The Lord's Requirement
Scripture Reading - Micah 6:6-8 KJV
6 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?
7 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?
8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
During our normal time of devotion (daily Holy Bible study) our (ihlcc) heart was stirred to comment on these verses of scripture. Why? You ask, because we thought this is so good because it perfectly relates to many people today. It is very typical for men to pursue their own righteousness by good works and yet it is not exactly what “the Lord requires”. What we (ihlcc) mean by that is all men and women are required by God to do His certain things. We can never substitute our thoughts, opinions and works for “God’s Holy requirements” because the Lord has already established His Kingdom not ours. Doing these certain things will bring us God’s blessing (His Favor) because we are doing His Holy Word in line with His Heavenly Heart of Love. Yes, notice contemporary (more modern) Christian that giving the sacrifice of praise (thousands of rams) is good but it only pleases God when you are doing “His Requirements” first. Therefore singing high praises to God while in church but living for yourself the rest of the week doesn’t work in the Kingdom of God. We should not outwardly sing songs to Lord while we refuse to inwardly live for the Lord in our heart. The statement “shall I give my firstborn for my transgression” has to do with two things. The first one is a religious act that was necessary for a certain individual one time but then Satan through deception would have all religious followers to offer human sacrifice to promote death instead of the instance of Abundant Life through Christ Jesus, thee sacrificed living Son of God. We know when God tempted Abraham to kill his son we see that no death actually came to the child only the threat of death. -Refer to Genesis 22:1-14 Our Gracious Good Father just wanted to show the world that He was willing and purposing to give His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Issue number two is that Satan desires for us to totally give up something very close and precious to us to prove his lordship over our life. Remember taking something close to us always brings sadness and loss which is not at all what God wills for us. For I (Jesus) came that you might have Life and have His Life more abundantly.-John 10:10 The mean and unkind rulers always want to take away your best for their own selfish pleasures. An evil ruler derives a certain amount of satisfaction out of seeing you suffer. Thanks be to God that our Heavenly Father’s nature is the exact opposite because God gave you His best in the Person of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father gave us His Priceless possession in the Person of His Holy Spirit. The next statement in that sentence says, “shall I give the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” basically calls out the fact that our personal sacrifices can never cleanse our sin but only (solely) the Powerful Blood of Jesus Christ. For we are saved by grace through faith and that not of ourselves but it is the gift of God so no person can boast.-Ephesians 2:8,9 It is so common today for many people to think that as long as I do good works I should be accepted before God but no, no my faith friend, only by doing God’s Word with a pure heart will you actually please God, no exceptions or substitutes. Let us look at exactly what is “required by God”. These are in no particular order because they are all important but the Lord gives us the three main principles to make it easier for us to remember. “Doing justly” just means to be just. Yes, this is another way of saying always do what is right in the sight of God. You could say don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat on your spouse, don’t covet money but the list would be endless it is far easier and better to simply say, “Do justice to all men according to the justness of God” and that in itself is sufficient. We (ihlcc) really focus on the second bullet item which is “loving mercy”. “Loving mercy” is the same thing as showing mercy to all. Yes, not just those you love or those people you know but everyone, enemies and bosses included. “Loving mercy” means you pray for those who come against you and actually show them mercy when you can. This also means that you don’t talk negatively about them behind their back because you know God is close enough to you to hear your complaining inwardly in your heart and outwardly if you voice your complaints to others. It is always better to be merciful concerning other people because the humility of God knows that you outside of God’s Grace could be living in a worst state than those who practice evil (workers of iniquity). Yes, this is a reflection of true Godly humility which is a requirement of God too. “Walking humbly” before God takes a softness and meekness that is uncommon in the earth. It is said that humbleness is like a deep treasure most people are unaware of. Yes just like great natural wealth can be found in a physical treasure buried deep underneath the earth. Likewise great spiritual treasure always accompanies those who seek for and obtain Godly Humility. Those who understand the awesome value of humility can never live without it because it is the lifeway to God while at the same time many people never seek it because of the blindness of their selfish heart. Always remember your humility is critical to developing your conversations with God because without humility of heart you will have hardness of heart that dulls the spiritual ears. It is far better to keep a soft, meek and humble heart before God because you really do understand that He (The Lord, our Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit) knows all things while we know nothing except what He alones reveals to us. Be just by doing what is right in the sight of God which includes showing mercy toward others as much as possible this will show your true humility before God and your fellowman. So faithfully (consistently) do what is “required by God” to reach the potential of being just like God then and only then will you be pleasing to God. Amen!