Judges 17-18
Priest and Gods
for the Taking

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Psalm 38:1-22 This is a fine mess I've gotten myself into

O Lord, Don't Rebuke Me in Your Wrath
1 A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering.

 O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
 nor discipline me in your wrath!
2 For your arrows have sunk into me,
 and your hand has come down on me.

3 There is no soundness in my flesh
 because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
 because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head;
 like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

5 My wounds stink and fester
 because of my foolishness,
6 I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
 all the day I go about mourning.
7 For my sides are filled with burning,
 and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and crushed;
 I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

9 O Lord, all my longing is before you;
 my sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
 and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
11 My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
 and my nearest kin stand far off.

12 Those who seek my life lay their snares;
 those who seek my hurt speak of ruin
 and meditate treachery all day long.

13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
 like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 I have become like a man who does not hear,
 and in whose mouth are no rebukes.

15 But for you, O LORD, do I wait;
 it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
16 For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,
 who boast against me when my foot slips!”


17 For I am ready to fall,
 and my pain is ever before me.
18 I confess my iniquity;
 I am sorry for my sin.
19 But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
 and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20 Those who render me evil for good
 accuse me because I follow after good.

21 Do not forsake me, O LORD!
 O my God, be not far from me!
22 Make haste to help me,
 O Lord, my salvation!

Application

When we're reaping the thorns we've sown, we shouldn't blame God, but ourselves, naming our sin and claiming God's forgiveness (1Jn 1:9). Don't stop trusting, for therein lies salvation/deliverance.

Prayer

God of just wrath, have mercy on me, forgive my sin which we both clearly see, and deliver me from my sin and those who hate me and You. For this I will praise you. Amen.

Proverbs 11:1-8 God Delights in and Delivers the Upright

1 A false balance is an abomination to the LORD,
 but a just weight is his delight.
2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
 but with the humble is wisdom.
3 The integrity of the upright guides them,
 but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
 but righteousness delivers from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight,
 but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
 but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust.
7 When the wicked dies, his hope will perish,
 and the expectation of wealth perishes too.
8 The righteous is delivered from trouble,
 and the wicked walks into it instead.

Application

If you don't purify your desires, they will pierce you in a spot that hurts.

Prayer

O God who delights in righteousness, show me how to delight You today. Amen.

Judges 17-18 Priest and Gods for the Taking

The final chapters of the book consist of two epilogues that chronologically belong earlier in the book. Chapters 17-18 describe theological failure in the nation, and occur near the beginning of the book, since they mention a priest who was the grandson of Moses, and the tribe of Dan had not yet possessed its inheritance (cf. 1:34). Chapters 19-21 (next post) describe moral failure in the nation, and occurred earlier in the book as well, mentioning Phinehas. Both sections relate that there was no king in Israel, and describe how far God's people had departed from His revelation, because “every man did what was right in his own eyes.”

Judges 17 Two Priests, Too Many Gods

Micah's Idolatry
1 There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2 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.” 3 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.” 4 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. 5 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. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
7 Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 8 And 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. 9 And 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.” 10 And 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. 11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12 And Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.”

Application

If we don't know and live the truth, we will deceive ourselves into thinking that we merit God's blessing, when we are really setting ourselves up for cursing.

Prayer

God, protect me from the presumptuous folly of doing religious things instead of Your will. Amen.

Judges 18 Lost Priest and Lost Tribe

The Danites Settle in Laish
1 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them. 2 So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, “Go and explore the land.” And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3 When they were by the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. And they turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” 4 And he said to them, “This is how Micah dealt with me: he has hired me, and I have become his priest.” 5 And they said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.” 6 And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the LORD.”
7 Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting, lacking nothing that is in the earth and possessing wealth, and how they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. 8 And when they came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” 9 They said, “Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go, to enter in and possess the land. 10 As soon as you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people. The land is spacious, for God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”
11 So 600 men of the tribe of Dan, armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol, 12 and went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. On this account that place is called Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is west of Kiriath-jearim. 13 And they passed on from there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.
Danites Take Micah's Idols
14 Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish said to their brothers, “Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now therefore consider what you will do.” 15 And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and asked him about his welfare. 16 Now the 600 men of the Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17 And the five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. 18 And when these went into Micah's house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 And they said to him, “Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?” 20 And the priest's heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people.
21 So they turned and departed, putting the little ones and the livestock and the goods in front of them. 22 When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah's house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan. 23 And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?” 24 And he said, “You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” 25 And the people of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household.” 26 Then the people of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.
27 But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 28 And there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29 And they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but the name of the city was Laish at the first. 30 And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up Micah's carved image that he made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.

Application

When people don't do what's right in Yahweh's eyes, they wind up losers.

Prayer

God may my loyalty to You prevent me from being a lamenting loser in life. Amen.

Digging Deeper

God in a nutshell: God lets people do really dumb things, even in His name, and doesn't always disabuse them of their errors, but He does let them reap the consequences of their sin through loss and grief.

Us in a nutshell: We can think we're doing what is pleasing to God and be way off base if we don't base our actions on direct obedience to His word.

Where to go for more

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