Judges 17: A Mixed Bag

Have you noticed people are different? That everywhere you go, you’ll come into contact with people who think and act differently than you about a whole variety of things. I’ve noticed that in so many of my conversations it’s just plain amazing. That people hold to their way of thinking and their beliefs as if that’s the only way to think. But when you come down to it what we’re really dealing with is people everywhere have a mixed bag of beliefs.

That’s what we find in Judges 17. We have a man named Micah who has taken money from his mother. When she realizes it she calls a curse on whoever has taken her 1100 shekels. But when she realizes it was her son, she utters a praise hoping for God to bless her son. She knew her curse was now laid squarely on her son’s shoulders; so she wants God to protect him. When she receives her money back in full, she again speaks and acts foolishly. She takes 200 shekels, and consecrates it to the LORD for an idol to be made and worshiped in her household which completely violates the command of Exodus 20:4 – you shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. And Micah learning from his mom’s mixed bag of beliefs hires a young Levite to be his priest thinking now God will be good to me.

What’s so striking about this story is both Micah (who’s name ironically means, “who is like Yahweh?”) and his mother think their doing the right and godly thing. They take their money and think they can buy God’s favor; they use their money to worship a created image instead of the creator. They have a mixed bag of beliefs when it comes to their faith and how they live it out. They’re following their own ways and not God’s.

The most telling verse in this passage is found in Judges 17:6 – In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit. Our culture is no doubt very different from the time of Judges. But in some respects so similar. You see in our day so many are doing what they think is right in their own eyes because so many have no king. Having a king during Micah’s days meant the king would have focused the people’s attention on the Lord and would have prevented this kind of sin and apostasy so prevalent during these times. Today we must always remember we have a King who wants us to walk with Him. Our King wants us to know Him so well that we won’t be violating His commands. Today, let’s focus on knowing what we’re doing; that we’re worshiping the One True God. Let’s focus on being certain that the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart are ALWAYS pleasing in His sight – the KING OF KINGS!

Posted by Joe Stecz