Micah 3:1-12

3:1-4 | Micah compares the injustice against the poor to butchering animals for food (Ps. 53:4; Ezek. 22:27), graphically describing the corrupt leaders as cannibals. They viewed their victims not as fellow human beings but as animals who existed solely to satisfy their appetites. These butchers would reap what they had sown – God would show them no mercy.

3:5-7 | Many prophets were also corrupt. If people gave these false prophets food in exchange for a prophetic message, they promised peace, but if they did not receive satisfactory pay, they pronounced doom. The Lord would judge the false prophets by shutting off all their channels of revelation, both legitimate (visions) and illegitimate (divination).

3:8 | Whereas the leaders in Israel were motivated by greed, Micah’s message has power because it agrees with God’s Law: Micah calls for justice and courageously confronts violators of the covenant (Isa. 58:1). Anyone who claims to speak by the Spirit of the Lord must also live a life that proclaims His priorities.

3:9-11 | The injustice and covenant unfaithfulness of Israel’s leaders would produce unimaginable national devastation (Jer. 26:18), including the ruin of the temple, which by this time was a hollow house of worship. The leaders mentioned here include the civil leaders (heads) and priests responsible for promoting justice, as well as the prophets responsible for communicating God’s will and plans to the people.