Micah 6:1-8

FORGOTTEN ACTS OF SALVATION. Micah 6:1-8

RV. Hear ye now what Jehovah saith: Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. Hear, O ye mountains, Jehovah's controversy, and ye enduring foundations of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel. O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Ballaam the son of Beor answered him; remember from Shittim unto Gilgal, that ye may know the righteous acts of Jehovah. Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves a year old? will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee but, to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God?
LXX. Hear now a word; the Lord God has said; Arise, plead with the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. Hear ye, O mountains, the controversy of the Lord, and ye valleys even the foundations of the earth: for the Lord has a controversy with his people, and will plead with Israel. O my people, what have I done to thee? or wherein have I troubled thee? or wherein have I grieved thee? answer me. For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage, and sent before thee Moses, and Aaron, and Mariam. O my people, remember now, what counsel Balac king of Moab took against thee, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from the reeds-' to Galgal; that the righteousness of the Lord might be known. Wherewithal shall I reach the Lord, and lay hold of my God most high? shall I reach him by whole-burnt-offerings, by calves of a year old? Will the Lord accept thousands of rams, or ten thousands of fat goats? should I give my first-born for ungodliness, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? Has it not been told thee, O man, what is good? or what does the Lord require of thee, but to do justice, and love mercy, and be ready to walk with the Lord thy God?

COMMENTS

The first controversy of Jehovah against His people is occasioned by their having forgotten His saving activities on their behalf in times past. Centuries later, Stephen would level the same charge against them. To him this was the story of their national life. (Cf. Acts, chapter 7) Arise. contend. (plead your case) before the mountains. Micah 6:1-2

The judgments pronounced against both the northern and southern kingdoms in the three cycles which compose Chapter s 1-3 of Micah are harsh. The denunciation of the nation, the casting off of the race per se which is evidenced in the promised blessings to the remnant (Chapter s 4-5) are sure to be decried as unfair by those who are to be cast off. To prove His fairness in these things, God calls the prophet to set the sins of the people before them.

Because the fulfillment of the covenant will issue in God's blessing all the nations of the earth, this controversy is to be before the whole of creation. Thus the prophet comes full circle, connecting this final section of his prophecy to the first (see comment on Micah 1:2 -ff). As the justice of God's judgments against the leaders of the nation was established before all people and nations in the opening cycle, so the fairness of His complaints against the people will now be openly seen of all. The equity of God's cause will be pleaded and sinners themselves forced to confess that God's ways and judgments are fair.

O MY PEOPLE WHAT HAVE I DONE. Micah 6:3-5

In these verses the complaint of God is made. In Micah 6:9 to Micah 7:6, the case will be judged.

(Micah 6:3) The cry of Micah 6:3-5 is not the stern judicial pronnouncement of Chapter s 1-3 against broken law. Here we have rather the plea of a broken heart. What have I done unto thee? -Wherein have I wearied thee? They have sinned against His love as well as His law.

(Micah 6:4) I brought thee up. The nation of Israel did not exist until the mercies of God brought an enslaved race out of a foreign land because of the covenant of blessing made with their father] (Cp. Exodus 2:24) It was the law, given them through Moses and the priesthood instituted in Aaron that turned the race into a nation. the very law whose flaunting now occasioned the heart-break of their God at the necessity of judging His people.

O MY PEOPLE, REMEMBER NOW WHAT BALAK KING OF MOAB DEVISED AND WHAT BALAAM THE SON OF BEOR ANSWERED HIM. Micah 6:5 (a)

Micah's allusion here is to Numbers, Chapter s 22-24. The prophet places himself in the position of Balaam and asks those to whom he speaks to see the parallel.

Israel, drawing near the promised land had encamped on the plains of Moab opposite Jericho on the east bank of the Jordon. Balak, king of Moab, seeing what Israel had done to the Amorites, was terrified and sent to Pethor near the Euphrates to the prophet Balaam with the request that he come and curse Israel.
When Balaam went before God for direction, he was directed not to return with Balak's messengers, the elders of Moab.
Balak, assuming that Balaam could be bribed, sent ambassadors of higher rank with greater gifts. Again Balaam went to God in prayer and this time was instructed to go with the princes of Moab but to say only what God gave him to say.
Next morning Balaam went with the princes toward Moab. And God was angry, apparently because Balaam had been tempted enough by the bribe to question His first instruction.
As Balaam rode toward Moab, an angel appeared to his ass, but not to him. The animal, seeing the angel block her way, turned aside into a field, whereupon Balaam beat her.
Again the ass saw the angel and, instead of obeying Balaam, crushed his foot against a wall, and Balaam beat her a second time.
A third time the animal saw God's angel blocking the way, and this time she balked, for which Balaam struck her with his rod.
Then the Lord opened the ass's mouth and she asked her master what she had done to be beaten. When Balaam answered it was because she had provoked and ridiculed him and wished for a sword to kill her, the animal reminded him that she had served him well all her life and asked if this had ever happened before.
Then Balaam's eyes were allowed to see the angel standing in the way with drawn sword. He fell on his face before the angel and was asked why he had beaten his ass when the angel had come to stand against him.
The prophet then confessed he had sinned in attempting to force his way past the angel of the Lord.
Understanding that he had done wrong in asking again and again for permission to curse Israel, Balaam asked for instructions and was told to go on to Moab but to say only what the Lord would instruct him to say.
Seeing Balaam coming, Balak rushed to meet the prophet assuming he was going to curse Israel
Balaam ignored the king's rebuke for not having come at once and warned him he would say only what the Lord gave him to say.
Balak took Balaam to Kireath-huzoth, overlooking the outskirts of Israel's encampment. There the Moabite offered sacrifices and sent portions of the sacrifice to Balaam.
Next day Balak took Balaam to the high places of Bamoth-Baal from -which he could see the Israelites.
The prophet required the king to again build altars and sacrifice. When this was done, he instructed Balak to wait by the sacrifices while he inquired of God.
God met Balaam and gave him a message, How can I curse those God bas not cursed. How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?

Hearing this, Balak took Balaam to yet another high place, to the top of Mount Pisgah, hoping he would be permitted to curse Israel from this vantage point. Again Balaam waited on the message of God.
This time the message was, God is not a man that He should tell or act a lie nor feel compunction for what He has promised, I have received His command to bless Israel.

Then follows Balaam's discourse to Balak concerning God's deliverance of Israel out of Egypt. (Numbers 23:22-26)

Seeing Balaam would not curse Israel, Balak requests that he neither curse nor bless her, to which Balaam answered, All the Lord speaks I must do.

Again Balak took Balaam to another high place in a last effort to have his way against Israel. But Balaam no longer looked for signs of God's permission to curse His people. Instead he looked the other way.
Then God's Spirit came upon Balaam and the prophet blessed Israel in Balak's presence. Upon this, the king of Moab became angry, In answering Balak's anger, Balaam said, I cannot go beyond the command of the -Lord to do either good or bad of my own will, but what the Lord says, that I will speak. (Numbers 24:13, Emphasized Bible)

It is Balaam's progressive willingness and final determination to speak only what the Lord gave him to say that Micah here appropriates to himself. He too has said what his listeners do not want to hear. His reply is, O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him.

Micah is also determined to say, good or bad, only what the Lord gives him to say.

... REMEMBER FROM SHITTIM TO GILGAL, THAT YE MAY KNOW THE RIGHTEOUS ACT OF JEHOVAH. Micah 6:5 (b)

After God had steadfastly forbidden Balaam from cursing Israel and had actually brought this alien prophet to bless Jehovah's people, the people themselves turned to idols! (Numbers 25:1 -ff)

Having settled down in Shittim the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. (and) so Israel joined himself to Baal of Peor. (Numbers 25:1-3, Emphasized Bible)

As a result, God's anger had been kindled against Israel so that He had instructed Moses to hang their leaders and 24,000 Israelites were smitten.
Micah again asks that those to whom he speaks remember God's past dealing with Israel. He has formerly punished her for unfaithfulness. If they will recall this truth, they will see the validity of Micha's warning of the same wrath. Again Micah's message is timely in our day.

WHEREWITH SHALL I COME BEFORE JEHOVAH. Micah 6:6-7

Micah's question is simply whether he, as Balak, shall continually, with animal sacrifices, attempt to alter the will of God, Having placed himself in the way of Balaam's determination to do God's will, whether good or bad, he now implies that his hearers are in the same position as Balak, king of Moab!

... SHALL I GIVE MY FIRST-BORN FOR MY TRANSGRESSION... Micah 6:7(b)

Micah pursues the issue further, insinuating they would have him turn to Baal in their behalf. It was one of the abominable practices of Baal worship that the first born son of the worshipper be tossed into the fiery bowels of the idol to atone for the parent's sin. would they have him resort to this despicable practice to atone for having pronounced the judgment of God against them? The sarcasm is scathing!

HE HATH SHOWED THEE, O MAN, WHAT IS GOOD; AND WHAT DOTH JEHOVAH REQUIRE OF THEE, BUT TO DO JUSTLY, AND TO LOVE KINDNESS, AND TO WALK HUMBLY WITH THY GOD. Micah 6:8

Here is one of the classic questions of Scripture. It ranks with that of the Lord, What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own life? (Matthew 26:16) And the Hebrew writer's How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? (Hebrews 2:1-4)

For such questions there is no answer.
God's insistence upon faithfulness is not unreasonable, particularly when His past blessings and present promises are remembered. Nor is His punishment for unfaithfulness unreasonable when one remembers that it is His purpose through such faithfulness to benefit not only the faithful but all man-kind.

What doth Jehovah require of thee? The Law set down innumerable requirements. From the direct catalogue of eternal mortality in the decalogue to the detailed requirements of Sabbaths and sacrifices, the sum and substance of such requirements is that God's worshippers shall do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God. Failure to keep the commandments and precepts expressed in outward forms inevitably leads to failure to do these simple yet profound elementals: do justly, love kindness, walk humbly.

The Septuagint text contains three terms whose meanings shed much light on this verse: literally the to be doing the justice; love mercy; and to be ready, in reference to the go (as on a journey) with your Lord, God.
What is described here is the life style required by God. To be doing justice is to have just actions as the habit or style of one's life. But what is justice? It has to do with the keeping of God's law. His commandments and ordinance. Far from removing the necessity for keeping God's commandments, this passage states in simple, yet forceful, terms the necessity to do so.
But to obey the commandments formallyto go through the motions of conformity to God's law without any corresponding effect on one's life makes such obedience a hollow mockery and an affront to God. The second requirement is to love mercy.
Again the Greek of the Septuagint is clear. (And since the Septuagint is the Bible quoted by Jesus and His apostles, it behooves us to understand.) The phrase, rendered mercy, meansliterally, to have pity, to have compassion.

This latter is mentioned as an attribute of God. (Exodus 33:19 cp. Romans 9:15) To have compassion is to place ones-' self in the sufferer's situation. to suffer with him. This God does.

Micah is not claiming this is required of God's people. Obviously, it is an ideal to be sought, but what is required is pity, a feeling sorry for, objectively.

We are to love such mercy! Here is one of those rare pre-Christian uses of the word lovethe love of the will, not the emotions. The love that is deliberate self-giving. God requires deliberate giving of self to pity, the objective concern for others. Without this all formal religious obedience is hollow.

Jesus said as much, These (the keeping of specific commandments) ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other (justice, mercy, trust) undone. (Matthew 23:23)

The church member today who is meticulously correct in doctrinal matters and unconcerned for mercy where there is human suffering has missed the mark as far as those to whom Micah promised God's wrath missed it.
The third requirement of God is that His people live constantly in an attitude of readiness to go with God as Lord. The phrase to walk, means literally, proceed or go one's way.
God requires His people to be alert to His authority. As we go our way, we are to do so in the awareness that God is our Lord. This attitude is imperative to the accomplishment of the first two requirements listed by Micah.

The Psalmist tells us that God trieth the minds and hearts. (Psalms 7:9) Proverbs 20:27 describes the lamp of Jehovah searching all His innermost parts. la Psalms 139:23 the Psalmist prays, search me, O God, and know my heart. In 1 Chronicles 28:9 David informs Solomon, ... Jehovah searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts.

God does not require by simply issuing commands and edicts. The heart of God's ordinances is His intimate knowledge of the hearts and minds of men. It is for this reason that outward form must always express inner reality and both must proceed from a constant alertness to the Lordship of Him with Whom we have to do.

Chapter XQuestions

Jehovah's Controversy With His People

1.

Micah Chapter s six and seven are composed of a series of __________.

2.

Just as the sins of society's leaders filter down through all classes so __________ are applied to all people.

3.

Jehovah's first controversy with His people is occasioned by their having forgotten __________.

4.

God's controversy with His people is before all creation because __________.

5.

How does Micah connect the final section of his book to the first section?

6.

In Micah 6:3-5 the __________ is made. In Micah 6:9 to Micah 7:6, the case will be __________.

7.

The cry of Micah 6:3-5 is the plea of a __________.

8.

Explain Micah's reference to Balaam. (Micah 6:5)

9.

Why remember from Shittim to Gilgal? (Micah 6:5(b))

10.

Show how Micah 6:1-5 is timely in our day.

11.

What is alluded to by shall I give my first-born for my transgression? (Micah 6:7 (b))

12.

Discuss Micah 6:8 in connection with Matthew 26:16 and Hebrews 2:1-4,

13.

God's insistence upon faithfulness is not unreasonable when we remember __________ His __________ and __________.

14.

How does Micah answer the question, what doth Jehovah require of thee? (Micah 6:8)

15.

The __________ is the Bible quoted by Jesus and the apostles.

16.

Micah 6:8 does not claim that __________ an attribute of God's character is required of God's people.

17.

Rather than compassion, Micah insists that we are required to __________.

18.

Discuss Micah 6:8 in connection with Matthew 23:23.

19.

Why must the outward forms of obedience always be expressive of inner reality?

20.

Compare Micah 6:9 and Proverbs 9:10.

21.

What is the significance of shall I be pure? Micah 6:10-12

22.

The persistent fact of __________ is a prime factor in Micah's message.

23.

Compare Micah 6:14 and Job 20:15.

24.

What is meant by Micah 6:15?

25.

What are the statutes of Omri? Micah 6:15(a)

26.

Compare Micah 6:16(b) and Micah 3:12.

27.

Discuss the historic phenomena known as anti-semitism in light of Micah 6:16.

28.

Compare Micah 7:1-2(a) and Psalms 14:1-2.

29.

Discuss Micah 7:1-2 in light of Romans 3:9-18.

30.

Micah 7:2(b) - Micah 7:4(a) refers to __________.

31.

Compare Micah 7:2(b) - Micah 7:4(a) with 2 Samuel 23:6-7, Isaiah 55:13, and Ezekiel 2:6.

32.

Who are listed as those whom honest men cannot trust? (Micah 7:5-6)

33.

Discuss Micah 7:5-6 in connection with Matthew 10:35-36 and Luke 12:53.

34.

Discuss Micah 7:7 in connection with Joshua 24:14-15.

35.

Despite the wickedness of his time, Micah is unshaken in the conviction that __________.

36.

Discuss Micah 7:8-10 in light of Romans 8:31-39.

37.

Compare Micah 7:9 to Psalms 22:1-24 and Romans 7:24 to Romans 8:1.

38.

What is meant by a day for rebuilding thy walls? (Micah 7:11-13)

39.

If one requires proof of Micah's highest motives in writing his prophecies, his prayer for __________ provides it amply.

40.

The nations shall see what and be ashamed?