Micah 6: Requirements

"Will this be on the test?"

It is a common refrain heard during class time review sessions.  There is a universal yearning among all students to know what is really necessary to know for the time of examination.  On the one hand, irrelevant trivia or superfluous knowledge may be ignored and discarded; on the other hand, the essentials that must be known for the test will be memorized and practiced.

It's not really a surprise, then, that we see this issue pop up in scripture from time to time.  Whether it is the man who questioned Jesus, "What is the most important commandment?" or Paul's declaration in Romans that all of the law and the prophets hang on the imperative to love, it is basic human nature to ask what we need to know "for the test."

So it is with Micah.  In one of his most famous passages, Micah frames the question with rhetorical suggestions.  "With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?  Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?  Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?  Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?  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" (vs. 6-8).

There it is, put quite simply by the prophet.  The attributes that God requires of His people are: To act with justice, treating others fairly and not accepting bribes or cheating; To love mercy, to show kindness and compassion and be willing to forgive; And to walk humbly with God, to put the Lord first and foremost and to avoid all hints of pride.

These are the requirements of God.  They are what will be needed for the test!