“‘Do not preach’ – thus they preach – ‘one should not preach of such things; disgrace will not overtake us.’” (Micah 2:6)
The preacher was not appreciated because of his negative message. He observes, “If a man should go about and utter wind and lies, saying, ‘I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,’ he would be the preacher for this people!” (v.11).
There must be no word of censure, only words of indulgence. No words of prohibition, only permission.
But notice, those who denounce the preacher do so using the very medium they denounce—preaching. They censure the preacher for censuring them. They preach at the preacher to cease his preaching.
Is this not the spirit of our age? These days the worst offense anyone could commit would be to ‘preach.’ The very word is offensive and is counted the unpardonable secular sin. Merriam-Webster’s on-line thesaurus lists the first five synonyms of preaching in profoundly negative terms: moralizing, pontificating, interference, kibitzing, meddling.
Preaching (particularly preaching that censures) is, then, preached against. And the irony is lost on those who do so.
“‘Quit your preaching,’ they preach.” (Micah 2:6a, CSB)
