Psalms 31:1-4 and 8:1 today.

My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Micah 3. The Mind of the Spirit engaged the spirit of my mind in verse 9 (And then my attention was drawn to verse 8):

Micah 3:8 ¶ 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.

Micah 3:9 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.

I thought it was interesting that the Spirit brought verse 9 to my attention with particular emphasis, and then, quite by “chance,” I stumbled onto verse 8, which struck a blow upon my conscience.

I was amazed as I contemplated how so many today “abhor judgment” (Micah 3:9).*

Along the still waters, I thought of how many elevate themselves against those who exercise judgment and despise them as abhorrent, accuse them of being mean-spirited, and condemn them as “haters.” They exalt themselves as morally superior while condemning the reasonable judgment of the truly righteous.

Examples abound: if we object to lawbreakers crossing our borders illegally, we are “haters.” If we refuse demands from the so-called LGBTQ+  community to recognize men as women, or women as men, we are called vile names, attacked, and accused of being “haters.” If we quote the Bible’s warnings and judgment against “men with men” (Romans 1:27), again, we are called “haters,” “mean-spirited,” and viciously reviled.

They abhor judgment, but aggressively judge us as evil because we refuse to call evil good (Isaiah 5:20).

Many use Jesus’ words to support their perverse abhorrence of judgment: “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). I guess they never read: “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24). Both statements were made by Jesus.

As we walked along the still waters, I heard the Spirit say of us who stand against this assault and dare to speak truth to the lies: “But truly [we are] full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto [our people their] transgression, and to [our nation it] sin” (Micah 3:8).

The anointing of the Spirit with “power” promised in Acts 1:8 includes the empowerment to declare the Holy Spirit’s reproof upon this world of “sin, righteousness, and judgment” (John 16:7-13).

In the valley, I was reminded that if “we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:31). Jesus spoke: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself (judge himself as dead unto sin—Romans 6:11), and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

At the table, He anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with grace. Goodness and mercy followed us into the harvest.

Praying for revival! 🙏

[*מֲתַעֲבִ֣ים (Mah-Ta-ab-eem) From  תָּעַב (taꜥab, taw-ab´) to abhor, morally detest, utterly despise a מֲתַעֲבִ֣ים (Mish-phat) a judgment, a verdict, individually or collectively expressed. The sense here is that these “princes” abhor personal or societal judgments as abhorrent to their sensitivities.]