Daily Devotional 9/16/21

“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.

            Micah was an Old Testament prophet to Judah and a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea.  His message to the people was that God had judged them for their unfaithfulness. There was a coming judgment but also a future kingdom. Micah 5 is filled with Messianic prophecy, including the birthplace of the Messiah in Bethlehem. God was calling them to turn back to Him in obedience.

            In Chapter 6, verse 8, God clearly tells the people what they must do to be saved from the coming judgment.  He has told them what is good (moral goodness following God’s will). They are to act justly, in accordance with Divine Law.  LOVE mercy (loving-kindness), and walk humbly (prudently and cautiously) with Him.  Concerning loving mercy, Spurgeon comments that this means to delight in and find great pleasure in forgiveness and living in a compassionate way.  So this verse describes a righteous lifestyle that is pleasing to God.

            I have been puzzled by the verse in Ephesians 6:17 (a) that says, “Take the helmet of salvation…”. Why a helmet of salvation?  This Micah verse helped me better to understand the placement of salvation in a helmet.  The helmet protects the brain, the seat of attitudes and behaviors, and these mark who we are as a person and the lifestyle we lead.  Thus, it means that a salvation-minded person will live a lifestyle with an attitude of gratitude and actively seek good, act justly, love mercy, and wa k humbly with God.   Father help us to love

goodness, justice, mercy, and humility.  We seek to please You daily and become salvation-minded people who will faifully serve you and others.  Let us be people who will seek to save the lost as the time of judgment approaches.  Amen.