Micah 3:1

Micah 3:1 says, And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?  Micah asked the heads of Israel to hear what he was saying.  He then questioned if they were not the ones who should know judgment.  I believe this means God's judgment.  The next two verses refer to some of the evil ways the leaders were treating those under them.  Verse two adds, Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;  Verse three continues, 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.  Instead of treating those under them fairly, the prophets and rulers abused them for their own profit.  I don't believe that the rulers had any concern for those that they ruled over.  They felt free to abuse them any way they chose.  We need to remember that these were God's chosen people that Micah was speaking to, and their rulers had become this corrupt.  If those chosen to rule over God's people were this corrupt, then what hope was there for the rest of the world?  Verse four states, 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.  This was still addressed to the religious leaders and false prophets.  God said that when adversity came upon them then they would hypocritically call out to Him.  We cannot expect to live our lives guided by our own selfishness and expect God to bail us out when things go wrong.  Verse five adds, 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.  God warned the false prophets who promised peace in the name of God that God Himself had not promised should prepare for war instead.  When people begin to make promises in the name of God that do not truly come from God, then destruction will certainly await them.  We, as followers of Christ cannot allow ourselves to become guilty of doing this.