Micah · chapter 6 of 7
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Micah 6 presents the Lord's lawsuit against his people before the mountains: he reminds them how he brought them out of Egypt and led them. When the people ask what offering to bring, the prophet answers that the Lord has already shown them what is good: to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with their God. Then he denounces the fraud and violence of the city.
Chapter 6 begins a new section of the book, which takes the form of a trial in court. The Lord is the plaintiff and the mountains and hills are the witnesses. It contains one of the clearest summaries of what God expects of his people, and it is often quoted in churches around the world.
Micah invites the people to hear what the Lord says: arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. The Lord has a controversy with his people and will contend with Israel. He asks what he has done to them and how he has wearied them, and invites them to answer him.
Then he reminds them of their history: he brought them up from the land of Egypt, redeemed them from the house of slavery and sent before them Moses, Aaron and Miriam. He asks them to remember what Balak king of Moab devised and what Balaam son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that they may know the righteous acts of the Lord.
The people ask with what they shall come before the Lord and bow before God on high. Shall they come with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall they give their firstborn for their transgression, the fruit of their body for the sin of their soul? The prophet answers that he has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: only to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.
The voice of the Lord cries to the city, and it is wisdom to fear his name. He asks whether there are still in the wicked house treasures of wickedness and a scant measure that is accursed, whether he can acquit those with wicked scales and a bag of deceitful weights. Its rich men are full of violence, its inhabitants speak lies and their tongue is deceitful. Therefore the Lord will strike them and make them desolate because of their sins; they shall eat but not be satisfied, they shall sow but not reap, they shall tread olives but not anoint themselves with oil. They have kept the statutes of Omri and all the works of the house of Ahab, and so he will make them a desolation.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord asks his people what he has done to them and how he has wearied them. It is a question meant to awaken the conscience: God has done nothing that justifies the people's abandonment.
The Lord reminds them that he brought them out of Egypt, redeemed them from slavery and sent Moses, Aaron and Miriam before them. Deliverance is the basis of the relationship, and remembering it should move them to obey.
God has already shown what is good: to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with him. The verse sums up that true faith goes beyond sacrifices and shows itself in fair dealing, kindness and humility.
The Lord asks how he can acquit someone who uses dishonest scales and deceitful weights. Dishonesty in trade is a direct offense against God and against one's neighbor.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Before the mountains and the hills. — Micah 6:1-2
Answer: Moses, Aaron and Miriam. — Micah 6:4
Answer: Burnt offerings, calves a year old, thousands of rams, rivers of oil and even the firstborn. — Micah 6:6-7
Answer: To do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with God. — Micah 6:8
Answer: The use of dishonest scales, deceitful weights and scant measures. — Micah 6:10-11
Answer: The statutes of Omri and the works of the house of Ahab. — Micah 6:16
Micah 6:8 is a compass for the Christian life. The people's question, how much must I offer to please God, is as current as it was then. In a Sunday school class you can ask whether we are seeking to fulfill religious formalities more than practicing justice, kindness and humility in our daily relationships.
The chapter also invites us to look at history with gratitude. God reminds them how he delivered them, and that memory should lead to living differently. A good practice is to review together what God has done for us and to check whether our dealings at work, in business and in the family reflect that gratitude, beginning with honesty.
Micah 6 sums up what God expects: justice, kindness and humility, and it denounces those who turn from it. Chapter 7 will close the book with a personal lament from the prophet and one of the most beautiful confessions of hope and forgiveness in the Bible.
It means living in close relationship with him, recognizing that we depend on his guidance and not on our merits. It is the opposite of religious pride. Combined with justice and kindness, it describes a life that obeys God in everyday matters.
It does not reject them as such, since the law commanded them. What it condemns is sacrifice without justice and kindness, as if more offerings could buy God's favor. Other prophets say something similar, such as Hosea, Amos and Isaiah.
Balak, king of Moab, hired Balaam to curse Israel, but the Lord prevented it and Balaam ended up blessing them (Numbers 22 to 24). The prophet mentions it to recall how God protected his people when they did not know it.