This is a fantastic passage from Micah. First, let me ask, have you ever been called a “block-head”? That’s exactly what verses 1 and 2 sound like. God finds speaking to mountains is easier than talking to the people of Israel. Why? The mountains listen! Mountains don’t do all the talking?
How often do we approach God and not listen? How often do we do all the talking? This is why studying God’s Word is so important. This is the one place we take time to listen (or at least we should).
God explains His judgment against Israel in this passage. This is almost like a love letter from God in which He expresses His broken heart to a wayward lover:
- Verse 3: Have I put too much on you? Do I require too much? Why do you ignore me? What have I done to you?
- Verse 4: I rescued you from slavery. I brought you out of that difficult situation. I even sent people to help you along the way. I care deeply for you.
- Verse 5: Don’t you remember the journey that this nation had to take to get here. Don’t you remember the testimony of how I acted towards you: by doing the right things for you! I gave you an example of how to live through my actions. I have helped you to experience real life!
Is God saying this to you today? Are you regularly listening to Him?
In verses 6 and 7, Micah highlights the desperation facing the people of Israel. How can anyone approach the exalted God, the Lord? There is a sense of loss here. They lost their love for God. They lost their passion for Him. They lost how to have relationship with Him. Israel was so removed from who God is that they believed any sacrifice was good enough for Him.
How do you like to be approached? Are there certain behaviors you hold to be annoying? God likes being approached the way He wants to be approached. He tells us how He wants to have relationship with us. Should we expect anything less?
In Joe Versus the Volcano, Joe thought that he could throw himself in a volcano and save a small island from destruction. How absurd (though a funny movie). The people of Israel treated God the same way. They threw any type of sacrifice at Him hoping that it would keep Him quiet and them secure. They did not have any concept of real sacrifice. They were flippant towards worship. Worship had become laissez-faire. “God you do for us, and we won’t interfere or get involved.”
Sacrifice in worship means we should give our best towards God (in all things). We have created worship centers and failed to establish worship filled lives. The spiritual state of Israel, their failure in true love and devotion, had declined to the point of mockery even when faced with judgment.
Micah tries to get the people to understand that sacrifice is not about what one gives. Sacrifice is from the heart. God didn’t care about the animals or food being given. God cared about the intentions behind the gift – the heart in worship!
Verse 8 is so straight forward. God has shown man what good looks like. His requirements for worship involved the good we did in our daily way of life:
- To act justly – action shows belief. If you believe God’s Word then you will obey it.
- To love mercy – mercy shows compassion for others and passion for God
- To walk humbly with your God – shows we know God is more than just a benefactor. He is our Lord who judges our actions. He is the lover of our soul.
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