Judges
chapter 17 appears to be a “good” chapter to the average reader.
It tells of a man that is sincerely trying to worship God.
Unfortunately, like many people today, all he really does is create
his own religion based on his own standards (not God’s). The
chapter begins, “A
man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim said to his mother,
‘The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you… I
took it.”
Then his mother seems to reply without any concern or rebuke, “Bless
you my son“.
There is no reference to the act of stealing or repentance or right
and wrong. In fact, she treats it like a blessing because she
is going to “solemnly
consecrate it to the Lord“.
But notice how they decide to honor God; “Make
a carved image and an engraved idol… and they were put into Micah’s
house“.
Of course the second commandment strictly prohibited this. God even
gave the reason, “For
I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God”.
“Now
the man Micah had a shrine and he made an ephod… and installed one
of his sons as his priest“.
Remember an ephod was a decorative garment worn only by the Priest
when he was worshipping in the tabernacle. This is a great symbol
for how many people worship God today. Many create their own set of
standards, their own religious code and their own outward symbols
to display their superiority. The chapter explains how Micah could
get so far off, “In
those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit“.
This is the same phrase used to describe the world in the days of
Noah, just before God judged the world. Without the knowledge of
God’s Word, selfishness and corruption reign.
The
chapter continues with Micah meeting “A
young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah“.
He asked the young man, “Live
with me and be my father and priest, and I will give you ten shekels
of silver a year, your clothes and your food. So the Levite agreed…
and Micah consecrated the Levite“.
Everything was pretty and nice, the only problem was; nothing was in
accordance with God’s Law! There is no mention of the righteous
requirements of God. Many “religious people” do the same thing
when they set up man-made standards of righteousness. According to
the Law of Moses, the Levites belonged to God. God declared, “I
will be their inheritance“.
The Levites were to minister to
God
and only in the temple of God. There was only one place where
sacrifices could be offered. The nearly constant sacrifices
were a bloody reminder of the sin that separated man from God
and ultimately, our need for the Messiah. Without the sacrifice
Micah was denying his need for salvation. And as always, the result
is a false religion based on good works. Micah said, “Now
I know the Lord will be good to me, since the Levite has become my
priest“.
Proverbs
4:12 reminds us, “There
is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death“.
In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul discusses being religious
and trusting is our own good works to earn our way to salvation. He
explains the purpose of the Law is to reveal how far from perfection
we are. “For
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God“.
He concludes, since we cannot be perfect, salvation can only be
received by faith in the Savior as a free gift. “This
righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who
believe”
(Romans 3:21). Today there is also only one place where sin can be
forgiven, the cross of Jesus Christ. Are you trusting in man’s
standards, or God’s?