What Does The Lord Require Of You? (6:1-16)
Neal Pollard
This chapter begins with the call to do the most important thing in human existence: “Hear now what the Lord is saying…” (1). It was a failure to do so that threatened impending judgment against the northern kingdom (Israel) and future judgment against the southern kingdom (Judah). They listened to themselves, their fawning, accommodating prophets, and the influential voices of surrounding nations, but they would not hear God! Yet, for the third and final time in his book, Micah shares this cycle of judgment and salvation.
The indictment (1-5). Micah stresses that the Lord has a case and dispute against His people (2). The all-knowing, all-seeing Jehovah has witnessed the thoughts, words, and deeds of Israel, compiling an untainted file of their actions. Against that, He demonstrates His own character and works. He asks, “What have I done to you, and how have I wearied you?” (3). In other words, had He done anything that merited such unfaithfulness? No! Instead, He delivered them from Egyptian bondage by Moses and his siblings (4) and thwarted the evil intentions of Balak through Balaam to bless His people instead of cursing them (5). How did they repay His graciousness? The end of the chapter reveals, in a word, their rebellion!
The inquiry (6-7). On behalf of the nation, Micah asks in first person what God wants. Rhetorically, he wants to know if God desires sacrifices, copious amounts of animals and oil, or even a firstborn son. Human logic might think that excessive, costly gifts might buy God’s love and favor. Does it? Giving one’s stuff is much easier than a more wholehearted, wholesale change. David, brokenhearted over his egregious sin, asserts, “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering” (Psa. 51:16). He’s not saying that God does not want what He commands, but instead does not want it in place of genuine change. David next confesses, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise” (17). That is exactly what Micah will say!
The important (8-9). If it is not money or even children, what is it God wants? Micah says that God has clearly revealed it. God wants the whole person. He wants the heart. He wants just, loving, and humble followers and spiritual companions. He wants to see this demonstrated with Him and with others. As God calls to His people, seeking such character, it is wise to fear and obey (9).
The iniquity (10-16). But as God calls to and appeals to the city, He finds none of these things. Instead, He witnesses wickedness (10), dishonest business practices (11), violence (12), lying and deceit (12), sin (13), vileness (filth)(14), the futility of evildoing (15), and conduct comparable to wicked Omri and Ahab (16). These Israelite kings were so depraved that they were the catalysts for Assyrian Captivity and the destruction of the northern kingdom. Ironically, their wicked pursuits did not even reward them in this life, but instead led to desolation and unfulfilled living (14-15). Truly, as Solomon observed, “Good understanding produces favor, but the way of the treacherous is hard” (Prov. 13:15). Or, “He who sows iniquity will reap vanity, and the rod of his fury will perish” (Prov. 22:8; cf. Job 4:8).
The Lord wants genuine change in us, from the inside out! Modified behavior from a melted heart gets His attention in a good way. Learning that lesson blesses us and leads us to believe and obey God’s will and do what He requires (Luke 8:15)!
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