What Does God Require of Us?

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When sending out Air Force bombers, a former president used to say they were going out “to do the Lord’s work.” Religious people are often too sure that they know God’s will in a specific situation. This happens with people on both sides of the aisle, so to speak. So-called liberals too easily identify the will of God with our own cultural values or national policy. And so-called fundamentalists are sometimes too sure of what the will of God is as they appeal to a literally inspired Bible, and are too confident that their understanding of God’s will should be translated into political policy. Such certainty recently prompted a former Christian minister to commit murder at an abortion clinic, arguing that it was a case of murder to prevent murder.

But just what does God require of us? A favorite quotation from the Bible, found in the book of the prophet Micah, addresses this issue of ethics:

“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

(Micah 6:8, New Revised Standard Version)

Just as rabbis summed up the whole Torah in the two great commandments “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27; Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18), so this pithy passage encompasses the major themes of the prophetic message: “Let justice roll down like waters” (Amos 5:24); “I [God] desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6); when the Day of the Lord comes, the pride of people will be humbled (Isaiah 2:8–11).

It is appropriate to reflect on this terse prophetic summary while reading the daily newspaper, for it belongs in a political setting. Issued in the name of Micah, a forceful eighth-century B.C.E. prophet, it reflects a time when Assyrian imperialism was spreading across the ancient world, and a social situation in which a wide disparity existed between the rich and the poor.

But these words should not be taken out of their own literary context. They belong to a literary form sometimes called the “covenant lawsuit” (Hebrew rîb), in which God summons the community of faith (“the people of God”) to trial and makes an accusation against them. In this literary genre, a prophet like Hosea (Hosea 4:1–3), Isaiah (Isaiah 3:13–15) or Jeremiah (Jeremiah 2:4–13) acts as God’s prosecuting attorney, arguing God’s case before a jury composed of natural elements: mountains and hills, heaven and earth, or the like.

Micah’s covenant lawsuit contains several parts. First a summons is issued to the people to stand trial:

“Stand up, plead your case before the mountains, let the hills hear what you have to say.

Hear, O mountains, the Lord’s accusation (rîb), listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.

For the Lord has a case (rîb) against his people, he is lodging a charge against Israel.”

(Micah 6:1–2: New International Version)

Second, the Plaintiff (God) accuses the people of betraying their covenantal relationship: “O my people, what have I done to you?” (Micah 6:3–5). The question is accompanied by a reminder of God’s beneficial actions, beginning with liberation from Egyptian bondage and culminating in the journey toward the Promised Land—in other words, the Torah story in a nutshell.

Then the Defendant (the people) speaks, asking what kind of response should be given to the God, who liberates people and gives them a future (Micah 6:6–7). The various suggestions escalate into fantastic dimensions, including—for Israelites—the most absurd of all: “Shall I offer my firstborn for my crime, the fruit of my body for my sin?”

Finally, the prophetic prosecutor speaks for God (Micah 6:8). What God requires is not fantastic but profoundly simple, indeed within anyone’s reach: to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. The verbs are emphasized in each requirement, indicating that deeds are to be the ethical response of gratitude for what God has done.

I am intrigued by the introduction to Micah’s summary: “God has told you, O mortal [‘adam], what is good” (NRSV). The party addressed is not specifically the people of God, Israel, as elsewhere in the passage (my people,” Micah 6:3, 5), but rather a human being (‘adam), an individual. This seems to imply that every person in the covenant community is addressed. More than that, it suggests that God’s teaching, though formulated on the basis of the story of Israel, speaks to human beings as such, wherever and whoever they are. Through Israel’s peculiar historical experience, God has shown everybody what is truly the “good,” the essence of human welfare. Micah’s summary appeals to all peoples and all nations who seek an ethical basis for living together as citizens of the world.

What God requires first of all in the realm of politics—whether from a nation such as the United States or from a confederation such as the United Nations—is justice 047(Hebrew mishpat). The biblical term has the active meaning of obtaining or maintaining the right of those whose proper place in society is threatened or ignored by vested interests or power structures. The problem of justice is fundamentally the problem of power: power that enables government or business leaders to carry out oppressive policies for their own gain at the expense of the poor and helpless (such as the orphan, widow or resident alien).

Besides justice, God demands hesed, a subtle Hebrew term that is variously translated “mercy” (NIV), “goodness” (Jewish Publication Society [JPS]), “kindness” (NRSV), “loyalty” (New English Bible). The word indicates obligation toward another that arises out of personal relationships (for example, covenant of friendship, 1 Samuel 20:12–17). Hesed is an outward expression of inner loyalty that results in helpful action; it is “active concern” for others.¹

Micah’s summary reaches a fitting climax with the requirement “to walk humbly” with God. The expression, also used of Enoch (Genesis 5:22) and of Noah (Genesis 6:9), suggests being “in step with God,” that is, in harmony or fellowship with God. Appropriately, the JPS version uses the translation “to walk modestly.” The modest person is not forward, extreme, excessive, but shows a humble estimate of personal virtues, abilities or views. Micah’s summary does not call for self-effacement, shyness or silence in the face of the great ethical questions of life. Rather, it calls for a humility that recognizes the imperfection of our views and listens to the views of those who disagree.

Today the old saying about “keeping religion and politics separate” or “keeping politics out of the pulpit” is no longer in effect. Powerful religious forces are on the move, not only in Christianity, but in Islam, Hinduism, indeed all around the world. In our time the great prophetic summary of Micah 6:8 is addressed, not just to the people of God (synagogue and church) but to ‘adam—to every individual, to all humankind.

When sending out Air Force bombers, a former president used to say they were going out “to do the Lord’s work.” Religious people are often too sure that they know God’s will in a specific situation. This happens with people on both sides of the aisle, so to speak. So-called liberals too easily identify the will of God with our own cultural values or national policy. And so-called fundamentalists are sometimes too sure of what the will of God is as they appeal to a literally inspired Bible, and are too confident that their understanding of God’s will should […]