Calvin, Commentary on Micah, Part 7
(... continued from part 6)
Lecture Eighty-seventh.
Micah 3:11,12
The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach
for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they
lean upon the LORD, and say, [Is] not the LORD among us? none evil
can come upon us.
Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed [as] a field, and
Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the
high places of the forest.
The Prophet shows here first, how gross and supine was the
hypocrisy of princes as well as of the priests and prophets: and
then he declares that they were greatly deceived in thus soothing
themselves with vain flatteries; for the Lord would punish them for
their sins since he had in his forbearance spared them, and found
that they did not repent. But he does not address here the common
people or the multitude, but he attacks the chief men: for he has
previously told us, that he was endued with the spirit of courage.
It was indeed necessary for the Prophet to be prepared with
invincible firmness that he might freely and boldly declare the
judgment of God, especially as he had to do with the great and the
powerful, who, as it is well known, will not easily, or with
unruffled minds, bear their crimes to be exposed; for they wish to
be privileged above the ordinary class of men. But the Prophet not
only does not spare them, but he even arraigns them alone, as though
the blame of all evils lodged only with them, as indeed the
contagion had proceeded from them; for though all orders were then
corrupt, yet the cause and the beginning of all the evils could not
have been ascribed to any but to the chief men themselves.
And he says, "Princes for reward judge, priests teach for
reward, the prophets divine for money": as though he had said, that
the ecclesiastical as well as the civil government was subject to
all kinds of corruptions, for all things were made matters of sale.
We know that what the Holy Spirit declares elsewhere is ever true, -
that by gifts or rewards the eyes of the wise are blinded and the
hearts of the just are corrupted, (Eccles. 20: 29,) for as soon erg
judges open a way for rewards, they cannot preserve integrity,
however much they may wish to do so. And the same is the case with
the priests: for if any one is given to avarice, he will adulterate
the pure truth: it cannot be, that a complete liberty in teaching
should exist, except when the pastor is exempt from all desire of
gain. It is not therefore without reason that Micah complains here,
that the princes as well as the priests were hirelings in his day;
and by this he means, that no integrity remained among them, for the
one, as I have said, follows from the other. He does not say, that
the princes were either cruel or perfidious, though he had before
mentioned these crimes; but in this place he simply calls them
mercenaries. But, as I have just said, the one vice cannot be
separated from the other; for every one who is hired will pervert
judgment, whether he be a teacher or a judge. Nothing then remains
pure where avarice bears rule. It was therefore quite sufficient for
the Prophet to condemn the judges and the prophets and the priests
for avarice; for it is easy hence to conclude, that teaching was
exposed to sale, and that judgments were bought, so that he who
offered most money easily gained his cause. Princes then judge for
reward, and priests also teach for reward.
We can learn from this place the difference between prophets
and priests. Micah ascribes here the office or the duty of teaching
to the priests and leaves divination alone to the prophets. We have
said elsewhere, that it happened through the idleness of the
priests, that prophets were added to them; for prophesying belonged
to them, until being content with the altar, they neglected the
office of teaching: and the same thing, as we find, has taken place
under the Papacy. For though it be quite evident for what reason
pastors were appointed to preside over the Church, we yet see that
all, who proudly call themselves pastors, are dumb dogs. Whence is
this? Because they think that they discharge their duties, by being
only attentive to ceremonies; and they have more than enough to
occupy them: for the priestly office under the Papacy is laborious
enough as to trifles and scenic performances: but at the same time
they neglect the principal thing - to feed the Lord's flock with the
doctrine of salvation. Thus degenerated had the priests become under
the Law. What is said by Malachi ought to have been perpetuated, -
that the law should be in the mouth of the priest, that he should be
the messenger and interpreter of the God of hosts, (Mal. 2: 7;) but
the priests cast from them this office: it became therefore
necessary that prophets should be raised up, and as it were beyond
the usual course of things while yet the regular course formally
remained. But the priests taught in a cold manner; and the prophets
divined, that is professed that oracles respecting future things
were revealed to them.
This distinction is now observed by the Prophet, when he says,
"The priests teach for reward", that is, they were mercenaries, and
hirelings in their office: and the prophets divined for money". It
then follows, that they yet "leaned on Jehovah", and said, "Is not
Jehovah in the midst of us? Come then shall not evil upon us". The
Prophet shows here, as I have said at the beginning, that these
profane men trifled with God: for though they knew that they were
extremely wicked, nay, their crimes were openly known to all; yet
they were not ashamed to lay claim to the authority of God. And it
has, we know, been a common wickedness almost in all ages, and it
greatly prevails at this day, - that men are satisfied with having
only the outward evidences of being the people of God. There was
then indeed an altar erected by the command of God; there were
sacrifices made according to the rule of the Law; and there were
also great and illustrious promises respecting that kingdom. Since
then the sacrifices were daily performed, and since the kingdom
still retained its outward form, they thought that God was, in a
manner, bound to them. The same is the case at this day with the
great part of men; they presumptuously and absurdly boast of the
external forms of religion. The Papists possess the name of a
Church, with which they are extremely inflated; and then there is a
great show and pomp in their ceremonies. The hypocrites also among
us boast of Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, and the name of
Reformation; while, at the same time, these are nothing but
mockeries, by which the name of God and the whole of religion are
profaned, when no real piety flourishes in the heart. This was the
reason why Micah now expostulated with the prophets and the priests,
and the king's counselors; it was, because they falsely pretended
that they were the people of God.
But by saying; that "they relied on Jehovah, he did not condemn
that confidence which really reposes on God; for, in this respect,
we cannot exceed the bounds: as God's goodness is infinite, so we
cannot trust in his word too much, if we embrace it in true faith.
But the Prophet says, that hypocrites leaned on Jehovah, because
they flattered themselves with that naked and empty distinction,
that God had adopted them as his people. Hence the word, leaning or
recumbing, is not to be applied to the real trust of the heart, but,
on the contrary, to the presumption of men, who pretend the name of
God, and so give way to their own will, that they shake off not only
all fear of God, but also thought and reason. When, therefore, so
great and so supine thoughtlessness occupies the minds of men,
stupidity presently follows: and yet it is not without reason that
Micah employs this expression, for hypocrites persuade themselves
that all things will be well with them, as they think that they have
God propitious to them. As then they feel no anxiety while they have
the idea that God is altogether at peace with them, the Prophet
declares, by way of irony, that they relied on Jehovah; as though he
had said, that they made the name of God their support: but yet the
Prophet speaks in words contrary to their obvious meaning,
("katachrestikios" loquitur - speaks catachrestically;) for it is
certain that no one relies on Jehovah except he is humbled in
himself. It is penitence that leads us to God; for it is when we are
cast down that we recumb on him; but he who is inflated with
self-confidence flies in the air, and has nothing solid in him. And
our Prophet, as I have said, intended indirectly to condemn the
false security in which hypocrites sleep, while they think it enough
that the Lord had once testified that they would be his people; but
the condition is by them disregarded.
He now recites their words, "Is not Jehovah in the midst of us?
Come will not evil upon us." This question is a proof of a haughty
self-confidence; for they ask as of a thing indubitable, and it is
an emphatic mode of speaking, by which they meant to say, that
Jehovah was among them. He who simply affirms a thing, does not show
so much pride as these hypocrites when they set forth this question,
"Who shall deny that Jehovah dwells in the midst of us?" God had
indeed chosen an habitation among them for himself; but a condition
was interposed, and yet they wished that he should be, as it were,
tied to the temple, though they considered not what God required
from them. They hence declared that Jehovah was in the midst of
them; nay, they treated with disdain any one who dared to say a word
to the contrary: nor is there a doubt but that they poured forth
blasts of contempt on the Prophets. For whenever any one threatened
what our Prophet immediately subjoins, such an answer as this was
ever ready on their lips, - "What! will God then desert us and deny
himself? Has he in vain commanded the temple to be built among us?
Has he falsely promised that we should be a priestly kingdom? Dost
thou not make God a covenant-breaker, by representing him as
approving of the terrors of thy discourse? But he cannot deny
himself:" We hence see why the Prophet had thus spoken; it was to
show that hypocrites boasted so to speaks of their proud confidence,
because they thought that God could not be separated from them.
Now this passage teaches us how preposterous it is thus to
abuse the name of God. There is indeed a reason why the Lord calls
us to himself, for without him we are miserable; he also promises to
be propitious to us, though, in many respects, we are guilty before
him: he yet, at the same time, calls us to repentance. Whosoever,
then, indulges himself and continues sunk in his vices, he is
greatly deceived, if he applies to himself the promises of God; for,
as it has been said, the one cannot be separated from the other. But
when God is propitious to them, they rightly conclude, that all
things will be well with them, for we know that the paternal favor
of God is a fountain of all felicity. But in this there was a
vicious reasoning, - that they promised to themselves the favor of
God through a false imagination of the flesh, and not through his
word. Thus we see that there is ever in hypocrisy some imitation of
piety: but there is a sophistry either in the principle itself or in
the argument.
Now follows a threatening, "Therefore, on your account, Zion as
a field shall be plowed, and Jerusalem a heap shall be, and the
mount of the house as the high places of a forest". We here see how
intolerable to God hypocrites are; for it was no ordinary proof of a
dreadful vengeance, that the Lord should expose to reproach the holy
city, and mount Zion, and his own temple. This revenge, then, being
so severe, shows that to God there is nothing less tolerable than
that false confidence with which hypocrites swell, for it brings
dishonor on God himself; for they could not boast that they were
God's people without aspersing him with many reproaches. What then
is the meaning of this, "God is in the midst of us," except that
they thereby declared that they were the representatives of God,
that the kingdom was sacred and also the priesthood? Since then they
boasted that they did not presumptuously claim either the priesthood
or the regal power, but that they were divinely appointed, we hence
see that their profanation of God's name was most shameful. It is
then no wonder that God was so exceedingly displeased with them: and
hence the Prophet says, "For you shall Zion as a field be plowed";
as though he said, "This is like something monstrous, that the
temple should be subverted, that the holy mount and the whole city
should be entirely demolished, and that nothing should remain but a
horrible desolation, - who can believe all this? It shall however,
take place, and it shall take place on your account; you will have
to bear the blame of this so monstrous a change." For it was as
though God had thrown heaven and earth into confusion; inasmuch as
he himself was the founder of the temple; and we know with what high
encomiums the place was honored. Since then the temple was built, as
it were, by the hand of God, how could it be otherwise, but that,
when destroyed, the waste and desolate place should be regarded as a
memorable proof of vengeance? There is therefore no doubt but that
Micah intended to mark out the atrocity of their guilt, when he
says, "For you shall Zion as a field be plowed, Jerusalem shall
become a heap of stones"; that is, it shall be so desolated, that no
vestige of a city, well formed and regularly built, shall remain.
"And the mount of the house", &c. He again mentions Zion, and
not without reason: for the Jews thought that they were protected by
the city Jerusalem; the whole country rested under its shadow,
because it was the holy habitation of God. And again, the city
itself depended on the temple, and it was supposed, that it was safe
under this protection, and that it could hardly be demolished
without overthrowing the throne of God himself: for as God dwelt
between the cherubim, it was regarded by the people as a fortress
incapable of being assailed. As then the holiness of the mount
deceived them, it was necessary to repeat what was then almost
incredible, at least difficult of being believed. He therefore adds,
"The mount of the house shall be as the high places of a forest";
that is, trees shall grow there.
Why does he again declare what had been before expressed with
sufficient clearness? Because it was not only a thing difficult to
be believed, but also wholly inconsistent with reason, when what the
Lord had said was considered, and that overlooked which hypocrites
ever forget. God had indeed made a covenant with the people; but
hypocrites wished to have God, as it were, bound to them, and, at
the same time, to remain themselves free, yea, to have a full
liberty to lead a wicked life. Since then the Jews were fixed in
this false opinion, - that God could not be disunited from his
people, the Prophet confirms the same truth, that the mount of the
house would be as the high places of a forest. And, by way of
concession, he calls it the mount of the house, that is, of the
temple; as though he said, "Though God had chosen to himself a
habitation, in which to dwell, yet this favor shall not keep the
temple from being deserted and laid waste; for it has been profaned
by your wickedness."
Let us now see at what time Micah delivered this prophecy. This
we learn from the twenty-sixth chapter of Jeremiah; for when
Jeremiah prophesied against the temple, he was immediately seized
and cast into prison; a tumultuous council was held, and he was well
nigh being brought forth unto execution. All the princes condemned
him; and when now he had no hope of deliverance, he wished, not so
much to plead his own cause, as to denounce a threatening on them,
that they might know that they could effect no good by condemning an
innocent man. "Micah, the Morasthite," he said, "prophesied in the
days of Hezekiah, and said thus, 'Zion as a field shall be plowed,
Jerusalem shall be a heap, and the mount of the house as the high
placers of a forest.'" Did the king and the people, he said, consult
together to kill him? Nay, but the king turned, and so God repented;
that is, the Lord deferred his vengeance; for king Hezekiah humbly
deprecated the punishment which had been denounced. We now then know
with certainty the time.
But it was strange that under such a holy king so many and so
shameful corruptions prevailed, for he no doubt tried all he could
to exercise authority over the people, and by his own example taught
the judges faithfully and uprightly to discharge their office; but
he was not able, with all his efforts, to prevent the Priests, and
the Judges, and the Prophets, from being mercenaries. We hence learn
how sedulously pious magistrates ought to labour, lest the state of
the Church should degenerate; for however vigilant they may be, they
can yet hardly, even with the greatest care, keep things (as mankind
are so full of vices) from becoming very soon worse. This is one
thing. And now the circumstance of the time ought to be noticed for
another purpose: Micah hesitated not to threaten with such a
judgment the temple and the city, though he saw that the king was
endued with singular virtues. He might have thought thus with
himself, "King Hezekiah labored strenuously in the execution of his
high office: now if a reproof so sharp and so severe will reach his
ears, he will either despond, or think me to be a man extremely
rigid, or, it may be, he will become exasperated against sound
doctrine." The Prophet might have weighed these things in his mind;
but, nevertheless, he followed his true course in teaching, and
there is no doubt but that his severity pleased the king, for we
know that he was oppressed with great cares and anxieties, because
he could not, by all his striving, keep within proper bounds his
counselors, the priests and the prophets. He therefore wished to
have God's servants as his helpers. And this is what pious
magistrates always desire, that their toils may in some measure be
alleviated by the aid of the ministers of the word; for when the
ministers of the word only teach in a cold manner, and are not
intent on reproving vices, the severity of the magistrates will be
hated by the people. "Why, see, the ministers say nothing, and we
hence conclude that they do not perceive so great evils; and yet the
magistrates with the drawn sword inflict new punishments daily."
When, therefore, teachers are thus silent, a greater odium no doubt
is incurred by the magistrates: it is hence, as I have said, a
desirable thing for them, that the free reproofs of teachers should
be added to the punishments and judgments of the law.
We further see how calm and meek was the spirit of the king,
that he could bear the great severity of the Prophet: Behold, he
said, on your accounts &c.: "Thou oughtest at least to have excepted
me." For the king was not himself guilty. Why then did he connect
him with the rest? Because the whole body was infected with
contagion, and he spoke generally; and the good king did not retort
nor even murmur, but, as we have recited from Jeremiah, he humbly
deprecated the wrath of God, as though a part of the guilt belonged
to him. Now follows -
Chapter IV.
Micah 4:1,2
But in the last days it shall come to pass, [that] the mountain of
the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the
mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall
flow unto it.
And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the
mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he
will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the
law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Here Micah begins his address to the faithful, who were a
remnant among that people; for though the infection had nearly
extended over the whole body, there were yet a few, we know, who
sincerely worshipped God. Hence Micah, that he might not dishearten
God's children by extreme terror, reasonably adds what we have now
heard, - that though for a time the temple would be demolished and
laid waste, it would yet be only for a season, for the Lord would be
again mindful of his covenant. When, therefore, the Prophet had
hitherto spoken of God's dreadful vengeance, he directed his
discourse to the whole people and to the princess; but now,
especially, and as it were apart, addresses the pious and sincere
servants of God; as though he said, "There is now a reason why I
should speak to the few: I have hitherto spoken of the near judgment
of God on the king's counselors, the priests and the prophets; in
short, on the whole community, because they are all become wicked
and ungodly; a contempt of God and an irreclaimable obstinacy have
pervaded the whole body. Let them therefore have what they have
deserved. But now I address the children of God by themselves, for I
have something to say to them."
For though the Prophet publicly proclaimed this promise, there
is yet no doubt but that he had regard only to the children of God,
for others were not capable of receiving this consolation; nay, he
had shortly before condemned the extreme security of hypocrites,
inasmuch as they leaned upon God; that is, relied on a false
pretence of religion, in thinking that they were redeemed by a
lawful price when they had offered their sacrifices. And we know
that we meet with the same thing in the writings of the Prophets,
and that it is a practice common among them to add consolations to
threatening, not for the sake of the whole people, but to sustain
the faithful in their hope, who would have despaired, had not a
helping hand been stretched forth to them: for the faithful, we
know, tremble, as soon as God manifests any token of wrath; for the
more any one is touched with the fear of God, the more he dreads his
judgment, and fears on account of his threatening. We hence see how
necessary it is to moderate threatenings and terrors, when prophets
and teachers have a regard to the children of God; for, as I have
said, they are without these fearful enough. Let us then know that
Micah has hitherto directed his discourse to the wicked despisers of
God, who yet put on the cloak of religion; but now he turns his
address to the true and pious worshipers of God. And he further so
addresses the faithful of his age, that his doctrine especially
belongs to us now; for how has it been, that the kingdom of God has
been propagated through all parts of the earth? How has it been,
that the truth of the gospel has come to us, and that we are made
partakers with the ancient people of the same adoption, except that
this prophecy has been fulfilled? Then the calling of the Gentiles,
and consequently our salvation, is included in this prophecy.
But the Prophet says, "And it shall be in the extremity of
days, that the mount of the house of Jehovah shall be set in order
on the top of mountains". The extremity of days the Prophet no doubt
calls the coming of Christ, for then it was that the Church of God
was built anew; in short, since it was Christ that introduced the
renovation of the world, his advent is rightly called a new age; and
hence it is also said to be the extremity of days: and this mode of
expression very frequently occurs in Scripture; and we know that the
time of the gospel is expressly called the last days and the last
time by John, (1 John 2: 18,) as well as by the author of the
Epistle to the Hebrews, (Heb. 1: 2,) and also by Paul, (2 Tim. 3:
1;) and this way of speaking they borrowed from the prophets. On
this subject some remarks were made on the second chapter of Joel.
Paul gives us the reason for this mode of speaking in 1 Cor. 10: l1:
"Upon whom", he says, "the ends of the world are come." As Christ
then brought in the completion of all things at his coming, the
Prophet rightly says that it would be the last days when God would
restore his Church by the hand of the Redeemer. At the same time,
Micah no doubt intended to intimate that the time of God's wrath
would not be short, but designed to show that its course would be
for a long time.
"It shall then be in the last of days"; that is, when the Lord
shall have executed his vengeance by demolishing the temple, by
destroying the city, and by reducing the holy place into a solitude,
this dreadful devastation shall continue, not for one year, nor for
two; in a word, it will not remain only for forty or fifty years,
but the Lord will let loose the reins of his wrath, that their minds
may long languish, and that no restoration may be evident. We now
then understand the Prophet's design as to the last days.
He calls the mount, "the mount of the house of Jehovah", in a
sense different from what he did before; for then it was, as we have
stated by way of concession; and now he sets forth the reason why
God did not wish wholly to cast aside that mount; for he commanded
his temple to be built there. It is the same, then, as though he
said, - "This ought not to be ascribed to the holiness of the
mountain, as if it excelled other mountains in dignity; but because
there the temple was founded, not by the authority of men, but by a
celestial oracle, as it is sufficiently known."
"The mount then of the house of Jehovah shall be set in order
on the top of the mountains", that is it shall surpass in height all
other mountains; "and it shall be raised, he says, above the highest
summits, and assemble there shall all nations". It is certain, that
by these words of the Prophet is to be understood no visible
eminence of situation: for that mount was not increased at the
coming of Christ; and they who lived in the time of the Prophet
entertained no gross idea of this kind. But he speaks here of the
eminence of dignity, - that God would give to mount Zion a
distinction so eminent, that all other mountains would yield to its
honor. And how was this done? The explanation follows in the next
verse. Lest, then, any one thought that there would be some visible
change in mount Zion, that it would increase in size, the Prophet
immediately explains what he meant and says, at the end of the
verse, "Come shall nations to God". It is now easy to see what its
elevation was to be, - that God designed this mount to be, as it
were, a royal seat. As under the monarchy of the king of Persia, the
whole of the east, we know, was subject to one tower of the Persian;
so also, when mount Zion became the seat of sovereign power, God
designed to reign there, and there he designed that the whole world
should be subject to him; and this is the reason and the Prophet
said that it would be higher than all other mountains. Hence his
meaning, in this expression, is sufficiently evident.
There follows, however, a fuller explanation, when he says,
that many "nations would come". He said only before that nations
would come: but as David, even in his age, made some nations
tributary to himself, the Prophet here expresses something more, -
that many nations would come; as if he had said, "Though David
subjugated some people to himself, yet the borders of his kingdom
were narrow and confined, compared with the largeness of that
kingdom which the Lord will establish at the coming of his Messiah:
for not a few nations but many shall assemble to serve him, and
shall say," &c. The Prophet now shows that it would be a spiritual
kingdom. When David subdued the Moabites and the Amorites, and
others, he imposed a certain tribute to be paid annually but he was
not able to establish among them the pure and legitimate worship of
God, nor was he able to unite them in one faith. Then the Moabites
and other nations, though they paid a tribute to David, did not yet
worship the true God, but continued ever alienated from the Church.
But our Prophet shows that the kingdom, which God would set up at
the coming of the Messiah, would be spiritual.
For they shall say, "Let us you and ascend to the mount of
Jehovah, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us
of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for, go forth shall a
law from Zion, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem". Throughout
this passage the Prophet teaches us, that people are not to be
constrained by an armed force, or by the power of the sword, to
submit to David's posterity, but that they are to be really and
thoroughly reformed, so that they submit themselves to God, unite
with the body of the Church, and become one people with the children
of Abraham; for they will yield a voluntary service, and embracing
the teaching of the Law, they will renounce their own superstitions.
This then is the Prophet's meaning. But the remainder we shall defer
till to-morrow.
Prayer.
Grant, Almighty God that as thou hast been pleased to erect the
throne of thy Son among us, we may rely on his protection and learn
to resign ourselves wholly to thee, and never turn aside here and
there, but with tulle obedience so submit ourselves to the King who
has been appointed by thee, that he may own us as his legitimate
people, and so glorify thy name, that we may not at the same time
profane it by an ungodly and wicked life, but testify by our works
that we are really thy subjects. and that thou attains full
authority over us, so that thy name may be sanctified and thy Spirit
may really guide us, until at length thy Son, who has gathered us
when we were awfully gone astray, gather us again to that kingdom,
which he as purchased for us by his own blood. Amen.
Calvin, Commentary on Micah, Part 7
(continued in part 8...)
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