Daily Bible Study

September 26, 2018 Bible Study — The Lord Has Told Us What Is Good

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Micah 3-7.

    As I read through today’s passage I saw a theme which is actually common among the Old Testament prophets. Micah condemns the leaders of the people, especially the religious leaders. They are the ones who are supposed to teach and guide the people to know right from wrong, but instead they hate what is good and love what is evil. However, he makes clear that the blame does not lie completely with the leaders. The people they lead have chosen these leaders over those who teach them God’s will. No one can be trusted because everyone does wrong, from the highest to the lowest. Micah says that the godly people have all disappeared, even the most honest twist and scheme to get what they want. In particular, Micah calls out the hypocrites who twist justice while claiming to serve the Lord and do what is right.

    Micah promises that although today people from high to low do evil, lie, and twist judgement the day will come when people from all parts of the earth will choose to follow God. They will turn to God to mediate their disputes and He will bring peace to the world. Nations will beat their swords into plowshares and turn their spears into pruning hooks. Peace and prosperity will reign when everyone enjoys the fruits of their own labor. I am not going to go into it now, but I think Micah 4:4 contains a good starting point to understand God’s ideal economic system, perhaps I will take the time to flesh that out some day.
    Later in the passage, Micah refers to the great and wonderful things God has done for His people, for us. He then asks what God wants from us in response. God does not desire that we offer piles of animal sacrifices in His name, nor does He desire that we build great and wonderful buildings in His name, nor does He want us to sacrifice our children to Him. What God wants from us is simple:

  • Do what is right.
  • Love mercy.
  • Walk humbly with our God.

Too often we forget that last item, and when we do remember, we overlook the “humble” part.