I am currently doing a
study of the book of Judges. This
morning I was in chapter 17, the story of Micah, a man that I think is a
perfect example of how many approach a relationship with “God” today. I hope that the truth of this chapter will cause you to examine your
relationship with the LORD. We are not
promised tomorrow you know.
Proverbs 27:1 “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest
not what a day may bring forth.”
James 4:14 “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little
time, and then vanisheth away.”
Judges 17:1 ¶ And
there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
Judges 17:2 And he
said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were
taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears,
behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed
be thou of the LORD, my son.
Judges 17:3 And
when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother,
his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand
for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore
it unto thee.
Judges 17:4 Yet he
restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels
of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a
molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.
This chapter centers on a
man named Micah that lived in mount Ephraim.
He stole from his mother and heard her utter a curse against the
thief. He admitted to his mom that he
had stolen the 1100 shekels of silver and gave it back to her. I guess he was superstitious and feared the
consequences of the curse.
The NIV Commentary notes
that ten shekels was a normal wage for the year at that time, so the money
stolen represented great wealth.
The mother blessed her son
in the name of the LORD for returning it, but then proceeded to use 200 shekels
of the silver to have an idol made. The
image was carved out of wood and dipped in silver or gold. Micah kept it in his house.
It is interesting to note
that the mother said that she had “wholly dedicated” the stolen money to the
LORD, but she only invested a small portion of it to honor the god she
worshipped.
Judges 17:5 And the
man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and
consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
Judges 17:6 In
those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that
which was right in his own eyes.
Micah had a place in his
house specifically set apart as a place of worship. He made an ephod, a sacred garment similar to
that used by the high priest, and brought in some other idols to add to his
collection. He then consecrated one of
his sons as his priest.
It is noted that there was
no king in Israel at that time. We know,
however, that they did have a king—the LORD God of Israel. They just did not recognize Him as such.
Then the sad refrain that
will be repeated several times—“but every man did that which was right in his
own eyes.”
What Micah did was a
perfect example of that truth. The LORD
had given Israel a whole set of laws designating the acceptable way to worship
and honor Him, the one true God. Micah
totally disregarded God’s word and decided that he would do things his own
way.
Most of the people in the
world today align themselves with Micah.
They refuse to believe that there is only one true God that reigns over
heaven and earth. They believe that they
can choose to worship who they want, when they want, how they want and still
expect to be received into heaven or an eternal state of bliss or
whatever. They are in for such a shock
if they don’t repent of their sins and turn to Jesus Christ as their Lord and
Savior! God has declared that there is
only one way to get to enjoy eternal life in His presence—through the gift of
salvation that is only available through faith in His Son.
John 3:16–18 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the
life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is
none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves: it is the
gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
I am reminded of the words
of Solomon.
Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but
the end thereof are the ways of
death.”
Judges 17:7 ¶ And
there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was
a Levite, and he sojourned there.
Judges 17:8 And the
man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find
a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he
journeyed.
Judges 17:9 And
Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a
Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.
Judges 17:10 And
Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I
will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel,
and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.
Judges 17:11 And the
Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one
of his sons.
One day a young man from
Bethlehemjudah who was a Levite that lived in the tribal territory of Judah
came to mount Ephraim. He ended up at
the house of Micah. Micah asked him were
he was from, and the young man told him; he added that he was looking for a new
place to live. Micah offered to pay him
ten shekels of silver a year and provide clothing and food if he would stay
with him and serve as his father, his spiritual head, and priest. So the young man agreed. He stayed and became like a son to Micah.
Even though the young man
was a Levite, he apparently had no qualms about disregarding God’s law.
Judges 17:12 And
Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in
the house of Micah.
Judges 17:13 Then
said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to
my priest.
Micah then consecrated the
Levite, and the young man became his priest.
(I wonder what became of his son.) Micah thought he had assured himself of God’s
blessing since he now had a Levite as his priest. This actually testifies further to the fact
that he knew he was acting in disobedience to God’s command.
Micah actually brought to my
mind thoughts of people I love who claim to know Jesus as their LORD and
Savior, yet think that as long as they are kind and do good things for others
and mind their own business, that is honoring God and is enough to expect His
blessing. I hope they aren’t deceiving
themselves. True faith will give
evidence to the work of the Holy Spirit in one’s life. It will evidence a desire to know God’s word
and to please Him by what we do and say because we love Him. God’s word tells us that our love is proven
through obedience.
John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he
will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and
make our abode with him.”
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his
commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
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