To live out justice
means to hate what is evil
embrace what is good
act on it with wisdom
take note of what’s broken
speak like a prophet
intervene to right wrongs
when the Spirit leads the way
freeing slaves of greed-masters
or of dirty justice systems
or of cultural traditions
that demean and disrespect
the dignities of people
or the rights of the oppressed—
just like God does.
To love his hesed love
is to love open arms
and let your heart pump
mercy and rich goodness
into legs that run to help
and into hands that gladly reach
to lift up the fallen
support the suffering
those unhinged by fright
to feed the hungry mouths
and nourish starving souls
touch lonely folk with comfort
and the offer of a heart
that’s ready to forgive
and love the one who hurt you—
just like he does
To walk prudently with him
in true humility
is to be ready always
to do all that he has told me
to know his heart of goodness
and to obey with gladness
to let his Word speak life
to my own soul so that I send
roots down to living water
and drink it up to flower
and produce the fruit intended
giving honor back to him
the Source of all this kindness
to hold his hand and let him lead
and change my character
to be like him.
Micah 6:8 has been exceptionally meaningful to me for years, guiding me in ministry among the Nyarafolo and companions of the Road in every place I lived. I wrote “To Do What He Requires” eleven years ago. When I bought the t-shirt featured in the photo this year, I was longing for it to be a reminder to myself and others of what matters to our God. There was one problem: it did not finish out the verse the way that it is written in Micah:
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8 NIV)
Why was that left off? Who knows? What I discovered is that this blank can open the path to underlining those three missing words.
I was entering a public park with my grandchildren when an elderly man walked by, took a look at me, paused and remarked, “Walk humbly! Now that is something!”
I smiled and answered, “Actually, in the Scriptures the verse says ‘walk humbly with your God!”
He looked startled, then nodded in assent.
Without God at work in our lives, we fail regularly to live out all three of these key precepts. Justice is constantly being swept under the rug in favor of convenience or self-protection. Mercy is often seen as unnecessary compassion, a weakness. And humility? It is easy to take pride in our accomplishments and insights, and look down on others.
When I delved into the background to this verse I discovered that it comes in a lawsuit context. God himself is the plaintiff. Although he has done so much to meet the needs of his people they have turned their backs on him, breaking the terms of the covenant they had signed with him. Magnificent gifts could not buy his approval. Sacrifices could not make things right when a heart was still stubbornly opposed to living out what actually matters most to God. Three standards are required. When followed, they fulfill the law: just actions, mercy, and a humble walk with God.
Doing what is right, acting justly, applies across the board. It is not just conforming to rituals, whether that is attending services or giving money to a church, or praying memorized prayers. It is following God’s restrictions and commands:
Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. (Deut. 24:17 NIV)
Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. (Ps. 82:3 NIV)
“To love mercy” has deeper meaning than our English words can communicate. What we are to love, “mercy” in this translation, is the Hebrew word hesed that tells us how we must live out love. It is used with many different applications. These are listed in the Hollady Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament: obligation to the community; unity, solidarity, lasting loyalty, faithfulness; kindness, grace. And one commentary translates the verse this way:
He has declared to you, O man, what is good.
And what is Yahweh seeking from you?
Nothing but to do justice, to love devotion,b
and to walk humbly with your God.[1]
8.b. חסד “covenant love.”
See that note? “To love devotion” means “to love covenant love,” which would be clumsy in English but covers it all. It is loyal to the requirements God has put in place in the covenant with his people. It is grace, undeserved favor; it is mercy, which is kindness acted from the heart to protect the weak[2]; it is respect for what God says is crucial in actions towards others. That is why in this verse it is translated “faithfulness” in CSB, “kindness” in ESV, “loyalty” in NJB, “mercy” in NIV and NLT.[i] In our translation into the Nyarafolo language, we use two words that mean “unending love” to try to cover these meanings. What is essential is understanding that hesed is God’s kind of love, his endless faithful merciful kind love that is his true character. That is why, I think, the commentary used “devotion.” If you are whole-heartedly attached to God, his hesed love is communicated through how you love, how you live. As Bruce Waltke says:
“So when we come before God we must remember that it is not so much what is in our hands but what is in our hearts that finds expression in our conduct that is important.”[3]
That is what it means to walk humbly with our God. We do not rely on our own presuppositions but on his infinite wisdom and promises to guide us in the way that we should go. Current studies have given evidence that the word is used here in the sense of “prudently”[4] or “carefully” (NET text note). That means we must pay attention to God’s guidance and follow it. If we depend on our own abilities, focusing on self rather than God, we will stray off the intended path and neglect justice and mercy. This underlined elsewhere in the Scriptures, and this verse comes to mind:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Prov. 3:5-6 NIV)
Submitting to him requires humility, recognizing that our own understanding is inadequate. We must trust his leading, not our our own instincts or desires.
Bringing all this together, since this is what matters to God—what he actually requires of his children—we must consider carefully how we are living it out and how we could be serving him with yet more loyal love. Let’s walk with him in humility, carefully following his instructions, listening to his prompts about how to uphold justice and show loving kindness to those around us!
[1] Ralph L. Smith, Micah–Malachi, vol. 32, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1984), 49.
[2] Bruce K. Waltke, “Micah,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 830–831.
[3] Ralph L. Smith, Micah–Malachi, vol. 32, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1984), 51.
[4] D. A. Carson, ed., NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 1599.
[i] CSB: Christian Standard Bible. ESV: English Standard Version. NJB: New Jerusalem Bible. NIV: New International Version. NLT: New Living Bible.
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