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By David R. Sincerbox|Published Date: January 30, 2012
Micah 2:1-2:
1 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.
2 They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.
The Story: If ever there is an account in prophecy that speaks to the current economic situation in America, it is this one. As in the days of Micah, powerful people lost sleep while developing schemes that would defraud others. Part of our current housing and economic crisis came about because of unscrupulous lending practices. Some who could not afford houses in a certain price range were hoodwinked by lenders into signing loans, whereas others, compelled by greed and the housing bubble signed loans under the notion that real estate prices would continue to rise and they would make a huge profit off a miniscule investment. Politicians (Congressmen and Presidents), world bankers, mortgage companies, hedge fund managers, borrowers, and others created and fueled by greed, created a real estate bubble; some exerted excessive creative energies—probably even lying on their beds while doing so—to devise complex funds that few could understand that ultimately, when they crashed, took many houses away from people. Why did they do so? Micah says, “because it [was] in the power of their hand.” They could do it, therefore they did it.
The Structure: The literary structure of this passage is called a “woe oracle”. An oracle is defined by The Oxford English Dictionary as a “divine revelation”. Woe oracles often appear in the prophets (some can be seen in Is. 5:8, 11, 18, 20; Jer. 22:13; Am. 5:18). Jesus, too, used a woe oracle to address the Pharisees and the Scribes in Matt. 23:13-29.
Sometimes one can sin and transgress spontaneously without much thought. But often evil is premeditated. Evil doers follow a pattern that Micah outlines in this verse: the first step is to “devise” the scheme; the second step is to “work” it, to tweak it, to refine it; the third step is to put it into action, to “perform” it. In Matthew 10:16, Jesus states, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Christians can be very gullible. We want to see the good in people but those outside the faith can be very deceptive because they are in the enemy’s camp. We must be on guard. Some deceivers even pose as children of light! If a financial “opportunity” appears too good to be true, or goes against common mathematics, it probably is too good to be true. As with champagne, economic bubbles can be quite intoxicating. When they burst, they leave behind painful hangovers.
For more insight to the prophet Micah, order the book, The Minor Prophets, Vol. 2: Micah-Malachi, by James Montgomery Boice, from our online store.
The Worldview Bible examines the teaching of Scripture according to the Story and Structure of Truth – the Framework of Christian Worldview – using only other Scriptures for illumination. Information about The Framework of Truth is available on this site. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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