Weighed in the balances, and found wanting.
Having expounded the nature of true piety, the prophet, proceeds in these verses to apply the principles thus enunciated to the case of his people, endeavouring by means of searching inquiries to bring home to their hearts a sense of their guilt and depravity.
I. WE HAVE HERE AN ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE OF HUMAN CONDUCT WHEN TESTED BY THE DIVINE REQUIREMENTS BEING FOUND WANTING. Notice in this case:
1. Dishonesty in trade as opposed to "doing justly." Rectitude in all the transactions of life was repeatedly insisted upon in the Law of God as given by Moses (Le 19:35, 36; Deuteronomy 25:14, Deuteronomy 25:15). Disregard of this requirement was an indictment constantly brought against the Jewish people by their faithful seers (Amos 8:4-6; Ezekiel 45:9, Ezekiel 45:10; Hosea 12:7, Hosea 12:8). To be engaged in trade has been regarded by some as a badge of social inferiority. No right-minded man could speak or even think thus. All honest trades are honourable. None need be ashamed of their callings because these belong to the shop and the mart. The dishonour lies in fraud, trickery, deceit, and sharp practice; but let all these be eschewed, and the principles of uprightness and honour prevail, and the humblest trade, conducted on these lines, is thereby ennobled. "Royalty in her robes of state is not so majestic as Commerce clothed in spotless integrity and commanding unlimited confidence. Victory, raising her trophies from the spoils of a conquered army, is not so glorious as Commerce, patiently and perseveringly, slowly but surely, gaining its end by scorning and disdaining the arts which promise a speedy but treacherous elevation" (Dr. Robert Halley).
2. Oppression and violence as opposed to "loving mercy" (Micah 6:12). Men, making haste to be rich, fall into many hurtful snares (1 Timothy 6:9), and one of these is that of oppressing those less favoured than themselves. They become hard, and are led to take undue advantage of those who are needy and who can in any way be made tributary to their interests. Provision against this was made in the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 24:10-22). This provision of that Divine law, which so marvellously met every circumstance and condition of life, the prophet charged his people with disregarding. "The rich men thereof are full of violence" (Micah 6:12; Isaiah 1:23; Isaiah 5:7; Amos 5:11; Malachi 3:5). The love of mercy was sacrificed to the love of gain. Man, consumed by lust of wealth, used his fellow men as mere steppingstones, trampling them beneath his feet.
3. Degeneration in speech as altogether incompatible with "walking humbly with God?' (Micah 6:12.) Very glorious is the power of utterance, the ability to give audible expression, with clearness and perspicuity, to the thoughts which may be filling our minds and stirring our very souls.
"And when she spake
Sweet words, like dropping honey, she did shed:
And 'twixt the pearls and rubies softly brake
A silver sound that heavenly music seemed to make."
(Spenser's 'Faery Queene.')
Speech is a very sure index to character. "Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee" (Luke 19:22). "A bell may have a crack, and you may not see it, but take the cropper and strike it, and you'll soon perceive that it is flawed." Degradation is stamped, not only upon the physical form of savage tribes, but also upon the very language they employ. When, as the result of a long course of transgression or of prolonged banishment from civilization, noble thoughts and high spiritual conceptions have dropped away from them, there has attended this the loss even of the very words by which these thoughts and conceptions are expressed, so that the language of such people has become woefully impoverished. Clearly, then, would we have our speech right, we must get our hearts right. "The weights and wheels are in the heart, and the clock strikes according to their motion. Truth in the inward parts is the certain cure for all evil in the tongue." The prevailing degeneracy over which this seer so deeply mourned is indicated in his words, "The inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth" (Micah 6:12). And, this being the case, they were utterly unfitted for complying with the requirement that they should walk humbly "with their God;" for only "the pure in heart" can have fellowship with him. "Weighed" thus "in the balances" of the requirements of God's pure Law, they were "found wanting."
II. ALTHOUGH DIFFERING IN DEGREE, YET IT IS TRUE UNIVERSALLY THAT HUMAN CONDUCT, PROVED THUS, WILL NOT STAND THE TEST. God's Law is "holy, just, and true," and man is by nature and practice so sinful that, judged by that high standard, "every mouth must be stopped, and the whole world appear guilty before God" (Romans 3:19).
III. THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THIS SHOULD LEAD US TO WELCOME THE CHRIST OF GOD, WHOSE ADVENT THIS PROPHET PREDICTED, AND TO REJOICE IN HIS WORK ON OUR BEHALF. We cannot meet God on the ground of obedience to his pure Law. If we take that stand, then he righteously and imperatively requires that the whole Law be kept; and this is impossible to us, since even if we were capable of perfect obedience in the future, this would not atone for the failures of the past. The true meeting place is not Sinai, but Calvary (2 Timothy 1:9; Romans 3:20-26).