What does the Lord require?
Deuteronomy 9:7 – Chapter 11 Click here to read
Advent was once very similar to Lent in that it was a season of penance and reflection—more of a time of longing anticipation than it is now.
One of the frequent verses we use during Lent is similar to one in today’s reading.
The common Lenten verse if from the prophet Micah, from 6:8 of that book, “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.”
Compare that to Deuteronomy 10:12-13, “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?”
This is another example of the consistency of scripture to counter our frequent misunderstanding that the message changes from the law to the prophets and again for the New Testament.
I have often heard the Micah passage used in contrast to earlier teachings, suggesting that Micah was questioning the law and saying that action, not legal obedience, was key.
In fact, though, obeying the law leads to exactly the kind of action and humility Micah speaks of. Just a few verses later, Deuteronomy speaks of God defending the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and of the need to love the foreigner, giving them food and clothing—exactly the kind of practical compassion that is often believed to be a new revelation through the prophets.
There has never really been a conflict between law and grace—grace is both the fulfillment and the reason for the law, and law is the road map for living out grace.