There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. And 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.” And 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.” So 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. And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest. In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 17:1–6)This one stumped me until I read the last line and the consequences. So far, most of the “therefore” passages have been consequences that had some virtue in them, but not this one. It reminded me of a radio preacher who told someone that she could choose whatever she wanted but she could not choose the consequences.
Micah later took in a traveller who claimed to be a “Levite” but may not have been. Eventually Micah paid him to be his priest, thinking that the Lord would prosper him because he had is own priest. In the above passage, he also had stolen money from his mother, paid it back, and she used part of it to make idols. He had a shrine and ordained one of his sons to be his priest. The Word of God describes all this as “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
Our world still has that happening. We watch leaders making moves that seem right to them and appalling to their people. Or the people go along with it because “it seems right” only to later moan because of the results.
This OT book is describing modern times, both politically and spiritually. There are hundreds, even thousands of belief systems and according to the Word of God, all but one of them is “doing what is right in their own eyes.” Even those who claim to be Christian think that salvation is a matter of doing “good works” and even having their own priests.” I talked with a cult member this week who boasts of numbers and having the right heart, yet his Savior is his organization and not Jesus. Did he ever hear Jesus say, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”? (John 14:6)
The world is full of idols, not always carved or made of metal. Some show up in what motivates life:
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17)John ended this letter with warnings to test the spirits and finished with these words: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:21)
Jesus, we got up early to watch a sporting event involving our country, but I’ve no intention of making an idol out of this or anything but You. I may miss the first part of the game, but spending time with You means being an overcomer, a winner. I shudder at stealing money from a family member, or giving it back so they could make idols, or considering anyone my priest but You. Yet I know these dangers and thank You for the saving power to say no to such worship. Thank You for loving me into Your kingdom.