MICAH

Micah Chapter 6

• Micah 6:1 Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. 
• 2 Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD's controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. 
• 3 O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. 
• 4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 
• 5 O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD. 
• 6 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? 
• 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 
• 8 He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? 
• 9 The LORD's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it. 
• 10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? 
• 11 Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? 
• 12 For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. 
• 13 Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins. 
• 14 Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword. 
• 15 Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine. 
• 16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof a hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people. 

Mankind seems to think sin is fun and to ignore God is the way of modern thinking. This is nothing new. It has been going on for centuries both before and after the flood of Noah's day. Yet, sin brings misery, sickness and suffering over and over again. We reap what we sow. We never learn from history. We keep ignoring God to our own peril and it destroys us both in this life and in the life to come. God made a perfect way to redeem us from the trappings of sin but many still ignore the good ways and the old paths and continually think that we can achieve peace and prosperity apart from God. The cycle goes on and on and we reap more misery and heartache. 

The examples in the bible of the many sins of Israel are written not to condemn Israel in the sight of the world but for our learning. We can avoid the same mistakes.

Jesus gave us the gift of salvation. He came to save us from our sins. If that wasn't the greatest thing that could ever happen, He also added to us the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we are never alone and we have God within us after we have repented of sin and believed in Him (Jesus). If that wasn't enough, He gave us power to overcome sin and walk in the spirit so that we are no longer in bondage to the desires of the flesh.

The reason that we do not see every Christian walking in love and in the spirit is because some of us faint along the way and stop seeking Him. The first step to going backward is to stop diligently searching His word for understanding and instead listening to the philosophy and understanding of the world around us. 

We see in this chapter God is pleading with Israel asking, "What have I done?" What has God done to us that we tend to stray away from His presence and ignore His word. All His gifts to us are the best heaven can give. He has good things for us but we tend to ignore it and are bent to pursue our own ways that keep getting us in more and more trouble. 

God reminds these people how He brought them out of the bondage of Egypt. How He refused to curse them when the king of Moab desired Balaam to curse Israel. 

God didn't desire their sacrifices of animals or their firstborn. He desires that they do justice, love mercy and walk humbly before Him. 

Religious observances and rituals are a vain show. God desires our lives to reflect Him. Do we love our neighbor as ourselves? Do we love God with all our heart, soul and mind? Are we fair in business deals? Do we show compassion?

God knew He was going to send the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins. He was going to provide the sacrifice for sins by sending His own Son. The Old Testament sacrifices only pointed toward the perfect way to come. God wanted them and us to fulfill the part of the law that taught mercy, love and true worship in the spirit and in truth. 

The Old Testament shows us what sin is and the severity of God's judgment against sin and the New Testament teaches us how to get out of sin and be free from the condemnation of sin.

The rich are mentioned here I believe because they used their position in this life to lord over and oppress the poor. God hates it when we cheat the poor. Yet He has made a way for us to escape the bondage this brings so that we love people enough that we would not even think of cheating someone. 

How much greater it is to serve God and live holy because we love Him and love our fellowmen. 
We can overcome sin by faith in Jesus Christ. He will deliver us from the covetousness that is destroying us. It's all in the bible if we would diligently study it. The way of truth is there for us to find and walk in God will teach us His ways if we seek Him. -Doena