Daily Thoughts from Micah: Real Repentance (6:1-8)

Daily Thoughts from Micah: Real Repentance

1 Hear what the Lord says:  Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.  2 Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel.  3 “O my people, what have I done to you?  How have I wearied you? Answer me!  4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.  5 O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”

6 “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high?  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 thousands of rivers of oil?  Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”  8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?  (Micah 6:1-8, ESV)

Have you ever hurt someone’s feelings?  Have you so broken someone’s trust that you can see the pain oozing out of them, know their hearts are destroyed by you, and seen the anguish in their eyes?  Israel has so injured Yahweh, because He loves them so much, and they have done it with unfaithfulness to their Husband.  And there is no basis for their seeking another lover because Yahweh has been faithful, has delivered them from Egypt, brought them safely through the wilderness, only to witness them engage in the immorality and idolatry like that instigated by Balaam advising Balak, the king of Moab (Numbers 25).

If there is true repentance in Israel it will not be seen merely in bringing sacrifices Yahweh prescribes.  They could bring a ridiculous number of calves and rams and oil offerings, even their firstborn, and this would only reveal that they are avoiding the obvious.  Their sins must be broken, not just atoned for.  And Yahweh has been quite clear about what righteousness looks like.

Real repentance would lead to the practice of justice, not stealing people’s homes and lands, not taking advantage of the helpless to empower oneself, not resorting to violence as a solution.  Real repentance would lead to loving kindness above selfishness, working to help the poor instead of stealing from them, making sure sound decisions were made in cases of illegality, not taking bribes.  Real repentance would mean walking in humble dependence upon the God who rescued us, always consulting Him before all others, always choosing the path He walks on rather than our own.