exploitation – Daily PBJ

Read 2 Kings 8, Micah 2, and Psalm 119:121-176.

This devotional is about Micah 2.

This passage begins by announcing “woe to those who plan iniquity.” The word “woe” signals a prayer or a wish for a curse; it is an announcement, in this context, of sorrow that is coming due to God’s judgment. The object of this sorrow is those who exploit other people. Verse 2 says, “They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud people of their homes, they rob them of their inheritance.” And why do they do these evil things? Because they can: “…because it is in their power to do it.” This refers either those who hold positions of power in the government or those who are politically well-connected to the government. Undoubtedly there were private citizens in Israel and Judah who had the strength and weapons to exploit others. Had they done so, however, the person who was exploited could appeal to judges for justice. If the judges, however, are corrupt then there is no recourse for justice.

Apparently this is how things went in Israel and Judah. Those who had positions of power in the king’s administration could use that power to enrich themselves at the expense of others. Those who were private citizens but knew who to bribe or how to bribe or had their own cronies in the government could exploit others without fear of accountability. God prophesied (and later brought) judgment on Israel and Judah for these sins (vv. 3-5) and other sins we’ve read about in the prophets.

Instead of speaking out against these sins, however, there were prophets in Israel and Judah who tried to silence the truth-telling of Micah (vv. 6-7) and speak only of a pleasant, pleasurable future for God’s people (v. 11). A prophet who fails to speak out against exploitation and injustice enables that exploitation and injustice to continue (vv. 8-9).

This is part of our discipleship that we ought to consider. While we don’t live in Israel and are not God’s chosen people, God hates injustice wherever it lives and will judge those who exploit others in eternity, if not in this life. In our world, the idea of “injustice” is sometimes used as a charge to gain political power and to exploit the innocent.

God has not called us as believers to effect social change by taking on social issues. He’s charged us with calling people out of their sins to Jesus in faith and repentance. Part of living for the glory of the Lord, however, is seeking to do what is right in our lives wherever possible. That means, at times, doing justice when we are in a position to do so–such as when we serve on a jury or vote. It also means speaking out if we witness abuses of power against the weak.

Have you seen someone in our community or in your workplace who has been treated unjustly? Are you in a position to speak up about that? Are you willing to trust the Lord and come to the defense of those being defrauded or exploited?

Read Leviticus 8, Isaiah 3-4, and Luke 23.

This devotional is about Isaiah 3-4.

Like all of God’s prophets, Isaiah’s job was to speak out about the sins among his people, call them to repentance, and warn about God’s coming judgment if they do not repent. This is exactly what we read about today in Isaiah 3-4.

In other prophesies of judgment, idolatry is the main issue God addressed followed by the exploitation of others. There is plenty about the exploitation of others in this chapter (vv. 5, 12, 15) but nothing about idolatry.

Instead, the most specific sin addressed in this chapter is the seductive actions of women in those days (3:16-4:1). Verse 16 described their “outstretched necks,” which may refer to how they looked around to see if they had been noticed. If they did get a man’s attention they looked at him flirtatiously (v. 16d), and walked in ways that drew attention to the lower half of their bodies (v. 16e-f).

God’s judgment would remove all the things that accentuated their beauty (3:18-23). He would replace these items with things that humiliated, rather than accentuated (3:24). The men whose attention they worked so hard to get would become scarce because they would die in battle (3:25-26). It would get so bad that women would drastically outnumber men and would promise to provide for themselves if only one of the few men left would marry them (4:1).

The situation described in these verses is very different from the times we live in but there are some parallels. Young women today seem to prefer athletic wear to “fine clothing” (vv. 18, 24) so the apparel is different. Though women may prefer yoga pants and tank tops, those outfits can be tight and revealing. That makes it hard to look away from if you are a man.

Likewise, men today have not been exterminated in battle as the men of Israel and Judah were, but many men today are absent from life for other reasons. Too busy playing video games and living in mom’s basement, many young men never learn a trade or skill or earn a college degree. Young women go to college and get good jobs but have a hard time finding a good man to marry. I’ve met some women who willingly pay the rent and provide for the food (similar to 4:1) so that a guy can move in with her to keep her company while he continues to be jobless and unproductive.

While some of the specific manifestations of sin have changed, we live in a culture where many women choose immodesty and make moral compromises in order get the attention of men. As God looks at our sinful culture, he could say to men and women in our world, “It is you who have ruined my vineyard” (3:14c). In our world, “the elders and leaders of the people” would be entertainers and educators. Entertainers change what is acceptable for women and men to wear and do through the stories they tell and the looks they cultivate. Educators change what is acceptable in culture by shaming men for being masculine and encouraging women to be forward, aggressive, and sexual.

Not one of us can change an entire culture and this passage does not suggest that we seize the levers of government to make women and men act differently. Instead, the lesson for us is that “The LORD,,, rises to judge the people” (v. 13). The way you live, the look you cultivate, and the way you interact with the opposite sex may be acceptable in our world but that does not mean that it is pleasing in the eyes of God.

The lesson here, then, is to change yourself. Be modest in the way you dress and look, women, and raise your daughters to be modest and to trust God’s provision rather than seeking a man’s attention any way you can get it.

Men, take responsibility for your life. Find your place in society instead of letting “women rule” (3:12). Watch where your eyes go when you’re around other women and be faithful to the wife God gives you.

God will judge our society for the ungodly way people live. Christ offers the only way of escape–both from the judgment to come and from the sinful lifestyles that are accepted. As his followers, let’s live the way he calls and commands us to live even in a world that is ungodly.