Links for today’s readings:
May 6 Read: Micah 6 Listen: (2:28) Read: Psalms 86-87 Listen: (2:26)
Scripture Focus: Micah 6:7, 14
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
…
14 You will eat but not be satisfied;
your stomach will still be empty.
You will store up but save nothing,
because what you save I will give to the sword.
Reflection: When God Is Not Swayed by Gold
By Erin Newton
Expensive gifts are common throughout the Bible. The magi brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the infant Jesus. The woman poured an expensive jar of oil on Jesus’s feet. The queen of Sheba brought gold, precious gems, and spices to Solomon as a gift.
Is it the financial worth of gifts that determines their value? Sometimes. For gifts exchanged between loved ones, however, the value is something that transcends cost. And so it is with God.
Micah 6 contains the well-known verses about offering gifts to God. “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?,” verse 6 says. The question is rhetorical and introspective. What does God really want from us?
The assumed answer is “expensive things.” Micah’s audience is thinking like common people. We love stuff. We love costly stuff. We value that which is rare and available only to a few—the expensive stuff. Surely, we think, God wants expensive stuff too.
But the verse turns in an unexpected way. “Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?” This is generational wealth amounts! This is more stuff than any person would know what to do with. Where do you store rivers of oil? Are you ready for herds and herds of rams (or are you going to eat a thousand rams for dinner)?
No, God doesn’t really want any of this. Micah tells the people that God wants them to be merciful, just, and humble. God desires character over wealth, morality over treasure, righteousness over buyouts.
It’s not that gold is inherently problematic. Gold has been an honored gift to God, but gold offered without integrity and faithfulness is worthless. Such wealth is destined for ruin.
Do I have herds of livestock? No. Do I even know how many crates of olive oil a person can buy at Costco? Not a clue. I might read this and think I’ve been spared from acting like Micah’s community did. I’m not trying to buy God’s favor. Whew!
Yet we offer God paltry gifts of fancy words, our best dress on Sunday, and maybe a portion of our income in tithes. For many, these are worth more than we give anyone else. But without integrity and true faithfulness in how we conduct our lives, I’m afraid we too will be left with empty stomachs and war-torn losses.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
Splendor and honor and kingly power are yours by right, O Lord our God,
For you created everything that is, and by your will they were created and have thor being. — A Song To The Lamb
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle
Read more: Leaders Sent by God
Our justice is tainted. Our mercy is rarely given. Our humility gives way to pride. Therefore, God has offered his own firstborn for the sin of our souls.
Read more: State of Our Souls
We pray for an undivided heart. No person, cause, or ideology should vie for the supremacy of Christ in our lives.



