In ancient Judah, Micah was a popular name for boys. In Hebrew, Micah is spelled, Mika, which is a question: “Who is like Yahweh?”. Who is like God? He is incomparable. There is no one like God. This name is an exclamation of praise, “an expression of adoration and wonder at the incomparable God of Israel”.
Micah was a prophet from a small agricultural town southwest of Jerusalem. He was a contemporary of prophets Isaiah and Hosea. Isaiah spoke to the urban elite, but Micah spoke to the people in the suburbs.
Micah called God’s people to listen to Him. Micah repeatedly said to God’s people, “Listen, you leaders,” “Listen to what the Lord says,” and “Listen, you peoples”. He was calling God’s people to pay attention to what he would be saying. Micah’s prophecy was mainly for the capital cities of Judah and Israel, Jerusalem, and Samaria respectively. Their leaders practiced and tolerated false doctrine and that led to a false understanding of the character of God.
As a result, there were injustices towards the poor people. There were mistreatment of women and children, unjust business practices, and exploitation of the poor, many of whom were in rural areas, like Micah. The rich were living in luxury while the poor people had to suffer to pay for extravagances for those in power.
God’s people did not see their sins. They thought that everything was fine, and that God should be happy with them. So, through prophet Micah, God was giving His people a wake-up call. God’s people should not assume that God would be happy with them if they did not show any commitment to worship God, to love Him and to serve Him. In fact, it was quite the opposite: punishment from God would be coming upon them because of their sinfulness.
Micah 6:8, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
These are the requirements God wanted us to have. These are not suggestions, or options we can pick and choose. We are to incorporate these 3 things in our daily lifestyle. It should be a part of us as God’s people.
During Micah’s time, he was living in a culture with idolatry and immorality. The people of God did not worship God wholeheartedly and they were rebellious against Him. Today you may be living in a culture like that. In your workplace, the environment you are in may not be godly.
But let us remember that as God’s people, we are required to do these 3 things: to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.
“Do justly” means: Put justice into practice. When we are able to, we are to step in and help the weaker people and protect them from the oppressors.
“Love Mercy” What is mercy? Mercy is an action. Someone described Mercy as “not getting what we deserve”. It means we are to forgive someone or give them what they don’t deserve, that is showing mercy.
“Do justly” and “love mercy”, are commands regarding other human beings.
The next requirement, “walk humbly” is directed to God.
“Walk humbly with God” means surrendering ourselves to God. In Hebrew, “walk humbly” means, “the lowering of oneself”, or “to make oneself lower than another”. It is about the way we live our lives before God. It is also about our relationship with God. Our relationship with God will spill over to our relationships with others. If we are close with God, we will love others and show them kindness and love.
Like the leaders during Micah’s time and the Pharisees during Jesus’ time, they were focused on performing rituals and outwards religious duties well that they had neglected the most important thing, which is, the relationship with God. They did everything right outwardly, but their hearts were far from God. God did not want outward rituals but a close and deep friendship with Him.
We are only humans. We can not live up to God’s requirements without His help. May we lean upon His strength and wisdom as we strive to glorify Him in every facet of our lives.
Remember, the name Micah means, ‘who is like God?’ It is a declaration of praise and adoration. Because of who God is, we want our lifestyle to be different: we want to glorify Him. We want to obey His commandments. We want to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.
