40 Days in the Word - Day 37: Micah 6:8

No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good,
 and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
 and to walk humbly with your God.

My Thoughts: I have heard this passage many times in sermons and in song. It is most ot the time a pleasant passage of instruction. However, it sits in the middle of passages, which declare the wrath and anger of God against His rebellious people. At this point they had abandoned everything they knew about God and all the miraculous things He had done in their past, in order to become a wicked and dishonest people. Individuals had become rich by cheating others out of their hard earned wages. Their commerce had completely become corrupt. The rich became even more rich through extortion and even violence at times. And now the people had become so used to lying, they no longer had the truth within them. (Micah 6:10-12) By the end of Micah 6, you find out the reason they had adopted their evil practices: evil laws and evil leadership (Micah 6:16).

Why did God speak Micah 6:8 to them? Apparently, it was in answer to their own solution to atone for their wickedness: To sacrificially offer gain and beef and if that wasn’t enough, maybe sacrificing their own children! (Micah 6:6-7)

God does not want us to bargain with Him through our own efforts of sacrifice in order to make up for our sinful and selfish behavior. We think that if maybe we do enough good, that will balance out the bad that we do. God desires and requires three things: to always do what is right in mercy and humility knowing that God is always with us. Jesus summed it all up in two commandments (Matthew 22:37-40):

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Application: My entire life. This verse impacts my heart, soul, mind, and body.