Micah 6:6–8 places God as the just Judge of the universe, putting His people on trial.
Creation stands as witness while God brings charges against His people not because He failed them, but because they failed to remember Him. The charges are ungratefulness and disobedience.
God brings evidence before them. He is the mighty deliverer who brought them out of Egyptian slavery, saved them from those who sought to harm them, and gave them godly leaders, including Moses and his family. In light of this, the prophet Micah asks: How then should an Israelite approach Yahweh?
Should they come with extravagant offerings and extreme sacrifices? Burnt offerings, thousands of rams, ten thousand streams of oil even their firstborn? In short, outward piety meant to show seriousness of faith.
But the question pressed by the prophet is this: Is this what God asks of you? How often do we live, give, and do things we believe God wants, yet have never truly asked or searched the Scriptures to ensure that how we are living and what we are offering with our lives is what God desires?
God tells His people plainly what He desires: love and obedience. A truly transformed heart loves and obeys God and therefore loves others. It remembers Egypt not in shame, but with clarity. This is where my God delivered me from. Because He came for me and loved me when I didn’t know His love, I am now compelled to show mercy to others as He has shown mercy to me.
To do justice is to treat your neighbor well. Jesus clarifies this in the parable of the Good Samaritan, ending with one simple command: “Go and do the same.” Justice doesn’t steal, defame, demean, or turn its back on the poor. Justice flows from a right relationship with God into right relationships with others.
This heart transformation leads to kindness. God’s covenantal kindness chesed defines His relationship with His people. Kindness reflects His character. Cruelty is not a fruit of the Spirit, but kindness is. Again, the transformed heart produces kindness toward others.
Lastly, to walk humbly before God. The humble person does not live recklessly, but intentionally, knowing it is God’s grace that enables them to move, breathe, and have their being.
So have we lost the plot? Have we settled for outward displays of faith without lives truly transformed by the good news of Jesus Christ? Or are our lives offering up a fragrant sacrifice to His name lives marked by justice, kindness, and humility?
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