Showing Us How to Live ... For Him
He has shown 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. (Micah 6:8)
Mic. 6:6-8, Deut. 10:12; Eccl. 12:13; Hos. 6:6; Zech. 7:9; Mt. 18:3, 23:23; Eph. 2:6-9
What Is God Saying?
‘It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.’ Thus Dickens described the days of the French Revolution, but Micah could have said the same about his times. As kings of Judah, Ahaz (the father) was extremely wicked, while Hezekiah (the son) was exceptionally good. One was not interested in the Temple and what it stood for. He went after other gods and allowed the Temple to deteriorate. Hezekiah, loved God and pursued righteousness, repaired the Temple and destroyed the remnants of idolatry left by his father. Micah saw the apostasy and the restorati0n.
His prophecy rises from the pain of the former and the promise of the latter. His prophecy goes to the heart of the problem and speaks with fearless conviction about sin and its punishment. Still, he believes in a bright future and speaks positively about the way things someday will be. Our verse is a blend of positive hopefulness and fearless criticism, ‘Do what is right, love what is kind, and walk humbly with your God.’ The future is bright, however dark the present, however wrong the past. In Micah is found the only prophecy of the exact place of Christ's birth (Mic. 5:2). In the little town of Bethlehem, eternal Light would shine and eternal Life would be born. Justice, kindness, and true humility would have their greatest incarnation and their most perfect delineation.
How Does This Apply To Us?
One is not saved by doing justly, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God. If this were true, Christ need not have died. We are not saved by works. Faith is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8-9). However, when we are saved and know it, we will show it by doing justly, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God. This oft-quoted verse does not prescribe the way of salvation. It does describe the way of the saved.
The Lord defines ‘the weightier matters of the law’ as justice, mercy, and faith (Matt. 23:23). This verse is the same except that ‘faith’ is used to express ‘walking humbly with our God.’ This is precisely the point. Faith is trusting God as a child, doing His will as a good servant, and walking with Him as a friend, which in Christ, He is. Reflect upon the beauty and rejoice in the blessings that come from doing what He requires.
Pray With Me
Dear Lord, You have done everything for me and require so little from me. "What does the Lord require of you, but ... ?" In that requirement, I need Your help to walk with You in humility. Give me the grace of a humble walk with You, O Lord, that I may know both what pleases You and what can never please You. Let me not be deceived into thinking that Your favor can be bought by going through the motions of worship. Help me to go beyond the offering of words to the living of deeds. Lead me beyond the ritual of worship to the rightness of work. Let me avoid the boastfulness of being religi0usly correct so that I may find the usefulness of being humbly kind and just.
To the praise of Jesus Christ who humbled Himself that, to our soul's eternal blessing, we might see the blending of perfect justice and infinite kindness. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
Isn't it wonderful to have a God who requires only that which is for our great joy and the good of others around us? ‘He has shown you what is good.’ The Lord wants only good for us. Hrs commandments guide us, lift us up, and bless us.
Pray for the wisdom of doing what the Lord requires, then you will not only pray, ‘Thy Kingdom come,’ but you will be a part of God's eternal kingdom.
