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영문 원문
What the apostle says of another of the prophets is true of this, who was also his contemporary—"Esaias is very bold," Ro 10:20. So, in this chapter, Micah is very bold in reproving and threatening the great men that were the ringleaders in sin; and he gives the reason (Mic 3:8) why he was so bold, because he had commission and instruction from God to say what he said, and was carried out in it by a higher spirit and power than his own. Magistracy and ministry are two great ordinances of God, for good to his church, but these were both corrupted and the intentions of them perverted; and upon those that abused them, and so abused the church with them, the prophet is very severe, and justly so. I. He gives them their lesson severally, reproving and threatening princes (Mic 3:1-4) and false flattering prophets, Mic 3:5-7. II. He gives them their lesson jointly, putting them together, as acting in conjunction for the ruin of the kingdom, which they should see the ruins of, Mic 3:9-12.
1-7
The Crimes of the Princes and Prophets (726 BC)
日本語
君たちと預言者たちの罪（紀元前726年）
¹ そこでわたしは言った、ヤコブのかしらたちよ、イスラエルの家の君たちよ、聞け。さばきを知ることはあなたがたのつとめではないか。
² 善を憎み、悪を愛する者、彼らの皮をその上から剥ぎ取り、その肉をその骨から剥ぎ取る者。
³ 彼らはわたしの民の肉を食い、その皮をその上から剥ぎ取り、その骨を折り、これを鍋の肉のように、かまの中の肉のように切り刻む。
⁴ そのとき彼らは主に叫ぶが、主は彼らに答えない。その時、主は彼らの行いが悪かったので、彼らから顔を隠される。
⁵ わたしの民を迷わせ、歯でかみつきながら「平和」と叫ぶ預言者たちについて、主はこう仰せられる。彼らの口に入れない者には、彼らは戦いを備える。
⁶ それゆえ、あなたがたには夜があり、幻を見ることができない。暗やみがあって、占いをすることができない。太陽は預言者たちの上に没し、昼は彼らの上に暗くなる。
⁷ そのとき先見者は恥じ、占い師は恥を見る。彼らは皆、くちびるをおおう。神の答えがないからである。
君たちと預言者たちは、その職務を忠実に遂行するとき、他の人々より高く尊ばれるべきである。しかし彼らがその信託を裏切り、それに反して行動するとき、彼らは他の人々と同様に自分の過ちについて聞くべきであり、彼らの上に責任を問うべき神がおられることを知らされるであろう。主の法廷で、預言者は主の名において彼らを起訴する。
I. 君たちにその告発と運命を聞かせよ。ヤコブのかしらたちとイスラエルの家の君たちは、預言者が彼らに語ることを聞くよう呼ばれる(Mic 3:1)。神の言葉には最も大いなる者への責めがあり、その言葉に仕える者は機会あるごとにそれを適用すべきである。預言者はここで、成功のいかんにかかわらず、自分が信託を忠実に果たしたという省みの中に慰めを持つ。*わたしは言った、ああ君たちよ、聞け。*彼は人の顔を恐れて務めを縮こまらせなかったという良心の証しを持っていた。彼らに告げる。
1. 彼らに何が期待されていたか。さばきを知ることはあなたがたのつとめではないか。それはさばきを行うことを意味する。そうでなければその知識は役立たないからである。「公平に正義を行い、顔を知らず、（へブル語で偏りと人を尊重することを意味する表現）、たださばきとすべての訴えの功績を知ることはあなたがたの務めではないか。」あるいは、かしらたちと支配者たちは、他の者がどうであれ、正義の規則をよく知っていると見なしてよい。彼らは知識の手段を持ち、貧しく愚かな者が持つような無知の言い訳を持たないからである(Jer 5:4)。もしそうなら、正義の律法を犯すことはいっそう神を怒らせる。彼らは知識に向かって罪を犯すからである。「さばきを知ることはあなたがたのつとめではないか。そうである。それなら立ち止まって、自分のさばきを聞き、それが正しくないか、何か異論があるかをさばけ。」
2. 彼らがそれが何であるかを知っていながら、さばきの規則をどれほど惨めに犯したか。彼らの原則と性向は悪い。彼らは善を憎み、悪を愛する。彼らは他の人々のうちにある善を憎み、それが自分に影響を与えることを憎む。彼らは善を行うことを憎み、何か良いことがなされることを憎み、良い人々と善を行う者を憎む。そして彼らは悪を愛し、害悪を喜ぶ。これが彼らの原則であり、彼らの実践はそれに従う。彼らは自分の力の下にある者たちに対して非常に残酷で厳しく、彼らのあわれみにかかる者はだれでも、彼らにはあわれみがないことを知るであろう。彼らは保護すべき者たちを野蛮に貪り食い、不忠実な羊飼いのように、養うべき羊の群れから羊毛を刈り取る。いや、養う代わりにそれを食い尽くす(Eze 34:2)。群れを養う者がその群れの乳を食べるのは確かにふさわしいが(1Co 9:7)、それでは満足しない。彼らはわたしの民の肉を食べる。羊毛を着るのはふさわしいが、それでは役立たない。彼らはその皮をその上から剥ぎ取る(Mic 3:3)。耐えられる以上に重い税を課し、偽りの罪に対して罰金や科料や体罰を厳しく徴収することによって、彼らは臣民の財産と家族を破滅させ、ある者からはいのちを、他の者からは生計を奪い、臣民には牧者というよりむしろ猛獣のようであった。「彼らは*その骨を折り、*髄を得ようとし、肉を鍋の肉のように切り刻む。」これは彼らが(1.) 非常に貪欲で強欲であり、贅沢と感覚的快楽にふけったことを暗示する。(2.) その下にある者たちに非常に野蛮で残酷であり、自分たちが富むためには誰を貧しくしても気にかけなかったこと。そのような悪は金銭を愛することが根である。
3. 彼らが神の臣民にこれほど残酷であったからには、神が彼らをどう扱われるかを彼らはどのように期待できようか。あわれみを示さなかった者はあわれみなしにさばかれるという規則は定まっている(Mic 3:4)。「*彼らが主に叫んでも、主は彼らに答えない。彼らの苦難の日に、貧しい者が彼らの繁栄の日に叫んでも彼らが聞かなかったように。」最も誇り高く軽蔑する罪人たちが主に叫び、*かつて尊ばず模倣もしなかったあわれみを乞い求める時が来るであろう。しかしそれは無駄となるであろう。神はその時、彼らが神の恵みを必要とし、それなしでは滅びるのを見るその時に、彼らから顔を隠されるであろう。他の時なら彼らは主に背を向けたであろう。しかしその時、主は彼らに背を向けられる。*彼らの行いが悪かったので。*人は悪を行ってうまくいくことを期待できないが、アドニ・ベゼクがしたように、彼らが他の人々にしたことが自分たちにされるのを見いだすことを期待し得ることに留意せよ。*復讐される方は義なる方である。*頑な者には神はご自身をも頑なに示され、しばしば残酷で無慈悲な人々を、彼ら自身がかつて他の人々にしたように、残酷で無慈悲な者たちの手にお渡しになる。これはPr 21:13と一致する。*貧しい者の叫びに耳を閉ざす者は、自分が叫んでも聞かれない。*しかしあわれみ深い者はあわれみを得る望みを持つ理由がある。
II. 預言者たちにもその告発と運命を聞かせよ。彼らは偽って預言する者たちであり、君たちは彼らの手段によって支配した。観察せよ。
1. 彼らの罪は何であったか。(1) 彼らは人々にへつらい、欺くことを務めとした。彼らはわたしの民を迷わせる。彼らがなすべきことと、神が彼らになさることの両方について、彼らを誤りに導く。指導者が人々を誤らせ、導き、その道で彼らの前を行くべき者たちが彼らをその道から引き離すとき、民にとって不幸なことである。「彼らは平和と叫ぶことで彼らを迷わせる。彼らはうまくやっていると告げ、すべてが彼らにとって良くなると告げる。しかし彼らは罪の道にあり、滅びの一歩手前にいる。彼らは平和と叫ぶが、歯でかみつく。」これはおそらく、語ろうとするものを抑えようとするとき私たちがしがちなように、自分のくちびるを噛むことを意味する。彼らが平和と叫んだとき、彼ら自身の心は彼らに嘘を告げ、彼らは自分の言葉を食べ、自分と矛盾する準備ができていたが、歯でかみ、それを抑えた。彼らは盲人の盲人の導き手ではなかった。彼らは自分たちの前にある溝を見ていたが、それでも従者をそこに導いたからである。(2) 彼らはパウロの時代の誘惑者たちのように(Ro 16:18)、自分自身を満足させ、自分の腹に仕えることをすべての目的とした。彼らの神はその腹である(Php 3:19)。彼らは歯でかみつき、平和と叫ぶ。すなわち、良い一口で彼らを養ってくれる者、何か食べるものを与えてくれる者にへつらい、ほめる。しかし彼らの口に入れない者、絶えず彼らを詰め込まない者を、彼らは敵とみなす。彼らは自分の恩人とみなす者にするように彼らに平和を叫ばず、彼らに対して*戦いを備える。*彼らに対して神の裁きを宣告する。しかしある場所のローマ教会の狡猾な祭司たちが、献げ物に応じてその像に微笑ませたりしかめっ面をさせたりするように、彼らに対する態度を変える。汚れた利得を貪らないことが牧者の必要な資格として主張されるのは正当である(1Ti 3:3, Tit 1:7)。
2. この罪のために彼らに下された判決は何か(Mic 3:6,7)。脅される。(1) 彼らが平和を叫んだ者たちと共に悩みと悲惨に巻き込まれるであろう。*あなたがたには夜がある。*災いの暗く寒い夜があり、彼らはへつらいの中で人々に決して来ないだろうと希望させたようなものである。*それはあなたがたにとって暗やみであり、*他の人々よりもあなたがたにとって暗い。*太陽は預言者たちの上に没し、真昼に没するであろう。すべての慰めが彼らから去り、そのすべての希望を奪われる。彼らが自分たちに光を約束した昼は彼らの上に暗くなる。彼らは外なる悩みに囲まれるだけでなく、その心は混乱に満ち、途方に暮れるであろう。彼らの頭は曇り、彼ら自身の思いが彼らを悩ます。それは十分な悩みである。彼らは他の人々を暗やみに閉じ込め、今や神は彼らを暗やみに導かれる。(2) これによって彼らは沈黙し、預言へのすべての主張は永遠に恥じられるであろう。彼らは真の幻を持ったことがなかった。そして今、平和の預言が事実によって否定されるなら、彼らがかつて一つも持たず、彼らには神の答えが一度もなく、それはすべて偽りであり、彼らは詐欺師でありペテン師であったことが明らかになるであろう。こうして評判がすっかり落ち、彼らの自信は当然失われる。そして彼らの霊が乱れ混乱して、その発明も失敗する。そしてこの暗さのゆえに、外にも内にも、彼らは占いができず、*偽りの幻さえ示すことができず、*恥じ、当惑し、くちびるをおおう。*完全に打ち負かされ、自分のために語るべきものを持たない者のようになる。他人を欺く者は自分の顔のために混乱を準備しているにすぎないことに留意せよ。
영문 원문
The Crimes of the Princes and Prophets (726 BC)
¹ 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?
² Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;
³ 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.
⁴ 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.
⁵ 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.
⁶ Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.
⁷ Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.
Princes and prophets, when they faithfully discharge the duty of their office, are to be highly honoured above other men; but when they betray their trust, and act contrary to it, they should hear of their faults as well as others, and shall be made to know that there is a God above them, to whom they are accountable; at his bar the prophet here, in his name, arraigns them.
I. Let the princes hear their charge and their doom. The heads of Jacob, and the princes of the house of Israel, are called upon to hear what the prophet has to say to them, Mic 3:1. The word of God has reproofs for the greatest of men, which the ministers of that word ought to apply as there is occasion. The prophet here has comfort in the reflection upon it, that, whatever the success was, he had faithfully discharged his trust: And I said, Hear, O princes! He had the testimony of his conscience for him that he had not shrunk from his duty for fear of the face of men. He tells them,
1. What was expected from them: Is it not for you to know judgment? He means to do judgment, for otherwise the knowledge of it is of no avail. "Is it not your business to administer justice impartially, and not to know faces" (as the Hebrew phrase for partiality and respect of persons is), "but to know judgment, and the merits of every cause?" Or it may be taken for granted that the heads and rulers are well acquainted with the rules of justice, whatever others are; for they have those means of knowledge, and have not those excuses for ignorance, which some others have, that are poor and foolish (Jer 5:4); and, if so, their transgression of the laws of justice is the more provoking to God, for they sin against knowledge. "Is it not for you to know judgment? Yes, it is; therefore stand still, and hear your own judgment, and judge if it be not right, whether any thing can be objected against it."
2. How wretchedly they had transgressed the rules of judgment, though they knew what they were. Their principle and disposition are bad: They hate the good and love the evil; they hate good in others, and hate it should have any influence on themselves; they hate to do good, hate to have any good done, and hate those that are good and do good; and they love the evil, delight in mischief. This being their principle, their practice is according to it; they are very cruel and severe towards those that are under their power, and whoever lies at their mercy will find that they have none. They barbarously devour those whom they should protect, and, as unfaithful shepherds, fleece the flock they should feed; nay, instead of feeding it, they feed upon it, Eze 34:2. It is fit indeed that he who feeds a flock should eat of the milk of the flock (1Co 9:7), but that will not content them: They eat the flesh of my people. It is fit that they should be clothed with the wool, but that will not serve: They flay the skin from off them, Mic 3:3. By imposing heavier taxes upon them than they can bear, and exacting them with rigour, by mulcts, and fines, and corporal punishments, for pretended crimes, they ruined the estates and families of their subjects, took away from some their lives, from others their livelihoods, and were to their subjects as beasts of prey, rather than shepherds. "They break their bones to come at the marrow, and chop the flesh in pieces as for the pot." This intimates that they were, (1.) Very ravenous and greedy for themselves, indulging themselves in luxury and sensuality. (2.) Very barbarous and cruel to those that were under them, not caring whom they beggared, so they could but enrich themselves; such evil is the love of money the root of.
3. How they might expect that God should deal with them, since they had been thus cruel to his subjects. The rule is fixed, Those shall have judgment without mercy that have shown no mercy (Mic 3:4): "They shall cry to the Lord, but he will not hear them, in the day of their distress, as the poor cried to them in the day of their prosperity and they would not hear them." There will come a time when the most proud and scornful sinners will cry to the Lord, and sue for that mercy which they once neither valued nor copied out. But it will then be in vain; God will even hide his face from them at that time, that time when they need his favour, and see themselves undone without it. At another time they would have turned their back upon him; but at that time he will turn his back upon them, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings. Note, Men cannot expect to do ill and fare well, but may expect to find, as Adoni-bezek did, that done to them which they did to others; for he is righteous who takes vengeance. With the froward God will show himself froward, and he often gives up cruel and unmerciful men into the hands of those who are cruel and unmerciful to them, as they themselves have formerly been to others. This agrees with Pr 21:13, Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he shall cry himself and shall not be heard; but the merciful have reason to hope that they shall obtain mercy.
II. Let the prophets hear their charge too, and their doom; they were such as prophesied falsely, and the princes bore rule by their means. Observe,
1. What was their sin. (1.) They made it their business to flatter and deceive the people: They make my people err, lead them into mistakes, both concerning what they should do and concerning what God would do with them. It is ill with a people when their leaders cause them to err, and those draw them out of the way that should guide them and go before them in it. "They make them to err by crying peace, by telling them that they do well, and that all shall be well with them; whereas they are in the paths of sin, and within a step of ruin. They cry peace, but they bite with their teeth," which perhaps is meant of their biting their own lips, as we are apt to do when we would suppress something which we are ready to speak. When they cried peace their own hearts gave them the lie, and they were just ready to eat their own words and to contradict themselves, but they bit with their teeth, and kept it in. They were not blind leaders of the blind, for they saw the ditch before them, and yet led their followers into it. (2.) They made it all their aim to glut themselves, and serve their own belly, as the seducers in St. Paul's time (Ro 16:18), for their god is their belly, Php 3:19. They bite with their teeth, and cry peace; that is, they will flatter and compliment those that will feed them with good bits, will give them something to eat; but as for those that put not into their mouths, that are not continually cramming them, they look upon them as their enemies; to them they do not cry peace, as they do to those whom they look upon as their benefactors, but they even prepare war against them; against them they denounce the judgments of God, but as they are to them, as the crafty priests of the church of Rome, in some places, make their image either to smile or frown upon the offerer according as his offering is. Justly is it insisted on as a necessary qualification of a minister (1Ti 3:3, Tit 1:7) that he be not greedy of filthy lucre.
2. What is the sentence passed upon them for this sin, Mic 3:6,7. It is threatened, (1.) That they shall be involved in troubles and miseries with those to whom they had cried peace: Night shall be upon them, a dark cold night of calamity, such as they, in their flattery, led the people to hope would never come. It shall be dark unto you, darker to you than to others; the sun shall go down over the prophets, shall go down at noon; all comfort shall depart from them, and they shall be deprived of all hope of it. The day shall be dark over them, in which they promised themselves light. Nor shall they be surrounded with outward troubles only, but their mind shall be full of confusion, and they shall be brought to their wits' end; their heads shall be clouded, and their own thoughts shall trouble them; and that is trouble enough. They kept others in the dark, and now God will bring them into the dark. (2.) That thereby they shall be silenced, and all their pretensions to prophecy for ever shamed. They never had any true vision; and now, the event disproving their predictions of peace, it shall be made to appear that they never had any, that there never was an answer of God to them, but it was all a sham, and they were cheats and impostors. Their reputation being thus quite sunk, their confidence would of course fail them. And, their spirits being ruffled and confused, their invention would fail them too; and by reason of this darkness, both without and within too, they shall not divine, they shall not have so much as a counterfeit vision to produce, they shall be ashamed, and confounded, and cover their lips, as men that are quite baffled and have nothing to say for themselves. Note, Those who deceive others are but preparing confusion for their own faces.
8-12
The Crimes of the Princes and Prophets (726 BC)
日本語
君たちと預言者たちの犯罪（紀元前726年）
⁸ しかし、わたしは主の霊によって力と公正と力とに満ち、ヤコブにそのそむきの罪を、イスラエルにその罪を告げ知らせる。
⁹ ヤコブの家のかしらたち、公正を憎み、すべて公平を曲げるイスラエルの家の君たちよ、どうかこれを聞け。
¹⁰ 彼らは血をもってシオンを建て、不義をもってエルサレムを建てる。
¹¹ そのかしらたちは報酬のためにさばき、その祭司たちは報酬のために教え、その預言者たちは金のために占う。それでも彼らは主に寄り頼み、主は私たちの中にいないかと言う。われわれに災いは下らない。
¹² それゆえ、シオンはあなたがたのために畑のように耕され、エルサレムは廃墟の山となり、宮の山は森の高き所のようになる。
ここに、I. 預言者はその働きにおいて神の力が伴うことを経験し、君たちや支配者たちに対する率直な扱いにおいて彼を正当化し、支えるものとして、それを厳粛に告白し証言する。彼は大きな人々にこのように大胆に振る舞うのを欲しなかったし、恐れなかったが、預言的な衝動と感銘によってそうするよう駆り立てられた。語ったのは彼ではなく、彼を通して神であった。神が彼の口に置かれた言葉を語らずにはいられなかった。それはまた偽預言者たちへの反対の仕方で入って来る。彼らは自分たちが嘘つきであることが証明されて生きるうちに恥に満ち、民に忠実に接する勇気を持たず、彼らの罪にへつらった。彼らは*肉的で御霊を持たなかった。*しかし真実に（ミカは言う）わたしは主の霊によって力に満ちている。Mic 3:8。自分の語ることが真実であるという確信を持ち、確信をもって語った。彼をあの偽預言者たちと比べよ。そしてあなたは言うであろう。比較にならない。もみがらと麦とで何の関係があるか。Jer 23:28。描かれた火と真の火は何か。ここで観察せよ。1. この預言者が耐えられた資格は何であったか。彼は力と公正と力に満ちていた。神と人のたましいへの熱烈な愛、その栄光と彼らの救いへの深い関心、罪に対する燃えるような熱心を持っていた。彼はまた、それを責め、反対証しする勇気を持ち、大人物の怒りにも大群衆の怒りにも恐れなかった。彼がどんな困難や落胆に会っても、それらは彼を思いとどまらせず、その働きから追い払わなかった。これらの事のどれも彼を動かさなかった。そしてこれらはすべて公正と分別によって導かれた。彼は勇気だけでなく知恵を持つ人であった。彼のすべての説教には光と熱があり、知恵の霊と熱心の霊があった。このようにこの神の人は、語るべきすべての良い言葉と、なすべきすべての良いわざのために完全に整えられた。彼が説教した人々は、彼が力と公正の両方に満ちていることを否応なく認めた。彼らの理解が開かれ、彼らの心が燃やされたのを見いだしたからである。そのような証拠と実証と力をもって、言葉が彼から出た。2. 彼がこれらの資格をどこから得たか。自分自身からではなく、*主の霊によって力に満ちていた。自分の中におられるのが主の霊であり、彼を通して語られるのであり、彼が伝えるのが神の啓示であることを知り、彼は大胆に、権威ある者のように語り、顔を石のように固くし、語ったことで正当化され支えられることを知った(Isa 50:7,8)。観察せよ。正直に行動する者は大胆に行動できる。自分が神からの召しを持つと確信する者は、人々の反対を恐れる必要がない。いや、彼はその大胆さの基礎である預言の霊を持っただけでなく、聖化の霊が彼に必要な大胆さと知恵を授けた。彼が強かったのは自分のいかなる力によるのでもなかった。これらの事にだれが十分であり得ようか。ただ主にあって、その力の力にあって。**すべての私たちの十分は彼からである。私たちは良いことのためにいつか力に満ちているか。それは純粋に主の霊による。私たち自身は水のように弱いから。その民とそのしもべたちに力と勢いを与える方はイスラエルの神である。3. 彼はこれらの資格、すなわちこの公正とこの力をどのように用いたか。彼はヤコブにそのそむきの罪を、イスラエルにその罪を告げ知らせた。*もしヤコブとイスラエルにそむきの罪が見いだされれば、彼らはそれを告げられなければならず、それを彼らに告げ、大声で叫び、惜しまず叫ぶことが神の預言者たちの仕事である(Isa 58:1)。神の言葉を聞きに来る者は、自分たちの過ちについて語られることを喜んで受け入れなければならず、牧師たちに率直で忠実に接することを許すだけでなく、親切に受け入れ、感謝しなければならない。しかし責めを受けるほど柔和な者は少ないので、責めを与える者には多くの大胆さが必要であり、知恵と力の霁を祈らなければならない。
II. 預言者はこの力を、ヤコブの家のかしらたち、すなわち君たちと預言者たちを扱うにおいて発揮する。彼は章の前半で彼らに大きな告発を引き出した。彼らの出席と注意を促す召喚を繰り返す(Mic 3:9)。Mic 3:1であったのと同じであり、イスラエルの家の君たちに自分を向けるが、彼はユダの君たちを意味する。というのは、これがヒゼキヤの王国で語られたことが分かるからである(Jer 26:18,19でMic 3:12が引用されている)。しかし十部族が捕囚に連れて行かれたので、今やヤコブとイスラエルに残っているのはユダだけである。預言者は彼らに丁寧に語り（どうか聞け）、かしらと君という称号を与える。牧師たちは大人物をその罪について責めにおいて忠実でなければならないが、彼らに無礼で失礼であってはならない。さてここで観察せよ。
1. ヤコブの家のかしらたち、君、祭司、**預言者が犯した大いなる悪。簡単に言えば、彼らは貪欲であり、その職を金銭の愛に売り渡した。(1) 君たちはすべての公正を憎んだ。自分自身の実践においても、彼らに申し立てられた訴えの判決においても、そのいかなる法律にも治められようとしなかった。彼らはすべての公平を曲げ、公正が彼らの世俗的利益に従わないとき、公正の導きや是正を受けることを軽蔑した。正しいことをするという口実の下で最も明白な不当を行ったとき、彼らは公平を曲げ、行政の創設者であり力の源である方の意図に反する目的に仕えさせた。彼らが血をもってシオンを建てることが彼らに告げられる(Mic 3:10)。「彼らはその強奪と圧迫を正当化するにおいて、シオンとエルサレムを建てると偽る。聖なる都市に新しい通りや広場を加え、それを飾る。教会と国家の両方で公共利益を確立し、前進させ、その中で神とイスラエルに良い奉仕をしていると思う。しかしそれは血と不義によるので栄えることはできない。神の都への彼らの善意も、神の律法への彼らの矛盾を正当化しない。」聖なる教会への燃えるような熱心と信仰の普及が、強奪や殺人、虐殺や略奪を聖別するのに役立つと思う者は誤る。いや、シオンの城壁は血と不義でそれを建てる者に感謝を負うものではない。人の罪は神の義を働かせない。「君の職務は申し立てられた訴えをさばくことである。しかしそのかしらたちは報酬のためにさばく(Mic 3:11)。賄賂を与える者の方に判決を下す。最も正しい訴えも手数料なしでは勝てず、手数料があれば最も不当な訴えが勝つ。」さばき手が訴えについての問いが「その中で何がなされるべきか」ではなく「それで何が得られるか」であるとき、民の状況は惨めである。(2) 祭司の仕事は民を教えることであり、そのために律法は彼らに非常に誉れある快適な生活を備えていた。しかしそれでは彼らを満足させない。彼らは報酬のために教え、喜ばせ、影響力を得ると知っている神の託宣として、何でも教えるために雇われる。(3) 預言者たちは、謝礼として名誉料を受け取っていたようである(1Sa 9:7,8)。しかしこれらの預言者たちは現世の利益の見通しによってその預言を治め、それが彼らの主眼であった。彼らは金のために占う。彼らの舌は傭兵であった。自分に最も有利と見なすように預言したり放っておいたりした。そして人がその代価を払えば、彼らからどんな託宣でも得られた。こうして彼らは不義の報酬を愛したバラムのふさわしい後継者であった。観察せよ。悪いものは教会への熱心によって聖別されることは決してできないが、聖なるものは世を愛することによって俗化され得、しばしば俗化される。人がそれ自体は善いことを行っても、汚れた利得のために行うとき、それはその卓越性を失い、神にも人にも忌み嫌われるものとなる。
2. それにもかかわらず、彼らの空しい思い上がりと肉的確信。彼らは主に寄り頼み、公言においてその民であるので、これらの悪い行いには害も危険もないと思う。信仰は主の上に建てられ、彼にあり、たましいの土台である彼に頼る。思い上がりは主を支えとして寄り頼むだけで、まだ世がその上に建てられた土台である間、順番に奉仕させるために彼を利用する。彼らは大きな確信をもって語る。(1) 彼らの誉れについて。「主は私たちの中にいないか。私たちと共におられるしるし、その神殿、その箱、その生ける託宣を持たないか。」彼らは聖なる山とその威厳のゆえに高ぶる(Zep 3:11)。まるで彼らの教会の特権が最悪の行いを緩和するかのように、あるいは神の臨在が祭司や民をその業績の販売で富ませることを意図したかのように。主がその規定によって彼らの中におられたことは真実であり、これが彼らを高慢にした。しかしもし彼らがその恵みと愛によって彼らの中にいると想像したなら、彼らは誤っていた。しかし人の子らが自分たちの罪によって神を怒らせて彼らから去らせたとき、神が共にいると思うことは、人がしばしば自分にかける欺きである。(2) 彼らは自分たちの安全を確信する。*災いは私たちに下らない。*多くの人が教会の特権によって致命的な安全の中で眠らされている。まるでそれらが罪の中で彼らを保護し、刑罰から覆うかのように。実際に、そしてそうなるであろう、彼らの罪と刑罰の両方を最も加重するもの。人々の間に主を持つことが彼らを悪を行うことから引き留めないなら、そのような行いのゆえに苦しむことから決して守れない。そして罪人がその厚かましさが処罰されないと思うことは非常に不合理である。
3. 想像上の保護にもかかわらず、彼らの実際の悪のゆえに彼らに下された運命(Mic 3:12)。それゆえ、シオンはあなたがたのために畑のように耕される。これはミカが語った大胆な言葉として引用される箇所である(Jer 26:18)。しかしヒゼキヤとその君たちはそれを良く受けた。別の治世では彼の首を失いかけたかもしれないが。いや、彼らは悔い改め、改革したので、この脅しの執行は妨げられ、その日には来なかった。(1) ここで預言されるのは聖なる場所の滅びである。神の臨在のしるしとその礼拝の業によって大いに誉れを受けた場所。シオンが畑のように耕され、建物が地に焼かれ平らにされる。ある人々は、これがローマ人によるエルサレムの破壊において文字通りに成就し、その都市が立っていた地面が完全な荒廃のしるしとして耕され、皇帝の許可なくしてはその地面にいかなる都市も建ててはならないとされたと観察する。聖なる都市エルサレムでさえ廃墟の山となり、神殿が建てられた宮の山は、茨やあざみで覆われ、森の高き所のようになる。もし聖なる場所が罪によって汚されるなら、神のさばきによって荒廃し滅ぼされることを期待しなければならない。(2) 滅びをもたらすのはそこに座する者たちの悪である。「シオンが畑のように耕されるのはあなたがたのゆえにである。あなたがたはシオンを建てると偽るが、血と不義でそれを行い、引き倒している。」観察せよ。祭司や君たちの罪はしばしば国家や教会の滅びである。Delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi―王たちは愚かに行動し、民はそのために苦しむ。
영문 원문
The Crimes of the Princes and Prophets (726 BC)
⁸ But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.
⁹ Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.
¹⁰ They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
¹¹ The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.
¹² Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.
Here, I. The prophet experiences a divine power going along with him in his work, and he makes a solemn profession and protestation of it, as that which would justify him, and bear him out, in his plain dealing with the princes and rulers. He would not, he durst not, make thus bold with the great men, but that he was carried out to do it by a prophetical impulse and impression. It was not he that said it, but God by him, and he could not but speak the word that God put into his mouth. It comes in likewise by way of opposition to the false prophets, who were full of shame when they lived to see themselves proved liars, and who never had courage to deal faithfully with the people, but flattered them in their sins; they were sensual, not having the Spirit, but truly (says Micah) I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, Mic 3:8. Having in himself an assurance of the truth of what he said, he said it with assurance. Compare him with those false prophets, and you will say, There is no comparison between them. What is the chaff to the wheat? Jer 23:28. What is painted fire to real fire? Observe here, 1. What the qualifications were with which this prophet was endured: He was full of power, and of judgment, and of might; he had an ardent love to God and to the souls of men, a deep concern for his glory and their salvation, and a flaming zeal against sin. He had likewise courage to reprove it and witness against it, not fearing the wrath either of great men or of great multitudes; whatever difficulties or discouragements he met with, they did not deter him nor drive him from his work; none of these things moved him. And all this was guided by judgment and discretion; he was a man of wisdom as well as courage; in all his preaching there was light as well as heat, and a spirit of wisdom as well as of zeal. Thus was this man of God thoroughly furnished for every good word he had to say, and every good work he had to do. Those he preached to could not but perceive him to be full both of power and judgment, for they found both their understandings opened and their hearts made to burn within them, with such evidence and demonstration, and with such power, did the word come from him. 2. Whence he had these qualifications, not from and of himself, but he was full of power by the Spirit of the Lord. Knowing that it was indeed the Spirit of the Lord that was in him, and spoke by him, that it was a divine revelation that he delivered, he spoke it boldly, and as one having authority, set his face as a flint, knowing he should be justified and borne out in what he said, Isa 50:7,8. Note, Those who act honestly may act boldly; and those who are sure that they have a commission from God need not be afraid of opposition from men. Nay, he had not only a Spirit of prophecy, which was the ground of his boldness, but the Spirit of sanctification endued him with the boldness and wisdom which were requisite for him. It was not in any strength of his own that he was strong; for who is sufficient for these things? but in the Lord, and in the power of his might; for from him all our sufficiency is. Are we full of power at any time, for that which is good? It is purely by the Spirit of the Lord, for of ourselves we are weak as water; it is the God of Israel that gives strength and power both to his people and to his ministers. 3. What use he made of these qualifications—this judgment and this power; he declared to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin. If transgression be found in Jacob and Israel, they must be told of it, and it is the business of God's prophets to tell them of it, to cry aloud and not to spare, Isa 58:1. Those who come to hear the word of God must be willing to be told of their faults, and must not only give their ministers leave to deal plainly and faithfully with them, but take it kindly, and be thankful; but, since few have meekness enough to receive reproof, those have need of a great deal of boldness who are to give reproofs, and must pray for a spirit both of wisdom and might.
II. The prophet exerts this power in dealing with the heads of the house of Jacob, both the princes and the prophets, whom he had drawn up a high charge against in the former part of the chapter. He repeats the summons of their attendance and attention (Mic 3:9), the same that we had Mic 3:1, directing himself to the princes of the house of Israel, yet he means those of Judah; for it appears (Jer 26:18,19, where Mic 3:12 is quoted) that this was spoken in Hezekiah's kingdom; but, the ten tribes being gone into captivity, Judah is all that is now left of Jacob and Israel. The prophet speaks respectfully to them (hear, I pray you) and gives them their titles of heads and princes. Ministers must be faithful to great men in reproving them for their sins, but they must not be rude and uncivil to them. Now observe here,
1. The great wickedness that these heads of the house of Jacob were guilty of, princes, priest, and prophets; in short, they were covetous and prostituted their offices to their love of money. (1.) The princes abhorred all judgment; they would not be governed by any of its laws, either in their own practice or in passing sentence upon appeals made to them; they perverted all equity, and scorned to be under the direction or correction of justice, when it could not be made pliable to their secular interests. When, under pretence of doing right, they did the most palpable wrongs, then they perverted equity, and made it serve a purpose contrary to the intention of the founder of magistracy and fountain of power. It is laid to their charge (Mic 3:10) that they build up Zion with blood. "They pretend, in justification of their extortion and oppressions, that they build up Zion and Jerusalem; they add new streets and squares to the holy cities, and adorn them; they establish and advance the public interests both in church and state, and think that therein they do God and Israel good service. But it is with blood and with iniquity, and therefore it cannot prosper; nor will their intentions of good to the city of God justify their contradictions to the law of God." Those mistake who think that a burning zeal for holy church, and the propagating of the faith, will serve to consecrate robberies and murders, massacres and depredations; no, Zion's walls owe those no thanks that build them up with blood and iniquity. The sin of man works not the righteousness of God. "The office of the princes is to judge upon appeals made to them; but they judge for reward (Mic 3:11); they give judgment on the side of those that give the bribe; the most righteous cause shall not be carried without a fee, and for a fee the most unrighteous cause shall be carried." Miserable is the people's case when the judge's enquiry upon a cause is not, "What is to be done in it?" but, "What is to be got by it?" (2.) The priests' work was to teach the people, and for that the law had provided them a very honourable comfortable maintenance; but that will not content them, they teach for hire over and above, and will be hired to teach anything, as an oracle of God, which they know will please and gain them an interest. (3.) The prophets, it should seem, had honorary fees given them by way of gratuity (1Sa 9:7,8); but these prophets governed themselves in their prophesying by the prospect of temporal advantage and that was the main thing they had in their eye: They divine for money. Their tongues were mercenary; they would either prophesy or let it alone, according as they found it most for their advantage; and a man might have what oracle he would from them if he would but pay them for it. Thus they were fit successors of Balaam, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. Note, Though that which is wicked can never be consecrated by a zeal for the church, yet that which is sacred may be, and often is, desecrated, by the love of the world. When men do that which in itself is good, but do it for filthy lucre, it loses its excellency, and becomes an abomination both to God and man.
2. Their vain presumption and carnal confidence, notwithstanding: They lean upon the Lord, and because they are, in profession, his people, they think there is neither harm nor danger in these their wicked practices. Faith builds upon the Lord, rests in him, and relies upon him, as the soul's foundation; presumption only leans upon the Lord as a prop, makes use of him to serve a turn, while still the world is the foundation that is built upon. They speak with a great deal of confidence, (1.) Of their honour: "Is not the Lord among us? Have we not the tokens of his presence with us, his temple, his ark, his lively oracles?" They are haughty because of the holy mountain and its dignities (Zep 3:11), as if their church-privileges would palliate the worst of practices, or as if God's presence with them were intended to make the priests and people rich with the sale of their performances. It was true that the Lord was among them by his ordinances, and this puffed them up with pride; but, if they imagined that he was among them by his favour and love, they were mistaken: but it is a cheat the children of men often put upon themselves to think they have God with them, when they have by their sin provoked him to depart from them. (2.) They are confident of their own safety: No evil can come upon us. Many are rocked asleep; in a fatal security by their church-privileges, as if those would protect them in sin, and shelter them from punishment, which are really, and will be, the greatest aggravations both of their sin and of their punishment. If men's having the Lord among them will not restrain them from doing evil, it can never secure them from suffering evil for so doing; and it is very absurd for sinners to think that their impudence will be their impunity.
3. The doom passed upon them for their real wickedness, notwithstanding their imaginary protection (Mic 3:12): Therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as a field. This is that passage which is quoted as a bold word spoken by Micah (Jer 26:18), which yet Hezekiah and his princes took well, though in another reign it might have gone near to cost him his head; nay, they repented and reformed, and so the execution of this threatening was prevented, and did not come in those days. (1.) It is the ruin of holy places that is here foretold, places that had been highly honoured with the tokens of God's presence and the performances of his worship; it is Zion that shall be ploughed as a field, the building burnt to the ground and levelled with it. Some observe that this was literally fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, when the ground on which the city stood was ploughed up in token of its utter desolation, and that no city should be built upon that ground without the emperor's leave. Even Jerusalem, the holy city, shall become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the house, on which the temple is built, shall be overgrown with briars and thorns, as the high places of the forest. If sacred places be polluted by sin, they must expect to be wasted and ruined by the judgments of God. (2.) It is the wickedness of those who preside in them that brings the ruin: "It is for your sake that Zion shall be ploughed as a field; you pretend to build up Zion, but, doing it by blood and iniquity, you pull it down." Note, The sin of priests and princes is often the ruin of states and churches. Delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi—The kings act foolishly and the people suffer for it.
使徒がもう一人の預言者について述べていることは、彼と同時代であったこの預言者にも当てはまる。「イザヤは非常に大胆である」(Ro 10:20)。それゆえ、この章においてミカは、罪の首謀者である大人物たちを責め、脅すことに非常に大胆である。そして彼がそれほど大胆であった理由を(Mic 3:8)説明する。すなわち、彼が語ったことを語るよう神から委任と指示を受け、彼自身以上の霊と力によってそのわざに導かれたからである。行政と聖務は、神の教会に益をもたらす二つの大いなる規定である。しかしこの両方は腐敗し、その目的は歪められた。そしてそれらを濫用し、それによって教会をも濫用した者たちに対して、預言者は非常に厳しい。そして正当にそうである。I. 彼は彼らに個別に教えを与え、君たちを責め脅し(Mic 3:1-4)、偽ってへつらう預言者たちを責め脅す(Mic 3:5-7)。II. 彼は彼らに共に教えを与え、彼らを共に行動する者として一つにまとめ、王国の滅びのために働く者として、その滅びを目撃するであろうことを告げる(Mic 3:9-12)。