Conclusion of What Jehovah Is Really Asking

Those self-righteous Israelites had  a problem similar to that of the religious hypocrites to whom Jesus said:  "You give the tenth of the mint and the dill and the cumin, but you have disregarded the weightier matters of the Law, namely justice and mercy and faithfulness.  These things it was binding to do, yet not to disregard the other things."  (Matthew 23:23; Leviticus 27:30)  Do not Jesus' words help is to appreciate what Jehovah really wants from us?

To clarify what Jehovah does and does not require of us, God's prophet Micah asked: "With what shall I confront Jehovah? With what shall I confront him with whole burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, with tens of thousands of torrents of oil?  Shall I give my firstborn son for my revolt, the fruitage of my belly for the sin of my soul?  He has told you, O earthling man, what is good.  and what is Jehovah asking back from you but to exercise justice and to love kindness and to be modest in  walking with your God?" -Micah 6:6-8.

So, then, what did Jehovah  particularly require of those who lived under the Law?  Of course,, they were to love Jehovah God. Furthermore, the apostle Paul said: "The entire Law stands fulfilled in one saying, namely:  'You must love your neighbor as yourself.' " (Galatians 5:14)  Similarly, Paul told Christians in Rome:  "He that loves his fellowman has fulfilled the Law. . . .Love is the Law's fulfillment." -Romans 13:8-10.

Next time: It Is Not Too Much

The Watchtower, 1999