Thread by @ThomasCoutouzis

#Exetweet thread

1/ "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." Micah 6:8

2/ This verse has become one of the most maligned verses in Scripture over the last decade, comparable to "Do not judge." (Matthew 7:1).

In Micah 6:6-7, Micah is showing us that the people of the southern kingdom have outwardly worshipped God, but inwardly they were...

3/...spiritually dead. Micah is asking rhetorical questions in v6-7. God had been faithful to the Jewish people since he made His covenant with Abraham and in return His people made sacrifices for their sin, but their hearts were not contrite. They loved their sin and...

4/...would not sacrifice it. So, on the outside they did and said all the right things ceremonially, but inwardly they were still ravenous wolves, and as such, they continued to do evil. There sin was ever present on how they treated others. They did not love their neighbor...

5/...as they loved themselves. They loved themselves more than their neighbor. Which is why Micah is bringing a stinging rebuke against them. They are going to face God's judgment in 605 B.C. from Babylon.

With this background in mind we now head to Micah 6:8

6/ Micah says, "He has told you, O man, what is good;" The implication is that the rhetorical questions asked in the aforementioned verses (6-7) reveal that the Israelites should have known the right thing to do. They should have known how they were to treat their neighbor.

7/ So, Micah inspired by the Holy Spirit answers the rhetorical questions for them in verse 8. Answering a rhetorical question to the people you addressed it to shows how darkened their minds were. They were so blind & obstinate that they didn't recognize the evil they were doing

8/ Micah spells it out for them:

"do justice"

"to love kindness"

"to walk humbly with your God"

The word for "justice" in the Hebrew is "Mishpat" and it means "judgment". The Greek word in the LXX is κρίμα (krima) which means "judgment". We are to make good judgments.

9/ The implication of these words is the process of a judgment that leads to a decision. So, "do justice" is used regarding equity. We are not to show partiality in our judgments, and I believe this would sync up with James 2:1-4 and Matthew 7:1-6.

10/ In Matthew 7, hypocrites are not impartial. They are partial to themselves and their causes, so they will make terrible judgments. They hate equity.

In James 2:1-13, those who show personal favoritism based on external features are making judgments that are partial.

11/ I won't get into all the implications the Greek reveals to us but the people James is referring to are making judgments based on exterior appearance for their own gain.

"ethnocentrists" don't use equity in their judgments, rather they show partiality to those like them.

12/ A white supremacist and a black supremacist show partiality in their judgments. Instead of being fair minded they show partiality based on skin color. Black Lives Matter doesn't show equity, they show partiality to black people, so their judgments will be inequitable.

13/ Whether the KKK or Black Lives Matter, the judgments these two groups make only have the skin color of the person in mind. Anyone who doesn't have their same melanin count they will hate and cry out against.

14/ Social Justicians take this verse out of context and obliterate its meaning. They make it means something that it does not. In fact, I would go so far as to say that they would be like the people of the southern kingdom who honor God with their sacrifices and mouths...

15/...and then show partiality in their actions. They are hypocrites and their sacrifices/works mean nothing to God because their is no faith.

"love kindness" is another command from God in that verse that is an action of faith. The LXX translation is "ἀγαπᾶν ἔλεον"

16/ "Agapan" means "love". It is a charitable love. One that lacks conditions in order to love another. "eleon" derives from "eleos" and means "mercy/kindness" with implication that being there is someone who is need of it and you have the ability to give it to them.

17/ "love mercy" means that you are actively showing mercy to those who absolutely need it. If they owe you a debt, you do not give them the punishment they deserve (ex. seeking vengeance), rather you absorb the offense. You show them pity even though they don't deserve it

18/ Mercy is not getting the punishment you rightfully deserve. God shows me mercy every single day by not destroying me every time I sin and casting me into Hell. If He does this for me, can I not do this to my offenders?

A merciful person shows kindness in light of offense.

19/ "walk humbly with our God".

"humbly" in Hebrew is "tsana" which means "submissive". So, we are to walk submissively to God. This implies walking in line with His will and His word which is His revealed will. It in the present tense denoting to constantly walk in submission.

20/ The Grk renders "walk humbly" as "to walk in a fitting way" w/ our God. To walk fittingly with our God means to walk in a manner that is pleasing to Him, which would denote our submission to Him. We can only please God when we submit to His will which is revealed in Scripture

21/21 In conclusion:

"do justice" means to make equitable/impartial judgments"

"love mercy/kindness" means to be beneficent/merciful towards those who wound you.

To constantly Walk humbly means submit to God's word. Walk in a manner that is pleasing to Him.