Requirements…
A post by Rebecca DeLucia, Next Generation Pastor.
We have had the same picture hanging in our living room for the last 13 years, one that Luke made as a preschooler. His little handprint and footprint are immortalized in paint, with a heart between them. The context? Micah 6:8:
“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
That word require is so striking because it is so finite. There is no arguing with a requirement. You are either tall enough to ride the roller coaster or you are not. You either pass the class or you fail. There is no gray area.
But throughout the book of Micah, we see the Israelites painting the town gray. They begin making exceptions to where justice is required. Justice goes to the highest bidder; those who can afford it are the ones who receive it. Mercy? Forget about it. What is mine is mine, and what is yours is also mine. Greed reigns supreme. And what is the third pillar that stands alongside injustice and greed? Pride. The Israelites are a shining beacon of it, and Micah rebukes them for it: “You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity” (Micah 2:3).
Micah shows over and over that people and leaders alike are rebuked because they are failing to meet God’s requirements. Their injustice, greed, and pride have consequences. Jerusalem will fall, and the people will be overcome by both Assyria and Babylon. Their leaders have failed them, their prophets have misled them, and the people have turned away from the God who called them to live differently.
And yet, even in the midst of their failures, God remains faithful.
This is what makes Micah such a remarkable book. It is not simply a book of judgment or a list of things God’s people have done wrong. It is also a book of hope. Over and over, alongside the warnings of destruction, God promises restoration. He promises to once again be their Good Shepherd, gathering together the remnant of his people. He promises to restore Jerusalem and, through it, display his own glory. The same God who holds his people accountable is the God who refuses to abandon them.
And before calling them to account for their actions, God reminds them of his own. In Micah 6, he calls them to remember: “I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam.” In other words, remember who I am. Remember what I have done. Remember the faithfulness that has carried you this far.
When the people are confronted with all that God has done, when they are reminded of his redemption, his shepherding, and his promises of restoration, what does he require of them? Not another sacrifice. Not another empty religious performance. Not simply more offerings or outward displays of devotion. He calls them to live in a way that reflects the very character of the God who redeemed them: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with their God.
That same call is extended to us. We are called to do justice; to stand up for the vulnerable, to provide for the poor and less fortunate among us, and to pursue a justice that is not reserved for those with money, influence, or status, but is freely and equally extended to all. We are called to love kindness; not simply to occasionally show mercy when it is convenient, but to love it. To make generosity our instinct rather than our exception. To give freely of what we have rather than hoarding it for ourselves. And we are called to walk humbly with our God; recognizing that he is Lord, that we are not, and that our lives are meant to be shaped by his leadership rather than our own pride. To follow him as our Shepherd, trusting him to lead us where we need to go.
These three things cannot be separated. Justice without kindness becomes cold and self-serving. Kindness without justice can overlook the very people who need it most. And neither can truly flourish without humility before God. They are not three unrelated boxes to check; they are three expressions of a life shaped by the God who has redeemed us. That is the picture Micah gives us of what it means to belong to God. A people who reflect his justice, his mercy, and his humility. Because Micah is not ultimately just telling us what God requires. He is reminding us who God is and what his people should look like when their lives are shaped by him.