Wherever Jesus went, controversy followed. When he spoke, some people were confused or angry, wanting to argue or goad him into saying something he’d regret. His words and behaviors challenged the religious status quo, and those in authority didn’t like it. Many people, however, hung on his every word, because his teaching seemed truer somehow, more authoritative, more authentic. Whatever they had been taught by others, these people sensed that what Jesus did and said was right and godly.

And sometimes, more to the point.

Imagine coming across a book entitled, Live the Life You Were Always Meant to Live. Intrigued, you look it up online and browse through its opening pages. You quickly discover that it gives you 613 rules or principles and insists that you follow them all. Would you buy the book? And if you did, how long would it be before you concluded that the kind of life the book promises is out of your reach?

The law of Moses contains 613 commandments, including the ten inscribed on the stone tablets at Mount Sinai. Is it any wonder, therefore, that people asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment? In Mark 12:28, the question was an honest one. But in Matthew 22:36, not so much. Note his response:

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matt 22:37-40, NIV)

Here, he doesn’t cite any of the Ten Commandments. Moreover, he teaches that these two commandments sum up the essence of the Hebrew Scriptures. The first commandment is a vertical one: Love God with your whole being. And the second commandment is its horizontal expression: Love your neighbor as you would love yourself. That teaching is reinforced by the so-called Golden Rule: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matt 7:12).

Think back now to Micah 6. As we’ve seen, when God accuses the people of being unfaithful to the covenant, the people’s response is portrayed as both pious and completely missing the point. “With what shall I come before the LORD?” they ask, thinking only in terms of ritual sacrifice. Psalm 15, remember, asks a similar question but says nothing about sacrifice. There, it’s about how you treat other people: the righteous speak the truth, avoid slandering others, keep their promises even when it hurts, and lend money to the poor without interest. This is not meant, of course, to be an exhaustive list; they’re concrete examples of what righteousness looks like in the lives of those who are truly devoted to God.

Micah therefore answers the question of what God wants from his people in pithy words that express what they should already know:

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. (Mic 6:8, NIV)

Let’s start with that last phrase: “walk humbly with your God.” The word translated as “humbly” is only used twice in all of the Old Testament. It reflects an attitude of lowliness that is already suggested by the opening phrase: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.” The idea here is that a covenant relationship with God is an ongoing walk with one whom we know to be our superior by far. There’s no place for the attitude that suggests, “Well, I brought you thousands of rams, didn’t I? What more do you want?”

And what is the outward expression of that walk with God? A life of justice and mercy. First and foremost, these words point to the character of God, especially in the Psalms. The holiness and righteousness of God is expressed in his acts of justice and lovingkindness toward his people, and they are expected to be just and kind people in turn.

Micah’s way of putting it suggests that none of this should come as a surprise, not if people are already walking with God. He’s not abolishing the 613 commandments. He’s not doing away with the whole system of ritual and sacrifice. But he is putting the emphasis where it belongs. True covenant devotion to God, Micah teaches, is not a matter of mere religious observance that leaves our character untouched. What God wants is a people who reflect his character. That’s the life we’re meant to live.

And those who walk with Jesus should already know this too.