Micah 6:1-8
6 Listen to what the Lord says: “Stand up, plead my case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say. 2 “Hear, you mountains, the Lord’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the Lord has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel. 3 “My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. 4 I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. 5 My people, remember what Balak king of Moab plotted and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.” 6 With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Growing up, I hated getting punished; what I hated more than the punishment was when my mother would come into the room and talk to me after the whooping. Mom would tell me what I did to get in trouble, why that was the wrong decision, and what I should have done instead. I would be so mad that I was in trouble that I did not want to hear what she had to say. Another reason I would not like hearing what I was doing wrong is because I thought anyone asking me to do more than I was already doing was being unreasonable. There is no way I am going to satisfy them anyway. Mom wants me to do all my chores every night, complete my homework, and perform well at sports; nope, that is too hard. Mom is mad at me for getting a C or lower in a class. Well, that is as good as it is going to get; I can't do any better. I'm editing a video, and someone asks for some additional corrections. Nope, because once I make those changes, they will have a million more changes and will never be satisfied. It reminds me of the song lyrics, "I can't get no satisfaction" I could go on and on, but the point is, I felt like the expectations were unreasonable when they weren't that bad at all.
Nobody likes being told they are wrong; no one wants to finish a job and see someone point out that they got something wrong. No one wants to hear that the problems they have right now are their fault. But the unfortunate truth is we need to listen to it sometimes. We need to be told what we did wrong, or we may not learn how to do better next time. God is having that kind of conversation with the people of God in the book of Micah. I read one scholar describing the book of Micah as "bad times ahead, and it's your fault."
The setting of the book of Micah is like a courtroom; some call this book the divine lawsuit.
The text is a back-and-forth between two parties and reads like a liturgy. God is making a case against Israel again, and God invites Israel to plead their case. One would expect God to be angry, but the text shows God is bewildered and confused even as to why the people are acting this way.
One of the situations happening in Micah is that rich landowners are exploiting vulnerable people in the community. Micah 2:2 says, "They covet fields and seize them," said Micah. "They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance." In Jerusalem, the rich were getting richer, and the poor were getting poorer. And this was happening on a playing field that was anything but level.
God brought the people out of slavery, gave them wise and powerful leaders (namely Moses, Aaron, and Miriam), and brought them into the promised land. Yet, no matter what they achieve or attain, they want more. Instead of enjoying the good life that God has given them, they resort to corruption and injustice to satisfy their wishes and expectations. God wants to know why they are acting this way. God says Answer me! Like a frustrated parent speaking to their child.
"After they hear the accusation, the people, as usual, miss the point: "God, what more could you possibly want from us? Do you want more sacrifices, and more expensive livestock? How about a thousand sheep? Just how religious can we be?" (vv. 6–7) They are religious, but their idea of what religion means is far from God's hopes for them. They think that religion consists of worshiping "correctly" and staying away from those who do not. "
The people hear that God is mad and take it to the extreme; they bring up things that their God didn't even ask for, making it seem like they can never satisfy God. They go as far as mentioning human sacrifice in verse 7. I want you to watch the text because they are taking it to the extreme, even though God has not asked for any of that, including human sacrifice. The people worshiping other gods during that time are doing that, but not Yahweh. We also do that; we take our responses to situations to the extreme. Pastor makes a change, and people think the pastor doesn't love God anymore and wants to undo all the traditions. We get into arguments with our spouses and loved ones using terms like "you always do this" and "you never do that" we get caught up and say things that aren't true, just trying to make a point. We value the ritual over the relationship.
God tells them what he really wants from the people. The answer has nothing to do with how much money they have in their pockets or what style of worship they prefer. God wants the people to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.
Act Justly
The Lord calls us to rise up, speak up, and listen. He's calling us to take an active role in the world around us, to participate in the work of justice, to be loyal and loving, and to walk humbly before Him. When God says to do justice, that means offering more than thoughts and prayers.
Acting justly is more than just wishing well for someone; it's about actively participating in helping people. It's about standing up for what's right and speaking up for those who can't speak for themselves. To act justly means to work on behalf of people who are weak or powerless, or exploited by others. Acting justly is the opposite of what the rich landowners of Jerusalem were doing as they exploited vulnerable people in the community. How can you say you love God, who you haven't seen, and hate your neighbor, who you see every day?
Love Mercy
Some translations say, "love mercy." Other translations say, “love kindness.” Either way the Hebrew word in the text is Hesed. That means a solemn promise, a covenant, a devotion, a willingness to not only feel someway but make a record about it. When God says love kindness, this is about loyalty, love, and faithfulness. It's about being there for others, in good times and bad. It's about being a friend, a brother, a sister, a mother, and a father, to those in need. Love kindness means to hold on to the promise.
Walk Humbly with God
We do not celebrate the humble; we like the brash, bold, and flamboyant; it gets our attention even if we don't like being brash ourselves; we want to see it in others. God says to walk humbly with him. Walking humbly with God means to walk carefully with God, circumspectly. It means taking care of the little things and doing the work consistently for Him. It means being mindful of His presence in our lives and seeking to honor Him in all that we do.
The promise is the gift of satisfaction. When we act justly, we tend to have good relationships with the people around us. When we love mercy, we feel like we are in step with Almighty God. True satisfaction does not come from property or power, or money.
Instead, it comes from being right with God and the people around us.
The Lord doesn't require these things of us because we can repay Him or earn our way into His favor. He asks these things of us because He loves us immensely and because we are saved by grace.
You cannot repay God for all he has done; you cannot earn your way in. God doesn't walk away from the table.
So let us rise up, let us speak up, and let us listen to the Lord. Let us do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before Him. And let us remember that we cannot repay God for all He has done for us, but by His grace, we are saved. And let us give him thanks and praise for all He has done for us. Amen.
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