July 25, 2023

Idolatry is insidious.

Judges 17 - 18

Ally Brannan
Tuesday's Devo

July 25, 2023

Tuesday's Devo

July 25, 2023

Big Idea

Failure: Doing what's right in your own eyes.

Key Verse | Judges 18:1

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.

Judges 17 - 18

Micah and the Levite

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 1 17:5 Hebrew filled the hand of; also verse 12 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.

Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 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. 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.”

Danites Take the Levite and the Idol

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. 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. 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?” And he said to them, “This is how Micah dealt with me: he has hired me, and I have become his priest.” And they said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.” And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the LORD.”

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 2 18:7 Compare 18:10; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain nothing that is in the earth and possessing wealth, and how they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. And when they came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” 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 3 18:12 Mahaneh-dan means camp of 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.

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, 4 18:30 Or Manasseh 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.

Footnotes

[1] 17:5 Hebrew filled the hand of; also verse 12
[2] 18:7 Compare 18:10; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
[3] 18:12 Mahaneh-dan means camp of Dan
[4] 18:30 Or Manasseh

S2:142 Judges 17 - 18

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Judges 17 - 18

When reading Judges, it can feel like things are going from bad to worse for God's people. You can look at Micah and the tribe of Dan and think, "What in the world are they doing? How are they continuing to get so off track?"

In the beginning of Judges 17, Micah creates an idol for himself and begins to fall into the sin of idolatry. Unfortunately, this begins a slow burn of what feels insidious. When I consider idols in my own life, it is easy to see how I relate to Micah. I think about how easily I can turn my own idea of having the ideal body image into an idol. Something that was so perfectly designed by God, a temple, a place for the Holy Spirit to reside, I take on myself to mold and create into what I think it should look like. It is easy for me to fall into the lies of culture, rather than sticking to the truth of who God created me to be, which has caused poor choices and a wrong view of myself and the Lord. I am reminded that we are created "in the image of God" (Genesis 1:27), not the other way around.

Unfortunately, the effects of Micah's idolatry were great. One man's sinfulness slowly but surely trickled down and eventually influenced an entire tribe. The focus on self and individualism struck God's people. "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges 17:6b) You can imagine the chaos that can occur when our decisions are being made solely based on what we, as sinners, think is best, rather than what the true King has commanded. In our key verse, "seeking for itself an inheritance" (Judges 18:1), God's people focused on following their own views and ways rather than the One True King who never stopped leading them.

It is important to remember that Jesus is King; He is trustworthy, He created us in HIS image, and His ways and leadership will always triumph over any idol or idea our sinful nature can dream up.

This month's memory verse

17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

– James 3:17

Discussion Questions

1. Exodus 20:3 says, "You shall have no other gods before me." When reading this verse, what idols in your life come to mind?  It may seem obvious, or it may be something you need to pray and ask the Lord to reveal to you.

2. When looking at God's place in your life, where does He stand? Is He the King ruling your life? Or is your life ruled by your own ideas, plans, and idols?   

3. Let's be honest—it can feel extremely difficult to be a Christian in today's culture. Sometimes it might feel like the easy way is to go with the flow of what is "normal," what is culturally accepted and convenient. What are some practical ways you can share with others through word or action the gift of being led by Christ and not your emotions or fleshly desires? How can this lead to life rather than rebellion for those around you?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

HS

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Ally. Love this from your devo, “Unfortunately, the effects of Micah's idolatry were great. One man's sinfulness slowly but surely trickled down and eventually influenced an entire tribe. The focus on self and individualism struck God's people.” A great definition of failed leadership. Q1-Q3 answered below. I’m sure you’ve read many jokes about “How hot is it? It’s so hot that…” Apply that to Israel’s apostasy. How bad is it? It’s so bad that… Even a direct descendant of Moses is embroiled in this insanity. What makes that even crazier is that the notes indicate these events are not long after Joshua died. WOW. Didn’t take long.
HS

Hugh Stephenson

Welcome to Judges 17-18 A great point was made in a message several years ago that the culture is downstream from the church. Said another way, if the church faithfully proclaims, witnesses, and teaches then the culture will run infinitely better and all people will benefit; ESPECIALLY those who are the most vulnerable. Another great saying that applies here is this- “A fish rots from the head down.” I’m confident most/all of us see this reality across our culture. Recently, I was having lunch with a long time re:gen friend. He was recounting his own “surrender moment” and how he took that experience and went to his old drinking and drugging friends to share with them. While with one friend the guy abruptly interrupted him and threw up a big stop sign, “Not Interested”. My friend persisted. He reminded his friend of many of their experiences together and he said something like this- “Hey bro, I found what we were looking for all that time. It’s right here. And it’s way better.” My friend turned his life around and is now happily married with a wonderful family and career. I have no idea about his friend. What my friend and I both learned is that the idolatry of ease and comfort, (physical apostasy), actually comes AFTER spiritual apostasy. And both are almost always is a part of the current culture. All these truths and facts are powerfully stated in one sentence from Micah in Judges 18:24- “You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left?” He already knows the answer. The notes call this statement a testament to the emptiness of idolatry. I spent a young adult and “mature” adult life chasing idols; money, resume, connections, experiences, vacations, houses, cars, appearance, opinion of others, etc. If I sat here and really thought about it, I’d come up with more. But God… I used all these material solutions as an approach to a spiritual problem. With predictable results. AT the end of 2012 I found myself saying a 21st Century version of what Micah just said. A great message a few years ago pointed out that every problem was a Jesus problem. What do I mean? I did not have a marriage problem I had a Jesus problem. I did not have a parenting problem I had a Jesus problem. I did not have a drinking problem I had a Jesus problem. I did not have a religion problem I had a Jesus problem. ----------------------------------------------------------- As noted previously, What I needed, just like the Israelites, was a king. But not an earthly king. I needed the King of Kings.
MS

Michael Scaman

The tribes of the two biggest 'heroes' in Judges (God was the hero but two judges got the longest stories) have two tragic endings in Judges First We have the story of Samson from the tribe of Dan and then the next account shows how the tribe of Dan (adjacent to the Philistines) falling into idolatry. Second the fall of Manasseh due (where Gideon was from ) into immorality. The first account, the downfall of Samson's tribe, starts ominously with a curse by the mother who was robbed of a lot of silver. There will be two big stories both dark. These two 'post script stories at the end of Judges' show that there were these sin cycles trough the book going down and down and down The sad reality is that this first story was related to the corruption of the tribe Samson was from. ( There has been some speculation why Dan is missing from a list of tribes in Revelation, some say this story explains why, others say scribal error issue ) The second account, the downfall of Gideon's tribe, even worse and will be how the largest tribe Manasseh went from largest to smallest, acting worse than Sodom in the process and maybe even over-punished with consequence of bad oaths. Every man doing what was right in their own eyes ended tragically. Like psalm 105 on the faithfulness of God and Psalm 106 on the unfaithfulness of Israel ending Book 4 of Psalms, Judges will end with stories on the unfaithfulness of man despite the faithfulness of God. The ending will make the unexpected story of Ruth an upward turn towards God with the life of David.
HS

Hugh Stephenson

From the notes- “The apostasy of the Judges period, according to this chapter, was characterized by three observable trends. 1. Religious syncretism (17:1-5). ... 2. Moral relativism (17:6). ... 3. Extreme materialism (17:7-13).” “Whereas Judges chapters 3—16 record Israel's struggles with her external enemies, chapters 17—21 document the internal conditions of the nation that made her so weak. In chapters 17—18 we see Israel abandoning God, and in chapters 19—21 we see her destroying herself.” (I hope this one is not repeated.) In Deuteronomy, Moses expounded the importance of the Ten Commandments, and then the implications of those commandments, on Israel's religious, civil, and domestic life—in his second major address (Deut. 5—26). The epilogue of Judges does the same thing. It also illuminates the importance of Jesus' teaching about the two greatest commandments (Matt. 22:34-40). "Nearly all of the Ten Commandments are broken in Judges 17:1—21:25 (Epilogues I and II): -other gods and idols are worshiped (17:3-5); -Yahweh's name is taken in vain (17:13); -parents are dishonored (17:1-2); -innocent victims are slain (18:27; 19:26-29; 21:10); -adultery and rape are committed (19:22-25); -others' property is stolen (17:2; 18:21-27); -false witness is borne (20:1-7); -and what belongs to a neighbor is coveted (18:27-31; 21:8-24)." And this great summary and application "Chapters 17 and 18 teach Christians important lessons: -We should obey God's Word, not disregard it, as Micah did. -We should serve God faithfully as He directs, not advance ourselves at the cost of disobedience, as Jonathan did. -We should also wait for God and engage our spiritual enemy, not rush ahead, or run away to establish our own security, as the Danites did. -Micah's error was self-styled worship, Jonathan's was self-determined service, and the Danites' was self-seeking security." -“In this portrayal of the events the narrator provides another challenge to the traditional scholarly understanding of Deuteronomism, which insists that sin brings on the curse, but blessing follows obedience. Here sin succeeds! Ironically, and perhaps tragically, the agendas people set for themselves are sometimes achieved—which sends a solemn warning to the church at the close of the twentieth century. Success is not necessarily a sign of righteousness or an indication that we must be doing something right. It may in fact be the opposite. God does not stifle every corrupt thought and scheme of the human heart."
MS

Michael Sisson

Re: Jdg 17:3 Jdg 17:3 (ESV) 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.” One wonders if they audaciously continued to associate the graven image with Adonai, as the Hebrews had done with the golden calf. See Ex 32:4 (NASB). Re: Jdg 17:4 See Isa 46:6 Re: Jdg 17:10 See Mt 6:24; Lk 16:13. Re: Jdg 18:30-31 Jdg 18:30-31 (NASB) The sons of >>>Dan set up for themselves the graven image<<<; and Jonathan, the son of >>>Gershom, the son of Manasseh<<<, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. >>>So they set up for themselves Micah's graven image which he had made<<<, all the time that the house of God was at Shiloh. Jdg 18:30-31 (NIV) There >>>the Danites set up for themselves the idol<<<, and Jonathan son of >>>Gershom, the son of Moses<<<, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the captivity of the land. >>>They continued to use the idols Micah had made<<<, all the time the house of God was in Shiloh. Dan was the first tribe to fall into idolatry. This is widely considered why they are excluded from the tribes listed in Rev 7:5-8 (the 144,000). Instead of “Gershom, son of Manasseh,” some ancient versions read “the son of Moses.”
MH

morgan houghton

1. For me, I think the simple one that comes to mind is myself. And that shows in my relationships with others, my friendships and in my desires. I want what I want and if it doesn’t go my way I pitch a fit. What a ungrateful and terrible attitude to have. I know that there are probably other things I lift up to be valued more than God in my life and I am praying that God will reveal those to me as well. 2. This is such a good question. I feel like this is a hard balance between letting God rule and reign in my heart and life as well as walking out and following the dreams He has placed on my heart. I wouldn’t go as far to say that He has full reign and control yet but that is something He is working on in me! 3. This has also been something weighing on my heart recently. How can I share Christ without losing the relationship or without making things awkward. The truth is, if my relationship with Jesus is as amazing as I say it is I should have no problem wanting to share that with others. But it is hard! I want it to be genuine and heartfelt and not like something I am just persuading others to do. If my love reflects a hint of Christs love I think that could be a practical way and if I allow and have more of Him and less of me. Jesus is attractive but my sin is not! The more of Him there is the better ◡̈ thank you for the devo!
SB

Sue Bohlin

Thanks, Ally. As I read today's passage, there is such a sad feeling of familiarity in connecting the dots between these two chapters and our culture today. In both cases, people choose to disregard God and His ways, creating their own religion with their own rules and their own values. It's like being on a boat where you intentionally cut the mooring rope so you're adrift with just a ping pong paddle (or maybe I should say pickleball paddle?) to move your boat. What's the goal? Doing whatever looks and sounds good at the moment. Doing what is right in your own eyes, as Judges tells us. But that's just on the human side. There's a divine side to it as well. God is real, and He's the one who creates the reality that our culture is busy denying. And when people worship the concept of God that feels right in their own eyes, that means the true God is being ignored and lied about. How it must break His heart! Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
AL

Amy Lowther

1. With several temptations in the world to idolize, it is best to prioritize God in everything. 2. God is a priority for me in everything I do. 3. I can be a friend to others showing kindness. Respect and kindness are usually well received and compliments for most people.