A Preacher For This Generation

“‘Do not preach’—thus they preach—

‘one should not preach of such things;

disgrace will not overtake us.’

Should this be said, O house of Jacob?

Has the LORD grown impatient?

Are these his deeds?

Do not my words do good

to him who walks uprightly?

But lately my people have risen up as an enemy;

you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly

with no thought of war.

The women of my people you drive out

from their delightful houses;

from their young children you take away

my splendor forever.

Arise and go,

for this is no place to rest,

because of uncleanness that destroys

with a grievous destruction.

If a man should go about and utter wind and lies,

saying, ‘I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,’

he would be the preacher for this people!” [1]

“You could pastor any of our largest churches, if you’d just soften your message.” The speaker was the Executive Secretary of a major denomination. I responded that my message was the message that the Living God had given in His Word. This executive was not the first denominational leader to make such a comment. On another occasion, a denominational leader from a different group volunteered that he was thinking of recommending me to a large church that was without pastoral leadership before pausing suddenly and saying, “On second thought, you don’t respect money.” I took the reconsideration of his initial thought as a compliment of my character.

Micah, the stern, unflinching prophet from Moresheth, excoriated the professed people of God. They had it coming, and God’s spokesman didn’t mince words. Oh, my, did he ever speak plainly; he condemned the people of God for their determination to embrace wickedness before launching into a warning of pending judgement for the sinful behaviour they continually embraced. His words were not well received by those who heard him, though he faithfully delivered the words of the Living God to his generation. The people pushed back against the message he delivered, telling him that he should not preach as he did because they found the subject matter disagreeable. At this, the unflinching prophet told them the sort of preacher they obviously wanted and deserved.

The harsh words Micah penned could well be delivered to far too many churches throughout the Zion of our Lord in this day. The prophet’s words could be spoken of many who claim to be spiritual in this day, though they are unwilling to heed the Word of the Lord. It is a tragic truth that among the clergy of this day, a distressing number—consciously or unconsciously—appear to be committed to doing the work of the evil one. There seem always to be preachers willing to ignore righteousness and promote wickedness. Perhaps they do not perform their nefarious work flagrantly, but as surely as smoke rises from the fire they nevertheless do promote wickedness.

If the pay is sufficiently attractive, the preacher will say whatever is desired by his audience. Should he be tasked with pronouncing a blessing for the newest casino, those requesting his services need only to tell him where to appear and the amount of the honorarium offered. Perhaps he is requested to bless the union of a man and woman who are engaged in a dishonourable affair, having only deserted their previous spouse and the children born of that union. Make the stipend to perform the nuptials worth the preacher’s time and he will provide a vigorous defence of their union. He can affirm those seated in the pew, make sure that the dead are in Heaven, while condemning those old-fashioned souls who insist on speaking against the evils marking our sinful character. His religious duties are always on sale to the one willing to pay the fee requested. His morals are malleable, being bent and twisted to meet the requirement of the moment. And no one will be made to feel uncomfortable when he speaks.

Too often the True and Living God is casually dismissed with demeaning names and nonchalant attitudes designed to dismiss Him as powerless and unimportant. Nevertheless, those who know the True and Living God will know that God is neither “the man upstairs,” neither may we imagine Him to be some “kindly old grandfather” who indulges each of us even though we treat Him with disdain, or worse still, ignore Him all together. Our God is the True and Living God Who gives each of us our being. It is our God Who holds our times in His hands; He judges wickedness, and He gives life. As the Apostle to the Gentiles would state before a pagan audience centuries after Micah wrote, “[God] now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” [ACTS 17:30-31].