Mankind, He has told you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8 HCSB)
Micah was a prophet at the time that the land of Judah was about to be overtaken and destroyed by Babylon. He and all the other prophets of his time were forced to speak harshly, because Israel and Judah had become perverse and disrespectful of the God who had so lovingly provided for them for generations. They were about to be judged and humiliated by an evil kingdom that would turn them into slaves and captives for seventy years. It was unthinkable, but the apple of God’s eye was going to be plundered and pillaged because of their own selfishness.
They already knew what God required of them. They had all the teachings of God through Moses and Joshua, David and Solomon. They had the many prophets God had sent, yet their hearts had become so dull that they were asking foolish questions. In the verse before, they even ask if God would remove their punishment if they’d offer their firstborn sons as burn sacrifices. The demonic gods of Baal and Molech would demand such horrible things, and the Israelites had become so perverse they actually obeyed them – it was as if they had totally lost sight of who the true God was.
God is reminding them of the very simple and pure things that He asks of His people, something that all of us can do, if we choose to. Be just and fair. Be honest and true to ourselves, to others in our daily lives and to God. To love faithfulness, meaning to keep our commitments to each other, and to God. To value the purity of a faithful marriage, faithful friendships and faithfully obeying God unswervingly. And then, to walk humbly before God. He is our Lord and Master, and we are His servants. Nothing is to be done out of our own whims or fleshly desires, but in submission to His will. This is what He asks of us, and this is what will keep us safe and under the shadow of His wings.
The freedom that the world loves to dangle in front of us, is not freedom at all. When we don’t live by these three points, we are living in submission to the gods of this world. Like Baal who demanded the blood of innocent children, the devil will take all that is pure and innocent from us just because we don’t submit to God above all. God does require total surrender, but His demands are easy and light, and bring about safety and salvation. See if you are living by these requirements, and if so, you can claim the freedom and protection that God has always wanted to provide for His children from the beginning of time.
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