Micah 6
January 9
Reading: Micah 6
1 Hear what the LORD says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
2 Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the LORD,
and you enduring foundations of the earth,
for the LORD has an indictment against his people,
and he will contend with Israel.
3 "O my people, what have I done to you?
How have I wearied you? Answer me!
4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt
and redeemed you from the house of slavery,
and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
5 O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised,
and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
and what happened 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 myself before God on high?
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 thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"
8 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?
9 The voice of the LORD cries to the city—
and it is sound wisdom to fear your name:
"Hear of the rod and of him who appointed it!
10 Can I forget any longer the treasures of wickedness
in the house of the wicked,
and the scant measure that is accursed?
11 Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales
and with a bag of deceitful weights?
12 Your rich men are full of violence;
your inhabitants speak lies,
and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,
making you desolate because of your sins.
14 You shall eat, but not be satisfied,
and there shall be hunger within you;
you shall put away, but not preserve,
and what you preserve I will give to the sword.
15 You shall sow, but not reap;
you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.
16 For you have kept the statutes of Omri,
and all the works of the house of Ahab;
and you have walked in their counsels,
that I may make you a desolation,
and your inhabitants a hissing;
so you shall bear the scorn of my people."
After the amazing promises for the restoration of Israel in the future, and the coming Messianic King, Micah 6 gets back to the warnings and pleading, the accusations and judgment, of the first three chapters.
In verse 1, Micah invites the people to plead their defense in the hearing of all creation. In verse 2, the prophet acts as the Lord’s attorney, prosecuting the people for their sins against God’s law. In verses 3-5, God’s indictment against His people is this: He has done so much for them. He rescued them from Egypt. He bought them out of slavery. He gave them leaders. He gave them victory against their enemies in the wilderness, Balak and Balaam. Why would these people now get tired of their God?
In verses 6-7, the prophet speaks for the people, as if to ask God, “What is it that You want?” He asks about the sacrifices that God requires in the Law of Moses. In verse 8 the prophet responds to the people’s questions. What God wants from us is our heart-felt obedience. Yes, sacrifices, but more. I think of Samuel’s words to King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”
Realize that it is not just obedience that God wants, but obedience from the heart. Three things here the Lord wants. He wants us “to do justice.” He wants us to “love kindness.” He wants us to “walk humbly” with Him. (vs. 8) You cannot do these things without a genuine change of heart, fear of God, and love for God. To do this, we need the Lord to work a miracle in us.
Verses 9-16 depict the Lord’s struggle in dealing with these people who ought to understand and appreciate the Lord and what He has done for them. The Lord would like to be able to ignore their sins and wickedness, but He cannot. He is holy, just, and righteous. In verse 16, the prophet speaks of Omri and Ahab. These are kings of Israel that abused the prophets and led their people into idolatry. Can the Lord just look away?