Thought for 4 January 2023

 Micah 6:8 (New Living Translation)

O people, the Lord has already told you what is good, and this is what he requires: to do what is right,

to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

I continue to like the idea of having daily verses of the bible suggested for me (in today’s case, by Bible Gateway) because it takes you to parts of the bible that you might not otherwise visit.

The book of Micah contains prophecies of the Messiah that is to come Micah 1:3 ‘Look! The Lord is coming!  He leaves his throne in heaven and comes to earth’ and again at chapter 5:2 ‘But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah are only a small village in Judah.  Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past.’  During advent past, I only recall Old Testament readings coming from Psalms and Isaiah, it’s good to know these prophecies exist elsewhere in scripture.

In Chapter 2:1-3, Micah writes; ‘How terrible it will before you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans.  You rise at dawn and hurry to carry out any of the wicked schemes you have power to accomplish.  When you want a certain piece of land, you find a way to seize it.  When you want someone’s house, you take it by fraud and violence.  No one’s family or inheritance is safe with you around!  But this is what the Lord says: ‘I will reward your evil with evil: you won’t be able to escape’

Micah’s threats are directed against those who put the accumulation of wealth above all else by oppressing those who are weaker – the little man.  He opposes those who are in a profession where rules can be circumvented by the shrewd use of legal loopholes to ensure financial gain – at any cost.

Today’s reading gives relatively simple guidance as to how to live our lives in ways that are acceptable in the sight of God ‘to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.‘

Prayer – Dear God, We thank you for your Word and that you’ve given us all that we need to live as love and hope in a dark world. Forgive us for sometimes trying to do things all on our own, and out of our wisdom in what we think seems best. Amen