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Bible Basics

By Bill Dillon

The Golden Text of the Old Testament

Introduction

Most Bible students are familiar with the Golden Text of the New Testament, John 3:16, but how many are familiar with the Golden Text of the Old Testament? To the prophet Micah it was given, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to state as no other ever did, the simple majestic, unalterable essentials of true religion. Please listen to this reading of Micah 6:8. It is called the Golden Text of the Old Testament.

“Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before Him with burnt offerings with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

Good morning to all. I trust all to be well with you today, my friends. It is good to have you tuned in today as we preach on the subject of the golden Text of the Old Testament — Micah 6:8.

Before we proceed with that lesson, allow me again to invite you to attend the worship services of the Mountain Home Church of Christ. Our church building is at the corner of College and North Streets. We meet this morning at 9:30 and 10:20 AM and at 6:00 PM and each Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM.

Come with:

A Bible in your hand

A friend by your side

A smile on your face

A song in your heart.

Discussion

The first of many great ideas that stand out in the great Old Testament text of Micah 6:8 is what should be the paramount concern of every human being. The most important human concern is not health, wealth or any such thing. Our foremost concern is for the soul. The matter of having peace with God should stand out and have preeminence over all other considerations. The question, “What does the Lord require of thee?” is the most important matter.

In the days of the prophet Micah, the people of the land were at a low ebb spiritually. As the lives of the people increased in corruption, they tried to hide the real spiritual condition with an outward show or display of worship and devotion. God never accepts our worship and devotion if they are not connected with an earnest and sincere effort to live clean and upright lives.

“What doth the Lord require of thee?” There are different ways in which the requirements of God may be summed up. Jesus boiled it down to two commandments in Matthew 22. Solomon said it came down to “fearing God and keeping His commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). In the New Testament Peter said what God required was to “repent and be baptized . . .” (Acts 2:38). Also, the same apostle said in Acts 3:19:

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;”

A little more specifically, the Lord’s requirements for sinners in the New Testament age of Bible times can be stated in the words: faith, repentance, confession, baptism and faithfulness.

Micah gives a three-point statement on the Lord’s requirements: to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. One student of the scriptures said in regard to Micah 6:8: “This statement of Micah is universally recognized as one of the greatest passages of the Old Testament, stressing that worship and morality cannot be divorced from each other. They are two sides of the same coin.”

To Do Justly

The first of three things man must do in order to be well-pleasing to God is “do justly.” Notice that little word “do.” The Bible clearly teaches that there is something that is required on the part of man. The word “do” implies there is something for man to do.

To “do justly” means that which is fair, that which is right. Friends, there is such a thing as right-doing, and there is such a thing as wrong-doing. The Bible, through its commandments, examples and principles informs us as to which is which. To please the Lord, our lives must proceed in the direction of right-doing.

To Love Mercy

The second thing required is “to love mercy.” Mercy is that which is undeserved, unearned, unmerited favor. It is grace. God is a merciful God, as the prophet Micah preached. The Bible informs us that “His mercy is toward those who fear Him and keep His commandments” (Psalm 103:8-14). As we do our best to shun the wrong and do the right, there will be a practice gap between our imperfection and the standard God desires us. That gap is taken care of by the mercy of God. We do our best and God will do the rest.

Notice also that as we become more and more godly, we become more and more merciful toward others. One thing naturally follows another.

To Walk Humbly

The third thing God expects of us is that we walk humbly with Him. Note here that life is a journey to be walked. God does not mean for us to crawl — but to walk. The Lord does not want us to go slower than we are capable of going.

On the other hand, God does not intend for us to go faster (run) than is good for us. This life is one of “hurry up and wait.” When we hurry too much, we fail to appreciate a lot of what is good in life. When we go too fast, we are liable to burn out. Having a lot of enthusiasm is a great thing, but don’t use it up all at once; spread it out over a long time!

Life is a journey to be walked, but it is to be walked with God. The Bible says of men like Noah and Enoch, they “walked with God.” In the 1860’s, there was a reporter for “The Boston Herald” named Ed Weston. Mr. Weston earned the distinction of being the greatest pedestrian in the world. It is said that he walked over 100,000 miles in his lifetime. But, I want to say that the greatest pedestrian or walker in the world is the man or woman, older person or younger person, who decides to walk daily with God. My friends, to walk with God is the best exercise you will take. It will make your soul physically fit.

Conclusion

This Old Testament text also says a lot about the greatness of God. The Christian has been delivered by God from the bondage of sin. Romans 6:17,18 says:

“But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”

In Romans 6:3,4 Paul wrote:

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

The truth of Psalm 60:12 is timeless. It says, “Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.” As Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, he wanted those brethren to know the things that had happened to him (the trials, tribulations, imprisonments and numerous misfortunes), though they had been intended to impede the progress of the gospel, had actually resulted in the furtherance of the gospel (Philippians 1:12).

The great song “Amazing Grace” says:

“Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come.
Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.”

In Ephesians 1:3 we read that all spiritual blessings are “in Christ.” Psalm 84:11 says, “No good thing will be withheld from them that walk uprightly.”

We trust your greatest ambition and goal in life will be to walk with God.

Thanks for being with us today.