Now That's My Kind of Prophet

"Set 'em up for everyone!  This round's on me!"

Doesn't exactly sound like your typical oracle of God, does it? But it is in the Bible, and I happen to find Micah 2:11 one of the most humorous verses in Scripture.  I suppose it's also one of the most tragic.


"If a liar and deceiver comes and says, 'I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,' he would be just the prophet for this people!"

Now this is not a blog post to debate the age-old question of whether Christians should drink alcohol.  The point is that, as was the case in Micah's day, it is possible for us to become so self-absorbed and calloused to genuine spirituality that we lose our appetite for a true "thus saith the Lord" and begin feeding our own sinful desires on the words of "prophets" who are willing to say whatever we want to hear.

About those supposed mouthpieces of God, Micah says, "If one feeds them, they proclaim 'peace'; if he does not, they prepare to wage war against him... Her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD and say, 'Is not the LORD among us? No disaster will come upon us'."

Not a bad gig if I can get paid to say whatever keeps people happy and claim that God is on my side while I'm doing it.  The problem comes down the road when I stand before God saying, "Lord, Lord, did I not prophesy in your name?" only to hear Him reply, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoer!"

Of course it's easy to point the finger at "high-profile prophets" who proclaim the Prosperity Gospel or some other heresy that sounds spiritual while appealing to the flesh.  But the same travesty can be found even in our conservative, evangelical churches when we fail to confront sin or resolve conflict biblically, when we plan worship services to keep people happy rather than to glorify God, or when we pick and choose what we teach based not on the true spiritual needs of our people but on what we think will keep 'em coming in the door.

Paul picked up Micah's theme when he wrote to Timothy, "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction.  For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."

I think that time has come.  So God help me to faithfully declare the whole counsel of Your Word in spite of opposition or pressure to please the crowd.  And God help us all to hunger and thirst after Your truth, even when it steps on our toes.

Now… Coffee for everyone.  This round's on me!