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The distortion of justice taking place in Israel was a strong indicator of just how bad things had become. Those who were entrusted to lead the city were actually manipulating it. Their ability to distinguish between good and evil had dwindled because compromising with sin both sears our conscience and darkens our understanding.
They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. 19 They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more. 20 But that is not how you learned about the Messiah, 21 assuming you heard about Him and were taught by Him, because the truth is in Jesus.
Ephesians 4:18-21 HCSB
But the tables were about to turn. Those who turned a blind eye to the cry of the marginalized would later experience God turning a blind eye to them. We must call it what it is. It wasn’t a mistake. These decisions weren’t made overnight. The hardness established in their hearts developed slowly over time through intentional choices.
Earlier I stated that inviting sin into our lives will darken our understanding. As the darkness closes in, we turn our attention solely to our own lives. Selfishness creeps in and we find ourselves compromising more and more to feed our flesh. It is a terrible and hopeless way to live. This is why God had to put His foot down.
“The false prophets had wilfully misled the people. Their one desire was to get food. For those who provided it, they uttered peace; for those who opposed them, war. Therefore they would be left without a vision; God’s Spirit would cease to strive. How great the contrast between them and Micah, who spoke with the consciousness of spiritual power!”
F.B. Meyer