The Reproaches
The attentive ear this morning would have heard familiar words in our reading from the prophet Micah. In both Common Worship and the Book of Common Prayer 2019, the Good Friday liturgy quotes explicitly from Micah 6. In both liturgies, a minister places a wooden cross before the congregation, and then the Lord’s question, asked initially through the prophet Micah, is repeated.
“O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me!” (Mic 6:3).
God’s Lawsuit Against His People
The scene in Micah is a covenantal lawsuit in which God summons creation to serve as his witness against his people, which highlights the seriousness of their covenantal breach.
Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel (Mic 6:1-2).
In this lawsuit, Yahweh acts as both the plaintiff and the judge; creation serves as his witness; the prophet serves as his attorney; and Israel is the defendant.
When God asks, “What have I done to you?”, he flips the script and behaves as if he is the one on trial. But the question is rhetorical. Israel has been acting as if God has wronged them, even though they are the covenant breakers.
In his argument, the LORD recalls what he has done for Israel, which he calls “the righteous acts of the Lord” (v. 5). The word for “righteous” here is צְדָקָה, tsedâqâh. The NRSV translates this as “saving acts,” but the ESV’s translation is better. These acts of the Lord serve as his legal defense, showing that he has acted faithfully to the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These acts, while salvific, demonstrate that he is “in the right,” legally speaking, which means that Israel must be in the wrong.
Bargaining with God
This verdict leads to a change in the speaker starting in verse six. The case has been settled, and restitution must now be made. The expected answer to the question of restitution when the people have wronged God is a priestly response. The form of this discourse expects the guilty party to offer restitution through sacrifice.
So, an anonymous speaker begins bargaining with God, trying to figure out precisely what it will take to regain the Lord’s favor.
“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” (Mic 6:6-7).
The prophet responds:
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Mic 6:8).
What God Requires
Like the words of verse three, these words ought to be familiar too. When we confess our sins corporately, at the end we say to God together:
In your mercy, forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God.
You may have noticed that the ESV uses the word “kindness” in the second phrase, while the confession uses “mercy.” Both are accurate translations of the Hebrew word חֶסֶד (ḥesed), which is difficult to translate. The most common concept connected to this word is “loyal love,” as when the Lord passed before Moses and said:
“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love (ḥesed) and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love (ḥesed) for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exod 34:6-7).
The word ḥesed in Exodus 34 refers to God’s steadfast, loyal love for his people, but it is sometimes translated as “kindness” or “mercy” because, as we all know, we do not deserve God’s steadfast, loyal love.
In a secular, non-theological context, ḥesed is a principle of mutuality. It is something expressed and shared within a family or group. “You show loyal love to me, and I will show loyal love to you.” But when the concept is applied to the Lord, something changes. Human beings cannot repay God’s abounding ḥesed to us, but that does not mean the principle of mutuality is therefore excluded.
What we see in Micah 6 and elsewhere in the Old Testament is that “God’s kindness towards an individual places that individual in a new relationship with his neighbor, a relationship based on Yahweh’s kindness; in his daily contacts with others he must keep the kindness he has experienced, he must practice righteousness and justice, kindness and mercy. Thus ḥesed shapes not only the relationship of Yahweh with human beings, but also that of human beings among themselves.”1
The prophets repeatedly emphasize that the Lord does not ask for sacrifices from his people as if the ritual were all that mattered. Instead, he requires them to do justice (and to be clear, not justice as the state defines it, but as God does), love ḥesed, and walk humbly with him.
Likewise, in Hosea, when explaining why he has judged and punished the people so severely, the Lord answers:
For I desire steadfast love (ḥesed) and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings (Hos 6:6).
Notice that to know God is to practice ḥesed.
Jesus and Hesed
Jesus quotes this passage from Hosea twice in the Gospel of Matthew. When he is asked about why he eats with tax collectors and sinners, he replies:
“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matt 9:12-13).
When his disciples are accused of breaking the Sabbath, he says again:
And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless (Matt 12:7).
Jesus called these things “the weightier matters of the Law,” likely alluding directly to Micah 6:8. He said:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness” (Matt 23:23).
And all of these passages, of course, come after Jesus had said this:
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matt 5:7).
In other words, “Blessed are those who practice ḥesed, for they shall receive ḥesed,” “
Let me ask you a simple question.
Do you think ḥesed mattered to Jesus?
Do you think treating others with mercy, even when they don’t deserve it, mattered to Jesus?
What God Wants from You in Lent
We’re approaching Lent, and hopefully, we’re all starting to think about what we might give up during this season of fasting. But what God wants from you is not for you to give up chocolate. What God wants from you is not for you to give up coffee. What God wants from you is not even some big, extravagant sacrifice, like the anonymous man in Micah 6 offering to sacrifice even his firstborn son in an attempt to earn back God’s favor.
What God wants from you in Lent and all year round is for you to practice ḥesed. He wants you to take the ḥesed that you have been given, even though you didn’t deserve it, and share it with others, even and especially when they don’t deserve it either. All the rituals, all the liturgies, and all the sacrifices we have ever made are meaningless if we refuse to share God’s ḥesed with others, especially with those who do not deserve it.
That is who God is. His glory is that he abounds in ḥesed, and he expects his people to be abounding in ḥesed too.
But you don’t have to take my word for it. Take his.
Jesus said:
Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful (Luke 6:36).
Amen.
Life Group Guide
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father, we come before you with open hearts and minds, ready to receive your word. Help us to understand the depth of your steadfast love and guide us to practice justice, kindness, and humility in our daily lives. May we be open to what you want us to learn and apply from our discussion today. Amen.
Ice Breaker
What is one act of kindness you have received recently that made a significant impact on you?
Key Verses
Micah 6:1–8
Hosea 6:6
Matthew 9:13
Matthew 12:7
Questions
What does the term ḥesed mean to you, and how can it be applied in our daily lives?
Why do you think God emphasizes justice, kindness, and humility over sacrifices?
How can we practice ḥesed in our relationships with others, especially those who may not deserve it?
In what ways can we ensure that our acts of worship are not empty rituals but are filled with genuine love and mercy?
How does understanding God’s steadfast love change the way we interact with our community?
What are some practical ways we can embody ḥesed during the season of Lent?
How can we balance the practice of justice and mercy in our daily decisions?
What challenges might we face in trying to live out the principles of ḥesed, and how can we overcome them?
Life Application
This week, identify one person in your life who may not ‘deserve’ kindness and intentionally show them an act of ḥesed. Reflect on how this act impacts your relationship with them and your understanding of God’s love.
Key Takeaways
God desires his people to practice justice, love ḥesed, and walk humbly with Him.
Empty sacrifices are meaningless without genuine love and mercy.
The concept of ḥesed is central to understanding God’s relationship with humanity and should be reflected in our relationships with others.
Jesus emphasized justice, mercy, and faithfulness as the weightier matters of the law.
Practicing ḥesed involves sharing God’s steadfast love with others, even when they don’t deserve it.
Ending Prayer
Lord, thank you for teaching us about your steadfast love and mercy. As we go forth, help us to embody ḥesed in all our interactions. May we be instruments of your mercy in the world. Guide us to live out these principles in our daily lives, reflecting your love to everyone we meet. Amen.
Hans-Jürgen Zobel, “חֶסֶד,” in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, ed. G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren, trans. David E. Green (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986), 63.