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Last week, in The Time Before the Kings, Part 16, we learned from the story of Samson that arrogance will eventually lead to total destruction, and there is ultimate punishment for us when we take God's glory upon ourselves.
After the story of Samson, the book of Judges seems to make a 180° turn. Instead of recording how Israel fell into sin again, how God brought about divine punishment by having this or that king take them into captivity and how when they called on the Lord He raised up a deliverer, Judges 17 begins with a strange story.
A man steals some silver from his mother, but repents and returns it to her. She then blesses him and orders him to make a family god with the silver, saying, "I wholly consecrate the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son to make a carved image and a cast metal image..." (Judges 17:3 NASB).
Wait. God has specifically stated, "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth." (Exodus 20:4 NASB)! How can she ask for a carved image to be made that she can consecrate to the Lord, when this goes completely against God's commands?
It gets worse. That one sin led to another: "And the man Micah had a shrine and he made an ephod and household idols..." (Judges 17:5a NASB). Now suddenly he had an ephod, an item to be used solely in the worship of the One true God, and the word "idol" is in plural! He had more than one!
As if that isn't bad enough, the Bible records: "... and (Micah) consecrated one of his sons, so that he might become his priest." (Judges 17:5 NASB). God had given specific instructions that it would only be the sons of Levi who would serve the Lord, and specifically, the descendants of Aaron!
In this 180° turn in the book of Judges, instead of seeing that Israel had turned from God, we begin to see a pattern of how they turned from God! It began innocently. "God gave me my silver back, so I'll make an idol out of it and consecrate it to the Lord!" And this led to a shrine, and more idols, and eventually to setting up a non-levite as a priest!
Micah's conscience must have been bothering him, however, because along comes a Levite traveling through, and Micah says to him, “Stay with me and be a father and a priest to me.” (Judges 17:10a NASB). The thing Is, there is no Biblical record that this Levite was of the lineage of Aaron! Nonetheless, the people had strayed so far from God that this didn't seem to faze even the Levite, for the Bible records, "So the Levite went in." (Judges 17:10c NASB).
Next six hundred Danites wander through the region seeking a home. They find out that Micah has these images and his own priest: "Now the five men who went to spy out the land went up and entered there; they took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the cast metal image..." (Judges 18:18 NASB). The men then bribe the priest, and, "The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image, and went among the people." (Judges 18:20 NASB). The Danites with the priest and household idols then go out and overtake the city of Laish, they make the town their home and rename it "Dan", and they, "...set up for themselves Micah’s carved image which he had made..." (Judges 18:31 NASB)!
Do you see how big one little sin can get? Now not only was Micah and his family guilty of idolatry, but because of them, all of the inhabitants of Dan were as well!
An isolated incident? We aren't told; but I would propose that this story is included in Scripture to help us understand just how it was that all of Israel fell! It started out innocent and simple, and then it spread to all of the people!
Most of us don't make dramatic "U-turns" away from the Lord. Rather, we compromise on one tiny thing, and that one thing leads to another and another, and before we know it, we're miles from where God has called us to be. This is why the laws of Moses clearly state: "Now if a person sins…though he was unaware, he is still guilty and shall bear his punishment." (Leviticus 5:17 NASB).
We must pray like David: "How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults." (Psalms 19:12 NLT)! Otherwise, our own hidden faults will morph into bigger and bigger sin; and in the end, they may even cause other innocent people to fall into sin!
This is why Scripture tells us to avoid sin at all costs: "Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the [a]path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the Law of the Lord, And on His Law he meditates day and night." (Psalms 1:1-2 NASB). If our delight is in God’s law, then it will be impossible for us to have sins of ignorance!
In summary, then, let’s take every step possible to keep our lives pure. Let’s delight in God’s law, let’s stay away from known sins, and let’s ask God to reveal hidden sin! When we do, we will never have to worry about being responsible for causing others to sin!
Please join us next Saturday to see a lesson from a very strange story: "The Dangers of Impulsivity: The Time Before the Kings, Part 18"!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Author, Moderator, Acting Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
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