Devising
Iniquity
Micah 2:1 “Woe to them that devise
iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the
morning is light, they practise it, because it is in
the power of their hand.
2 And
they covet fields, and take them by violence; and
houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man
and his house, even a man and his heritage.”
1. Devising A Device
2. Devising
Mischief
3. Practicing Mischief
4. True
Oppression
1. Devising A Device
Verse one: “Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.”
Devise is an interesting word.
The word “devise” is a verb.
One of the meanings of the word devise: DEVISE, v.t. s as z. [L.] according to the Webster’s dictionary of 1828 is this:
To invent;
to contrive;
to form in the mind by new combinations of ideas, new applications of principles, or new arrangement of parts;
to excogitate; to strike out by thought;
to plan;
to scheme; to project; as, to devise an engine or machine;
to devise a new mode of writing;
to devise a plan of defense;
to devise arguments.
In a good sense:
“And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,” [Exodus 35:32].
In a bad sense:
“Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.” [Proverbs 3:29].
Another word closely related is the word device which is a noun: [DEVICE, n. [L.]]
One of the meanings of the word is:
That which is formed by design, or invented; scheme; artificial contrivance; stratagem; project; sometimes in a good sense; more generally in a bad sense, as artifices are usually employed for bad purposes.
In a good sense:
His “device is against Babylon, to destroy it”. Jeremiah 51:11.
n a bad sense:
He “disappointeth the devices of the crafty”. Job 5.
They “imagined a mischievous device”. Psalm 21:11.
A device is an invention.
The invention can be for good or bad. Good can be devised. Evil can be devised.
God can devise good or God can devise evil.
Men can devise good or men can devise evil.
More often than not men choose to devise evil. Why is this so?
It is so because men [us] are like their father who is the Devil. [John 8:44] “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
2. Devising Mischief
The Devil continuously devises evil. The Devil devises iniquity, and so we [mankind] follow suit. We devise iniquity.
This is the indictment of God Himself concerning us [sinners] found in Romans chapter one, verse twenty-nine: “Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” [Romans 1:29-32]
Do you see yourself as God sees you?
Do you believe what God says about you?
Here is the truth about us. Left to ourselves, and by ourselves, we lie on our beds devising iniquity. We invent iniquity. We imagine “a mischievous device” in our thoughts from within the heart.
The Spirit of God tells this in Jeremiah chapter seventeen: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” [Jeremiah 17:9-10]
3. Practicing Mischief
The Pharisees in the book of Matthew in chapter twelve hatched, or devised, a plan to entrap Jesus Christ for the sole purpose of destroying the Son of Man. Look at it for yourself in verse fourteen: “Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.” [Matthew 12:14]
[Are they not just nice people, yes, sweet and good people? Sort of like us, right? Come on now!]
The ONE WHO was INNOCENT of all SIN … men devise evil “against him”.
[See Matthew 27:4: “Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.”]
They hated Jesus Christ without cause. “All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt.” [Psalm 41:7]
They practiced mischief against Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, they hate all who live honestly and peacefully in the land.
In the back rooms and in the secret chambers and in the cloakrooms men are devising mischief against “them that are quiet in the land.”
This means that they practice mischief against the average citizen in the land. We can find this in Psalm thirty-five, verse twenty: “For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.” [Psalm 35:20]
Now, note what God has to say about those who “devise” evil.
• [Proverbs 3:29] “Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.”
• [Proverbs 14:22] “Do they not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good.”
• [Proverbs 16:29-30] “A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good. He shutteth his eyes to devise froward things: moving his lips he bringeth evil to pass.”
• [Jeremiah 18:18] “Then said they, Come and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.”
• [Ezekiel 11:2] “Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:”
4. True Oppression
Verse two: “And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.”
Whenever a land or the people of a land turn from God and refuse to believe and hearken to the word of God … that land or that people will come into bondage under the rule of the wicked.
When the wicked bear the rule, “the people will mourn”. This truth is available for all of us to see in Proverbs chapter twenty-nine, verse two: “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” [Proverbs 29:2]
Grief comes.
Sadness comes.
Trouble comes.
Fear comes.
This is the way I will sum up. The wicked will “devise” ways to take the fields from all the quiet hard working people of the land.
The wicked “devise” methods, whereby they can take away the houses of all the honest and unsuspecting people in the land.
A free people are a God-fearing people!
Bottom line … oppression comes to a people when they leave the God of Bible.
This will happen every time and all the time in
every place on this earth where Jesus Christ is not
preeminent.