“Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice?—you who hate the good and love the evil, who tear the skin from off my people and their flesh from off their bones. who eat the flesh of my people. and lay their skin from off them. and break their bones in pieces and chop them up like meat in a pot, like flesh in a cauldron.”
Micah 3:1-3
God is speaking here to the leaders among His people. The problem is that these leaders have betrayed their trust. They were abusing the trust that they had been given by God.
These prophets and priests were called to be shepherds of God’s flock, but they seem more like butchers than shepherds. So, what does God do when leaders prove unfaithful to their trust? When a prophet, priest, pastor, parent, product manager, publicist, professor, promoter, or plumber proves unfaithful, what does God do? The answer is: He stops listening to their prayers.
Here are leaders who are ripping people off and chewing people up. They come to the temple and say their prayers, and they feel that they are spiritual. But they have ignored the cries of the poor, and God says as long as that is the case, he will not listen to their cries either. God holds His people accountable.
Is it possible that God is not listening to your prayers? Are there cries from the weak, vulnerable, or poor around you that you are ignoring? If so, how can you respond differently?
