Micah 6:8 KJV
[8] He hath shewed 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?
As we have always pointed out, the fact that Israel was chosen by God as his beloved, did not stop God from punishing His people when they sinned. Being God's favourite, if we can call it that, does not insure anyone from the pain of punishment if you go against His clear instructions. That is what Israel found out, in quite painful and terrible ways. As at the time of the prophet Micah, God had sent several warnings to His people, asking them to repent of their evil ways and return to Him. You will find some half-hearted responses, and then, after a while, they would return to their usual ways. To make matters even worse, the people understood the value of sacrifices and burnt offerings, and they kept offering them. I am not sure what the offerings were meant to accomplish: were they bribes to get God to look the other way and ignore their sin? Was it just the burden of repetitive routine, where the exercise had lost its value, and no longer carried the same effect and impact as God originally intended?
We must take careful thought to our current ways and make sure that we are not fixated on activities, at the expense of a relationship with God. When it is right, God can speak and be heard. When things are not done the right way, you get a lot of the things that happened to Israel, and led to captivity and ruin for so many years. The verse above makes it clear that God is interested and invested in making known His will and counsel, but as always, I do have a choice of response. He will show me, but I get to choose how and when I obey.
To make God fair, and a God who does justice, it would be unfair for Him to punish if He has not made His will clear. Now, He has shown, and He has even gone further to give practical examples of what His will is. He leaves me in no doubt as to what the standard is, and how to attain it. I will not be able to stand before God and claim ignorance of His word and will.
What is the standard? Among many other things, the verse above refers to 'doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. I note that the connector AND is used for all the dimensions referred to in the verse above, not OR. This tells me that it is not really a matter of options, choices or alternatives, but of compulsion. I do not get to pick one or two and then reject the other(s); all of them are required under the code of conduct and the rules of engagement for me as a Christian. I reflect on the blend between the inner and the outer; the visible and the invisible. Who or what I love will be made manifest in my life's pursuits and priorities. Of course, when I love right, it is an outflow of the work of Christ done in my heart. This love will definitely rub off on the way I relate with other people. It is the divine that determines the impact on the mortal. God has spoken and He is still speaking; can you hear Him? God's time of favour is here.
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