Juízes 17

Juízes 17

McGee - "This chapter is certainly a revelation of the low spiritual ebb to which the nation Israel had come. Here is a man who thinks just because he has a Levite for his preacher that that is all he needs. How tragic is that kind of thinking. Yet Micah expected the blessing of God upon him. And how many people are like that today?" (See context in Thru the Bible) THOUGHT - Let us remember what Israel (and Micah) should have known according to God's Word: (1) making idols was forbidden (2) Aaron’s descendants only were to serve as priests (3) sacrifices were to be made only at the tabernacle (4) and blessing was an outcome of obedience rather than ritual observance. Micah violated every basic principle and yet was so self-deceived that he was convinced that his actions merited God’s favor! David Jackman warns that "The attraction of the idol is that it belongs to me, so that I can control it and enjoy a special relationship of favor with it. When my church, or my work for the Lord, or my financial capacity, or my status in the community begin to whisper to me that now God’s blessing is certain or inevitable, I can be sure that these things have become idols, by means of which I am actually worshiping myself. They provide only a thin veneer of godliness over the unmistakable features of a worldly idol (2 Timothy 3:1–5).Such idols drain the church of the power of the Holy Spirit which could otherwise be experienced in all his fullness. They paralyze us (see 18:24). Their worshipers become as inert and ineffective as they are, so that far from the future providing certain blessings from God, it is condemned to be a predictable, boring round of self-worship. Then the devil has won. Spiritually, he has destroyed us because we were not prepared to venture out on the bare word of God’s promises in faith. Instead, every time we chose to operate on the basis of sight and of what our own hands and minds could achieve for ourselves, we were playing the devil’s game and becoming enmeshed in a web of idolatrous self-reliance “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21)." (See context in Jackman, D., & Ogilvie, L. J. The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 7 : Judges, Ruth. Page 260) Brensinger adds that "Both the veneration of idols and the equation of divine favor with external religious practice have this in common: God is reduced to a controllable and totally predictable deity. In the case of idols, God takes on whatever form we humans desire. We do the shaping and the fashioning. We determine the expectations and demands. We regulate the sphere of influence. We handle God, move God, spend God, control God, and play God. As a result, the God we worship is in reality nothing more than what Martin Luther labels an idol concocted for ourselves. When people associate divine favor simply with religious possessions and behaviors, they put God into the role of a convenient and manageable checklist. From the beginning of time, people have sought after gods who are consistent and predictable, gods with unambiguous likes and dislikes. In this way, everyone knows precisely what to do and when to do it. We may assume that God automatically delights in regular church attendance, hour-long prayers, and the sharing of financial resources, for example. Then we confidently go ahead and do them, fully anticipating his blessings in return. What results, all too often, is a contract or bargain… God’s favor cannot be bought with a list of “religious” behaviors. (Judges Believers Church Bible Commentary) True shepherds receive their calling and authority from God, not from people (Gal 1:6ff); and they honor the true God, not the idols that people make. It must grieve the Lord today to see people worshiping the idols of ministerial “success,” statistics ("nickels and noses" as someone has quipped), buildings, and reputation. In today’s “consumer society,” self-appointed preachers and “prophets” have no problem getting a following and peddling their religious wares to a church that acts more like a Hollywood fan club than a holy people of God. And to make it worse, these hirelings will call what’s happening “the blessing of God.” Jonathans and Micahs will always find each other because they need each other.