Hearts of God-fearing men and women have cried out from
times past to now, “What does the Lord require of me? What is God’s will and
call for my life? What can I do to please Him?”
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of
you but to do justice, and to
love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, ESV)
Micah, the prophet spoke the Word of the Lord to Israel and
Judah during the reign of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah (Micah 6:1; 2 Kings 15:32-17:20;
2 Chronicles 27-32). The time of his prophetic ministry roughly parallels that
of Hosea and Isaiah
Micah was filled with power, the Spirit of the Lord, justice
and might to declare to God’s people of their sin (Micah 3:8). Free from
Assyrian interference in the reigns of Uzziah and Jotham, Judah experienced a
rise of a wealthy upper class. Significant corruption followed. Micah listed
specific sins that occurred: idolatry, confiscation of property, failure of
civil, religious and prophetic leadership, belief that personal sacrifice
satisfied divine justice; corrupt business practices; and violence.[i]
In Micah 6:1 Micah invites God to set forth His case before
His creation. The Lord spoke, reminding His people of their covenant-relationship with Him and challenging them to validate their complaints against
Him (v. 3). God then reminded them of His faithfulness and redemption in their
history. He sought to strengthen their faith by recounting His covenant-keeping deliverance of the past (v.4-5). The people responded to the Lord with the
ageless question, “With what shall I come
before the Lord?” They proceed to inquire if God would be pleased with
large and outlandish sacrifices (v.6-7). Micah detected the wrongful heart of
the people and their sinful belief that sacrifice is their entrance fee to God’s
presence, rather than an avenue for God to administer grace and forgiveness to
the repentant. Therefore, Micah responded, “He
has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to
do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
- He has told you: God’s requirement of His people was not hidden from them. The Hebrew word for “told”, nāgad, means to tell, make known or place a previously unknown or unknowable matter high. In this case it refers to a declaration of divine origin/authority. His people were without excuse.[ii] Through the divine revelation of His Word and by His holy actions, God clearly communicated His requirement.
“And now Israel, what does the Lord
your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His
ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am
commanding you today for your good?” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).
- O Man: The Hebrew word adām, refers to man as the image of God and the crown of creation.[iii] Men and woman are innate image-bearers of God. That which is good and required is perfectly modeled in the Creator, and He has created mankind in such a way that through Him they are also able to do what is good and required. (Genesis 1:27)
- What is good: What is good is right, favorable and beneficial. It is divine moral goodness and righteousness.[iv]
- The Lord: Yehovah is the proper name of the one true God; the existing One. The people left the Lord God to pursue and worship their false and non-living gods. Micah called the people to return to and obey the true and living God.
- Require of you: To require is to ask for or demand. The requirement should be followed with obedience. The Hebrew phrase dārash‘asah communicates a command that is translated into obedience which is evidenced in a demonstrable act. Covenant people were commanded to do obey by doing all that God had commanded.[v] Micah knew what God commanded of His people, and it was not the elaborate sacrifices the people offered.
Like the people of God in Micah’s day, in the midst of
struggle we may ask “With what shall I
come before the Lord” Our hearts need not fret. The living and true Lord
God has clearly communicated to us, His image-bearers, through His Word and
actions what is righteous and what He requires of us. It is not a secret...
To
be continued.
[i] The Holy Bible: English
Standard Version, Study Bible. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Bibles, 2008, 1694.
[ii] HARRIS, R. Laird. Theological
Wordbook of the Old Testament, volume 2. Chicago: Moody Press, 1980, 549.
[iii] HARRIS, R. Laird. Theological
Wordbook of the Old Testament, volume 1. Chicago: Moody Press, 1980, 25.
[iv] Ibid., 345
[v] Ibid., 198
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