Judges 17-18: Religion According to Man I. Introduction A. We are often struck by the great variety in the expression of supposed "Christian" beliefs throughout the world 1. there are thousands of groups who all claim the Scriptures as their source of doctrine and yet act in thousands of different ways 2. Would God be the author of such confusion? B. We can examine the Scriptures and see that there has always been a tendency to have a religion according to man and not according to God 1. Men have always tried to combine the things of God with the things of the world 2. It occurred with physical Israel then and is in Christianity now C. We have an example in Judges 17-18 about what kind of religion man devises on his own 1. We are repeatedly told that during the period of the Judges that "every man did what was right in his own eyes" 2. Was this pleasing to God? 3. Let us examine this narrative and derive the appropriate principles for us today II. The Narrative of Judges 17-18 A. Background 1. This narrative sometime in the period of the Judges 2. Probably later than earlier a. the narrative serves to describe the means by which the tribe of Dan established themselves in the north of Israel and the idols they set up b. We know from the Samson narrative of Judges 13-16, however, that at that time Dan still lived immediately north of Judah c. This narrative, therefore, is probably dated to the end of the time of Samson and/or during the periods of Eli and Samuel 3. There is no king in Israel; God has been sending judges to judge the people and to deliver them from their enemies when Israel feels compelled to repent and to call to Him 4. There is no indication from the narrative where in the cycle of disobedience -> captivity -> repentance -> deliverance -> disobedience it occurs B. The Situation (Judges 17:1-5) 1. We enter the narrative with a man named Micah, an Ephraimite 2. He apparently stole 1100 pieces of silver from his mother and was returning it a. a phonomenal sum b. a thousand years later, thirty pieces of silver could buy some property; let alone what 1100 pieces could have done 1,000 years earlier! 3. His mother dedicated it to the LORD a. did she send it to the tabernacle? No. b. She swore to use it to make a carved image and a metal image! c. She took the silver, dedicated it to the LORD, and used it to make idols! 4. Micah had an ephod (which was only for the priests!) and household gods 5. Micah set up his son (an Ephraimite) as his own priest C. Lest we believe that these things are approved by God, we see a break in the narrative in Judges 17:6 that explains to us that "everyone did what was right in their own eyes" D. The Levite (Judges 17:7-13) 1. At some later point a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah who was searching for a new home and was traveling in the hill country of Ephraim 2. He is approached by Micah and Micah urges him to become his own priest; he will be paid handsomely for this! 3. The Levite assents and even becomes as a son to Micah 4. Micah feels content and approved by the LORD because he has a Levite in his service a. where in the Law do we see people having their own priests? b. Are these feelings shared by the LORD? E. The Danites (Judges 18:1-13) 1. At this point in the narratives the Danites are introduced 2. They have not yet gained their territory allotted to them a. lacked faith in God b. Canaanites and Philistines were strong in the land 3. They were searching for territory, and the spies sent to find good land stayed with Micah for a bit 4. They recognized the voice of the Levite, and asked him to inquire of God as to whether they would be successful 5. The Levite told them that they would succeed a. There is no indication that the Levite did actually inquire of God or if God truly did speak to him b. The message was positive, which is not rare from false prophets c. Was this divine providence or a successful gamble? We shall see 6. The Danites came to the city of Laish near the source of the Jordan River and saw that it was complacent and without allies nearby 7. The spies bring back a good report and they decide to move F. The Danites and the Levite (Judges 18:14-31) 1. We are told that the spies told the rest of the Danites about the existence of idols and a priest in the house of Micah a. according to the Law, what should they have done? b. They should have destroyed the idols and the idolaters c. What will they do? 2. The men of Dan set up a trap and the spies inquire as to Micah et al's welfare 3. They took the idols and convinced the Levite that it was better to be a priest of a tribe than a priest only of a family 4. The Levite goes with them and takes the ephod and household gods 5. Micah is none too pleased and chases after them, but is too weak to do anything about it 6. The Danites are successful in their battles and conquer the land that will become Dan 7. They set up the idol for themselves, and the identity of the Levite is made known a. he is Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses! b. (genealogical note: there would have been at least four or five if not more generations between this priest and Gershom and Moses, furthermore, Gershom the son of Moses is not said in any full genealogy to have a son named Jonathan; we should see this as is done often that some individuals in the middle are removed since they are irrelevant; we only need to know that Jonathan is descended from Moses by means of Gershom) c. We see, therefore, that the depravity of Israel was present within the family of Moses himself! 8. We are told also that the descendants of Jonathan served as priests to Dan until the Assyrian captivity in 722 BCE 9. The idol itself was set up as long as the tabernacle was at Shiloh-- i.e., until the times of the kings G. Now that we have gone through the narrative, let us examine how these Israelites engaged in religion according to man and draw parallels to modern-day examples III. Religion According to Man A. Assimilation of Biblical truth with worldly practice 1. We find in the Judges 17-18 narrative that all of the people believe in the LORD-- YHWH 2. Yet for His worship they establish carved and metal images (forbidden by the second commandment: Exodus 20:4) 3. For what reason would they do such things? 4. The peoples around them worshipped idols; in fact, Israel was the only nation called upon to worship a God that was not an idol 5. Micah and the Danites, therefore, take the practices of the world and do them for YHWH 6. Do we not see this today? Is not much of modern religion an attempt to assimilate worldly practices with Biblical truth? 7. Accepting homosexuals without repentance? Recreational buildings and functions? Coffeeshops in churches? Where is the authority for such things? 8. 1 John 2:15-17: we are not to love the world or the things of the world 9. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18: what concord can Christ have with the world? 10. We must not allow us to dilute and pollute the truth of the Bible with worldly practices B. Alterations of Proper Service 1. We find in the Judges 17-18 narrative that there are many examples of minor alterations in the service of the LORD that are not approved 2. Micah had a shrine in his house with an ephod and household gods; the only approved place of sacrifice was the tabernacle 3. Micah installed his son for a time as his priest despite the fact that Levi, not Ephraim, were the only legitimate priests (Hebrews 7:12-14) 4. Levites were not to be "personal priests," but were to minister to the LORD for all the people 5. God did not approve of these things and their increase within the land led to later exile! 6. Do we also not see minor alterations of worship today? 7. The use of instrumental music? Choruses and praise teams? Unauthorized use of the collection? Many other such things? 8. Romans 12:1: we must do things God's way! 9. Let us not forget such things C. Self-Affirmation and Justification 1. In Judges 17:13, Micah is confident that the LORD will make him prosper because he has a Levite as his priest 2. Yet we know that Micah is doing many things contrary to the Law of Moses; does his confidence have any foundation? 3. We see that his priest, his idols, his ephod, and his household gods-- a significant part of his prosperity-- is taken from him by the Danites 4. Evidently the LORD did not feel like prospering him 5. Do we not see today that many affirm that their worship and praise is acceptable to God? 6. Do they have any substance to their feelings? Are they doing what God truly wills? 7. May they see the example of Micah and realize that merely because one thinks they are approved does not mean that they are truly approved D. Collective Depravity 1. In Judges 18 we see that this spiritual depravity is not limited to Micah's house alone 2. In Judges 18:14 we may have the glimmer of hope that the tribe of Dan will do well by the LORD and remove the idolatry from the midst of Ephraim; instead they steal the idolatry from Micah and take it for themselves 3. We even learn that Moses' descendants are complicit in this depravity! 4. Both Micah and the Danites can feel justified to themselves since they do not see correction being made by the standard of the Law of Moses but instead both see one another practicing idolatry 5. Is not much of modern religious practice similar, that various erroneous practices and doctrines are justified in some way by their use by many different groups? 6. Why not use instrumental music? Everyone else does! Why not have an ecclesiastical hierarchy? Many do! 7. We owe it to God and the Gospel to stand firm and to be a light to the world of the truth of God, and to live up to Paul's standard in 1 Timothy 3:15; we must not allow erroneous practices and doctrines to enter the church because "everyone else is doing it!" E. Success does not mean Justification 1. We see in Judges 18 that the Danites manifestly believed in the worth of the idols and Levite of Micah because they were successful in their search for new land and its subjugation 2. Was their success truly forecasted by the LORD through the Levite? Or was it a successful gamble? 3. From all evidence we can conclude that the Danites were able to take advantage of Laish's weakness and the Levite gave counsel, not necessarily of the LORD, but a positive message which is always appreciated 4. Yet they certainly believed that success came because of the truth of Micah's idolatrous system 5. Do we not also see today that many churches profess their truth and "Spirit guidance" by growth and other forms of "success?" Does this mean that God has approved them? 6. Neither growth or loss nor large numbers or small necessarily prove a group true or false; we do know from Matthew 7:13-14 that the many will take the smooth path to destruction but only a few will find the true road to salvation 7. Let us not believe that our successes will necessarily justify us, but remember that only being true to the Lord will give us approval IV. Conclusion A. It is important to remember that all of these things were done in Judges 17-18 when there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes B. What was right in their own eyes? Idols, priests for individuals, and stealing, among other things C. Did they feel like they were acceptable to God? Surely. But who was their authority, God or themselves? D. We can see that the same is true today. There is no king in America, and, especially in matters of religion, everyone does what is right in their own eyes E. Are we going to be "everyone?" Or are we going to be the remnant who will be faithful to the LORD? F. Be not deceived; those who do what is right in their own eyes alone will not be caused to stand at the Judgment G. Do not what is right in your own eyes but what is right in the eyes of the LORD! H. If we can help you do what is right today, please let us do so as we stand and sing