness and prepare evil on their beds! When the morning is light they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.

• “Woe to those who plot wickedness."
• “and prepare evil on their beds!”
• "because they have the power to do what they want.”

Micah 2:2 MKJV  And they covet and seize fields, and houses, and take them away. And they oppress a man and his household, even a man and his inheritance.

• “they covet and seize fields, and houses, and take them away.”
   In a previous post on Micah, I made a point of talking about the things that would have motivated the prophet (you know, life.) For example: suppose God brings some Hells Angel motorcycle rider to Christ. That man would undoubtedly have a rough exterior until God is through refining the man (by the way, God won't be done perfecting us until we are changed just before entering heaven.) Micah had to deal with people like, King Ahab, who wanted the field of Naboth; a field which was profitable and happened to be next to the castle. Ordinary ploys at bartering did nothing to change the mind of Naboth, and so, Ahab's wife, who had the power in her hands to take it, had Naboth killed. There is no reason to think that Micah would not have found out about this, especially since Jezebel's actions brought a relatively swift judgment against her, and she was thrown out of an upper window, where she splattered and was eaten by dogs, leaving nothing to bury. This kind of action is high drama.
• “And they oppress a man and his household, even a man and his inheritance." By power wrest the estates out of the hands of the owners. This kind of action is precisely what I was trying to portray when I brought up Naboth.

Seized property. The acquisition of property by oppressing the poor and weak violates both the law against coveting as well as the injunction not to violate the covenantal division of the land to each Israelite household after the conquest. Despite these laws, the mounting debt of small landowners and the political power exercised by large landowners led to abuses, which are mentioned in Egyptian wisdom literature (Instruction of Amenemope).[From the IVPBBC]

Isaiah 5:8 MKJV Woe to those who join house to house, laying field to field, until the end of space, and you are made to dwell alone in the middle of the land!

Oppressive real estate development. Expansion of real estate holdings in the ancient world was usually at someone else's expense. The story of Ruth is such a tale. Even though the Jews had laws which demanded that another Jew's property was to be returned after seven years, the Jewish investors looked for ways to get around these laws. In Israel, this was a theological as well as an economic crisis. Since God had given them the land as a benefit of the covenant, each family considered its landholdings as its little share in the covenant. Therefore, what otherwise would be a financial tragedy (often with an oppressive dimension) also served to deprive family members of their part in the covenant.

Here in America, we had, several years ago, some lousy banking practices where they made sub-prime loans. These loans were made to people who would not be able to make their payments, and a deluge of people lost their homes to foreclosure.

Micah 2:3 MKJV So Jehovah says this: Behold, against this family I am plotting an evil from which you shall not remove your necks; nor shall you go proudly, but it is an evil time.

• “against this family.”
• “I am plotting an evil from which you shall not remove your necks; ”
• “nor shall you go proudly, but it is an evil time.”

Judges 2:15 MKJV Wherever they went out, the hand of Jehovah was against them for evil, as Jehovah had said, and as Jehovah had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.

Jeremiah 8:3 MKJV And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the rest of those who remain of this evil family, who remain in all the places where I have driven them, says Jehovah of Hosts.

Amos 3:1 MKJV Hear this Word that Jehovah has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,

Micah 2:4 MKJV In that day one shall take up a parable against you and mourn a mourning of mournings, saying, We shall be completely laid waste. He has exchanged the share of my people. How He has removed it from me! To the apostate, He has divided our fields.

• “In that day.”
• “We shall be completely laid waste.”

Micah 2:4 ISV When this happens, someone will compose a proverb about you, lamenting sorrowfully, 'We are completely ruined! He has given my people's heritage to others. How he has removed it from me, dividing up our fields!'

God restored Israel to their land; this restoration began to happen 1917 with the Balfour agreements. But Israel became an acknowledged nation in 1948. And yet, here again, Israel will be completely laid waste. To those who do not read the Bible, with the purpose of understanding, this makes no sense, and neither does God. We are told things like God is love, and because of love, God gave His only Son to die so that the world, through Him, could be saved.

Why then does He not just save these people He calls his own?

Note how I said, through Him, we could be saved. It is an open-ended invitation, and all one has to do is to walk through the door. Soon that door, which is now open, will be closed; and thus will end the age of Grace. Is the opportunity to find or come to Him still available? Indeed, but after the catching away of the church, you will have to prove your allegiance through your actions and testimony. In the face of some entity, like ISIS, you will probably lose your head. 

Here in America, where loving God is on the verge of becoming a criminal act, you will probably be arrested and thrown into one the FEMA camps that are already set up across this nation. I failed to mention that during the seven years following the catching away of the church, the violence and animosity towards mere people will skyrocket. And none of this takes into account the destruction God will send upon the earth.

How do I know this stuff? I have read my Bible and subjected myself to lousy Bible studies, that were so bad that I had to go home and study out what scripture had to say myself. My guess is you figured out that I am no Einstein; I am just a regular guy that has learned to rely heavily on God's grace and mercy.

A look at Micah. Chapter 1: 6-16. The end of chapter 1.

May I be honest? There are some portions of the Bible that I find tedious, like the book of Numbers and these next few verses. Let's see if I can invest a bit of life into them.

Micah 1:6 MKJV And I will make Samaria into ruins of the field, planting places for a vineyard; and I will pour down her stones into the valley, and I will uncover her foundations.

This verse reminds me of another scenario in scripture, where it spells out the destruction of Damascus. Isaiah 17:1 tells us that Damascus will cease to be a city.

Look at this picture of Damascus; If it is not yet uninhabitable, it will be soon.

A Drone picture of Damascus that shows the destruction going on there; “no copyright infringement is intended.”

The IVPBBC gives us this piece of information. “The Syro-Ephraimitic War which raged during the middle 730s ended with the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III invading Syria and Israel and devastating both of these rebellious states (734-732). The Syrian kingdom ruled from Damascus by Rezin (see Isa_7:1-9), had been Israel's principal political and economic rival. He had meddled in Israel and Judah's internal affairs and had encroached on their territories for over a decade. It seems apparent, however, that Rezin overstepped his bounds in leading an anti-Assyrian coalition. Assyria did not welcome a rival “Greater Syria,” and the destruction of Damascus in 732, as recorded in the Assyrian Annals, was massive, leaving hundreds of sites looking “like hills over which the flood had swept.” This widespread destruction also included both the reduction of much of the city of Damascus to rubble as well as the redistribution of its territories in Syria as well as in Transjordan and the Galilee.”
[The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament; Copyright © 2000 by John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews, and Mark W. Chavalas]

Apparently, the destruction is happening once again.

Samaria.

From ESV maps showing the range of the Assyrian empire. Note where Samariah is located, directly above Judah.

Although I went into great detail about why there was such a hatred of Samaritans, I can't just walk away from the region because the Holy Spirit seems to keep drawing that area into the equation.
Note: Samaria was taken by Shalmaneser (2Ki_17:6) B.C. 724; razed to the ground by Hyrcanus (Josephus, Ant. l. xiii. c. 18); restored by Herod, and called Sebastê; and is now a small village called Sebusta, its ancient site being converted into gardens.

So, we have learned that Samaria was taken all the way to the ground, and will, like Damascus, be destroyed again. One of the main problems I see with that area is that it sits in the Megiddo valley and Ezekiel 38,39 decree that the Megiddo valley will be filled with blood soon.

Micah 1:7 MKJV And all her graven images shall be beaten to pieces, and all her gifts shall be burned with the fire, and I will destroy all its idols. For she gathered it from the reward of a harlot, and they shall return to the reward of a harlot.

Let's consider two aspects of this verse for a moment.

• “And all her graven images shall be beaten to pieces, and all her gifts shall be burned with the fire.”
• “and I will destroy all its idols. For she gathered it from the reward of a harlot, and they shall return to the reward of a harlot.”

“And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, ...By the Assyrian army, for the sake of the gold and silver of which they were, made, or with which they were adorned, as was usually done by conquerors to the gods of the nations they conquered; these were the calf of Samaria, and other idols; and not only those in the city of Samaria, but in all the other cities of Israel which fell into the hands of the Assyrian monarch;” see Isa_10:11; [John Gill's Exposition of the Bible]

Micah 1:8 MKJV Therefore I will wail and howl; I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like jackals, mourn like the daughters of an ostrich.

[I will wail and howl] The prophet took up wailing because of the invader and the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem (Mic_1:8-16). [Dake]

Dake's commentary wants us to believe that this is Micah, speaking about his actions and reactions. I have to remind myself that Micah is speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit (even if he didn't know he was doing that,) on behalf of God. Micah is speaking God's heart. Why would God strip himself naked and wail like a jackal? That idea doesn't even seem reasonable. The bottom line here; I am not sure to whom I should assign these words. If it is Micah, he is indeed trying to make a point.

Micah 1:9 MKJV For her wounds are not curable; for it has come to Judah; it has reached to the gate of My people, to Jerusalem.

Interesting how the problem initiated with Samaria, in Israel, the Northern divided kingdom. Imagine that, God's people divided against themselves. Does that happen today? Oh sure, it happens all the time and churches will split over divisions.

When we consider a wound, does it typically heal? Certainly. Now some things take longer than others, and, in war, a leg blown off does not grow back. Some spiders, on the other hand, leave you with necrosis, which, in some cases, will not heal.

[wound is incurable] This expresses the fact that nothing could prevent her utter ruin, inasmuch as the nation had utterly filled up her measure of iniquity. [Dake]

Micah 1:10 MKJV Do not declare it in Gath; weep not at all; in the house of Leaphrah roll in the dust.

"Do not declare it in Gath" is interesting, as Gath is where Micah hails from, and eventually, so does Goliath.

John Gill's commentary points out that this phrase is borrowed from 2 Samuel.
2 Samuel 1:20 MKJV Tell it not in Gath, do not let it be known in the streets of Askelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
One commentator stated, “why would you tell the enemy about the crushing punishment that was to be dealt out to their enemies; they would only laugh.”

Micah 1:11-12 MKJV Pass over to them, O dweller of Shaphir, in nakedness of shame. The dweller of Zaanan has not gone out; the mourning of Beth-ezel shall take from you his standing. 12) For be grieved for good, the dweller of Maroth, for evil came down from Jehovah to the gate of Jerusalem.

Joseph Benton's commentary communicates this: "Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir —Houbigant says that Eusebius places this city, the name of which signifies fair, or elegant, in the tribe of Judah, between Eleutheropolis and Askelon. Some think, however, that Saphir is not a proper name, and that there was no place so called in Judea; but that the clause ought to be rendered, Pass away, thou inhabitant of a delightful place, that is, Samaria, which was very pleasantly situated. The prophet here threatens the inhabitants of that place that they should go into captivity, in a way very unsuitable to their former softness and luxury, even stripped by the conquering enemy, and without so much as a covering to hide their nakedness. The inhabitant of Zaanan — A place in the tribe of Judah, called Zenan, Jos_15:37; came not forth in the mourning of Beth-ezel — “There was no burial of her dead with solemn mourning out of the precincts of her city, but she was besieged and put to the sword.” — Newcome. Or, the meaning may be, the inhabitants of Zaanan were so much concerned to provide for their own safety, that they took no notice of the mournful condition of their near neighbour Beth-ezel, which seems to have been a place near Jerusalem, termed Azal, Zec_14:5. Grotius, however, supposes Zaananto denote Zion, and Beth-ezelto signify Beth-el, called here by another name, importing the house of separation, because it was the principal seat of idolatrous worship. He shall receive of you his standing — The standing, or encamping of an army against the city; that is, the enemy shall encamp among you, shall stand on your ground, so that you will have no opportunity of coming out to the help of your neighbors. For the inhabitant of Maroth —A town in Judea, (the same probably that is called Maarath,Jos_15:59,)waited, &c.— Or rather, as the words may be translated, Although the inhabitant of Maroth waited for good, yet evil came, &c.,unto the gate of Jerusalem — Such a calamity as stopped not at Maroth, but reached even to Jerusalem. By Maroth, which signifies bitterness, or trouble, Grotius understands Ramah, or, expressed as it often is in the plural, Ramoth, a place in the tribe of Benjamin, near Beth-lehem, and not far from Jerusalem.

Micah 1:13-15 MKJV O inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the stallion; she is the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion, for the sins of Israel were found in you. 14) Therefore you shall give parting gifts to Moresheth-gath; the houses of Achzib are for a lying thing to the kings of Israel. 15) Yet I will bring an heir to you, O dweller of Mareshah. The glory of Israel shall come to Adullam.

The following is from JosephBenson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
O thou inhabitant of Lachish — This was a strong fortress in the tribe of Judah: see Jos_15:39. Bind the chariot to the swift beast — In order to flee from the approaching enemy. Lachish was one of the first cities that Sennacherib besieged when he invaded Judea. She is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion — She was the first among the cities of Judah which practised those idolatries which the kings and people of Israel had begun. Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moresheth-gath — Or, to Moresheth of Gath; that is, to the Philistines of that country, either to defend thee against the enemy or to receive thee under their protection. The houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel — The word Achzib signifies a lie. There was a town of that name in the tribe of Judah, mentioned Jos_15:44. This place, the prophet here foretells, will answer its name, and disappoint the kings of Israel that depended upon its strength and assistance: see 2Ch_21:3; and 2Ch_28:19. Israel is sometimes used for Judah, and so it may probably be taken here. Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah — This was another town belonging to Judah, mentioned Jos_15:44. The name signifies an inheritance; so here, by way of allusion, it is said, that a new heir or master should come and take possession of it, namely, a conquering enemy. He shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel — Or, The glory of Israel shall come to Adullam; the Assyrians, whom Israel once gloried in as their ally, shall come to Adullam. This was a town in Judah not far from Lachish: see Jos_15:35. Some think the meaning of this clause is, that the chief men of Israel should be forced to hide themselves from their enemies in the cave of Adullam, as David did when he fled from Saul, 1 Samuel 23.

Micah 1:16 MKJV Make yourself bald, and cut off your hair for the sons of your delight; make your baldness large like the eagle; for they go into exile from you.

"By these phrases the prophet signifies, that the calamity would be so great as to deserve the strongest expressions of grief."

[Make thee bald] Making the head bald in mourning was forbidden under the law (Deu_14:1), but since Judah had become like the heathen, she might as well mourn like them. Dake's commentary

Cutting the hair, or shaving it close, were expressions of mourning and lamentation anciently used among most nations. Enlarge thy baldness as the eagle — When she molts her feathers; for they are gone into captivity, &c. — By these phrases the prophet signifies, that the calamity would be so great as to deserve the strongest expressions of grief. Joseph Benson

Micah 1:5 part two, What is the transgression of Jacob?

So let's go back to Micah 1:5 for a moment.

Micah 1:5 NASB All this is for the rebellion of Jacob And for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the rebellion of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? What is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?

The verse states, “All this is for the rebellion of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel.” As you can see the verse ends with a period, and then, inserts a question. Perhaps they should have ended with a comma and then said, “but,” what is the rebellion of Jacob, because I, nor you, know. I can now conclusively tell you how Samaria came to hold such disdain in the eyes of the Jews, but I cannot tell you what this rebellion was with any specificity. So let's find out.

"What is the transgression of Jacob?"

The transgression of Jacob. (According to the UCRT cross reference all these references apply to Jacob's transgression.) 2Ki_17:7-23, *2Ch_36:14-16, Isa_50:1-2; Isa_59:1-15, Jer_2:17; Jer_2:19; Jer_4:18; Jer_5:25; Jer_6:19, Lam_5:16, 1Th_2:15-16.

Without diving into scripture, there is the incident that all of us who have been around organized church for a long time are aware of; the short version of it goes like this. Issac is old, cannot see, and is dying., At his mother's prodding Jacob deceives his brother Esau, and then his father. Because of this deception, Issac gives Jacob (the second born) the blessing that was due the first - sheep, land, and the promise of God's best upon his life. Esau of course now wants to kill his brother Jacob, and so Jacob flees for life, at his mother's direction, to the land where her brother Laban resides, and thus begins our tale.

Now this deception aspect alone might be the answer to what the transgression of Jacob might be, but strangely, you still the blessing of God (what a coincidence that Issac gave him that blessing,) upon his life – along with constant problems. So, I am uncomfortable pinning the transgression/rebellion to this incident alone.

When searching for a reference that explains the transgression of Jacob, this passage in Genesis 31:1-3 is one of the places you are taken.

Genesis 31:1-3 NASB Now Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, "Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this wealth." 2) Jacob saw the attitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as formerly. 3) Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you."

Note how Jacob heard Laban's son say, Jacob has taken away all that was our father's. They were, of course, referring to the goats that had distinct markings, an agreement that Laban made with Jacob, and broke several times by stealing the goats away from Jacob.

Genesis 30:31-35 NASB So he said, "What shall I give you?" And Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock: 32) let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted sheep and every black one among the lambs and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages. 33) "So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come concerning my wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, will be considered stolen." 34) Laban said, "Good, let it be according to your word." 35) So he removed on that day the striped and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats, every one with white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the care of his sons.

Laban agreed and then had his sons take those same sheep out of the herd so he would not have to pay Jacob. At this point, I would say that all the transgression is on the part of Laban.

The sons of Laban may have also been referring to their sisters when they said “Jacob has taken away all that was our father's,” but that too was an agreement that their father had made and did not uphold. Still, Jacob had done nothing wrong to Laban.

As I go through references to Jacob, the first thing I find is the deception performed by Jacob and his mother, against Esau and Issac. But as I follow that trail, it seems that God had his hand in it all along, and blessed Jacob regardless.

There is, however, a drastic change when they meet Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite:

Genesis 34:2 MKJV  And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and humbled her.

Almost all of Genesis 34 is centered upon Dinah, this young man Shechem and his actions, and the primary focus, the deception and deadly violence committed by Jacob's sons.

Who or what's to say men are good; but didn't this young man and his father seem to want to do the right thing. What you can't ignore is that Shechem raped Dinah; at best he seduced her, but when you consider the Jewish idea that a young girl is marriageable at 12 years and a day, how could you expect her to have the skills to resist some smooth talking man?. Besides all that, Shechem, we learn loved Dinah and wanted to marry her; while that seems excellent look at the IVP commentary below. Still, it seems men died without cause at the hands of Jacob's sons, while Jacob did and said nothing. Perhaps now we have what might be the transgression of Jacob.

The IVP Bible Background Commentary has this to say about rape.

Ravishing women. Rape as a means of obtaining a marriage contract was apparently one stratagem used in the ancient Near East. Laws regulating this practice are found in Exo_22:16-17, Deu_22:28-29, the Middle Assyrian Laws and the Hittite laws. These often require the rapist to pay an extraordinarily high bride price and sometimes forbid any possibility of divorce. Sumerian Law 7, like Genesis 34, deals with a case where a young, unbetrothed woman leaves her parents’ home without permission and is raped. The result is an option by the parents to marry her to the rapist without her consent.

On a side note: this phrase, “and he did and said nothing,” should have a familiar tone, for this was the way King David ran his own family.

Genesis 34:11-13 MKJV  And Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, Let me find grace in your eyes, and whatever you shall say to me I will give.  12)  Heap upon me ever so much price and dowry, and I will give according as you shall say to me. But give me the girl for a wife.  13)  And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor, his father, speaking with deceit because he had defiled Dinah their sister.

Again, the conversation starts with Jacob but quickly turns to the sons, who are doing all the speaking on behalf of the family. Everything the son's say is deceitful, with the purpose of making them pay for what Shechem did to Dinah.

Genesis 34:14-17 MKJV  And they said to them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised. For it is a reproach to us.  15)  But in this we will agree with you, if you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised,  16)  then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will live with you, and we will become one people.  17)  But if you will not listen to us, to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will go.

Jacob is sitting right there, listening to every word, and yet he says and does nothing. Maybe he thinks this is all reasonable, and perhaps it is.

Genesis 34:18-24 MKJV  And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son.  19)  And the young man did not hesitate to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter. And he was more honorable than all the house of his father.  20)  And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying,  21)  These men are at peace with us. Therefore let them live in the land, and trade in it. For behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.  22)  Only on this condition will the men agree to us, to live with us, to be one people, if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised.  23)  Shall not their cattle and their substance and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will live with us.  24)  And all that went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to Shechem his son. And every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.

The assumption, on the part of the Hivites, was that these people and their “wealth” would be joined to their community, making it stronger. The sons of Jacob had no intention of doing that and therefore waited until the third day after this barbaric surgery so that they could kill them all.

Genesis 34:27-29 MKJV  The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city because they had defiled their sister.  28)  They took their sheep and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field.  29)  And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives, they took captive and plundered even all that was in the house.

What was it that Laban's sons accused Jacob of taking, all that belonged to their father; and now Jacob's sons have done just that to the Hivites. Jacob, who has said nothing, now has something to say.

Genesis 34:30 MKJV  And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, You have troubled me, to make me stink among those who live in the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. And I, being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and kill me. And I shall be destroyed, my house and I.

Now the story goes on, but is it possible that this incident is one of the primary roots of Jacob's transgression?

2 Kings 17:7 MKJV  And it happened because the sons of Israel had sinned against Jehovah their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,

Note what 2Kings 17:7 says, “ And it happened because the sons of Israel had sinned against Jehovah their God.” While the reference has little to do with Shechem and the Hivites, these are the tribal names that evolved from the same sons that we just witnessed, deceiving the Hivites, slaughtering all the males, taking all the females captive, and looting all that they possessed. Is it possible, that as representatives of God on this earth, that they just misrepresented God? Why can I ask that question, because I have learned that God is, above all else, filled with mercy and justice?

If you know the story of Jonah, then you know that narrative ends with Jonah having a pity party because God showed the Ninevehites mercy and temporarily spared them. I can think of one other misrepresentation, and that was performed by Moses when he, against God's direction, struck the rock instead of speaking to it. Oh sure, water flowed, but what I see is Moses misrepresenting God. The people, most likely see God as an angry, vengeful God instead of one who operates out of mercy.

What is a predominant belief that most of us have?

That God is a vindictive God with one purpose, send as many people to hell as possible. I have come to understand this twisted theme from the mouths of church elders who lead studies at the churches I have attended over the years.

There is one last predominant thing that stands out against Jacob, although it is preceded by God's blessing once again as God changes Jacob's name to Israel.

Genesis 35:6-16 MKJV  And Jacob came to Luz in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people with him.  7)  And he built an altar there and called the place El-bethel, because God appeared to him there when he fled from the face of his brother.  8)  But Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried beneath Bethel, under an oak. And the name of it was called Oak of Weeping.  9)  And God appeared to Jacob again when he came out of Padan-aram and blessed him.  10)  And God said to him, Your name is Jacob. Your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name. And He called his name Israel.  11)  And God said to him, I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall be from you, and kings shall come out of your loins.  12)  And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you, and to your seed, after you, I will give the land.  13)  And God went up from him in the place where He talked with him.  14)  And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone. And he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it.  15)  And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.  16)  And they moved from Bethel. And there was only a length of land to come to Ephrath. And Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor in her bearing.

This is where things get even tougher for Jacob, as Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin, and Reuben has sex with one of Jacob's concubine.

Rachel's Tomb circa 1930

Genesis 35:22 MKJV  And it happened when Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine. And Israel heard it. And the sons of Jacob were twelve:

You follow the story out to the end of Genesis 35 and what do see happening to Reuben? Nothing. The next time we hear of Reuben is in Genesis 37:21 where he is trying to save Joseph's life. While his words may have diverted the brothers from killing Joseph, Joseph was still sold into slavery. Reuben says something interesting here which tells us that many things happen in the background and we are not aware.

Genesis 37:29-30 MKJV  And Reuben returned to the pit. And behold! Joseph was not in the pit! And he tore his clothes.  30)  And he returned to his brothers and said, The child, he is not. And I, where shall I go?

Much time has passed. Joseph has become second in command in Egypt, and the brothers have convinced Jacob/Israel that they need to go and get some grain from Egypt or they will die. Things go badly for the brothers because Joseph recognizes them and wants them to squirm a little.

Genesis 42:22 MKJV  And Reuben answered them, saying, Did I not speak to you saying, Do not sin against the youth? And you would not hear. Therefore, behold, also his blood is required.

After all these years, Joseph is a middle-aged man with a family, since Reuben's indiscretion with his father's concubine, and finally, we hear some disdain against him.

Genesis 49:3-4 MKJV  Reuben, you are my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.  4)  Unstable as water, you shall not excel, because you went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it. He went up to my couch.

Jacob/Israel called his sons to him and spelled out prophetically, how their lives would go, in life, and as a nation. Jacob had no idea it would include 400+ years of slavery in Egypt, but that was yet to come. Jacob died and was buried with Rachel in Samaria.

Now that is the summary of Jacob's fraudulence, the transgressions done to him, and his lack of action about his sons' bloody violence. Can I pin any one thing on Jacob and say this is what got him in trouble? Not really, but if you noticed, God seems to portray a consistent family line and ownership of problems through that line. Rebecca, taught Jacob; and Jacob taught his sons; and when they got out of line, we see nothing done to them.