Response to the King

God responded to the people’s question with a simple statement: “Act justly, love faithfulness, and walk humbly” with God. He didn’t give them this answer to provide a checklist, however. These weren’t additional “to do” items the people could add to their religious activities list. This wasn’t a quick fix to avoid God’s impending judgment.

Micah 6:8 was God saying to His people, “I’m not looking for people who simply practice religious activities; I want people who profess authentic faith in Me. I don’t want people who play at religion, I want people who love Me, and because they love Me, they want to be like Me. Because then their lives, families, and nation will reflect Me to the world.”

When we look at this amazing verse, we notice three distinct commands. First, God told them to “act justly.” This command made sense because the people had abandoned justice in so many ways, both personally and nationally. It is also the concept at the core of the trial scene that we observe in chapter 6. It’s the Hebrew word mishpat, and it occurs more than 400 times in the Old Testament. It is a concept based in God’s character. God is just, so He wants His people to be just. It can be used in both civil and religious contexts. At the personal level, it gets to the heart of one’s ethics. As Micah 2 clearly demonstrates, the majority of the people of Israel and Judah had rejected God’s command to act justly in their dealings with others. When we read this verse, we too affirm the concept of justice. We want to live in a just world, and we want to be the recipients of justice from others. Yet that isn’t what God is saying here. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you’ve already been the recipient of God’s justice, which was satisfied by the substitutionary, atoning death of Jesus. You have been declared not guilty for your sin, and you have received the imputation of the righteousness of Christ. In an unjust world, God commands us to be dispensers of justice to those around us.

When we think of the concept of justice, we should keep three other ideas in mind: integrity, honesty, and concern for the weak. These are the heart of justice. Integrity, at its core, is the consistent application of one’s moral code. For believers, this moral code is God’s truth contained in the Bible. Honesty, or the commitment to truth, is a manifestation of integrity. People of integrity embrace truth consistently, especially God’s truth. When people embrace God’s truth, they accept God’s commands to show justice to the weak, the disenfranchised, and people who cannot pursue justice on their own. This is how to “act justly” for the glory of God. If we are not passionate about the things God is passionate about, then all of our “religious activity” means nothing. Does this mean that we’ll never struggle to model God’s justice? Of course not. But it does mean that we must strive every day to treat people justly for the glory of God.

Second, God told His people to “love faithfulness.” In many translations the latter word is translated “mercy.” This command made sense also because the people had abandoned a willingness to show mercy in their personal lives and in their nation. It’s the Hebrew word chesed. This is another significant Old Testament word. It appears nearly 250 times in Scripture. When God’s role in the covenant with Israel is referenced in the Old Testament, the word chesed is often used to describe it. It’s challenging to translate into English, but the best definition is “loyal love that contains mercy.” This, too, is a character trait of God. God’s love is revealed through His unwavering willingness to show mercy to sinful people. God’s love was demonstrated through the substitute sacrifices at the center of Israel’s worship, even as God’s love was demonstrated through the substitute sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, on the cross (Rom 5:8). The resulting forgiveness is an expression of God’s loving, merciful kindness toward His people.

When we think about this word in its personal application, it means “to show kindness to others willingly.” When we think about this definition, three other similar terms come to mind: love, grace, and forgiveness. We can know that we love faithfulness when we begin to view the world the way God does. It allows us to see that the people around us need Jesus and that we have the unique privilege to minister and live the gospel before them in such a way that they will come to know Jesus as Savior. That can happen as we show authentic love, practice grace, and extend forgiveness when we are wronged—all of the things that God did for us when He saved us and that He continues to do for us daily. Consider how rare it is to find someone who cares enough about others to be inconvenienced, to meet a need, or to be available to provide help in a time of difficulty. Often people in our culture are so involved in self-preservation and self-service that they never even notice the needs of the people around them. When we embrace the command to love faithfulness, suddenly the people around us matter, and we will look for opportunities to invest in their lives.

As we continue to observe the courtroom drama in chapter 6, God chastises Israel and Judah again for their failure to act justly and love faithfulness (vv. 9-12). God put into evidence the people’s lifestyle choices. Their houses were full of the “treasures of wickedness,” because they stole from countrymen and strangers alike. Business people padded their bank accounts by using “short measures” and “wicked scales” to take advantage of unsuspecting customers. God described the rich people as being “full of violence.” As 2:1 noted, they devised wicked plans, and then they accomplished them. They stole the inheritance of the poor and then lied about it. And they practiced deceit at every opportunity. We read this and can’t help but wonder whether Micah was talking about his era or our own. Our cultures may be different, but the condition of our hearts is exactly the same. What God was telling His people was this: “I don’t want My kids to look like this—I want them to look like Me! I want them to act justly and love faithfulness by loving their neighbors, not looting them. I want business people who are honest and value the hard work and resources of others. I want wealthy people who look to care for the poor, not victimize them. I want citizens who are honest and confess their own hurt. I want politicians who will serve others, not line their own pockets with bribes. I want My people to love mercy because I do and to show mercy toward others because that’s what I’ve shown toward them.” If we want these traits to become a part of our own lives, however, we must understand the final command God gave His people.

Third, God told them to “walk humbly” with Him. This command spoke to the heart motive of the people. The word translated “humbly” in this text is an interesting word, and it is used only here in the entire Old Testament. It’s the Hebrew word tsana. Like chesed, it’s challenging to translate into English. The best definition of this word is “lowly.” We hear the word lowly, and we immediately have a negative response. We think of someone who is weak, unsuccessful, or insignificant. In reality, it’s a word that describes authentic humility.

When we think about this word in its personal application, we understand that it is the opposite of sinful, selfish pride. Humility is the character trait that will motivate people to obey God and be loyal to Him. When we think about walking humbly with God, two words come to mind: faith and obedience. We must accept this simple truth: We will never act justly or love faithfulness if we’re not walking humbly with God. Pride says, “Life is about me, and the people around me are simply there to make my life better.” The people of Israel and Judah had become filled with pride, and as a result they had reduced their covenant relationship with God to a spiritual “to do” list, which frankly they would just as soon have done without. That is the picture of arrogance.

Humility, however, says this: “I believe God, and so I obey God.” That’s what it means to walk humbly with God. Jesus, who is God in human form, modeled humility for us when He came to earth. He humbled Himself to the will of His Father by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross (Phil 2:5-11). He brought Himself under the authority of God the Father in order to provide a substitute sacrifice that would produce a perfect atonement for our sin. Consequently, He calls us to do the same—to come under the authority of God our Father, to live for His glory, and to have a heart that reflects His Father’s heart. The person with a humble heart will act justly and love faithfulness. For this to happen, however, we must believe and obey God.

The people of Israel and Judah did not believe God’s truth, and so they refused to obey it. They embraced false gods, false prophets, and false ethics. We are capable of the same poor choices. I’ve become convinced that every time we willfully choose to disobey God, what we have really said is, “We don’t believe God.” If we’re dishonest, it’s because we don’t believe what God said about honesty: that truth is the best option for us. If we become angry with someone or something, it’s because we do not believe what God said about unrighteous anger: that it is a sin and should be shunned. If we lace our speech with profanity, it’s because we don’t believe that unwholesome communication is a wickedness that God wants to drive out of our hearts. If we don’t use our spiritual gifts for kingdom mission, it’s because we don’t believe that God gave us gifts or wants us to use them for His glory. If we don’t share the gospel with our unregenerate friends, it’s because we don’t believe that God gave the Great Commission to us. If we don’t give our tithes to God’s church, it’s because we don’t believe that God has any claim on our finances. In every one of these examples, and a hundred others like them, the root of our sin is a proud heart—one that refuses to believe and obey God. Sin is always a result of a lack of faith in some area of our lives.

As you can see, we will never humble ourselves before God until we believe that He “resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jas 4:6) and that we fulfill our life’s purpose best when we live under the lordship of Christ. When we are walking with this mind-set, justice and faithfulness will matter to us. The people in Israel and Judah totally rejected this truth, however, so justice, faithfulness, and humility were foreign concepts to them.

Micah 6:13-16

As Micah 6 draws to a close, it’s time for the Judge’s ruling. All the evidence has been shared, and the defense has been mounted. God doesn’t call on the mountains to serve as the jury, however. Instead, He makes a simple, summary judgment: “Guilty!” Then, in the hushed courtroom, He pronounces the sentence in verses 13-16. The people thought their sin would bring them a profit, but God would devour their ill-gotten gains. Food would not satisfy them. They might acquire wealth through dishonest means, but they would not be able to preserve it. They would grow much produce, but others would eat it. The people of Israel and Judah had embraced the sins of Ahab (1 Kgs 16:29-34), and now they would pay for their foolish choices. They would go into captivity as they suffered the harsh judgment of God. God ordained the rod (v. 9), and He was about to strike them severely. Why? Because while they were all too willing to profess their faith, they just didn’t want to practice it.

Why does this matter to us today? It matters because the greatest hindrance to the gospel is the life of the person who professes to be a Christian but doesn’t live a life that reflects Christ. It gives the unregenerate the right to question the authenticity of both our faith and the gospel. Why? There’s no justice or mercy on display. This is the challenge of Micah 6. God wants more from us than occasional religious performance. A real relationship requires more. He wants our hearts to beat with His heartbeat. When we sin, He wants us to own it, confess it, and continue our pursuit of Him. He wants us to live for His glory in our personal lives, marriage, parenting, jobs, hobbies, and community. God wants our hearts to be filled with justice, faithfulness, and humility because He’s never been about religious performance, He’s always been about our hearts (1 Sam 15:22).

Micah 6 is an amazing chapter, and verse 8 is an amazing verse! But let’s be honest—it hurts. It’s hard on us because it challenges our motives. It forces us to answer the question, “Why do we do what we do for God?” Do we follow Him half-heartedly just to try to win His favor or get into heaven? Do we perform religious activities with a prideful, sin-filled heart? Would we rather God just let us live how we want without any commands or constraints?

These were the attitudes that dominated the people of Israel and Judah during Micah’s ministry. Despite their idolatry and rejection of God’s covenant, they were placing their hope in the fact that they maintained some level of religious activity as God’s people. They were convinced that Micah was wrong about his message of judgment. Time would prove the truthfulness of his message, however. We have the same choices to make today. We can live like modern-day Pharisees, or we can live with a heart that acts justly, loves faithfulness, and walks humbly with God.