O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?
Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.
Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.
Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.
Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.
Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.
But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.
Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.
They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
I don't think I want to be that Zion...
ReplyDeleteI have read and reread this post. I have gone to the Bible and read Micah 3 and studied the footnotes. Twice in Micah it refers to the "heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel." After one such reference it states: "Is is not for you to know judgment?" and after the other reference it states: "that abhor judgement, and pervert all equity." There are no footnotes to any of the above references and so we are left to try and figure this out on our own. It seems to me the "heads of Jacob" must have reference to the 12 sons of Jacobs who are the "heads" of the tribes of Isreal. (The reference to the Princes of the house of Israel may be broader, however, the "heads of Jacob" seems to clearly refer to the 12 sons of Jacob). The bible reveals that these sons of Jacob, other than Joseph, all committed serious sins. These 11 did not judge righteously and perveted equity. After Joseph told them his dream "his brethern said unto him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words." Genesis 37:8. Note they all hated Joseph before the dream (Gen. 37:4), Joseph's revelation to them of his dream just caused them to hate him all the more. Hate is an evil thing and works upon us to poison our hearts. His brothers hearts became poisoned to the point that when Joseph was sent by Jacob to check on his brothers who were feeding his father's flocks the scripture states: "And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, THEY CONSPIRED AGAINST HIM TO SLAY HIM." (Emphasis added.) The 11 conspired to murder Joseph. Only two of his brothers backed off somewhat. Reuben was the one who stopped the murder; "Let us not kill him .... Shed no blood, but cast him into his pit ...." (Gen. 37:21-22.) But it was Rueben who "went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine"--Gen 35:2. Judah also gave up on the conspiracy to murder: "And Judah said unto his brethern, What profit is it if we slay our broher, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to he Ishmelites...." Judah later slept with his daughter-in-law (thinking she was a harlot) and she conceived by him--Gen. 38:12-26. Hence even the two "heads of Jacob that showed some mercy did not live the kind of lives that would have made them righteous judges. Truly these "heads of Jacob" did "abhor judgment and pervert all equity." As "heads" of the Tribes of Jacob it seems to me that these patriarchs, had they been righteous, should have been the ones appointed by Christ to judge the righteous of the whole House of Israel rather that the twelve apostles who were with him in his ministry in the land of Jerusalem. For the first verse of Micah 3 states "Is it not for you (these 'heads of Jacob') to know judgement?" Perhaps that is why Christ has appointed the 12 apostles in Jerusalem to be the judges of the righteous of the House of Israel. (D&C 29:12; Mormon 3:18-19) Since one of the 12 apostles betrayed Christ (whom Christ said was "lost" and referred to him as "the son of perdition") this vacancy could be filled by Matthias, the replacement apostle, or by Joseph who was the only "head of Jacob" who remained faithful after being tested to the limit. Perhaps these inferences can be gleaned from Micah 3 and the other scriptural references I have quoted. Of course, one would not know for sure if this is correct without a personal confirmation from the spirit which I do not claim to have had. JRB
ReplyDeleteSo Denver, you posted this for a reason... usually your posts include commentary. This post did not include such commentary.
ReplyDeleteIs there something more you want us to see here? Types? Shadows?
Whoever needed to understand this, has understood it.
ReplyDelete