What God Requires of Man

MEMORY VERSE: “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” —Micah 6:8

MICAH 6:1-8

THE opening verse of Micah’s prophecy indicates that he served as a prophet of the Lord in Israel during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and that he had a message for “Samaria” (the ten-tribe kingdom) and for “Jerusalem” (the two-tribe kingdom). Little is definitely known about Micah except that which appears in his writings.

The lesson reveals Israel as unfaithful to Jehovah, who through Micah asks his wayward people, “What have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.” (vs. 3) Then the Lord reminds his people of some of the ways in which he had manifested his care over them. He had brought them out of bondage in Egypt and had raised up Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead and instruct them.—vs. 4

Then the Lord refers to the time when Balak, king of Moab, requested Balaam to place a curse upon Israel, and he reminds them of the manner in which he interfered with this, and they received a blessing instead. The people of Israel had seemingly not profited from these gracious acts of Jehovah on their behalf, but continued in their idolatrous ways.

In verses 6 and 8 they are represented as asking how they might please Jehovah, as though he had never given them any instructions along this line. “Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?” they asked. They knew that the Lord had called for the sacrifices of animals, and they asked, “Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams?” Here we find an example of an exaggeration of the Lord’s requirements out of all proportion to his instructions.

Another question: “Will the Lord be pleased … with ten thousands of rivers of oil?” Oil was required in connection with some of the religious observances enjoined upon Israel by the Lord, but a very small quantity, comparatively, would suffice. Now the people were asking if it might be possible to please Jehovah if they brought him rivers of oil. The very nature of these questions calls for a negative answer.

Then came another question, this one based on their worship of false gods, which called for human sacrifices to appease them: “Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” Here was something the God of Israel had not requested at all, yet these people in their confusion were asking if he might be pleased with such a costly sacrifice.

The Prophet Micah answers these questions, as shown in our memory verse. He sums up the Lord’s requirements as the practice of justice, the love of mercy, and walking humbly with God. (vs. 8) “To do justly” simply means to follow the Golden Rule. But this is a strict requirement. How much the lives of most of us would be changed if each day we made sure that we treated others exactly as we would want them to treat us!

In the expression “to love mercy” the Hebrew word translated mercy could be translated “loving-kindness.” In other words, in addition to being just, the Lord wants his people to love that great and divine principle of loving-kindness. Jehovah is just, but he is also merciful and kind, and he wants his people to be like him. Jeremiah wrote that the Lord delights in exercising loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. He delighted in this during the Jewish Age, and this is his delight also at the present time, and if we would be pleasing to him we must endeavor also to love this basic principle of righteousness.

Besides this, the Lord wants his people to walk humbly with him. To the Jews in that ancient time this meant obedience to the Law given to them at Sinai. As well as they could, they were to be obedient to the whole Law.

The will of God for his people during the present age—those who follow in the footsteps of Jesus—is that they walk in the narrow way of sacrifice. Our dedication to walk thus should change our way of life. We should be seeking not what we can get out of life, but how much of what we have and are we can put into our service of the Lord. Thus we will walk humbly with the Lord, being obedient to the law of love, which is the law of all new creatures in Christ Jesus.

QUESTIONS

To whom was Micah’s prophecy addressed?

What are the Lord’s basic requirements of his people in all ages?

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