Micah 6:6–8 (ASV)
6Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves a year old? 7will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God?
You must treat people fairly. / You must love others faithfully. / And you must be very careful to live / the way your God wants you to.[1]
“The piety that God approves consists of three elements: a strict adherence to that which is equitable in all dealings with our fellowmen; a heart determined to do them good; and diligent care to live in close and intimate fellowship with God.”26[2]
Thus this saying is not an invitation, in lieu of the gospel, to save oneself by kindly acts of equity and fairness. Nor is it an attack on the forms of sacrifices and cultic acts mentioned in the tabernacle and temple instructions. It was instead a call for the natural consequence of truly forgiven men and women to demonstrate the reality of their faith by living it out in the marketplace. Such living would be accompanied with acts and deeds of mercy, justice and giving of oneself for the orphan, the widow and the poor.28[3]
Two applications of this passage are offered by Stuart:
1. Faithful participation in worship is not enough. It must be accompanied by faithful, proper living.
2. A good look at the past reminds us of God’s loyalty, and of our responsibility to be loyal to him in return.29[4]
Two duties towards man are specified—justice, or strict equity; and mercy, or a kindly abatement of what we might justly demand, and a hearty desire to do good to others.[5]
Beware of cherishing a merely formal piety, of honouring God with your lips whilst your hearts are far from him, of resting in outward reformation and external worship (Ps. 51:16,17 John 4:23, 24).[6]
smooth each other’s path through life.
Mere justice is not enough, there must be tender commiseration for the suffering; the poor and the distressed must be remembered. Mercy must not only be shown, but loved. To help the needy must be delight. [7]
We must love mercy; we must delight in it, as our God does, must be glad of an opportunity to do good, and do it cheerfully.[8]
[1] Barker, K. L. (2001). Vol. 20: Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (114). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[2] Barker, K. L. (2001). Vol. 20: Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (114). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[3] Barker, K. L. (2001). Vol. 20: Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (115). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[4] Barker, K. L. (2001). Vol. 20: Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (115). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[5] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., Fausset, A. R., Brown, D., & Brown, D. (1997). A commentary, critical and explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[6] The Pulpit Commentary: Micah. 2004 (H. D. M. Spence-Jones, Ed.) (92). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[7] The Pulpit Commentary: Micah. 2004 (H. D. M. Spence-Jones, Ed.) (103). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[8] Henry, M. (1996). Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume. Peabody: Hendrickson.
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