based on, Our God Who Pursues / w3d4
He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord really wants from you: He wants you to carry out justice, to love faithfulness, and to live obediently before your God.“
Micah 6:8
As we dive into chapter six of Micah, it’s important to remember that Micah has been addressing the problem God’s people were having with sin. Gotquestions.org explains that “the answer to Israel’s sin problem was not more numerous or more painful sacrifices. The answer was something much deeper than any religious observance: they needed a change of heart. Without the heart, Israel’s conformity to the Law was nothing more than hypocrisy.
While there are clearly some things God does not reveal to us in today’s passage, Micah makes it clear that God’s people, then and now, do not need to wonder about or act like they/we do not know what the Lord wants from us. He spells it out for us here and throughout Scripture so that we are without excuse.
The overall picture seems to be that God doesn’t want our hearts more than any other ‘thing’ we can offer Him.
- We are to “carry out justice,” meaning we are to know what is right and wrong and do what is right. Gotquestions.org points out that this was particularly pointed at the judicial courts, “They had a responsibility to provide equity and protect the innocent,” The commentary goes on to say that “Injustice was a problem in Israel at that time.”
- We are to “love mercy,” which involves “loyal love or loving-kindness,” which, as the commentary points out, “is foundational to God’s character. – This, of course, would indicate that He expects His people to show love to their fellow man and to be loyal in their love toward Him, just as He had been loyal to them.”
- We are to “walk humbly” (aka: have a humble attitude toward God. “Instead of taking pride in what we bring to God, we humbly recognize that no amount of personal sacrifice can replace a heart committed to justice and love.”
The response of a godly heart is outward (do justice, inward (love mercy), and upward (walk humbly).
Got questions.org
“The message of Micah is still pertinent today. Religious rites, no matter how extravagant, can never compensate for a lack of love. External compliance to rules is not as valuable in God’s eyes as a humble heart that simply does what is right. God’s people today will continue to desire justice, mercy, and humility before the Lord.”
Prayer
God, thank you that all you ask of me is my heart. May I live fully surrendered to you each day and love others in response to your love. Amen.1
The More We Know
All quotes used today are from gotquestions.org unless otherwise noted.
- as found on p107 of the journal, Our God Who Pursues ↩︎
Me From the Inside Out 