Micah 6:1-19

God knows the condition of the hearts of men.  People often act as if their deeds were hidden and God is unaware of their actions.  The reality is that God not only know all of our activities but He knows our thoughts and the very motives of our hearts even better than we do.  Nobody has ever been alone.  There are no private thoughts and there are no hidden motives.  God is always with us.  He is also the judge of our hearts and all men will one day stand before Him and give an account of their lives.  Israel became a nation that became more fearful of the nations around them and tried to live in a way that would please them instead of living according to the revealed will of God.  This failure to fear the Lord led them to a place of condemnation before the Lord and captivity in the very nations they were trying to please.  This is the same way that people continue to act before the Lord today.  We fear men more than we fear God and end up being captives to the sins of this world and are judged by the Lord.

GOD CALLS TO HIS PEOPLE: Micah takes up a plea to his people and asks them if they have become weary of the presence of the Lord.  He set them free from Egypt, fed them, guided them, revealed Himself to them and gave them the land in which they now live.  Micah asks them what God has done against them that they have decided to abandon His ways.  God longs to be reconciled to His people but has been separated from them because of Sin.  The only means of reconciliation is through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  God promises the nation that He would send His only Son to redeem them as if He had not done enough already.  God’s expectation for those to whom He has given all is simply to do what is just, be merciful to others and be humble before Him.  These have always been God’s expectations and continue to be what God looks for in each of our hearts.

 GOD CONDEMNS HIS PEOPLE: God now takes up the call against the nation of Israel.  They have sinned and He is very much aware of their sin.  What they thought they were hiding from God was clearly seen by Him and now He is calling them to judgment.  The people try in vain to meet their needs and to protect themselves from their enemies.  Not only are they facing the opposition of the normal elements and the problems of their enemies; they are facing opposition from God Himself.  All of their efforts will be frustrated.  Their crops will be unproductive.  Their walls and their armies will be useless to stand against the nations that are attacking them.  Trusting in God and obeying His will is the only means by which men can be secure.  Trusting in self and fearing is and exercise in futility. 

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