![Micah [1:3-5]; 5:2-5a; 6:6-8, Micah](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/0d780640-6fed-40c3-9235-ae8b65c77842/22.11.13.jpg)
Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“He has told you, O mortal, 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?”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, November 13, 2022
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: God told Israel what God expected of them: justice, kindness, and humbly walking with God.
The gods of Israel’s time were needy. They demanded great sacrifices: bulls, rams, sheep, and yes, even people. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the victory over their enemies. The greater the sin, the greater the sacrifice needed to appease the angry gods.
Israel was facing a serious threat from the rapidly expanding Assyrian Empire. Through the prophet Micah, Israel would learn that God already had plans to save them. God would provide an ancient leader from the little clan of Judah—Bethlehem—to deliver them. What sacrifices would Israel have to offer God to receive this deliverer?
What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Israel had stewed over what they must do to atone for their sin. God made it clear. To atone for sin, sin no more. Their transgression had been a failure to follow God and God’s laws. They were not living in justice, kindness, or peace. They were not walking with God, and certainly not with humility. If they turned back to God and God’s ways, their circumstances would change. If they lived according to God, then they would already be living in the presence of a loving God.
While God’s prescription to the Israelites might seem simple, simple is not easy. We are not called to be kind to those who are kind to us, but to everyone no matter what. We are not called to do justice for those who look and act like us, but for all people no matter what. And most of us probably can’t even define humility—we often mistake it for humiliation and want nothing to do with it. We know what is good. We’ll just need lots of help from God to do what God asks of us.
