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“He hath shewed 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?” (Micah 6: 8).

Micah’s severe warnings seemed to convict the people’s hearts. As one man, they sought the prophet’s help to appease Jehovah’s wrath; they inquired: “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord?” We shall offer to the Lord our best: sacrifices of the choicest kind according to the law – “calves of a year old” (Lev. 9: 2-3), then the next choice offering – “thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil.” They were willing even to offer their sons, their “first-born” – “the fruit of my body.” “The people, thus arraigned, bursts in, as men do, with professions that they would be no more ungrateful; that they will do anything, everything - but what they ought … They would offer everything, (even what God forbade) excepting only what alone He asked for, their heart, its love and its obedience”– Albert Barnes.

Answering directly, the prophet proceeded in verse 8 to overthrow these outward means of reconciliation with God; they cannot do away the evil, nor purify from the guilt of sin: “He hath shewed 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?” In the eyes of the Lord, mere external conformities amount to nothing more than a vain show. This holds true in our day and age. A stringent adherence to outward formalities is not what God demands of us. The crux of the matter lies in the heart. Have we not read that “ … to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (I Sam 15: 22b). Rebuking the Pharisees, the Lord said: “But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matt. 9: 13). True godly repentance with a change of heart is what the Lord expects of His people.

How God addressed the people through the prophet is also significant. “He (God) hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee.” This verse directs God’s instruction to every soul. Israel should have known. In his message, Micah had revealed nothing new - half-hearted service is not acceptable before God. The prophet reminded the people of the moral demands of the law. God had clearly revealed what He required of Israel through the Mosaic system of laws and observances, including the formal worship and offerings before the Lord. : “And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him and to serve the Lord, thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command thee this day for thy good?” (Deut. 10: 12-13).

The people had inquired, “With what outward thing shall I come before the Lord?” The prophet answered: “What thing is good, the inward man of the heart, righteousness, love, humility.” When the heart is firmly rooted, then the outward show is the fruit of it.

“And what doth the Lord require (search, seek) of thee?” – The very word implies an earnest search within. Trouble not ourselves as to any of these things - burnt-offerings, rams, calves, if the heart is not in these gifts. Instead offer ourselves to the Lord : “to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God.” Without these moral virtues, sacrificial worship is a mere formal and heartless ritual in which God has no pleasure.
“to do justly” - to render to every one what is their due, whether they be superior, equal, or inferior. Judge righteously and kindly of others; judge not according to outward appearance (Jn. 7: 24). As for self, judge humbly so as not to spare our sins, nor take pleasure in them for “if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged of the Lord" (I Cor. 11: 31). Anticipating God’s judgment, one should diligently search one’s heart for secret sins rather than to judge others.

“to love mercy” - all deeds of love; and what love requires. Be kind, merciful, and compassionate towards our fellow men (Rom. 12: 8; Heb. 13: 16). Do not only to do what justice requires, but also what mercy, kindness, benevolence, and love require.

“to walk humbly with thy God” - “walk humbly,” as the creature with the Creator. Humble ourselves before God, Who humbled Himself in the flesh. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5: 48). “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Lk. 6: 36). Have the same mind “which was also in Christ Jesus Who made Himself of no reputation” (Philp 2: 5, 7).

One commentator puts it aptly, “Jehovah’s requirements move in three dimensions: outward, inward and upward. Outwardly, “to do justly” necessitates dealing righteously with one’s fellow man. Inwardly, “to love mercy” (Heb. “chesed” covenant loyalty) necessitates having the inward commitment to God’s revelation that will manifest in a right relationship towards God and man. Upward “to walk humbly with thy God” necessitates having a right attitude towards God and a determination to walk in continuous fellowship with Him. This verse once again puts things in proper perspective; for the external, outward dimension is inextricably tied to the internal (the inward and upward). How one walks in relationship to his fellow man is indicative of his inward resolve and relationship to God”

Brethren, let us not merely inquire : “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord?” Let us purify our hearts by turning away from our sins. May the Lord grant us grace to obey Him - to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.