Micah 6 Devotional

More Than Lavish Offerings

“He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”Micah 6:8 (BSB)

The LORD calls the mountains to hear his case against his people, and his opening question is surprising. What has he done to them, and how has he wearied them (6:1-3)? Then he answers his own question with kindness: he brought them out of Egypt, redeemed them from slavery, and sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam ahead of them, and he reminds them how Balaam answered Balak (6:4-5).

The response imagines a rising scale of offerings: year-old calves, thousands of rams, rivers of oil, even a firstborn child (6:6-7). But God is not looking for a bigger payment. He has already shown what is good: to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with him (6:8). Notice the order. Redemption comes first in the chapter, and the life of justice and mercy flows from it. The costly sacrifice the worshiper imagined was one God would make himself, not sparing his own Son (Romans 8:32). Because he has already given what you could never offer, you are free to walk humbly with him today.

To think about: Are you trying to pay God back with bigger efforts, or walking with him in response to what he has already done?