Daily Devotional | Wind and Lies

When a teenage son wanted to borrow the family car, he asked his dad first. But when his dad said, “No,” he immediately went and asked his mom. Of course, he didn’t mention that his dad had already said “no,” because he wanted a positive response. He was hoping for the answer that he wanted to hear.

Micah was facing something similar here in chapter 2: “Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us” (v. 6). Micah had delivered a faithful word from the Lord to his audience—because of their worship of false gods and mistreatment of others, destruction was coming. This, however, was not the word they wanted to hear, and so they ran off, looking for a better word from another source.

Micah cuts right to the heart of the problem: “If a liar and deceiver comes and says, ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer, that would be just the prophet for this people!’” (v. 11). Micah was not saying what the people wanted to hear; he was telling the truth.

Micah’s word for the oppressors in Israel and Judah is strong—certain judgment is coming. No amount of theological gamesmanship can change that, and the positive preacher that the leadership wants is nothing more than a windbag full of falsities.

Micah’s response may seem harsh, but there is great comfort in it. Sometimes our children, or others, come to us looking for someone to “utter wind and lies” to them. They want us to sympathize with their predicament and to utter words that will affirm their behavior. But if we put a positive spin on behavior that is clearly wrong, it is not loving or right. God’s truth is needed and necessary, and delivering it is an act of love.

>> We can be like that, preferring those who teach what we want to hear. We must be careful not to rely on “wind and lies” that are not true, even if they make us feel better in the moment.

Pray with Us

Impart to us Your hatred for lies—even those that seem beautiful and reassuring. Make Your truth our guide as we wade through the world’s deceptions. Teach us to treasure the realities You have ordained.

BY Dr. Russell L. Meek

Russell Meek teaches Old Testament and Hebrew at Moody Theological Seminary. He writes a regular column on understanding and applying the Old Testament at Fathom Magazine, and his books include Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning in an Upside-Down World and the co-authored Book-by-Book Guide to Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary. Russ, his wife, and their three sons live in northern Idaho.