“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? 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? He hath showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? The LORD’s voice cries to the city, and the man of wisdom shall see your name: hear the rod, and who has appointed it.”
I feel that overall this passage has been a powerful reminder to me that I am totally dependant on God’s grace. Considering that even my good aspects and deeds are like dirty rags before God forces me to be humble before Him and others. The very best I can offer to God that comes from my fallen nature is actually offensive to God. This is the main theme of the passage.
The beginning of verse six emphasizes our inability to come before God. By what means can we come before the LORD? Even if our intention is to bow before Him and worship the one and only God we would be consumed by His holiness. The author now begins to search for a means to come before God. He asks if even the burnt offerings established in the law can give us access to God. I think that this is a rhetorical question. The answer is obviously no. Only taking on the righteousness of Christ through faith can grant us access to God. It is Christ’s sacrificial work that Old Testament believers looked forward to. Continuing with examples of thousands of goats and tens of thousands of rivers of oil only serves to underscore the inability of religious acts to please God.
What, then, does please God? God is pleased with proper heart attitudes. Loving mercy, behaving in a just manner toward others, and walking humbly with God are all pleasing to God. Of this list the most profound attitude/action is walking humbly with God. It is an awesome thing to realize that God has chosen me to be his adopted child. Knowing that all I deserve is damnation makes God’s desire for me to walk with Him even more amazing. Although I’ve never understood why God chose me I am grateful He did. I know that he does all for His glory, but it still baffles me. Particularly special to me is the word “with.” God does not ask me to walk in front of Him where I am exposed to any hazards that lie ahead, neither does He call me to be behind Him where I cannot see his face, but beside Him. Here His hand is ready to catch me quickly, I am able to see His face, and we are able to have fellowship. I still struggle with really understanding how to live like this but it is what I want and I know God will help me because it is what He wants too.
John Lovette
10/1/2006
Micah 6:6–9
“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? 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? He hath showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? The LORD’s voice cries to the city, and the man of wisdom shall see your name: hear the rod, and who has appointed it.”
I feel that overall this passage has been a powerful reminder to me that I am totally dependant on God’s grace. Considering that even my good aspects and deeds are like dirty rags before God forces me to be humble before Him and others. The very best I can offer to God that comes from my fallen nature is actually offensive to God. This is the main theme of the passage.
The beginning of verse six emphasizes our inability to come before God. By what means can we come before the LORD? Even if our intention is to bow before Him and worship the one and only God we would be consumed by His holiness. The author now begins to search for a means to come before God. He asks if even the burnt offerings established in the law can give us access to God. I think that this is a rhetorical question. The answer is obviously no. Only taking on the righteousness of Christ through faith can grant us access to God. It is Christ’s sacrificial work that Old Testament believers looked forward to. Continuing with examples of thousands of goats and tens of thousands of rivers of oil only serves to underscore the inability of religious acts to please God.
What, then, does please God? God is pleased with proper heart attitudes. Loving mercy, behaving in a just manner toward others, and walking humbly with God are all pleasing to God. Of this list the most profound attitude/action is walking humbly with God. It is an awesome thing to realize that God has chosen me to be his adopted child. Knowing that all I deserve is damnation makes God’s desire for me to walk with Him even more amazing. Although I’ve never understood why God chose me I am grateful He did. I know that he does all for His glory, but it still baffles me. Particularly special to me is the word “with.” God does not ask me to walk in front of Him where I am exposed to any hazards that lie ahead, neither does He call me to be behind Him where I cannot see his face, but beside Him. Here His hand is ready to catch me quickly, I am able to see His face, and we are able to have fellowship. I still struggle with really understanding how to live like this but it is what I want and I know God will help me because it is what He wants too.