Today’s section acts as an appendix
to the first 16 chapters of Judges.
Chronologically it fits after chapter 3…probably before the 40-rule of
the Philistines. But the writer has
placed it here intentionally as a fitting climax to the book. Departing from historical chronology is to
show how wicked the people had become. The
people are building their own idols of wood and metal, devising their own
systems of worship and even hiring Levites to serve as priests over their phony
religions. Morally the nation is at such
a low ebb that rape and homosexuality scarcely cause an eye to blink. And when Israel’s national conscience is
finally pricked by a shocking “telegram” sent to the 12 tribes, the response is
brutal outrage—resulting in the next extinction of the tribe of Benjamin.
Chapter 17: Micah’s False Religion
18: Dan’s False Worship – Religions Confusion
Chapter 19, 20 Benjamin’s Perversion
21 Benjamin’s Preservation – Moral Corruption
“People do not lack strength; they
lack will.
Assume for a few minutes that you are
a doctor. What are the first ‘vital
signs’ you could check to determine if the patient was sick or healthy?
Pretend that you are a spiritual doctor…What
five ‘vital signs’ would you check to determine if your nation was spiritually
sick or healthy?
The lesson of Judges is clear. People left to do what seems RIGHT in their
own eyes will end up doing what is WRONG in God’s eyes. Gross idolatry immorality, brutality,
injustice…when God’s object standard of right and wrong is discarded, mankind
will not only hit bottom morally – they will break clean through.
You have the privilege of making your
voice heard for God and for good through letters and phone calls. And those around you need to know that God
specializes in healing spiritually sick nations.
The 1,000 dollar question: In Judges 17:2 Micah confesses to the theft
of 1,000 dollars worth of silver—a total of nearly 30 pounds of the precious
metal. Elsewhere in the book of Judges,
that same figure becomes prominent again.
Can you remember who else paid out that much money? And to whom?
And for what? 16:5
The Irish poet William Butler Yeats
describes the collapse of civilization in vivid and frightening imagery. “Things fall apart…the center cannot hold!”
Here we have a nation that once
marched triumphantly through Canaan to the glory of God – now disintegrates
morally, politically and brings disgrace to His name. THE WORST OF ALL IDOLS: 17:6 AND 21:25
The movements of the tribe of Dan
would have been difficult and the war against Benjamin impossible if the
Philistines had been in charge at that time.
In ch. 17:1-6: a demonstration of the
CONFUSION IN THE HOME God establish 3
institutions in society: the home, human
govt, and the worshiping community…the church.
He laid the foundation for the institutions humanity would build. When that foundation crumbles, society begins
to fall apart. “If the foundations be
destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
Ps. 11:3
Grandmother pronounced a curse on the
thief of her silver without realizing that she was cursing her own son…It was
the fear of the curse – not the fear of the LORD that motivated the son to
confess his crime and restore the money.
Gran neutralized the curse by blessing her son. She used part of the silver to make an
idol…and her son added it to his “god collection” in his house. Mama did not deal with her son’s sins; his
character certainly didn’t improve by the way she handled the matter. She was a corrupt person herself.
Have you ever seen a family more
spiritually and morally confused than this one.
They actually thought they were serving the Lord by the bizarre things
they did. WHY did Micah confess? Did not have anything to do with the fear of the
LORD…he had a fear of the curse of the thief that his mother made. NO honor for his mother…he COVETed, stole,
lied, a shrine of false gods Pro. 30:8-9 “insulted God’s holy name”…see if you
can figure out how many commandments he broke without ever leaving his own
home.
Keep in mind that Deut. 12:1-14…there
was to be but one place of worship in Israel yet Micah had his own shrine. He ordained his own son to serve as a
priest…likely he knew that Aaron’s family was to be the only priests in
Israel.
Because Micah and his family didn’t
submit to the authority of God’s Word, their home was a place of religious and
moral confusion. Does their home remind
you of homes here in America present day?
Money is the god the family worships, children steal from their parents
and lie about what they do…family honor is unknown and the true God is
unwanted. Television provides all the
“images” the family will every want to ‘worship’, and few worry about “thus
saith the LORD. In fact, one who does
think and speak in that vein are most often rejected in the family and
certainly in the public arena.
Vance Havner: “We shouldn’t worry because the government
won’t allow children to have Bibles in school.
They’ll get Bibles when they go to prison.”
If every family would make Christ the
Heal of the home, we could stop some of the nations’ crime right at the
source. Godly homes are the foundation
for a just and happy society.
17:7-13 God instituted spiritual leadership in the
worshiping community. New Covenant is
the temple of God Eph 2:19-22 and the Holy Spirit calls and equips ministers to
serve Him and His people. In the O.T.
God told the priests what they were supposed to do and in the Word today, the
Holy Spirit guides His church and explains its order and its ministry.
The young Levite was living in
Bethlehem of Judah…probably there because the people of Israel were not
supporting the tabernacle and its ministry.
When God’s people grow indifferent to spiritual things, one of the first
evidences of their apathy is a decline in their giving to the work of the
Lord…everyone suffers.
He set out to find a place to live
and work…instead of doing something to bring the people back to God…instead of
being available he agreed to serve in a comfortable home with Micah.
He did not have an appreciation for his high
calling as a Levite…Jon gave it all up for comfort and security in the home of
an idolater.
It must grieve the Lord today to see
people worshiping the idols of ministerial “success”…statistics, buildings and
reputation. Self appointed preachers and
‘prophets’ have no problem getting a following and peddling religious wares to
a church that acts more like a Hollywood fan club than a holy people of
God. Most identify the happening as the
blessings of God. Jonathans and Micahs
will always find each other because they need each other. Micah was now operation a huge lie…he had a
false confidence that God was blessing him because he had a genuine levitical
priest to serve him.
18:1-31 Confusion in Society God
should have been the king in Israel and His Word the law that governed society,
but the people preferred to “do their own thing.” In our time called “the me generation”.
The tribe of Dan – not a large
tribe…given choice territory…did not defeat and dispossess the enemy…decided to
go north and relocate. They coveted
somebody else’s land..they opposed God’s plan of assigned territory.
Today our society does not submit to
God’s will…people want what others have and they will do almost anything to get
it. Produce pornography, sell drugs,
promote gambling, … benefit from human desires and end up making money and
destroying lives. All the ads create and
stimulate the appetites of people…spend money they don’t have on things they
don’t need to impress people who don’t really care.
The misguided and sinful young priest
was asked for UNGodly counsel…if they had really wanted God’s counsel, they
could have consulted with the high priest, but they were actually rejecting
God’s counsel by refusing to remain in the land.
Theft done against Micah…Jonathan was
hired and took the better offer rather than report the theft.
The Danites had the women and
children in front – safest place because an attack would come from the
rear. Micah called a group together and
they made pursuit. After all, a man must
protect his gods????!!!!!!
TheDanites outnumbered him and were
too strong. Micah’s sad questions was
“What else do I have v. 24…reveals the folly and the tragedy of religion
without the true and living God.
Idolaters worship gods they can carry, but Christians worship a God Who
carries them. Isa. 46:1-7
The Danites attacked the Sidonians –
peaceful, unsuspecting, secure, and prosperous people. Captured Laish, killed all, burned the ciy,
rebuilt and named it Dan.
We live in a world much like the
attitude of the Danites (What’s mine is mine, I’ll keep it – What’s yours is
mine, I’ll take it and What’s mine is yours, I’ll share it) the 2nd
philosophy. We have been exposed to so
much crime and violence in the media that this kind of news does not disturb us
anymore. Arthur Beisser in Sports
Illustrated “It’s being used not as a means to an end, but for recreational
purposes, for pleasure.” You might add
that violence is a means for making money. As both the moviemakers and the t.v.
industry have proved.
The account of Micah, Jonathan, and
the Danites is more than a story from ancient history…it is a revelation of the
wickedness of the human heart and the hopelessness of human society without
God. Our modern world has substituted
idols for the t rue and living God and has devised its own humanistic religion,
complete with PRIESTS – the experts who tell us that the Bible is wrong but
their way is right. The home, the
ministry and society are disintegrating before our eyes, and PEOPLE DON’T WANT
TO HEAR THE TRUTH! In spite of that, it
is our responsibility to begin or continue to tell the TRUTH!
CH. 19 – 21 In these last 3 chapters, you find reports
much like today’s headlines: wife abuse,
blatant homosexuality, gang rape leading to murder, injustice, brother killing
brother and even kidnapping. According
to a study by the Am. Psy. Assn. there are 5 violent acts per hour in
prime-time TV programs…when a nation is entertained by violence, is there much
hope for that nation? When evil isn’t
dealt with properly, it has a tendency to grow.
Sin in the city of Gibeah eventually
infected the tribe of Benjamin and led to war.
The unnamed Levite was an absolute scoundrel of the basest sort. He spent most of his time partying, walked in
darkness, jeopardized his life and those around him, treated his concubine in
the most shocking manner, while she was alive and after death, what he did
precipated a civil war in Israel.
This Levite illustrates the careless
attitude of many believers today. They
are children of the day but they act like children of the night. Their thots are centered on enjoying
life. In too many churches, the laughter
of “religious entertainment” has replaced the holy hush of worship. The sanctuary has become a theater…saints
intent on having fun…a short devotion salves our conscience. We seem to be losing the sense of awe and
need to learn how to weep. Had this
laughing Levite been walking in the light, praying and seeking God’s will, he
would have made other plans and saved his wife from shame, abuse, pain and
death.
The Levite and his party did not
experience the hospitality of Gibeah.
One man showed concern…God’s people are commanded to practice
hospitality. Heb. 13:2. Gibeah like Sodom. The work KNOW 19:22 means to have sexual
experience with. The host offering his
daughter shows the low esteem some men in that day had of women and sexual
purity. We cannot believe he would offer
his own daughter; yet today, parents allow their sons and daughter – minds and
hearts to be violated by what they see and hear in movies, TV and rock
concerts. Chastity of mind and heart is
essential for chastity of the body.
The Levite gave his wife up to gang
rape the whole night…and laid down and slept.
…seemed to feel no guilt over her death…he desecrated and mutilated her
corpse by cutting it into 12 pieces…sent to each tribe of Israel. He wanted someone to pay for the deed but yet
he was the one who had let them kill her.
There was a proper way to handle his complaint for justice, but the way
he did it made tempers flame up.
Vow after the big pow-wow of
tribes…No tribe would give daughters in marriage to the men of Benjamin. Revenge is being sought…let’s get rid of the
evil men. The tribe of Benjamin would
not admit that Gibeah had sinned…not would they turn over the men who had done
the wicked deed.
When sin isn’t exposed, confessed and
punished, it pollutes society and defiles the land. The result:
The tribe of Benjamin declared war on the rest of the tribes. 400,000 men to Benjamites of 26,000 swordsmen
and 700 experts with slings. BROTHER
FIGHTING BROTHER!
The spiritual life of a church is
crippled and eventually destroyed when the congregation shuts its eyes to sin
and will not discipline offenders.
Covering sin infects the whole body.
The tribes sought God’s counsel…he
gave permission to do battle. The
victory by the Benjamites might have been to remind the tribes that they were
fighting their own flesh and blood.
Second day…Benjamin won again.
Each time the tribes sought God’s counsel. This time HE gave them assurance that they
would win…tactic of ambush and the whole tribe destroyed….what a price they
paid for not obeying the LORD!
Chapter 21: Weeping by the tribes because they had just
about eliminated a tribe of their nation.
Offered sacrifices…but no record of humbling themselves, confessing
their sin or seeking the Lord. The
tribes had exercised their own wisdom.
Now they realized that the tribe of Benjamin would need wives to
reestablish their tribe. BUT they had
said they would not give any of their daughters to the tribe. Jabesh-gilead had not participated and 2/3 of
the soldiers on the rock received wives from that tribe. Remaining 200 men…at the annual feast at
Shiloh…they each could kidnap a girl and take her home as a wife. The played with their vow…they would not be
GIVING the girls as brides…they would be TAKEN.
The 600 men got their brides, the 11
tribes kept their vow, the citizens of Gibeah were punished, the tribe of
Benjamin was taught a less, and the 12 tribes of Israel were saved. The 600 Benjamites with their brides,
reestablished and life began all over again.
All the carnage and destruction
happened because one Levite did not have the courage to stand up for what was
right and treat his concubine honorably.
The problem started in the home.
As the home goes, so goes the nation.
As Judges stated, “every man did that
which was right in his own eyes.” … it
will be that way until our King returns and takes His throne on earth.
Through faith in Jesus Christ, all of
God’s people today share in His love. We
belong wholly to Him because He redeemed us by His blood when He died for us on
the cross. We are laborers together in
the harvest. What a wonderful life we
have in a world torn apart by sin and selfishness…what a wonderful privilege we
have to share the Good News with others!
But a born again must be yielded and obedient to the Lord for that to be
the focus of his life.
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