Biblical Exegetical - Interpretations on Micah - Essay Example

? Interpretations on Micah 6:8 Over many years of following God, Israel heard from Lord what he requires of them and how he would have them live. Rather than burnt offerings lord demanded from them deeds of mercy. As the people of Israel were slow to heed the message from God, Yahweh communicated through different prophets on one and the same thing. There is an imaginary conversation between Israel and the Lord in the 6th chapter of Micah; "You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6: 8). Admittedly, Israel in this context is accused of disobedience to God. Before probing further, I would like to shed light on two commentaries on Micah 6:8 to know how this verse is understood widely. To begin with, Barnes on his commentary on Micah says that the prophet through the 6:8 versus tells the people ‘what thing is good; the inward man of the heart righteousness, love, humility’. This is a question from them “with what outward thing shall I come before the lord”. What the lord requires is an earnest search within. God seeks you, your heart and your spirit rather than yours, your substances and ram or goat. To seek mercy and love there requires righteous judgment. It is not right if you praise yourself and accuse god for evil in you. It refers to the duty of the man too. As god himself humbled in flesh we need to humble ourselves with God, walk on with him. Matthew 5:48 says be ye perfect as your father which is in heaven is perfect. Be merciful as your father also is merciful. God is not pleased when they offer creatures ‘blood that cannot take away their sin; and instead they themselves become sinful. In the sight of the lord no man living in this world are righteous. No human can wipe away sins that there is nothing that can wash away the stains of offences. It reveals the helplessness of people that they are not at all able to please god by their own abilities except with the help of god. As we are ignorant about what to do to get our sins forgiven, being hesitated we ask, where and how shall I come before the lord. The obedience to god by the people, especially the Pharisees went single dimensional. They lacked the true meaning of it. It was evidential in their Sabbath practices, their offerings and their interpretation of the law and so on. The blood of the animal cannot compensate our sin but that of us. And Barnes continues that even though we dedicate ourselves with all we have, they are not a repayment for our sins; only the blood of Christ can cleanse our hearts. Micah adds nothing new to the law but only repeating what is in the law. Micah reveals to the people about their half service to God and that is contrary to the law of God. Micah changes the way people looked at and observed the words of Moses to expose unforgivable sins of Israel. According to Barnes, Micah includes nothing more to the law when he prophesies. He just reminds the people who are doing countless rituals and meaningless practices to please God. God being kind towards his people again asks them to pay attention to the same thing that he had been telling through his prophets before. But on the other hand, Matthew Henry in his commentary looks at the verses of Micah with a different perspective. According to him, the people had been trying hard to please God whenever they were warned by God about their ingratitude towards Him. ‘Where with shall I come’ signifies the inner cry of everyone. People still believe that there is a God who saved them from slavery and who guided them. First of all they seek to come before God and they also want pay homage to him. Further they inquire what the Lord will be pleased with. Like Barnes Matthew Henry also focuses further on the three requirements that God expects from us. Firstly we must do things justly in our daily life and we must be righteous. Secondly, as God does, love to be merciful. Thirdly, the most important is to walk humbly with God. We pay priority to the will of God and not our wishes and we should be submissive towards Him. We are more obliged to do these commands particularly because God himself had shown us what we are ought to do. We need not look for numerous deeds to please God as he himself has said what pleases him. And his conditions seem to be very simple and bearable. God never asks us to do what we are unable to do and he who has created us better know what we are and how we are. And there is no particular law for any one by God; all are equal to him. Is God giving this command to the Jews only? Never; to all who are rational creatures. By this God has given us a meaning and end for our life other than observing ceremonial observances. Above all, God does not end by a command; he shows us and convinces us with evidences. Both Henry and Barnes have developed their thoughts in the same direction concluding that the Lord has revealed what he requires of us. Barnes tries to concentrate on the biblical evidences where the same idea that is seen in Micah 6:8 has been communicated by God through different prophets whenever people deviated from the Lord. And Barnes concludes that Micah never changes the law by his prophesy. Apart from this, Matthew Henry focuses on the inability of human beings in pleasing God as they are sinful. He also points out the practices that people had been practicing before. Micah 6:8, one of the most celebrated verses in the Holy Scripture has made my life meaningful. God must be the integral part of our life and not just an idea to be remembered as we like. It really tells me what to do to please God and it also strongly sensitizes me from going to worldly pleasures to please God. When I think on this word of God, I get inspiration to change my life style to a simple one where I can experience the love of God. It stands for justice and love. Meditating on this verse answers a lot many questions that have occurred in my life in different walks of life. As I have read before, by his prophesy Micah comprises the essence of prophets like Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah by also referring to the atonement for human sin, authentic worship, and the requirements of God. The three prophets Hosea, Isaiah and Amos stressed love compassionately with mercy, faithfulness and obedience to God and justice rather than sacrifices. We do a lot of things to please God in our day to day life. And quiet often they are limited to some practices. We forget the real spirit of it and gradually get addicted to those practices only. In this case, the verse provokes our thoughts and gives us a proper frame for our life. When somebody whom I love most tells me what they want me to do for them, it is easy to understand. If this is the case, when God himself asks me to do something for Him, I must do it with great enthusiasm. This assignment has really helped me to develop new outlook on life. Works Cited “Barnes’ notes on the Bible”. Web 13 May 2013. “Matthew Henry's concise commentary”. Web 13 May 2013. Catholic, New American Bible. Read More