THE REQUIREMENT

Sermon Summary (5/7/17) “The Requirement” (Micah 6:8))

We’re in the midst of a sermon series on “Finding Joy in Everyday Life: Five Essentials for Living Well.”  What does it mean to live well?  Rick Warren would say it is “not about you.”  Jesus would say, “Whoever wants to be first must be last and servant of all.”  So what does the Lord require of me?  Of you?

Maybe it was best stated by Micah, 8th century bc prophet, who scolded the northern kingdom for materialism, greed, and oppressing the little guy.  “Can I tolerate wicked scales and ...dishonest weights?”  and “They covet fields and seize them.”  The case for the latter is King Ahab and Queen Jezebel who arranged to have Naboth killed in order to seize his vineyard, his ancestral property, just because Ahab wanted it.

These sins are not restricted to ancient times but happen among us.  We seize property by eminent domain, normally from the little guy; we take advantage of those who may not know the ways of the world because we can.  In too many cases our infrastructure favors the big guy at the disadvantage of those who already have little.

And Micah says, “And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to do lovingkindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8) 

Justice.  The Hebrew word is “Mishpat” which is used over 400 times in the Old Testament.  And who do you suppose God had in mind when he called for justice?  Zechariah tells us “do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, the poor.” (Zech 7:10)  The marginalized were the center of Jesus’ ministry, too.  We must ask in all that we do, “Is it fair, is it just, have I somehow tipped the scales?”

Lovingkindness.  The Hebrew word is “Hessed,” used over 200 times in the Old Testament.  We have no such word.  It is grace, and mercy, and forgiveness, and agape, and kindness all rolled into one.  Jesus scolded the Pharisees for neglecting the weightier matters “Justice, mercy (Hessed), and faithfulness.”  Do you think the Pharisees were bad people?  No, they just failed to pay attention.

Lynn called this week, making me aware of a ministry that she is passionate about; one where unwed, expectant mothers can receive Hessed, kindness.  It only requires our pocket change for five weeks, from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day.  We need to pay attention to where God is working in the world, providing Hessed, and join in.

Lastly the Lord requires that we walk humbly with him.  We normally have it backwards.  We want God to walk with us.  It is when we walk with him that we pay attention to those who need Mishpat and Hessed.  So may our walk be with God.  Amen.