September 16, what is good!
He has shown you, O man, what is good.
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly! God instructed Israel on what He required. And, Israel knew this. They should have understood God’s way and word from the Law of Moses. But their hearts had drifted from God and from His truth.
This message from Micah was in the form of a conversation between God and His people. And, the conversation opens with an indictment against the disobedience of Israel (Micah 6:1-5) . Israel then responded with inquiry about what should penitently be brought to the Lord. There seemed to be a progression in the thoughts of God’s people concerning outward displays of remorse and repentance (Micah 6:6-7):
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? 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?
As the people of Israel offered their ideas of ceremony, sacrifices, and oblations, God reminded them of the one aspect of their lives He truly required: a change of heart. And, this change was prescribed with three simple but powerful commitments: act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.
To act justly required that Israel return to a true sense of right and wrong in God’s sight. The judicial courts of Israel were to provide fairness to all, and protection of those who were innocent. Yet, many lives were exploited due to gross injustice. And, God rejected their ideas of religious expressions, ceremonies, and sacrifices, and called for His people to simply “act justly.” (See more on this from the devotion of September 15th).
“To love mercy” represents a love that from the Hebrew term (“chesed”) expresses a covenant love of genuine lovingkindness to God and to others. This type of love is binding, thus signifying the unconditional quality of love. Therefore, God’s people did not need to offer sacrifices to God in order to please Him. They needed to love. There are moments in life we cry to God, “show me what to do,” as if pleading for some sign of how we might better live out God’s will and purposes with success. And, at times I believe God responds, “begin with loving others well.” How can we expect God to use us effectively for grander things if we are not fulfilling the most fundamental expression of our faith- willingly loving others?
“To walk humbly” counters the pride Israel felt in offering God many sacrifices, rites, and ceremonies. Often times we put our best foot forward for God. We approach God in public worship. We sing out. We offer love outwardly to others. We tend to "mission" well. We outwardly fulfill our commitments to God. But, if the truth be known, sometimes we fail in quietly and humbly walking with God. Perhaps there are seasons of our lives we attempt to do so much good, or to simply keep up with the necessary demands of life that we forsake time to simply be with God. Gage your time spent in prayer before God when no one is looking. Gage time spent in His word attempting to quiet your heart to hear Him. If such moments are minimal or nonexistent, return to truly walking humbly and quietly before God.
So, Israel made an attempt to appease God with outward signs of commitment. And, God looked past such superficial offers to the heart. God reminded His people that they had failed in acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humble with Him.
These three directives given by the prophet recognizes the want of Israel’s inner spiritual condition. Perhaps God would use the same directives for us. Perhaps He could point to other symptoms of a heart that has turned cold. But, let us not forsake the specifics of this particular call to repentance: act justly (do what is right before others according to God’s heart), love mercy (willingly love all others genuinely), and walk humbly with God (consider your personal life of devotion to God a priority). Do you see the simplicity in God’s response? All that was required of Israel hinged on the two most significant commandments: love God and love others. So, the next time your heart cries to God, “show me what to do,” be prepared for God to say, among other things, "to love Him and to love others well.”
Blessings.