He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does Yahweh require of you but to do justice, to love lovingkindness, and to walk humbly with your God? - Micah 6:8 LSB This is one of those verses from the Old Testament that really stands out in the book it is found in. If you read it a bit more in context you would read: “With what shall I come before Yahweh and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Is Yahweh pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does Yahweh require of you but to do justice, to love lovingkindness, and to walk humbly with your God? - Micah 6:6-8 LSB Sometimes we have a desire to please God and we wonder, what can I give? What can I do? Thankfully, the Scriptures answer these questions for us in many ways an in many places. This is one of those places where those questions are answered and though it is not an all-encompassing answer according to the Scriptures, it is good and worth understanding and obeying. We tend to read Micah 6:8 and think, “do justice, love lovingkindness (or mercy as some versions translate it), and be humble,” but how can we properly understand and live this very important call of Micah 6:8? It tells us simply that God has already revealed to us “what is good” and what He requires of us. Where has He communicated these things to us? He has communicated these things to us in His holy Scriptures, the Bible.
It is only by His word that we can understand what justice is. We are called and commanded to “do justice” and this can only be done by making right judgements. Learn His word, grow in wisdom, and make your judgements in accordance with His word. As a parent, I get to practice this regularly when I am faced with the responsibility of judging the actions of my children. I fear God and respect His word, so when I judge, I always strive to understand the truth of the matter and to consider all of the evidence objectively for we are called to judge according to truth and to avoid the sin of favoritism. You may or may not have children that require you to render justice, but you too make decisions and judgements on a regular basis. Only by making judgements according to His word can we judge rightly and obey His command to do justice. The next command is to love lovingkindness. It could also potentially be translated as piety (which means loyalty, devotion, and faithfulness to God), goodness or good deeds, and merciful kindness. It is easy for us to hear that and think, “Of course I love those things,” for we do, we love it when people display lovingkindness, goodness, and mercy towards us, but that isn’t what this verse is talking about. Remember, this verse is a command for us to follow, not for us to receive. How much do you love being a source of lovingkindness, piety, goodness, good deeds, and merciful kindness towards others? Are you faithfully devoted to these things? If so, I’m sure that you are a source of blessing and encouragement to those around you and that 2 Thessalonians 1:3 applies to you, to your praise, the good of His people, and for His glory. But to those who do not live this way, they should receive the warning and correction of 2 Peter 1:5-11. Lastly, the Scripture commands you to “walk humbly with your God.” It does not simply say to walk humbly, no, humility alone is not enough, it specifies exactly who we are to walk humbly with. We are to walk humbly with our God. Does this sound familiar? “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in step with the Spirit.” - Galatians 5:25 LSB I would encourage you to read it in context for the surrounding verses beautifully tie into the command and calling of Micah 6:8. Some may wonder, how do we walk humbly with God, how do we walk in step with His Spirit? It is truly simply and can be done in a variety of ways. One such way is by walking according to His word, when you know the commands of Scriptures and humbly submit to them and obey His word over the desires of the flesh, you are walking humbly with your God. When you are in a moment of frustration, upset, or decision and you know in your heart the desire of your flesh, but you hear the Spirit guiding you a different way and you choose to submit and obey the Spirit’s leading, you are walking in step with the Spirit.
Another point that I would like to make on walking humbly with God is that God does not walk with us, we walk with Him. What do I mean? Think of this much like the walk of a parent with a child. It is the parent who leads, deciding where they go and what they do. In every way shape and form, God is our superior, He is worthy of our humble submission and obedience. His will is better in every way than your own. He is worthy of being followed. He has told you, O sister in Christ, what is good; and what Yahweh requires of you. You are called to do justice, to love lovingkindness, and to walk humbly with your God. May His Spirit equip you, convict you, and strengthen you to do it well.
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