Whenever my wife goes on a trip by herself, I keep up the house while she’s gone. Sort of. It’s not that I’m letting dishes pile up in the sink or laundry pile up on the floor. I do the chores that are needed, and even some that aren’t. But honestly, some spaces do get a bit messier, a bit more chaotic when I’m by myself. I just don’t have the same need for order.

We’ll usually stay in touch while she’s gone, including making sure we have a plan for when I’m supposed to pick her up from the airport. The running joke is that I need to be sure about what time she’s coming home so I can clean up all the empty beer bottles I’ve left lying around.

I don’t actually drink beer. That’s not a virtue on my part; I simply don’t care for it. And really, the most exciting thing I might do when she’s gone is watch an old Jackie Chan movie. Beer parties have never been part of my life, and she knows it. That’s what makes it a joke. The mythical beer bottles symbolize all the drunken revelry she knows isn’t happening in her absence.

Interestingly, Micah uses a similar metaphor in his prophecy against Judah. But for him, it’s not quite a joke. At least, not a funny one.

Previously, we noted how Jesus declares in Luke 6 that true prophets are hated and false prophets are loved. In part, that’s because true prophets often bring bad news of divine punishment, while false prophets often say what the people selfishly take as good news of divine blessing. And indeed, that seems to be the situation in Micah 2. False prophets are in cahoots with the rich and powerful, and telling Micah to stop preaching messages of doom.

Micah, as we’ve seen, claps back at these false prophets and the people who are both supporting them and craving their optimistic preaching. Here are the final words of condemnation in chapter 2:

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! (Mic 2:11, NIV)

In previous verses, the powerful of Judah were condemned for their unjust treatment of the poor. Here, they’re lampooned for their hedonism and gullibility. Through Micah, God is saying that these people will believe anybody who tells them what they want to hear. A person may be a flat-out liar, a trickster, a deceiver, yet claim to be a prophet. And as long he promises an unending kegger, people will line up to listen. They get the prophet they deserve.

The question is, what prophet do we deserve?

The modern day equivalent of Micah’s situation, I think, would be a church that preaches some version of the prosperity gospel without also preaching the importance of holiness in the Christian life. This distorted view of grace teaches that God will reliably dispense the goodies with just a minimum of religious behavior.

No condemnation of greed or selfishness.

No call for justice.

Just the kind of optimistic messages that will keep people coming in and coming back.

Don’t get me wrong. Pessimism, doom, and gloom aren’t the whole story either. There are plenty of promises of blessing in Scripture. But God didn’t call a people just to throw a party. What he wants is “a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Pet 2:9; see also Exod 19:6). And while there are blessings to be had in this lifetime, the real party comes later, when God’s work is done, death is defeated forever, and creation is restored.

So remember, we get the prophet we deserve. But we need to pay close attention. Because from God’s perspective, it may not be the prophet we need.