Full Transcript for It’s Straightforward: Do Justly; Love Mercy; Walk Humbly with God!

mind of Christ. It's only when you think like Him that you can subsequently talk like Him and walk like Him. It's only when you think like Him that you can consistently and successfully practice justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Before I get into this verse in greater detail, allow me to provide a backdrop for why it was written. Originally, it was God's response to the rebuttal Yisrael presented to the Lord following his indictment against them. It is certainly applicable today for the exact same reason. You see, Mekah chapter 6 is written as an imaginary exchange of dialogue between God and Israel. Let me show you what I mean. The first five verses could be viewed as God's indictment against them. In those verses, God is presenting his case against them. He called creation to listen to the accusation he would bring. Verse 2a says, You mountains, You everlasting foundations of the earth, listen to the Lord's case. The Lord proceeded by asking, My people, what have I done to you? How have I been a burden to you? He went on to remind them of what he had done for them. In verses four through five, he calls to their recollection: I brought you out of Egypt. I rescued you from slavery. I sent Moses, Aran. And Miriam to lead you. My people, remember what King Balak of Moab planned to do to you and how Balaam, son of Beor, answered him? Remember the things that happened on the way from the camp at Acacia to Gilgal? Remember these things, and you will realize what I did in order to save you. Albert Barnes and his Bible commentary regarding the last verse sheds some light on the things that may be unfamiliar to some. Bear in mind he uses the name Shatim for acacia. It is then probably said in concise energy for remember too from Shatim to Gilgal, that is, all the great. works of God from Shatim, the last encampment of Yisrael out of the promised land, where they so sinned in Baal Peor unto Gilgal, the first in the promised land, which they entered by miracle, Where the ark rested amid the victories given them, where the covenant was renewed, and the reproach of Egypt was rolled away. Remember all from your own deep sin and rebellion to the deep mercy of God. In essence, God was saying, What has been so burdensome to you? On the contrary, what I have required pales in comparison to what I've done. I gave you freedom, I removed the reproach of Egypt, I redeemed you from your adversaries, your enemies fell at your feet, I fulfilled my promises to Abraham, Ishaak, and Yaakov. You have been rebellious and your sin has been great, but the mercy I have repeatedly given you has been greater. In the next two verses, six and seven, we see the people of Yisrael's defendants standing before God with a response to the accusations hurled against them. It seems they promptly responded. Upon being reminded of the magnitude of their guilt, it seems they were remorseful. But one has to question the legitimacy of their remorse. One has to question if they were

truly repentant. I say that because initially their response, presented as a question, is relatively reasonable. However, the subsequent questions immediately progressed to hyperbole. It suggests they weren't taking their guilt as seriously as necessary. When inquiring about how they should stand before God or present themselves to him while carrying such an immense load of guilt, they started by asking. Should I present myself with burnt offerings with year old calves? They went on to ask, will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with endless rivers of oil? You see how it progressed into hyperbole? Only an extremely rich person or the entirety of the congregation of Yisrael could present that to the Lord. Much less be pleased with. This last rhetorical and hyperbolic question strongly supported the inauthenticity of their shame, regret, remorse, and repentance. Finally they ask, Am I to give my firstborn to pay for my rebellion, the fruit of my body in exchange for my soul? That That wasn't realistic at all. God wasn't asking for their child. In addition, God despised the sacrificial practices of the pagan nations Yisrael encountered. He hated their human sacrifices. Yisrael's question suggests they might have been irritated with being called on the carpet for their disobedience. It was obnoxious. It seemed sarcastic. Not even a fingerprint of sincere repentance. Was left at the scene. Yisrael should have already known what the Lord desired from them. The Lord wasn't shy about his requirements. On numerous occasions he made it clear to them. Roughly 300 years earlier, he made it crystal clear to their first king, Saul. We see in 1 Samuel 1522 what the prophet Samuel informed King Saul. It reads, Then Samuel said, Is the Lord as delighted with burnt offerings and sacrifices as he would be with your obedience? To follow instructions is better than to sacrifice. To obey is better than to obey. Sacrificing the fat of rams. The answer to Yisrael's sin problem, the answer to their problem with obedience, couldn't be resolved with more numerous and costly religious rites and ceremonies, sacrifices and offerings. What God desired from Yisrael was relationship. What God desired from Yisrael was love that produces obedience. The people of Israel knew what the Lord wanted. They had been informed by major and minor prophets that the Lord desires love and obedience. That was the goal. It took precedence over their festivals, sacrifices, and burnt offerings. Isaiah 114 reads, Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them. Hosea 6.6 states, For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Amos five twenty one reads I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. You see, Yisrael believed festivals, sacrifices, burnt offerings, and other religious rites would fix the problem. In Mekah, we see how that was their go-to response to the accusations brought against them and their obvious guilt. So Yisrael went so far as to suggest or to question the need to raise the bar with their sacrifices. That was absurd. That wasn't what God wanted. Remove disobedience from the equation, take away rebellion to God, and sin no longer exists. Where sin doesn't exist, There is no need for sacrifice. That answers the question as to why obedience is better than sacrifice. It's far better because obedience removes the need for sacrifice. You don't need to atone for sin, which is disobedience to God, if you aren't guilty of it. Festivals, sacrifices, burnt offerings, and other religious rites were not a replacement for obedience. They were demonstrations of obedience. They were not a replacement for obedience, but a means by which to bridge the gap between a righteous, pure, and holy God and people who aren't. God desired and continues to desire love and obedience. Unfortunately, Israel had a long history of disobedience, and that's because they failed to recognize and to remember that they required an internal transformation. The problem at the heart of the matter was that they required a heart transformation. But how many times did they refuse to submit to his transforming power because they were too stubborn, stiff necked, and hard headed? How many times did they refuse to submit to his transforming power because they lacked godly sorrow? Are we any different today? The Bible says that all have sinned. I have experiential knowledge of sin. I've witnessed sin in the lives of those with whom I come in contact. It's everywhere. Sadly, I've even had repeated and extended struggles with a handful of the same sins. I can't tell you how many times. While participating in some internal dialogue, I've said, You're this old and you're still struggling with that? I've seen that same thing play out in the lives of countless others. Take a look around. The world is full of blatant disobedience to God. It's not just the people of ancient Israel who demonstrated a pattern of rebelliousness. Our progenitors, Adam and Eve, were guilty of rebellion or disobedience in the beginning. It's become the human condition. Therefore, every inhabitant of this planet has and will continue to require internal transformation. All of us, the entire human race has and will continue to require a heart transformation. That includes you and me. Real consistent, persistent, sustained obedience is only possible when one has a relationship with Jesus Christ. Sure. We might do well for a while, but it's only temporary. We can't make any real progress or gains without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And that can't happen unless we admit our guilt, believe that Christ's sacrificial and atoning act on the cross can free us from the penalty of sin, which is death, and confess him as Lord of our lives. That's the ABCs of salvation. It's then and only then that we can fulfill what God desires of us, that

was articulated to the children of Israel and is contained in the scriptural prayer prompt I use on a daily basis. Once again, it's found in Mekah 6:8, which reads, He has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly and to love mercy? And to walk humbly with your God. So, what does that mean? What does it mean to do justly? It simply means to live with a sense of right and wrong. The people of Meka's time were known for demonstrating injustice, the polar opposite. The Lord requires us to demonstrate fairness and walk with integrity. We are called to practice impartiality to all people. Regardless of age, race, gender, socioeconomic class, or other differentiating demographic. We are to do right to all humankind. That can be challenging at times. When wronged, it's human nature to strike back or repay a wrong for a wrong. Without godly love, we can't do it. Let's go on. What does it mean to love mercy? First of all, You have to know what mercy is if you don't love it. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Mercy is clearly manifested when you don't get what you have coming to you. Man, don't we love mercy when it's being given to us? We should and we should be thankful for it, but that isn't what God was talking about. He wants us to love it so much. He wants us to appreciate it so much because of our familiarity with it as a result of the mercy he's bestowed, he's showered upon us, such that we love to offer mercy to others. Didn't Jesus instruct us to be merciful as our Father in heaven is merciful? I assure you, we'll never ascend to that level of mercy. But with his help, we should try. The last thing the Lord requires is for us to walk humbly with him. Walking with him is paramount to peace and joy here and now, and one's a realization of the most desired of the two final outcomes or destinations. We will not realize and appreciate an abundant life here on earth if we don't walk step by step with him. We won't realize and appreciate eternal life and a heavenly habitation with him if we don't follow in his footsteps while on earth. Now, do it humbly. You see, we cannot allow pride to slither its ugly self into our relationship with the Lord, or the time will come when the relationship no longer exists. Our prideful carnal mind tells us that we can do it on our own. We can function independent of God. Wasn't that the major downfall of Adam and Eve? The devil told them they would be like God if they ate the forbidden fruit. If like God they could function independent of God. Once they took hold of the fruit and did eat, they immediately realized the enormity of that lie. Following the fruit eating debacle, they weren't godlike at all. They felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness, hopelessness, and despair. We really can't function without him. We can't achieve our full potential without him. We won't experience an abundant life and take hold of eternal life without him. The closer I get to him, the more I recognize my insignificance. I'm nothing without him. I can't do anything of any real value without his intervention in my life. I need him to be a better man. I need him, period. I find Mika chapter six to be very interesting. Israel's rhetorical questions had a three part progression. It seems the Lord's response also contained what could be described as a three part progression. Check it out. I've heard it said the response of a godly heart is outward do justice, inward love mercy, and upward walk humbly. I hope you can see why I started using Meka 6.8 as a daily prayer prompt. I want to please the Lord. It's extremely important to me. Truth is, nothing is more important than that three-part progression in my relationship with Him and others. That's largely due to the fact that every aspect of it is immersed in love for God and others. It's all about a heart change wherein love reigns supreme. I can't do justly if I don't love others. I can't love mercy so much that I readily show mercy to others if love for others isn't present in my heart. I can't walk humbly with God if I don't love and respect Him. I can't encourage you enough. Make Mekah 68 part of your daily prayer time. You'll be praying according to God's will, and He will answer accordingly. I've witnessed it in my own life, and I'm humbled and appreciative when I see it. Sadly, because of Yisrael's unwillingness to change, severe punishment came their way. Mekas nine through sixteen goes on to define the specific atrocities they committed and the ultimate punishment they would and did receive. Don't allow the same outcome to play out for you. You may not see it in the earthly realm, but you will in the spiritual realm. We all have a final destination. You can make the right choice. You can't transform yourself, but if you submit yourself to the Lord and commit your life to Him, He will transform you. Honestly, I'd rather be transformed than to conform to what I see in the world today. I'm certain if most people were being honest, they would agree. I'll leave it there. God loves you and I love you. God bless you and have a great week.