Intimate Delight
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
To Love Kindness – Micah’s choice reveals a deeper meaning. You see, Micah does not choose a verb (to love). Instead, he chooses a noun. It isn’t grammatically correct in English, but it communicates something absolutely vital in Hebrew. If you want to know what God really wants, then you better pay attention to the Hebrew version.
The phrase is ahavat hesed. Once again, we are familiar with the second word. Hesed is that powerful umbrella covering concepts like mercy, goodness, faithfulness, kindness and steadfastness. Read Psalm 136 where hesed is used twenty-six times. Hesed is ultimately a description of the loving character of God, seen in every single act He performs. If you love hesed, then your life is a mirror image of the Creator. His attributes shine right through you, radiating the world with the glory of His person.
So, why does Micah choose a noun to describe this requirement of the Most High? The answer is this: ahavat is a noun that is often associated with the deep intimacy of love between human beings (Jacob and Rachel, for example). This word is used ten times in the Song of Solomon (nearly one-third of its occurrences). It covers the emotional and volitional aspects of the closest taste of heaven given to men and women on earth. It is the noun of personal delight in someone else. And, it is used to describe God’s particular enthusiasm over His people (Deuteronomy 7:3).
Do you love kindness like this? Do you delight in mercy and faithfulness? Are you thrilled at the thought of delivering your enemies, providing for the needy and weak, lavishing mercy and goodness of those undeserving, maintaining steadfastness in the face of betrayal, and, more than anything else, upholding the covenant commandments with your Lord? Do you look upon the redeeming work of the Kingdom with the same intensity that you have when you look into the face of the one you love here on earth?
Micah picked the right word. We can’t skate by with some watered-down sentiment of general goodwill toward kind acts. To love kindness is costly. Those who understand ahavat know that the symbol of ahavat is the cross. That’s what is required of you, O man.
Now what are you going to do?
