Mic 2:11 | KingComments | STEP | With this ironic depiction of how a false prophet works, Micah rounds off his speech about the false prophets. The false prophet is popular because he speaks what the people like to hear ( ). False prophets proclaim that the people are allowed to indulge in earthly pleasures. Their religion is one of drinking and making fun. They can even abuse statements from the Bible which they simply take out of context for that purpose ( ; ; ). In this way they ignore the sins of the people that make the coming of these blessings as blessings from God impossible. That is why they are loved by the greedy rich, because they never speak of judgment, but always of prosperity, even though their lives are still so contrary to God’s law. The people are so far removed from God and their spiritual discernment is so blunted that they joyfully embrace the message of these deceivers. It escapes them that by following false prophets they are in fact following wind. To follow the wind is to let what is only wind determine the direction of one’s path, that is, vain, empty, through deceitful dreams ( ). The rise of false prophets is the result of the unpopular message of the true prophets. Who is following a real prophet? After all, he preaches only depressing sadness, doesn’t he? Then it is better to follow a false prophet. He at least lets pleasant words ‘flow’, which is the literal meaning of the words ‘speak out’ here, as well as in (cf. ; ; ; ). It really makes you feel cheerful. How great the sobering will be when they discover how great the deception is that they have embraced!

‏ Micah 2:11

A Spokesman the People Love

With this ironic depiction of how a false prophet works, Micah rounds off his speech about the false prophets. The false prophet is popular because he speaks what the people like to hear (2Tim 4:3-4). False prophets proclaim that the people are allowed to indulge in earthly pleasures. Their religion is one of drinking and making fun.

They can even abuse statements from the Bible which they simply take out of context for that purpose (Lev 26:4; Deu 28:4; Joel 2:24). In this way they ignore the sins of the people that make the coming of these blessings as blessings from God impossible. That is why they are loved by the greedy rich, because they never speak of judgment, but always of prosperity, even though their lives are still so contrary to God’s law.

The people are so far removed from God and their spiritual discernment is so blunted that they joyfully embrace the message of these deceivers. It escapes them that by following false prophets they are in fact following wind. To follow the wind is to let what is only wind determine the direction of one’s path, that is, vain, empty, through deceitful dreams (Eze 13:3).

The rise of false prophets is the result of the unpopular message of the true prophets. Who is following a real prophet? After all, he preaches only depressing sadness, doesn’t he? Then it is better to follow a false prophet. He at least lets pleasant words ‘flow’, which is the literal meaning of the words ‘speak out’ here, as well as in Mic 2:6 (cf. Deu 32:2; Eze 20:46 ; Eze 21:2; Amos 7:16; Job 29:22). It really makes you feel cheerful. How great the sobering will be when they discover how great the deception is that they have embraced!