DEEPER LIF SEARCH THE SCRIPTURE
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURE by Pastor Kumuyi of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry for today is here. Digest the word of the lord and pray believing.
ADULT STS LESSON 183
TOPIC DAN DRIFTS INTO IDOLATRY
MEMORY VERSE: “And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land” (Judges 18:30). TEXT: Judges 17:1-13; 18:1-31
Our texts record the stealthy incursion of idolatry into the religious fabrics of God’s chosen people. Dan, the last tribe to obtain their inheritance found their lot too little for them because they were sandwiched between two powerful tribes – Judah and Ephraim and they were pushed from the southern coast by the Amorites (Judges 1:34). Consequently, they could only move northward in search of a new territory to support their fast growing population. It was on this expedition for a new territory that their depravity manifested as they discovered Micah’s idols and his Levite-priest. They pillaged the idols, bribed the priest, hijacked him and thereafter destroyed the people of Laish who dwelt carelessly. Thus, the Danites became the first tribe in Israel to formally embrace idolatry. This importation of pagan practice into Israel was in direct violation of God’s revealed will. The effort was divisive, ignoble and condemnable (Exodus 20:22-24; Deuteronomy 4:15-19; 12:5-7,11,12).
CORRUPTION THROUGH EVIL INFLUENCE (Judges 17:1-6; Exodus 20:4; Leviticus 19:4; Deuteronomy 29:18- 21)
The narrative opens with an incident of a theft in a family. One thousand, one hundred shekels of silver was a large sum in the reckoning of the times; it could pay the Levite-turned-priest in the text for more than a hundred years. As there was neither hope nor clue of recovery of the money despite her appeals, Micah’s mother decided to pour open imprecation on whoever was responsible. Upon this, Micah eventually owned up, and the owner declared that she had dedicated the money to God for graven and molten idols. “And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son” (Judges 17:2). Micah’s restitution was not an outcome of genuine repentance, but an apparent apprehension of the consequences of the curse. Though the money he returned was happily received and the curse ostensibly reversed, his spiritual condition was nothing better. The likes of Micah should realise that whatever the disposition of an aggrieved person, God is consistently angry against evildoers (Psalms 7:11; 76:7). Unless there is genuine repentance, the record of sin constantly reverberates, and the sinner remains repulsive in the sight of God. Secondly, realising the idolatrous implication of his mother’s declaration of the purpose to which she had dedicated the money, he was reluctant to retain it. …His mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee. Yet he restored the money unto his mother…” (Judges 17:3,4). The confusion in the woman’s suggestion is so evident since images are completely forbidden in the worship of the true God (Deuteronomy 27:15). Unfortunately, Micah’s initial scrupling soon gave way as he eventually gave in to his mother’s corrupting influence, and became the manager of the evil project. “And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest” (Judges 17:5). Thirdly, Micah lacked close counsellors that could help him on matters of his faith; his closest confidant and counsellor appeared to be his backslidden mother. But being a father of grown up children, Micah was expected to resist the overt defection. His yielding to his mother’s persuasion was proof of his shaky stand on matters of religion and true righteousness. Thereafter, he got his sons and others into worshipping at his “rebel chapel”. How one unstable person corrupts many others! (Ecclesiastes 9:18; 2 Timothy 4:3,4). The absence of a sovereign oversight aggravated Micah’s pull to idolatry. “In those days there was no king in Israel…” (Judges 17:6). The Israelites in Micah’s day generally lacked leadership check. The outcome of everyone doing “that which was right in his own eyes” was that crime and violence escalated and many ultimately ended up doing what was wrong in the sight of the Lord. Christians are called to be law-abiding and interceding (Jeremiah 29:7; 1 Timothy 2:1-3; 1 Peter 2:13-15). Those in church leadership positions must perform their functions with utmost diligence while followers should be submissive and cooperative (Romans 12:8; Hebrews 13:17).
A CONSCRIPT’S ERROR AND ILLUSION (Judges 17:7- 13; Numbers 16:8-10; 1 Kings 13:33,34; Ezekiel 13:19; 1 Timothy 6:10)
Generations of Levites were conscripts in God’s spiritual army primarily to fight against the incursion of evil, to prevent defilement and to assist in the process of making atonement for sin. Their choice had been by divine fiat. They were born into peculiar assignments with special privileges. Their fulfilment in life lay in aligning with the demands of their calling as outlined by God. Unfortunately, there were some dissenters in the tribe. The Levite in today’s study was one of such. It is obvious that he was discontent with the divine arrangement. Living in a world of illusion, he supposed he could make it better outside the confines of God’s allotment. He did not stay in any of the cities or villages appointed for Levites, but opted to sojourn in Bethlehem from where he came across Micah (Judges 17:7). His degenerate lifestyle negated God’s will for him, yet he did not bother to seek divine help. It was easy to recognise the mockery in the whole setup as long as Micah’s son served as priest. Attendance and patronage at the temple being consequently lower than anticipated, the coming of the Levite presented a hope of providing some form of legitimacy for the shrine. The appointment of the Levite was based solely on his genealogical credential. In similar situations in contemporary times, it is usually skewed in favour of academic, charismatic or seminary qualifications. While these have their worth and usefulness, a Bible-believing church should always be guided by scriptural principles and place a higher premium on character (Exodus 18:21; Acts 6:3; 1 Timothy 3:7,8). The Levite, thought to be “Jonathan, the son of Gershom” decided to pitch his tent with idolatrous Micah because the latter offered him promotion, payment and provision. These factors still delude some Christians and church workers from their calling in contemporary times. The Levite’s acceptance of Micah’s offer shows his shallowness, ignorance, low esteem and despicable non- compliance to God’s word. His subsequent submission to Micah’s consecration clearly indicates his gross illusion as to the essence of his levitical privileges. Instead of using the encounter with Micah to correct the growing error, he sacrificed his moral duty for his temporal -needs and became fully yoked in idolatry (2 Corinthians 6:14). Carvings and images of saints on church altars are reminiscences of Micah’s errors. However, idolatry in our age is not limited to graven or molten images. It can secretly lurk in the minds of its captives through ungodly principles, inordinate pursuits, unbridled egotism, undue gratification and concealed covetousness (Colossians 3:5,6). Excessive adulation of a hero or celebrated talent and submission of oneself to another person in hope of mundane advantage are elements of modern idolatry. “And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest… Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest” (Judges 17:12,13). It is surprising that enemies of the cross can still hope for God’s blessings for an affront over which one should fear a just retribution of His wrath. The blessing in reference here Is obviously in terms of economic advancement and other physical parameters (Philippians 3:19). Contemporary believers should be resolute and committed to keeping the terms of the divine covenant and avoid the error of the likes of Micah and his compromising Levite-priest in this end-time.
QUEST FOR A NEW TERRITORY BY THE DANITES (Judges 18:1-10; Joshua 2:1,23,24; Numbers 13:1-3, 17- 20,30; Judges 17:7-12; 1 Kings 22:5; Deuteronomy 8:7- 10; John 14:1-3; Revelation 22:3-5; 21:3,4; Psalm 34:9,10)
The increasing population of the children of Dan made their dwelling place too small for them. They were the second highest, next only to the tribe of Judah (Numbers 1 and 26). They sent five valiant men to search out the land. These spies were to go and furnish the entire army with necessary information needed to capture the land. This military strategy – reconnaissance is absolutely necessary in spiritual warfare and work. Christian service, especially church-planting, should be done with prayerful surveying and planning. There is need to assess the place of intent, the people, their custom, religion, etc., so as to make adequate preparations. On their way to Laish, the Danite spies got to Mount Ephraim and lodged in the house of Micah who had gone into idolatry. During that short stay, they yielded to the influence of Micah’s idolatry and this translated into setting up of those idols, which were embraced by the whole tribe. Also, they saw the Levite-priest who, being an accomplice, was offering idolatrous services for pecuniary purposes. They interacted with the Levite who volunteered some useful information about all the idols and groves that were in Micah’s house, the status of the priest and his vulnerability. We must be careful how we give information to strangers in these days of global security challenge. The strangers gave the first hint of their own spiritual decline by asking the idol priest to ask counsel of God for them concerning their journey to Laish. It is wrong to leave divinely appointed spiritual leaders and wander to prayer houses and commercial prophets who, though disguised as Christian ministers, are not different from soothsayers. God prohibits the practice of divination or sorcery in whatever form (Deuteronomy 18:10-13; Ezekiel 21:21-24; Hosea 4:12; Jeremiah 23:21,22,32). Although the Levite conveyed an encouraging message to the Danites which came true, it did not convey any divine approval that he was a true priest. The spies eventually arrived in Laish, which is about 100 miles from Zorah and found that the inhabitants were disorganised, unguarded, far and quite isolated from other communities. They deduced that the people were prone to attack and plunder. It is not a mark of godliness to be isolated in the community where we live on the excuse that we want to be separated from the world. Spiritual or moral separation, which the Bible enjoins, is quite different from isolation, whichh limits our Christian witness and exposes us to danger. Though Laish was described as being very good and without “want of anything that is in the earth”, it cannot be compared with heaven where there will be no more sorrow, death, tears, crying or pain. As the Danites desired a better land, believers should desire heaven where, in reality, there will be no want of any good thing. The spies returned after their search with good and encouraging report, which encouraged them to take positive steps and move towards their desired goal. Christian reportage should encourage and motivate people for great exploits. Faith in God makes us see giants as prey.
SINFUL ACT OF THE DANITES AND THEIR SUPPRESSION OF LAISH (Judges 18:11-31; Exodus 20:15,17; Luke 3:14; Matthew 5:39-41; Romans 12:19)
The Danites chose six hundred armed men to go and attack Laish. They left Zorah for Laish, arrived at Mount Ephraim and came to the house of Micah. The spies who surveyed the land informed their fellow soldiers of the idolatrous items in Micah’s house and encouraged them to forcefully take possession of them. Thus, they forcefully took the idols of Micah and persuaded his priest to follow them so he could have a larger ministry and reward. They did not regard God’s command against stealing and idolatry; neither did they reciprocate Micah’s hospitality to the spies. Though Micah was idolatrous, he deserved a better treatment from the Danites who had benefited from his kindness. They were simply ingrates. When Micah noticed that his idols had been stolen, he went in company of his neighbours to challenge these pilferers. By his action, he showed commitment to his idols and risked his life to confront them. Believers need to place greater value on their spiritual heritage of salvation, sanctification, Holy Ghost baptism and Bible doctrines, and be more diligent in keeping them. Micah, unable to rout the Danites, lost his idols and priest to them. The Levite was easily bought over by the Danites with the bait of popularity, gain and materialism. For the same reason, Satan still seeks to lure believers from Christ, their righteous Master. The armed Danites came to Laish, smote the inhabitants with the edge of the sword, took over the city, renovated and renamed it Dan, after their father. Lack of security consciousness in an isolated settlement made the defeat of Laish easy. We become easy preys for the enemy when we live solitary and secretive lives. Believers are warned not to seek repose on earth as they are in the midst of foes. They should watch, pray and network with other believers (1 Peter 5:8). The Danites eventually set up the idols that they stole from Micah’s house for worship. By this action, they became the first tribe to begin full-scale idolatry in Israel. Care must be taken lest our quest for enlarged coast draw us into ungodly practices. While there is nothing wrong with a desire for enlargement and increase, we must never forget that “…better is a little with righteousness than great… treasure and trouble therewith” (Proverbs 16:8; 15:16).
Questions for review:
Mention the temptations associated with seeking greener pastures.
What can we deduce from Micah’s reaction to his mother’s declaration?
What can contemporary Christians learn from the societal permissiveness of Micah’s time?
Why did Micah need the services of a wandering Levite?
Comment on what attracted the Levite to Micah.
How should believers value spiritual things?
State how believers can avoid similar pit