Micah 6:6-7

God has reminded his people about his wonderful acts in the past. Micah speaks on behalf of God’s people. He recognises that they do not obey God any longer. God’s people need to understand this. They need to start obeying God again. They need to stop living as they do now. They need to start again in a new way.

These verses mention many gifts that a person might offer to God. Suppose that a wealthy person is praying to God. That person might be a king of *Israel. He comes to God with a wrong attitude. That wealthy person should tell God that he is sorry. He should be sorry because of his *sins. Instead, he wants to offer his wealth to God. He thinks that he will please God in that way. He thinks that God will love to hear about that person’s good deeds. He thinks that he will pay God to remove his *sins. He will pay a good price. That rich person has many animals. And he has rivers (a lot) of olive oil (oil from a fruit called an olive). He will offer them to God. The rich person thinks that such gifts will please God. And then all will be well.

That rich person hoped that God would accept those valuable gifts. The person would kill those animals and he would burn them. He would then offer them to God. Young cows that were a year old would be the best ones. Thousands of male sheep are a great quantity. Ten thousand rivers of olive oil (oil from the fruit called an olive) are a very large amount. You could not even measure it. Normally, people used that oil in small amounts only. This person intended even to kill his oldest child and he would burn the child. He would then offer the dead child to God. That is what people in the other nations did (Leviticus 18:21).

Such gifts may seem to be generous. This rich man is willing to offer all his wealth to God. This man is willing to offer even his precious child. But the man thinks that he can satisfy God by his (the man’s) gifts. And this man’s attitude shows that he has a wicked heart. His thoughts are about his own goodness. The man does not consider God’s goodness. The man does not recognise that God is kind. The man does not understand that God loves him. This man is not aware that he must change his behaviour. He thinks that God must change. But the man himself refuses to change. He thinks that he can persuade God by all these gifts. It would be as if he was paying a judge to help him. He thinks that God needs all this wealth. If he gives more, then that will satisfy God more. That is how he thinks. But that is an awful way to think about God.

That wrong way to think is like business. It is like a contract, an agreement that people make in business. It has rules and regulations. Yes, God has made a *covenant with his people. But it is not about business and money. It is about one person’s relationship to another person. It is about each person’s relationship to God.

That wrong way was not what God wanted. This was the instruction that God gave to *Israel. ‘Listen, people in *Israel. The *LORD is our God. The *LORD our God is one *LORD. You must love the *LORD your God. You must love him with all your heart. You must love him with all your soul (the inner part of a person which can contact God). You must love him with all your strength’ (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

v8 People, the *LORD told you what goodness is. This is what the *LORD wants you to do. Be fair to other people. Love kindness. Live humbly with your God.