For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Micah 6:1-9

1 Listen to what the Lord says:

“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;
    let the hills hear what you have to say.

2 “Hear, you mountains, the Lord’s accusation;
    listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.
For the Lord has a case against his people;
    he is lodging a charge against Israel.

3 “My people, what have I done to you?
    How have I burdened you? Answer me.
4 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.
5 My people, remember
    what Balak king of Moab plotted
    and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal,
    that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”

6 With what shall I come before the Lord
    and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.

9 Listen! The Lord is calling to the city—
    and to fear your name is wisdom—
    “Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.

A. Find Out

1. How does the Lord now challenge Israel? v.1
2. Why is this necessary? v.2
3. What does He remind them He’s done for them? v.3-5
4. What does the prophet wonder about? v.6,7
5. What is his conclusion? v.8
6. What does he call the people to do? v.9

B. Think:

1. How do these verses almost appear as a court appearance?
2. How does the prophet reason through these things?

C. Comment:

The passage begins with a call to the world to pay attention t the case that the Lord will be bringing (v.1), and just in case they didn’t fully take that in – there IS a case to be answered before the Lord (v.2).

He hears the Lord challenging the people to reflect on their experience with the Lord (v.3), how He had originally redeemed them from Egypt (v.4a) and given them godly leaders (v.4b), and then how He had led them, despite the plans to oppose them from nations along the way (v.5), through to the Promised Land.

This leaves the prophet pondering out loud, what is the right way to stand before the Lord? (v.6a) Will it be to bring lots of offerings (v.6b,7a), will it be even (like the pagan nations) to offer child sacrifice (v.7b). No, none of these things are what is required – good behaviour – to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with the Lord (v.8)

So he turns to the inhabitants of the city to listen to him, listen to what God is saying – for it is the wise person who listens to God and obeys Him, and to learn when He is speaking and bringing discipline to His people (v.9).

Reflect back on the careful reasoning in this passage: awareness that the Lord has things against the people, things He demands them to think about and give answers to.  Then reflections about what the Lord might want, and eventually the conclusion that He wants righteous lives, and then do something about that!

D. Application:

1. God’s will is not a mystery; He wants good for us, righteousness.
2. Pay attention to the calls of the Lord to us.

Micah 6:10-16

10 Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house,
    and the short ephah, which is accursed?
11 Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales,
    with a bag of false weights?
12 Your rich people are violent;
    your inhabitants are liars
    and their tongues speak deceitfully.
13 Therefore, I have begun to destroy you,
    to ruin you because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied;
    your stomach will still be empty.
You will store up but save nothing,
    because what you save I will give to the sword.
15 You will plant but not harvest;
    you will press olives but not use the oil,
    you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.
16 You have observed the statutes of Omri
    and all the practices of Ahab’s house;
    you have followed their traditions.
Therefore I will give you over to ruin
    and your people to derision;
    you will bear the scorn of the nations.”

A. Find Out

1. Who is talking now and asking what? v.10
2. What does he then ask? v.11
3. What condemnation does He then bring? v.12
4. What has it caused Him to start doing? v.13
5. How has that started being worked out? v.14,15
6. What had they been doing? v.16a
7. So what had that provoked the Lord to do? v.16b

B. Think:

1. Note the various sins listed in this passage.
2. How was the Lord dealing with them?

C. Comment:

Having just called to them to take heed to what the Lord had been saying, He now asks them, (do they have the nerve to ask? [implied]) now do they want Him to forget and ignore their unrighteous cheating on one another – no doubt to the detriment of the poor? (v.10). Should He let off those merchants who cheat customers? (v.11). Is that the sort of people a holy nation should be, with the rich violently oppressing the poor and lies being the currency of the day? (v.12) This, of course, is a rhetorical question for the answer is clearly, no!

So, because of this they should realise that things that were happening to them were the disciplinary judgment of the Lord who had started to destroy their social life (v.13). How was that being worked out? Well, they found themselves constantly dissatisfied. They may eat but constantly feel hungry (v.14a), they may store their produce but never seem to have enough (v.14b), they plant seeds but get poor crops (v.15a), they harvest olives and not be able to use the oil, they harvest their grapes but not be able to drink their wine (v.15b).

But then comes the crashing condemnation that is worse than all the others: they have followed the behaviour and lifestyles of Omri and Ahab, two particularly bad and godless kings, and so as a result of this, the Lord’s plans for their ruin and destruction become more and more established. They have had their chance to repent, but have not taken it.

D. Application:

1. God may take time to judge, but don’t mistake that for acceptance.
2. Realise that all ongoing since will be held to account – eventually.