“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, NKJV). What are ways, right now, you can live out these words?

Micah 6:8 is perhaps one of the best known texts in Scripture. Yet, like many of the verses we make into slogans or “posters”, we are probably less familiar with the context of the verse than we might admit.

Read Micah 2:8-11 and Micah 3:8-12. What were the people doing that Micah condemned?

Micah

The reign of Ahaz as king in Judah saw God’s people reach a new low in the history and spirituality of their nation. Idolatry and its various evil practices were increasing. At the same time, as other prophets of the time also noted, the poor continued to be exploited and preyed upon.

Micah is no less a prophet of doom than were his contemporaries. Most of his first three chapters express God’s anger and sorrow at the evil His people had done, as well as the destruction that was coming their way.

But God had not given up on His people. Even the strident voices and harsh messages of the prophets were an indication of God’s continued interest in His people. He gave them warnings because of His love and care for them. He longed to forgive and restore them. He would not stay angry forever (see Mic. 7:18-20).

Such is the context of the well-known “formula” — act justly, love mercy, walk humbly. It might sound simple, but living such a faith in practical ways is much more challenging, especially when to do so seems so out of step with the surrounding society. When others profit from injustice, scoff at mercy and ride proudly, acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly requires courage and perseverance. Yet, we don’t do this alone; when we act this way, we are walking with our God.

Amen!(0)

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“God Has Spoken by His Prophets” – Hymn 413 reminds us of the title of our Lesson study for this week.

The call to justice is sung in 
Hymn 285, “Jesus Calls Us” and in 
Hymn 359, “Hark! The Voice of Jesus Calling”.

The prophets did point to us all to :
“Stand Up! Stand Up for Jesus!” – Hymn 618.

Each of the prophets was requesting the people to show love, mercy and justice: 
Hymn 81, Though I Speak With Tongues”, 
Hymn 356, “All Who Love and Serve Your City” and 
Hymn 571, “What Does the Lord Require”.

If the prophets had been heeded and the people followed the advice given, then the people would see that 
“God’s Free Mercy Streameth” – Hymn 110.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

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“I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel’” (Amos 7:14-15, NIV).

Amos was quite open in admitting his lack of qualifications for being a prophet, but as he presents his message to the Israelite nation, he shows an obvious ability to draw his hearers into what he wants to tell them.

Amos

He begins on a popular note, listing off the surrounding nations—Syria, Philistia, Phoenicia, Edom, Ammon, and Moab—and detailing their crimes, outrages, and atrocities for which God will punish them (see Amos 1:3-2:3). It is easy to imagine the Israelites applauding these indictments of their enemies, particularly as many of the crimes of these nations had been directed against the Israelites themselves.

Then Amos moves a little closer to home, declaring God’s judgment against the people of Judah, Israel’s southern neighbors in the now-separated kingdoms. Speaking on behalf of God, Amos cites their rejection of God, their disobedience to His commands, and the punishments that would come to them (see Amos 2:4-5). Again, we can imagine the people in the northern kingdom applauding as Amos points out the wrongdoing of those around them.

But then Amos turns on his audience. The rest of the book focuses on Israel’s evil, idolatry, injustice, and repeated failures in the sight of God.

Read Amos 3:9-11; Amos 4:1-2; Amos 5:10-15; and Amos 8:4-6. What sins is he warning against?

While Amos is not diplomatic in his language and his warnings are those of doom, his message is seasoned with entreaties to turn back to their God. This will include a renewal of their sense of justice and care for the poor among them: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24, NIV). The last few verses of Amos’ prophecy point to a future restoration for God’s people (see Amos 9:11-15): “In their hour of deepest apostasy and greatest need, God’s message to them was one of forgiveness and hope”. – Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 283.

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Despite God’s clearly detailed plan for the Israelite nation, the Israelite people rarely lived up to their calling. Not many generations after they were established in the land, they asked Samuel, the prophet and judge, to appoint a king to lead their nation, “such as all the other nations have” (1 Sam. 8:5, NIV).

Read 1 Samuel 8:10-18. What was Samuel’s warning to the people in response to their request for a king?

Image © Jeff Preston from GoodSalt.com

Samuel recognized this as a step toward being like the other nations in other ways, as well. While Samuel sought to counsel the first king, Saul, it was not long before his prophecy began to become reality. Even at the height of the Israelite kingdom, David and Solomon did not escape the temptations, corruption, and excesses of their power.

Throughout the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah, one of God’s responses was to send prophets to speak His will and to remind the Israelite leaders and people of their God-given responsibilities to the forgotten members of their society.

In the writings of the Hebrew prophets, we see a continuing and recurring call to live justly and to do justice in society. Confronting the unfaithfulness of Israel and its leaders, the prophets were a regular and urgent voice for the voiceless, particularly those who were hurt by Israel’s failure to follow God’s will.

Reflecting on the passion of the Old Testament prophets, Abraham Joshua Heschel contrasts our complacency with their urgent calls for justice: “The things that horrified the prophets are even now daily occurrences all over the world … Their breathless impatience with injustice may strike us as hysteria. We ourselves witness continually acts of injustice, manifestations of hypocrisy, falsehood, outrage, misery, but we rarely grow indignant or overly excited. To the prophets even a minor injustice assumes cosmic proportions”. – The Prophets (New York: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1962), pges 3, 4.

What these prophets offer us is an insight into the heart and mind of God. Speaking on behalf of God, they can help us see the injustice and suffering of our world through God’s tear-filled eyes. But this passion is also a call to action, to work with God to relieve and remedy the oppression and sorrow of those around us.

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Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study: 1 Sam. 8:10-18, Amos 5:10-15, Micah 6:8, Gen. 19:1-13, Ezek. 16:49, Isa. 1:15-23.

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

The Old Testament prophets are among the most interesting characters in the Bible. Their strident voices, their bold messages, their sense of grief, anger, and outrage, and the occasional performances of their messages made them people who couldn’t be ignored, even if they might not have always been comfortable to be around.

Sent primarily to Israel and Judah, they were beckoning the chosen people back to their calling in God. The people and their leaders were too easily swept up by the idols and lifestyles of the surrounding nations. It was the prophets’ thankless task to urge them to repent, sometimes by reminding them of God’s love for them and His past action on their behalf and sometimes by warning of the consequences if they continued to walk away from God.

As we will see, too, that among the sins and evils that they warned the leaders and people against, one of the biggest was the oppression of the poor, the needy, the helpless among them. Yes, worshiping idols was bad; yes, following false religious practices was bad; but, yes, taking advantage of the weak and poor was worthy of condemnation, as well.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 3.

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