Iyar 9
At What Cost?
“Hear this, please,
you heads of the house of Yaʽaqoḇ and you rulers of the house of Yisra’ĕl, … those BUILDING UP Tsiyon
with bloodshed and Yerushalayim with unrighteousness.” (Mic 3:9-10 ISR, emphasis mine)
The majority of us
are well familiar with the clique of “tele-evangelists” that broadcast their
programs through television and internet.
The message that they all have in common is “send me your donation, and
God will bless you (financially, with healing, etc). And while “the flock” is beggaring themselves
to support said individuals, the head of each organization is growing richer
and richer. Most of the members of this “clique”
are multi-millionaires (one individual is close to a billionaire), accumulating
homes, planes, and other “toys” to give evidence of their enjoyed prosperity.[1]
Please do not
misunderstand me; I am in no way taking any kind of a stand against prosperity. However, I would seriously challenge any one
of these “tele-evangelists” to give away
as much as 90% of their wealth – especially to their constituents who made them
wealthy in the first place! Money – in and
of itself – is not evil (1Tim 6:10); in fact, it is a necessity for survival in
today’s world. However, I truly believe
that Elohim blesses us financially in order that we give to those that are in need (see 2Cor 9:8; Eph 4:28; 1John
3:17), as an extension of Him.
The three major prophets of this time period in
which Micah lived (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel) all had scathing words directed
toward the shepherds and leaders that fleeced and abandoned “the flock” (see
Isa 56:10-12; Jer 23:1-2; Eze 34). Those
in leadership were feeding themselves at the expense of the people they were
responsible for (Eze 34:2-4; 19-21), something that the Apostle Paul also
warned us about (1Tim 6:3-5). In our
opening section of Scripture, the Hebrew word that has been translated as “building
up” is the word bânâh
(Strong’s #H1129), and implies not only construction, but also an establishing,
such as setting a precedence. From this
definition, we can surmise that the rulers of that time were establishing themselves, using violent, illegal,
immoral and evil methods, and at the expense of any and every one.
Our Creator does not look
kindly upon this type of behavior.
“Therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of יהוה! ‘Thus said the Master
יהוה, “See, I am against the shepherds, and shall
require My flock at their hand, and shall make them cease feeding the sheep,
and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more. And I shall deliver My flock
from their mouths, and they shall no longer be food for them.” (Eze 34:9-10)
©2018
[1] https://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/net-worth-richest-pastors-will-blow-your-mind.html/?a=viewall
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