Micah 6:6-8 - Pleasing God

Scripture:

Micah 6:6-8
6 With what shall I come to the Lord
And bow myself before the God on high?
Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings,
With yearling calves?
7 Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams,
In ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?
NASU


Thoughts:

Micah speaks as though for Israel answering God's question of them (verses 1-5).  In Micah's answer he asks and answers another question of his own, how may we please God?  His answer is probably the most quoted verse from the book of Micah.

Notice that the answer (verse 8) focuses on largely internal and completely unimpressive things to our eyes.  Our natural desire is for the grandiose, external displays of sacrifice (verses 6-7), surely that will be pleasing to God.  But instead, God wants a humble and right heart. 

In a sense, the grandiose display, though perhaps more costly materially to us, is a much cheaper gift in terms of our lives.  Anyone, no matter how rotten inside, can appear to shine for a moment, but God wants an obedient, day-by-day walk with Him -- something we can only do by the power of Christ.  He desires our hearts to be right before Him, not to be impressed by our acts of sacrifice and worship (as though we could impress Him).


Prayer:

God, You are good.  What You ask, all of us can do in Christ!  Following You does not require great wealth, great knowledge, or impressive showmanship, just a broken and humble heart. 

As You continue the work You began at salvation, changing me on the inside, I will live justly and delight in living a life characterized by kindness.  I trust and need You for this work. 

To You be the glory!

Amen

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.