Did you ever have a teacher or a boss for whom you just couldn’t seem to do anything right? I had an art teacher like that. Now I admit, art is not something that I especially excel at but I did always try my best. In spite of my efforts, this teacher never seemed to be satisfied with any of the projects I completed. It was as if she expected all her students to be little Rembrandts and Michelangelos. Finally, out of frustration I felt like saying, “What do you want from me?!?”
I wonder if we don’t feel that way about God some times. We strive to be good people. We come to church, bring offerings, even sign up for different service opportunities. Yet week after week through the sermon and Bible readings it seems as if God always urges us to do more and to be better. Out of frustration have you ever thought to yourself, “I’m trying my best! What does the Lord want from me?” What does the Lord want from you and me? Let’s find out.
The prophet Micah, who wrote the words of our text, lived at the same time Isaiah did. Perhaps you remember from previous sermons based on Isaiah how this was a low point in Judah’s history. Misled by wicked King Ahaz, the southern kingdom of Judah was now perhaps worse off than it was in the time of the Judges when everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Ahaz himself was a religious opportunist, worshipping whatever god was honoured by the superpower of the day. He had even closed the Lord’s temple, built pagan shrines on every street corner in Jerusalem, and sacrificed his own children to the idol Molech.
Ahaz’ subjects weren’t much better. Corruption at the courts and among the priests was common. Prostitution and incest was rampant. And the rich were growing richer at the expense of the poor. Well God had had enough. Through his prophet Micah he said to the people, “Stand up, plead your case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say. 2 Hear, O 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. My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me” (Micah 6:1-3).
With the mountains and hills as the jury God demands that his people explain their actions. This wasn’t the first time that mountains had witnessed such proceedings between God and his people. Earlier Mt. Sinai had looked on as God gave the Ten Commandments to Israel, and before that Ararat had witnessed God’s promise to Noah never to send a worldwide flood again. This time, however, the mountains and hills would not just watch what was going on but give evidence against God’s people, for they had littered the hills with their pagan shrines.
So was there anything Israel could say in their defence? Was there any logical reason for their unfaithfulness? No, God had not burdened them. He had not done anything to warrant the kind of treatment he had received from his people. On the contrary, he had always protected and provided for the Israelites. God went on to remind his people of that. “ 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 counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD” (Micah 6:4, 5).
What had God done? He had not only rescued the Israelites from slavery but had provided able leaders in Moses, Aaron, and Miriam for their journey across the desert. He had also protected them from evil like the time Balak, king of Moab, hired Balaam to curse the Israelites. Every time Balaam opened his mouth to curse, God caused blessings to pour forth. In their journey from Shittim to Gilgal God held back the flood-stage waters of the Jordan River so that all the people could cross over into the Promised Land on dry land. There in the Promised Land the daily blessings of manna stopped but God provided food for the two million people by allowing them to eat the fruit of the Promised Land just as he had promised they would. No, God had not burdened his people but blessed them every step of the way.
In the same way has not God blessed our every step? Think of how he has not only rescued us from the slavery of sin, but also provided able leaders like our parents, Sunday School teachers, and pastors to guide and direct us in our life. He has kept evil from harming us like the time we got lost in a dangerous part of town, or became separated from our parents at the mall. God even directs and controls nature on our behalf as he did for the Israelites. Think of how many blizzards or storms you’ve had to drive through yet have never gotten into serious trouble? On top of all that God provides our daily bread, soup, milk, pasta, steak...is there anything that we lack?
So what should our response be to all this? Well instead of asking, “Lord what do you want from me?” we should really exclaim, “Lord why are you so good to me?!?” Unfortunately that’s not how Israel responded. They said: “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 oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” (Micah 6:6, 7)
We can paraphrase Israel’s comeback like this. “OK Lord, you busted me. I haven’t honoured you like I should. So what’s it going to cost? How about a burnt offering? I’ll bring you the very best – a yearling. If that’s not enough I can offer a thousand rams. Still not enough? How about ten thousand rivers of oil? What, still not satisfied? You want more? What about my firstborn then? Will you accept that as a sacrifice?”
Do you see what Israel was doing? They were treating God like another one of their corrupt judges. They thought that if they just offered the right bribe God would leave them alone so they could go on living their lives the way they wanted to. That of course was not the response God was looking for. Therefore Micah said, “8 He has showed you, O man, 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” (Micah 6:8).
Instead of thinking that they could just offer a sacrifice and go on their merry way, God wanted his people to truly repent of their sins. First of all there needed to be an attitude adjustment. He wanted his people to act justly, or in other words, do the right thing for the right reason. You see, there was nothing wrong with offering a sacrifice, in fact God had commanded his people do just that when they sinned. The problem was the people were offering sacrifices because they had to, not because they wanted to. Nor were they planning on changing their behaviour after the sacrificed had been offered. Worship had become a mere formability, a ritual that had no bearing on the way they lived their every day life.
The same thing can easily happen to us can’t it? We can do the right things like go to church and bring our offerings, but if we don’t do them for the right reasons what’s the point? We might as well not do them at all, at least then we wouldn’t also be guilty of the sin of hypocrisy. On top of that God wants our sincere worship to translate into sincere living. He doesn’t want us to act one way here on Sunday morning and then another way among our friends Monday through Saturday. David put it this way. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17).
Besides acting justly, God also wants just reactions from us. That’s what he meant when he said, “love mercy.” To love mercy means that we will live to be forgiving and patient even when someone doesn’t act justly towards us. That can be a challenge in this day and age of instant communication can’t it? When a nasty email comes in we’re usually tempted to fire one back that’s twice as mean. But by doing so what will we have accomplished? We’ll only have managed to stir up the pot causing more pain.
So what should we do if someone says or does something that hurts us? First of all don’t do anything. Just relax and calm down before you react in a way you’ll regret. Once you’ve calmed down let your mind process what’s been said putting the best construction on it. Chances are you probably misunderstood what was said. If not the next step is to forgive. Forgive completely and unconditionally as Christ has forgiven you for all of your senseless comments. Now you’re ready to talk to the other person. Your purpose for doing so is not to tell that person off, but, in the most gentle and evangelical way possible, show that what they did or said hurt you. What you’ll probably find out is that the other person didn’t intend for their words to hurt and will immediately apologize for what they’ve done. Even if they don’t apologize, remain forgiving for God has called us to love mercy, not vengeance.
Are you beginning to see how we don’t act justly and love mercy as we should? That knowledge will lead us to the third thing that God wants from us - to walk humbly with him. Pride in oneself has no place in the life of a Christian. How can it when we keep falling short of what God demands? If you’re having a hard time being humble then see yourself as God sees you – a wretched sinner.
But that’s not the only way that God sees us, for if it were our walk with him would be walk of shame, not just humility. The fact that we’re even invited to walk with God tells us that he doesn’t see us as sinners but as saints, for only those who are holy and blameless can walk with the Lord. By the grace of God all of us in this room are saints. How can I say that? Well, what the Israelites sarcastically suggested doing to remove their sins, namely sacrificing their firstborn, is what God did to take away our sins. He sacrificed his Son on the cross to take away the sins of the world. Whether you believe that or not doesn’t change the fact that you are forgiven, but it does determine whether or not you’ll enjoy the benefits of forgiveness.
So, what does the Lord want from us? Nothing. He’s done everything and continues to do much for us. God isn’t like that impossible boss or teacher; he’s a loving Father who graciously provided salvation for us. That knowledge will lead us to stop muttering, “What does the Lord want from me” and gladly ask, “What can I do for you Lord?” What can we do to show our thanks? Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. Amen.
