When serving God is wearisome (Mic 6:6-8)

What does it take to satisfy us as we relate to others? Well, it depends on the type of relationship we are in. A shop owner wants buyers to pay for the goods, a boss that subordinates perform their tasks well. Complimenting the owner on what she sells, colleagues building great rapport with each other are bonuses but not required. In friendship, however, we expect to spend time together and be vulnerable, to listen and be listened to in a deeper way. In marriage such expectations go further in the level of intimacy and desire for exclusive loyalty and mutual support. So, what satisfies God? This is the issue our reading poses. The questions reflect Israelite sentiments in Micah’s time (Mic 6:6-7) and assume that sacrifices, gifts of exceptional quality and quantity, are needed.

Protestant Christians tend to dismiss such offerings as ‘empty ritual’, but God Himself commanded sacrifices; they were not a human invention to pay Him off or earn salvation. God, as Israel’s king, expected His worshippers not to approach Him empty-handed or bring Him inferior gifts (Deut 16:16-17; Mal 1:8-9). In an agricultural society, animals were valuable assets for working the land and providing food (e.g. milk, meat), so giving them to God expressed a costly devotion. However, the escalating value of the list in our passage reaches unrealistic proportions (who would have thousands of rams to offer?) suggesting that people felt God to be unreasonable and demanding (cf. Mic 6:3). Worse still, they have borrowed ideas from their neighbours in thinking that God would require child sacrifice in atonement for their sin (Mic 6:7).

Our passage is shaped like an ‘entrance liturgy’, a type of question-and-answer which, scholars speculate, would have been performed at the entrance of the temple as pilgrims came to visit God’s house (e.g. Ps 15:1-5; 24:3-6). These highlight what it takes to approach God and thus the format itself would have reminded Israelites that character and integrity mattered, including how they treated others.[1] Thus, Micah subtly condemns his audience for thinking that expensive gifts are enough. His précis makes explicit that Israel should have known what was needed (He has told you… — Mic 6:8).

The threefold requirement moves from actions through attitude to a way of life. Doing justice meant treating fellow Israelites fairly and not taking advantage of the weaker members of society especially (more details in Mic 6:9-12). Love in OT language is not simply an emotional response but a conscious choice and commitment that gives priority to someone or something over others (e.g. Deut 6:4). The Hebrew ḥesed translated ‘kindness’ or ‘mercy’ incorporates the sense of loyal covenant love. Thus, the expression could be rendered as ‘choose covenant loyalty and love’. In other words, make it a priority to be faithful and committed in your covenant obligations to God and, by implication, to fellow covenant members (Israelites). In other words, it is a succinct form of saying love God and neighbour. Finally, walking humbly (or circumspectly) with your God means the opposite of arrogance and carelessness and involves the ongoing engagement in relationship with a personal God (note the pronoun ‘your’).

Ultimately, the question of what satisfies God is also the question of how we see the relationship with Him. The OT describes God, among others, as King and Creator (Isa 6:1; 45:9). These two emphasise His sovereignty and holiness and the need for respect, obedience, and submission. Another image, marriage, focuses on exclusive loyalty and the closeness between spouses (Hos 2:19-20). Holding these different aspects together is important because if we stress the emotional intimacy first, we may take God for granted and forget the need for holy living. Conversely, if we conceive the relationship as respectful but distant, we will miss out on the depth of engagement that transforms us. When Israel (and we) feel that God is demanding, and we mentally note every effort we make for Him, then we become like the absentee husband who buys flowers and expensive gifts for his wife and is affronted when she says that these are not enough. The relationship with God is demanding because it involves a deep commitment to Him and His ways. He wants our heart and our whole being, not just our gifts.

[1] Once again, this is not about earning salvation by works. Rather, it highlights the fact that coming into God’s presence is incompatible with carrying on in a sinful lifestyle especially as it relates to our human relationships. Jesus likewise exhorts His hearers to mend any rift with others first, even if it means interrupting their worship of God (Matt 5:23-24), presumably because it would be hypocritical to do the latter, while the former is unresolved. Similarly, 1 John 4:20 stresses that true love of God expresses itself in love of neighbour.

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with others.