Micah 5:2
"His origin is from antiquity [from beyond the vanishing point],
from ancient times."
He's always been, since before "in the beginning". Before all the many earthborn sideways [horizontal] gods. Before the flood. Before the dinosaurs [the dragons]. From beyond the vanishing point of all human memory, before the universe itself he is king. From this vanishing point perspective Micah meets the Spirit of God and he takes a peek through God's long ranging spiritual vision and sees the Messiah was to come from the family and ancestral village of king David. And the Spirit proclaims in verse 5 "He will stand and shepherd them in the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord..."
Is it any wonder that the first century Jews couldn't appreciate the advent of the Messiah man/God king in the person of Jesus? The prophets, including Micah talk about a coming king who will make of Israel a remnant that will be like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass (v.7). They be like a lion among the beasts...like a young lion among flocks of sheep (8) and their mighty king “will destroy your horses,”...“the cities,”...“your witchcraft,”...“your carved images,” and uproot the symbols of Asherah and take vengeance on the nations that have disobeyed him (vs.10-15). They were expecting a warrior prince, a Son of God like none other. Instead what they got was Jesus testifying to the truth of Micah six eight in his life and in his sacrifice. They got a servant king, and a Messiah who slept through storms, prayed for his enemies, and gave his life for his friends. Jesus was from before "in the beginning" and so, when Micah says "this is what The Lord requires of you...", he's speaking about what Jesus requires of you.
Micah 6:8
Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is The Lord requires of you:
Do justice [act justly],
to love faithfulness [love steadfast down-the-line devoted love],
and to walk humbly with your God.
Jesus practiced justice in all his judgments, whether it was against the lawyers and religious leaders, or in his mercy giving forgiveness for the sinners. Jesus had divine power and authority over all man made and natural dangers and even death itself, but he doesn't just rebuke the wind and bring about calm seas, he challenges all who would call themselves his friends to do justice, to love mercy in faith, and to humbly walk with him in obedience.
“Do Justice”
Exodus 23:6 “You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute."
Isaiah 1:17 "Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow."
Are you justifying your wicked scales using deceptive weights? How have you measured out justice? Have you lied? Did you bear false witness? Do the things you do in business measure up justly, or is it "just business".
When you’re working for someone, give them a full hour’s work for a full hour’s pay. When you’re paying a worker, pay them everything they’re due. When you sell something, be honest, if you’re selling someone a pound, give them a real pound’s worth. And when the world says, "that's just the way of the world", you say God says NO! God says DO JUSTICE!
You do what’s right, even for the unpopular person. Do what’s right for the person who hurt you. Do what’s right for ALL. Do justice for ALL.
"Love faithfulness"
The Hebrew word is “chesed” and it's somewhat difficult to translate because it is rich in its meaning. It can be applied throughout all the many seasons of our lives. And maybe that's perfectly planned, because life changes us and it therefore changes our perception of grace. It means many things, like kindness, mercy, unselfish goodness, compassionate love, faithfulness, loyalty, covenantal love, undeserved grace. It reflects the many aspects of a person's love for Christ and how they are living it out in their relationships with God's people. It's the good old, "do unto others as God has done to you" principal.
It measures the justice measures that you're measuring with. It puts justice into context. It delivers us from the evil influence of the darkside of the law. We don’t unjustly relish doling out JUSTICE to people, instead we love showing GRACE to them from whom we seek justice. We learn from grace that NOT giving people what they deserve, but instead showing them grace pleases our God. It's what God did for us, and he expects that we would do the same. He REQUIRES that we do GRACE.
“Walk Humbly”
What does that look like, walking humbly with God?
As if my habit I will ask Gods word for that answer. What I find is...
Isaiah 66:2 “But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.”
We come before God in awe, not pride. We seek his will, not our own way. We don't come before The Lord like the Pharisee in Luke 18, "I thank You Lord that I am not like this other men; I fast twice a week; and I pay tithes on all that I get.” He was proud of his relationship with his religion. And he wanted everyone to know it.
If you're wondering about prayer and your worship posturing, know this from Micah 6:8, we are REQUIRED to come before God in humility. You want the perfect prayer? Say this and mean it, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” God wants us to respond to Him in humility; to “tremble at His word.”
Jesus wants us to be blessed [happy]. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” You are REQUIRED to admit your spiritual poverty before God— that you are a sinner, that you can’t save yourself— in order to be saved.
This is what the rich young ruler in Matthew 19 should have done, but he couldn't. He was seeking a religious method for salvation, and maybe even a dollar amount he could put on it. But the one thing he couldn't do was to put all that aside and see himself as a sinner who really needs a Savior. After Jesus told the rich young man that he should sell all his possessions and follow him, the rich young man should have said, "yes Lord, have mercy on me; I’m a sinner." That would have been Justice. He needed to humble himself before God. He needed to get his sh*t together and be honest with himself and everyone he knows, but especially with God. THAT’S how we’re REQUIRED to be saved: when we humble ourselves before God and admit our sin, and then ask Him to forgive us through Jesus Christ. Blessed are the poor in spirit who FINALLY see God.
Obey justice.
Obey faithfulness.
Obey humility.
And see God.
Admit that you need Him.
Admit that you need His help.
The most important day of your life, the most blessed and happiest day you'll ever know, will be the day you discover you're pleasing God because you love his justice, you practice his faithfulness, and you walk humbly with his humble Messiah.
He laid done everything for us, he was "weak [humble] and lowly [gentle] of heart". He conquered death in his sacrifice and through his resurrection the Messiah, whose "origins are from antiquity", cleanses us from all unrighteousness when we obey what he "requires".