The ideal offering to God
"With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow before God most high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:6–8) In this prophetic passage, the voice of Israel poses a series of rhetorical questions reflecting a deep and anguished desire to be reconciled with God. The exaggerated list of offerings—burnt calves, thousands of rams, rivers of oil, and even the extreme mention of child sacrifice—exposes the inadequacy of ritual worship when it is severed from moral integrity and authentic relationship. The prophet Micah, speaking on behalf of the Lord, calls Israel back to the heart of the covenant. What God desires is...