The prophecies of Micah and Isaiah have much in common. Our attention is drawn to this fact when we read Micah 4:1-3, which is virtually identical to Isaiah 2:2-4. Both prophets expose the sins of the people, both speak of God’s coming judgments, both have great Messianic prophecies and both look forward to the hope of the kingdom. And, perhaps most important to ourselves, both set forth in clear terms what we must do to please our God.
Reluctant service to God
Micah 6:3-8 is a section that provides a wonderful basis for examining ourselves before partaking of the emblems.
Is living the Truth a wearisome part of our lives? “Wherein have I wearied thee?” is God’s question to Israel. His people had turned their service to God into a tiresome observance of a long list of rituals and physical acts.
Verses 6-7 provide an insight into how the people were thinking. “Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with
- burnt offerings,
- with calves of a year old [the choicest — Lev. 9:3]. Will the LORD be pleased with
- thousands of rams,
- or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? * Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
- the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
Of course God did not want human sacrifice and everyone knew it, but the list underscores how the Israelites looked upon their service to God as inconvenient and tiresome, draining their time and resources and taking all joy out of life.
We can have a similar attitude toward the Truth in our lives. We can resent the time taken for the meetings and the readings. We can feel that contributions to the collection are a burden. We can think that abstinence from activities that are not in harmony with Christ’s commandments take the joy and zest out of living. We can worry our children are being deprived because they cannot do all that their school friends are doing. And we can harbor deep frustration at modifying our career paths for the sake of the Truth, as many believers do not reach their full “potential” in the world.
Delivered people
Yet look where Israel would be if it were not for their God. They would still be slaves in Egypt or dominated by the surrounding nations (vs. 4-5). And look where we would be without the Truth in our lives. We would be dominated by false ideas, pursuing goals that offer no lasting satisfaction, without God and without hope in the world.
How could we ever resent the Truth in our lives? Sometimes we all do, so as we contemplate the great salvation represented by these emblems let us resolve anew to keep our perspective right and our gaze firmly set on the eternal reward that lies before us.
Deeper issues
As we read on in Micah’s message, we see beautifully summarized the sacrifices that God really wants. Of course our time, money and resources are important, but the Lord wants more than this. He wants our attitudes to conform to His and He wants to see a wholehearted faith in His promises.
“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).
Doing justly
The Hebrew word for “justly” is mishpat which speaks of the equity of right judgments. This was the characteristic which judges in Israel must have. They were not to be swayed in their decisions by bribes or personal favoritism; they were not to be respecters of persons.
Our Heavenly Father is no respecter of persons: “There is no respect of persons with God” (Rom. 2:11). And His children must be like Him: “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons” (James 2:1).
We see the problem at our jobs all the time where some people are given preferential treatment because they are favorites of the boss. They may be from his part of the country or enjoy the same activities as he does.
In ecclesial life, there is no room for partiality, favoritism or cliquishness. This is one of those matters where an intentional effort is required on our part. We may naturally gravitate to some members of the ecclesia because of family connections, shared recreational or financial interests or compatibility of personality. We need to make a conscious effort to treat everyone as equally as possible, learning to share ourselves with everyone.
Loving mercy
This is the second sacrifice of the heart that God is seeking in our lives. Our salvation depends on the great mercy of God so forcefully brought to mind each memorial meeting. Yet we share in this mercy only if we have a similar attitude toward others: “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt. 5:7); “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors…for if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:12,14-15).
There is surely no room for harboring hatred toward others because of how they may have treated us, and there is no allowance for easily being offended because of some perceived slight.
Furthermore, we must resonate in our hearts with the great mercies of God and the wonderful compassion of our Lord. When we study the gospels, Christ’s most blistering attacks were reserved for the self-righteous of his day who scorned those they categorized as publicans and sinners. Those who “love” mercy will seek every opportunity to extend compassion to others and be understanding of their situations.
Walking humbly
A good definition of what is in mind is found in I Peter: “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God…casting all your care upon him” (I Pet. 5:5-7).
The ability to turn to God on a regular basis and ask Him to resolve our conflicts is a true indication of humility. God’s concept is that we would turn to Him first in good times and in bad, not relying on ourselves. We are particularly not to rely on our own righteousness. We testify to that now as, with hearts that are broken and contrite, we participate in the memorial emblems.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One