TEXT [Commentary]

  III.   The Book of Judgment and Pardon (6:1–7:20)

A.   The Lord’s Case against Israel (6:1-8)

1 Listen to what the LORD is saying:

“Stand up and state your case against me.

Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaints.

2 And now, O mountains,

listen to the LORD’s complaint!

He has a case against his people.

He will bring charges against Israel.

3 “O my people, what have I done to you?

What have I done to make you tired of me?

Answer me!

4 For I brought you out of Egypt

and redeemed you from slavery.

I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to help you.

5 Don’t you remember, my people,

how King Balak of Moab tried to have you cursed

and how Balaam son of Beor blessed you instead?

And remember your journey from Acacia Grove[*] to Gilgal,

when I, the LORD, did everything I could

to teach you about my faithfulness.”

6 What can we bring to the LORD?

Should we bring him burnt offerings?

Should we bow before God Most High

with offerings of yearling calves?

7 Should we offer him thousands of rams

and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?

Should we sacrifice our firstborn children

to pay for our sins?

8 No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good,

and this is what he requires of you:

to do what is right, to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with your God.

NOTES

6:1 Listen. The imperative verb (shama‘ [TH8085, ZH9048]) introduces a covenant lawsuit in 6:1-5 (although McKeating [1971:181] and Alexander, Baker, and Waltke [1988:191] regard all of 6:1-8 as a lawsuit oracle). The prophet serves as “a kind of officer of the court” as he summons the disputants and witnesses to the trial (Andersen and Freedman 2000:513).

Stand up. The imperative verb (qum [TH6965, ZH7756]) is a call to action, an official “call to order” opening the court session. It is possible that in the legal proceedings of the biblical world the plaintiff and defendant were literally called to stand and state their case (so Mays [1976:131], “Israel is commanded to ‘stand up’ in preparation for speaking and listening as a participant”; cf. Deut 29:10, 15; Job 23:4-5).

case. The word rib [TH7378, ZH8189] is a term signifying a type of formal legal case known as a covenant lawsuit (see the discussion of the covenant-lawsuit oracle in Alexander, Baker, and Waltke 1988:191-196; Allen 1976:363-369; Mays 1976:128-36; G. V. Smith 2001:547-558) According to Westermann (1991:199-200), the lawsuit oracle is a variation of the prophetic judgment-speech and incorporates standard elements, including a call on witnesses, the case itself, a statement of Yahweh’s loyalty, the indictment, and the sentence (VanGemeren 1990:400-402).

6:2 O mountains. Yahweh calls the mountains to witness the trial because they have “stood” over humanity from the beginning of creation and have “seen” the history of Israel and all humanity unfold. The cosmic witnesses serve to validate the legal proceedings and testify (since heaven and earth are invoked) as witnesses in Moses’s song of witness sealing the covenant at Sinai (Deut 31:19; 32:1; cf. Hillers 1984:77).

complaint. Yahweh has a case (rib [TH7379, ZH8190]) against Israel, making him both defendant and plaintiff in the lawsuit. Later God will act as prosecuting attorney (6:6-8, 9-12) and pass sentence as judge (6:13-16).

6:4 redeemed. The verb padah [TH6299, ZH7009] (redeem, ransom) means “to free someone who is bound by legal or cultic obligation by the payment of a price” (Mays 1976:134). In Deuteronomy the term “designates a legal act of redemption from slavery” (NIDOTTE 3.579). Yahweh paid the ransom for freeing Israel from slavery in Egypt and making the nation his “firstborn” child (cf. NIDOTTE 3.578). Israel’s debt to Yahweh as a ransomed people was covenant obedience, not extravagant ritual sacrifices (6:6-7).

Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Not only did God ransom Israel from slavery in Egypt, he gave them a plurality of leadership for organization and oversight in the process of transforming the Hebrew slaves into the people of Yahweh. The OT idiom “I sent . . . to help you” (shalakh [TH7971, ZH8938] + paneh [TH6440, ZH7156], lit., “I sent before you”) emphasizes the divine appointment of the three siblings (cf. Andersen and Freedman 2000:518-519). Moses, Aaron, and Miriam were the children of Amram and Jochebed, descendants of Levi (Exod 6:20; 1 Chr 6:3). Moses was called and commissioned by God to be Israel’s deliverer and lawgiver, and he embodies the Sinai experience for Israel (Exod 3:10; cf. Mal 4:4). Moses’s epitaph is that of a unique prophet of God, one who knew the Lord “face to face” (Deut 34:10). Aaron was the older brother of Moses and the first high priest of Israel (Exod 4:14-16; 29:29-30). He was appointed as a spokesman for Moses and is best known for his role in the golden calf episode after the Exodus from Egypt (Exod 32). Micah is the only OT prophet to mention Aaron. Andersen and Freedman (2000:521) note that Aaron is an OT character without a story of his own, that is, “there are no Aaron stories without Moses.” Miriam was the sister of Aaron and Moses, and she is mentioned only twice outside the Pentateuch (6:4; 1 Chr 6:3). She was a prophetess and a singer, and her association with the victory hymn commemorating the Exodus may account for her presence in Micah’s list (Exod 15:20-21).

6:5 King Balak of Moab. He conspired with the leaders of Midian to hire Balaam to destroy the Hebrews by a prophetic curse as they traveled from Sinai to Canaan after the Exodus. His plan was to thus preserve the autonomy of the Moabite kingdom (Num 22:1-8). Due to God’s intervention, however, Balaam could only bless the Hebrews, much to Balak’s consternation (Num 23:11, 25; 24:10).

Moab. See note on Amos 2:1.

Balaam son of Beor. A prophet and diviner from Pethor on the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia (perhaps an Aramean or Syrian) hired by King Balak of Moab to pronounce a curse upon Israel and halt their advance through the Transjordan into the land of Canaan (Num 22:4-11). The NT condemns Balaam for his greed as a prophet seeking to profit from his oracles of divine revelation (2 Pet 2:15-16; Jude 1:11).

Acacia Grove to Gilgal. Micah telescopes the post-Exodus experience in the Sinai desert with Yahweh in his reference to Acacia and Gilgal. Acacia (or Shittim, NIV) “was the last staging post in the wilderness and Gilgal the first encampment in the promised land” (McKeating 1971:184). Sandwiched between the two is the tragic episode of Israel’s unfaithfulness to Yahweh at Baal-Peor (Num 25; cf. Josh 3:1; 4:19).

faithfulness. Lit., the “righteous acts of Yahweh” (tsidqoth [TH6666, ZH7407]). On Micah’s use of the Hebrew word tsadaq in recalling “a mighty act of deliverance,” see NIDOTTE 3.763; cf. Allen’s (1976:362) translation of 6:5b: “try to appreciate Yahweh’s saving acts.”

6:6 bow. Bowing the head or bowing low before God is a common worship posture in the OT (cf. Ps 95:6), although the word used in this context is quite uncommon (kapap [TH3721, ZH4104]; cf. NIDOTTE 2.689).

offerings. The reference here is to burnt offerings (‘olah [TH5930, ZH6592]). This type of sacrifice was a sin offering in which the entire animal was consumed by fire upon the altar (Lev 1). It symbolized total homage to God and was intended to effect atonement for personal sin (Lev 1:3-4).

yearling calves. Calves could be sacrificed once they were a week old (cf. Lev 9:3; 22:27). Yearling calves were considered the best, “obviously, the older the beast, the more had been spent on its upkeep and the greater the economic loss to the worshiper” (Allen 1976:370).

6:7 thousands of rams. The ram (’ayil [TH352, ZH380]) was an animal used for sin offerings (Lev 5:15; 6:6; 16:3). The large numbers may be an allusion to the thousands of animals offered in sacrifice by King Solomon at the dedication of the Temple (1 Kgs 8:63).

ten thousand rivers of olive oil. According to Allen (1976:370), “oil was the ceremonial accompaniment of a number of offerings . . . here its amount is rhetorically exaggerated.”

6:8 requires. Lit., “seeking” (darash [TH1875, ZH2011]). The participial form of the verb suggests this is an ongoing expectation on God’s part. Micah may have Deut 10:12-13 in mind where Moses indicates that God asks his followers to fear and obey him, and to love and worship him wholeheartedly (cf. 2 Chr 16:9).

do what is right. Lit., “do justice” (mishpat [TH4941, ZH5477]). See the note for “justice” in 3:8.

love mercy. The word khesed [TH2617, ZH2876] (mercy) describes the loyal love of Yahweh for his people. “It is a word of relationship, expressing an attitude of covenant obligation. . . . As a word of partnership it betokens mutual loyalty, not only the faithfulness of God to man but man’s faithfulness to God” (Allen 1976:373).

walk humbly. The verb “walk” (halak [TH1980, ZH2143]) connotes one’s basic pattern of behavior or lifestyle (cf. Mays 1976:142, “a way of life that is humble . . . as by considered attention to another”). The word for “humble” (tsana‘ [TH6800, ZH7570]) is a rare term, found in the OT only in 6:8 and Prov 11:2 (cf. Andersen and Freedman 2000:529, “the traditional meaning is ‘humbly,’ but it is possible that the meaning inclines more to ‘circumspectly’ or even ‘scrupulously’”). God lives with those whose spirits are “contrite and humble” (Isa 57:15), and Jesus taught that the humble will inherit the earth (Matt 5:5; on humility, see the commentary on Amos 6:1-14). The three expressions (“to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God”) are related to each other as representative of both the communal and the personal obligations of covenant relationship with Yahweh. For Micah they also define the “good” that God seeks from his people (6:8).

COMMENTARY [Text]

This unit of Micah’s message (6:1-8) begins the Book of Judgment and Pardon (6:1–7:20). The oracle is a combination of two kinds of literary material: the covenant lawsuit (6:1-5) and a Torah liturgy in a question and answer format (6:6-8; see the discussion of literary form in R. L. Smith 1984:50). Limburg (1988:189-190) connects the catechetical structure to the questions posed in the entrance Psalms about who may enter the Temple for worship. The covenant lawsuit summoned Israel to appear in court and hear God’s case against his people (6:1-3). The recitation of God’s mighty deeds of deliverance associated with the Exodus from Egypt served to remind Israel of their obligation to Yahweh as the one who “redeemed” the nation (6:4-5). The Torah liturgy (6:6-8) is essentially a call to covenant obedience. The text is one of the great passages of the Old Testament because it epitomizes the message of the eighth-century Hebrew prophets. As Mays comments (1976:136), the passage is justly famous “because it raises and answers the fundamental question of faith: What does the sinner do to restore his (or her) relation to God?” Micah’s answer to the question is formulated in two parts: The first addresses the priority of Israel’s covenant faithfulness; the second pertains to the appropriate responses to God’s covenant faithfulness, namely proper worship and the practice of social justice. Allen (1976:363) regards this passage as a notable example of messages of accusation in Old Testament prophetic literature that “end by issuing a warning and providing an explicit opportunity for the miscreants to mend their ways.”

Biblical commentators have showered accolades on Micah 6:8 as one of the classic texts of the entire Bible. Barker and Bailey (1988:113-114) have aptly summarized the litany of praise for this motto of “practical religion” (cf. Smith, Ward, and Bewer 1911:123). Jewish commentary on the passage has been no less laudatory, as Boadt has observed, “the rabbis who commented on this verse in the early centuries of the Christian era called it a one-line summary of the whole Law” (1984:336). Micah’s charge to pre-exilic Israel “to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (6:8) anticipated the teaching of Jesus (some eight centuries later), who offered a digest of the requirements of the Mosaic covenant in his “double-love” command: “ ‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments” (Matt 22:37-38; cf. Deut 6:5; Lev 19:18).

Micah’s hypothetical exchange with his audience begins with a question about worship, specifically, “What can we bring [to make up for what we’ve done]?” (6:6). As Mays (1976:136) notes, “the question is formulated and the answer delivered as though the saying were intended to settle the problem in a comprehensive and final way.” The series of possible responses to the query escalates from a modest offering of yearling calves to the absurd extreme of the sacrifice of a firstborn child (6:6b-7). Micah’s audience learns that God is not after things, but people—“it’s you, not something, God wants” (Mays 1976:136). Limburg’s (1988:192) analysis is pertinent: “The worshiper’s question had been based on the false assumption that God wanted some thing.” Micah’s message has relevance for the contemporary Christian church because this is still an operating premise of many Christians—the false assumption that God wants my money, my time, my talents and abilities. Somehow we forget that God is still in the business of seeking people “whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chr 16:9). This is the mission of Jesus, the Son of Man, and his church—to seek and to save those who are lost (Luke 19:10).

What does it mean “to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God”? (6:8) Simundson (1996:580) notes that Micah’s threefold statement of what God expects from people is intentionally “a general summary, leaving the details to further explication.” Biblical commentators have adequately provided that explication. For example, “to do what is right” means to practice social justice and “work for fairness and equality for all, particularly the weak and powerless” (Simundson 1996:580). To “love mercy” is to extend loving-kindness “where no giving is required, it acts when no action is deserved, and it penetrates both attitudes and activities” (Craigie 1985:46). The third requirement, “to walk humbly with your God,” is an orientation to life or a lifestyle of conformity with God’s will (Alexander, Baker, and Waltke 1988:196). But Craigie (1985:47) insightfully observes that “although we may learn deeply from each of the three parts of the prophet’s message, it is the collective whole which is most vital.” That “collective whole” is nothing less than our obedience to God. The false worshiper thinks “God’s favor, like theirs, can be bought” so they “offer the Lord everything but what he asks for: their loving and obedient hearts” (Elwell 1996:527).

God’s demands have not changed since Micah’s day. He still seeks obedience from his people. In fact, this is the purpose of Jesus’ gospel “that [all] . . . might believe and obey [Christ]” (Rom 16:26). As followers of Jesus, Christians are called to “live as God’s obedient children” (1 Pet 1:14); and it is by being “obedient to the Good News of Christ” that God is glorified (2 Cor 9:13). As Waltke has recognized, “only those who comprehend his grace can and will offer him that (obedience)” (in Elwell 1996:527). God grant the realization of Paul’s prayer for the church, that we may have “the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is” (Eph 3:18).