What does God require of us ?

We discovered that the Bible is clear on what God wants for us: He wants for us to be close to Him, He wants for us to experience His blessings, and He wants for us to fulfill our purpose by the power of His Spirit at work inside us

We cannot hope to appease God by working our way into righteousness, nor sacrificing others for our own sin. Instead, Micah listed out the three principles of what God asks of His people: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with Him.

Micah 6:8 is a clear, crisp, and simple summary of what God expects from you and me. These three things that matter so much to God are the three things God wants to see in us: justice, kindness, and humility. To act justly is to treat people fairly and respectfully. You do not oppress or mistreat others.

One of the most popular verses among both Jews and Christians promoting social justice is Micah 6:8. It reads, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Many desire to know more about what this inspiring verse teaches on the issues of justice, mercy, and humility.

There are times the Bible challenges, corrects, and rebukes. This verse does all three. I don’t know how often you think about what the Lord requires of you, but he provides an answer here in Micah, which one Bible scholar said sums up the Old Testament law.

But what does it mean to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? Quite honestly, this verse demands our attention as Christians. As the very fiber of our society has reached a critical tipping point, how do you and I as followers of Jesus Christ live out this verse in our lives every day, especially if we want to represent Christ well on the earth?

To begin with, it helps to understand what Micah 6:8 means. One thing that is clear and true about this verse is the language. God is literally saying I have shown you what is good to do. This leaves no room for conjecture or excuses. However, the real challenge of this verse lies in what he says after that.

The instruction is to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. I challenge you to take a moment and meditate on what this verse means. When you let the truth of this verse sink into your heart, you will see this is no casual command.

Micah 6 involves an imaginary conversation between the Lord and Israel. In verses 1-5 the Lord introduces His case against the disobedient people of Israel. Verses 6-7 record Israel’s response as a series of questions beginning with, “With what shall I come to the Lord?” (Micah 6:6).

Israel’s focus is on their external religious rites, and their questions show a progression from lesser to greater. First, they ask if God would be satisfied with burnt offerings of year-old calves (Micah 6:6b), offerings required in the Law of Moses. Second, they ask if they should bring “thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil” (Micah 6:7a). This is the rhetoric of hyperbole; such an offering could only be made by someone extremely wealthy or by the larger community of God’s people. Third, they ask whether they should offer their firstborn sons as a sacrifice for God. Would that be enough to cover their sin? Would God be pleased with them then?

Verse 8 follows with God’s answer, rooted in the Law of Moses: “He has told you, O man, what is good.” In other words, Israel should already have known the answer to their questions. God then says that He did not need or desire their religious rites, sacrifices, or oblations. Instead, the Lord sought Israel’s justice, mercy, and humility.

The answer to Israel’s sin problem was not more numerous or more painful sacrifices. The answer was something much deeper than any religious observance: they needed a change of heart. Without the heart, Israel’s conformity to the Law was nothing more than hypocrisy. Other prophets tried to communicate a similar message (Isaiah 1:14; Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:21). Unfortunately, God’s people were slow to heed the message (Matthew 12:7).

“Act justly” would have been understood by Micah’s audience as living with a sense of right and wrong. In particular, the judicial courts had a responsibility to provide equity and protect the innocent. Injustice was a problem in Israel at that time (Micah 2:1-2; 3:1-3; 6:11).

“Love mercy” contains the Hebrew word hesed, which means “loyal love” or “loving-kindness.” Along with justice, Israel was to provide mercy. Both justice and mercy are foundational to God’s character (Psalm 89:14). God expected His people to show love to their fellow man and to be loyal in their love toward Him, just as He had been loyal to them (Micah 2:8-9; 3:10-11; 6:12).

“Walk humbly” is a description of the heart’s attitude toward God. God’s people depend on Him rather than their own abilities (Micah 2:3). Instead of taking pride in what we bring to God, we humbly recognize that no amount of personal sacrifice can replace a heart committed to justice and love. Israel’s rhetorical questions had a three-part progression, and verse 8 contains a similar progression. The response of a godly heart is outward (do justice), inward (love mercy), and upward (walk humbly).

We need God because without Him, we will never be satisfied. We are incomplete without union with God. It is as if there is a God-shaped vacuum in every one of us, only to be filled by the life of God in us!

The message of Micah is still pertinent today. Religious rites, no matter how extravagant, can never compensate for a lack of love (1 Corinthians 13:3). External compliance to rules is not as valuable in God’s eyes as a humble heart that simply does what is right. God’s people today will continue to desire justice, mercy, and humility before the Lord.

Let’s break it down to see what each one of these things mean.

To act justly means you will do what is morally right or fair. This is not just something you talk about, because it goes beyond mere words. This is also not something you can only require of others. To act justly is something you must commit to doing yourself. The challenge in this is committing to doing what is morally right and fair in every circumstance, even when it is not popular. While many may say yes with their mouth to this, I think we have seen the actions don’t always follow.

To love mercy implies a joint loyalty and faithfulness to the love of God, which is demonstrated in a commitment to love others. The word mercy is from the Hebrew word hesed which implies a loyal commitment that flows out of love. This is what motivates God’s faithfulness to you and should be the reason you are faithful to him. One way this is demonstrated is how you love others.

To walk humbly is to walk carefully before God, being mindful of how you live before him. The one who walks humbly with the Lord does so modestly and without arrogance.

When you sum up this verse, it is a call to an active faith that is lived out with actions and interactions with others and not just with words.