Posts Tagged: Psalm 53:2-3
“God’s Requirements” (Micah 6, 8)
“He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?” (NAU Micah 6:8)
So, what is required of me? Micah 6:8 is a verse that haunts me. Micah makes it sound straightforward, if not easy. (It may be straightforward, but it is not easy, as Micah no doubt realized.)
The word for “seeks” is dôrēsh. This is a participle, which suggestions ongoing or continual action, flowing from the character of the one who is seeking. In this case, since it refers to God, it is the One who is seeking.
God seeking us! Now, there is a picture! We sometimes speak of seeking God, and the Bible speaks in that way as well. However, Micah 6:8 speaks of God seeking something from us.
It is not enough that the One occasionally sees me doing what is right and fair, or loving mercy, or walking humbly. The question is this: Does God catch me living in that manner at all times? The question answers itself.
Well, what about today? Will God (“my God”, as Micah says) catch me doing what is right each moment of today? Theoretically, this is possible. However, as they say, the devil is in the details. However, God is also in the details. For some reason, we seem to think that the devil is more involved in the details than God is.
And here is the problem, it seems to me: Other parts of the Bible point out that seeking the LORD God is not so easy, and that, therefore, obedience to what God is seeking from us is not easy. It requires the whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13.) And who of us actually seeks God—or anything, for that matter—with a whole heart? Indeed, there are some Bible verses that suggest that no one really seeks God. (See Psalm 53:2-3 and Romans 3:11 for further details.)
The very fact that God so often commands God’s own people, Israel, to seek God suggests that seeking God does not come naturally.
I am comforted by the teaching of Jesus, who said, “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10). Perhaps the bottom line is this: We can only seek the one who has first sought and saved us. Only so, can we begin to fulfill what God spoke through the prophet Micah.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- DTEB, “Getting Christ and Ourselves Back in Focus” November 11, 2024“Col. 3:1 ¶ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Col. 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Col. 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden […]
- “Search Me!” October 27, 2024“Psa. 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24, English Standard Version) I am participating in a Bible study, and this is a prayer […]
- “Christian Speech” October 26, 2024“Eph. 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Foulkes, in his excellent commentary on the Book of Ephesians, writes the following, which I quote at some length: “29. Now the […]
- “God is in the Details” October 11, 2024“The devil is in the details.” (A general saying, often quoted by lawyers, reporters, and negotiators.) “God is in the details.” (Me, almost certainly not original.) “Luke 12:7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Jesus) God does not micromanage, but God […]
- “Grandma’s Pump” October 8, 2024When I was a little critter, I would stay at my grandma’s house for a night or two sometimes. I liked this for a lot for many reasons. One thing I liked about staying with her was that Grandma’s house was much more technologically advanced than ours was. For one thing, she had indoor water—sort […]
- “Wearing the #14 Wrong-Side-Out” October 5, 2024Pete Rose, #14, is dead. Many of the old guys with whom I play softball watched him play and appreciated him greatly. I do as well. He was one of the greatest players who ever played the game. Yes, he admitted (eventually) to betting on baseball. But many of us still regard him as one […]
- “Passing Along the Love (and a Link)” October 4, 2024Several years ago, a friend of mine put me onto a daily meditation by Richard Rohr and friends. I don’t read them all the time, but I probably should. They are good! I thought that today’s writing was especially good, and I also figured that this would be a good way to post something. I […]
- “Witnessing Versus Being Witnesses” September 19, 2024“Acts 1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, Acts 1:2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after […]
- “A Bathroom Prayer for Hurting Hands” September 11, 2024A week ago Sunday, my hands were hurting so badly at church that I went to the bathroom to run hot water over my hands. Arthritis perhaps, or carpal tunnel, or general orneriness—I don’t know why my hands hurt, but they do. They have for years. So, while I was running hot water over my […]
- “Waiting and Seeking” September 10, 2024“Lam. 3:19 ¶ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! Lam. 3:20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. Lam. 3:21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Lam. 3:22 ¶ The steadfast love of the LORD […]
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