Year One, July 19

Flee From Idolatry1

Judges 17

1There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD.” (Her blessing was not worth much. She was just as ready to curse as bless. Her silver was her god while it was in the form of coins and remained so when it was changed into a metal image. The fact that she cursed when she lost it proves that. We will read that Micah had some appearance of religion, but what was that worth when he was a thief to begin with? Some unknown fear caused him to return the money even though his conscience had not stopped him from stealing it in the first place. His personality was the type that can easily be attracted to the religious practices we find him involved in.) 

3And he restored the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said, “I dedicate the silver to the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.”

They had an image made even though it was against God’s law. To make matters worse, they dedicated the image to Jehovah. Good intentions are no excuse for disobedience. Today, churches that have images tell us they do not worship the images, but worship the god they represent. If we accept this excuse, then idolatry no longer exists in the world. God does not accept that kind of thinking.

4So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image. And it was in the house of Micah. 5And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest.

Children imitate their parents. The mother makes one image, the son has a house full of gods, and the grandson becomes a priest. “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”2 Once we leave the spiritual worship of God, there is no telling how far we will stray.

6In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Which meant that everyone did whatever evil they liked.)

7Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 8And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. 9And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I may find a place.” 10And Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes, and your living.” And the Levite went in. (It was poor pay. 200 shekels had been spent on the carved image and ten is thought to be enough for the priest. They preferred an expensive idol, even though the priest is kept in poverty. His pay was even worse when we consider that the priest was selling his soul for such a tiny amount. How shameful for a Levite, the servant of the living God, to be serving lifeless idols.)

11And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12And Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 13Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.” (This is the way superstitious people talk. They have a real priest with the proper background, therefore they think blessings are virtually guaranteed. The images were forbidden. The ephods were forbidden. Their whole worship was in direct violation to the Lord’s true worship at Jerusalem. But that did not matter to this family! Their priest was a Levite and that was all they cared about. They assumed they would be blessed in spite of all the rules they had broken. Not much has changed in our times. Today people set up crosses, hang pictures and build altars and expect special favors from God even though all their misguided worship is really imaginary and an insult to the Lord Jesus. Outward ceremonies and performances that are not commanded in Scripture should not be part of our worship. If we attend these kinds of services, we will eventually be caught up in the sin of them.)

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¹ 1 Corinthians 10:14

² John 4:24