Micah 6:8

“He hath showed me, O man, what [is] good, etc.] This is not the answer of the prophet to the body of the people, or to any and every one of the people of Israel; but of Balaam to Balak, a single man, that consulted with him, and put questions to him; particularly what he should do to please the Lord, and what righteousness he required of him, that would be acceptable to him; and though he was a king, he was but a man, and he would have him know it that he was no more, and as such addresses him; and especially when he is informing him of his duty to God; which lay not in such things as he had proposed, but in doing that which was good, and avoiding that which was evil, in a moral sense: and…”

“He--Jehovah. hath showed thee--long ago, so that thou needest not ask the question as if thou hadst never heard (Mic 6:6; compare Deu 10:12; Deu 30:11-14). what is good--"the good things to come" under Messiah, of which "the law had the shadow." The Mosaic sacrifices were but suggestive foreshadowings of His better sacrifice (Heb 9:23; Heb 10:1). To have this "good" first "showed," or revealed by the Spirit, is the only basis for the superstructure of the moral requirements which follow. Thus the way was prepared for the Gospel. The banishment of the Jews from Palestine is designed to preclude the possibility of their looking to the Mosaic rites for redemption, and shuts them up to Messiah.…”

“He hath shewed thee - Micah does not tell them now, as for the first time; which would have excused them. He says, “He hath shewed thee;” He, about whose mind and will and pleasure they were pretending to enquire, the Lord their God. He had shewn it to them. The law was full of it. He shewed it to them, when He said, “And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him and to serve the Lord, thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command thee this day for thy good?” Deuteronomy 10:12-13. They had asked, “with what outward thing shall I come…”

“He - God hath already told you in his word, with what you ought to come before him. To do justly - To render to every one their due, superiors, equals, inferiors, to be equal to all, and oppress none, in body, goods or name; in all your dealings with men carry a chancery in your own beasts, and do according to equity. To love mercy - To be kind, merciful and compassionate to all, not using severity towards any. Walk humbly with thy God - Keep up a constant fellowship with God, by humble, holy faith. Micah 6:9”

“6:8 Good means what is right in God’s eyes; God is the source of all goodness (Gen 1; Exod 33:19; 34:6-7; Deut 12:28). • what is right (Hebrew mishpat, often translated “justice”): God’s order in the world requires treatment of others in fair, non-manipulative, non-oppressive ways. • mercy (Hebrew khesed): This passionate, undeserved loyalty is the defining quality in God’s holy character (see Ps 136). Those who know God will act in the same way toward others (see Gen 21:22-24; Josh 2:12-14; Matt 5:43-48). • walk humbly: Humility must characterize God’s people. They must not live in a spirit of arrogance or special privilege. They must be humble and reverently fear God. Mishpat and khesed…”

“O man: Rom 9:20; Co1 7:16; Jam 2:20 what is: Sa1 12:23; Neh 9:13; Psa 73:28; Lam 3:26; Luk 10:42; Rom 7:16; Th2 2:16 and what: Deu 10:12, Deu 10:13 to do: Gen 18:19; Sa1 15:22; Pro 21:3; Ecc 12:13; Isa 1:16-19, Isa 58:6-11; Jer 7:3-6; Hos 6:6, Hos 12:6; Amo 5:24; Zep 2:3; Mat 3:8-10; Mar 12:30-34; Luk 11:42; Tit 2:11, Tit 2:12; Pe2 1:5-8 love: Psa 37:26, Psa 112:4, Psa 112:9; Isa 57:1, Isa 57:2; Mat 5:7, Mat 18:32-35; Luk 6:36; Eph 4:32; Col 3:12; Pe1 3:8 walk humbly: Heb. humble thyself to walk, Gen 5:22; Lev 26:41; Ch2 30:11, Ch2 32:26, Ch2 33:12, Ch2 33:13, Ch2 33:19, Ch2 33:23, Ch2 34:27; Isa 57:15, Isa 66:2; Eze 16:63; Dan 4:37; Mat 5:3; Luk 18:13-17; Rom 10:1-3; Jam 4:6-10; Pe1 5:5,…”

“The prophet therefore proceeds in Mic 6:8 to overthrow these outward means of reconciliation with God, and reminds the people of the moral demands of the law. Mic 6:8. "They have told thee, O man, what is good, and what Jehovah requires of thee, simply to do right, and love good, and walk humbly with thy God." הגּיד, impersonal, "one has told," or they have told thee, namely Moses in the law. The opinion that Jehovah should be supplied as the subject is a very improbable one, for the simple reason that Jehovah is expressly mentioned in the second dependent clause. The use of כּי אם, nisi, as in the similar connection of thought in Deu 10:12, may be accounted for from the retrospective…”