This is one of the more familiar verses from the Old Testament prophets. The setting for

this verse is set up with the beginning of the 6th Chapter of Micah. The scene that is cast

is that of a courtroom. God is bringing charges against humanity and all of creation is the

jury. God contents that the people have forgotten what He had done for them.

Notice that as the prophet has the dialogue with God about these charges that He

is bringing, the people do not argue or say ‘no, we have not.’ Rather they inquire

of God, ‘with what shall I come before the Lord?’ and wonder about what kinds of

sacrifices that they should offer (a 1000 rams, 10,000 rivers of oil).

God answers and reminds the people that it is not JUST about the sacrifices, but that He

has told them what is required. Verse 8 is where God sums us how the people of Israel

are to live their lives. They are to do justice, love kindness and to walk humbly with your

God.

But what does this exactly mean for them and also for us?

A couple of observations:

• First, notice that these three actions are connected together with an ‘AND.’ What

this means is that these are not 3 separate actions, but rather God is calling people

to do all three. We are not to just ‘do justice.’ Rather we are to do all three—do

justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.

• Second, God is calling us to more than a simple checklist. These three commands

are more of a way of life rather than a simple to do list. To love kindness is not

doing one act of kindness for another, but it is an attitude about how we are to

treat others. Additionally, walking humbly with God is not simply being able to

check off a list that I read 15 minutes of the Bible or said my prayers on this day.

Walking humbly with God is an ongoing function of seeking to do things like

reading the Bible, praying as well as other things that bring us closer to God and

walk with Him.

• Third, we need to proceed with caution when we read this verse. It is easy to

use this verse to condemn the ritual practices of the Hebrew people. However,

take close notice that God never tells the people to not continuing doing the ritual

sacrifices. God never means for these sacrifices to take the place of living a life

that calls us to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God. What

God is challenging people about is feeling content about their relationship with

Him just because they do a particular act. Sacrificing a ram is not an excuse to

not do justice or love kindness. This applies to us today, for we cannot simply

write a check to the church and feel like we have fulfilled our duty to God. Or

we cannot show up Sunday morning for worship and think that because we have

fulfilled this duty; then we do not need to seek to help our neighbor. God is not

making this multiple choice; rather He calls us to live lives that bring honor and

glory to Him. This can be seen as we seek to do justice, love kindness and walk

humbly with your God.