Portraits of Israel • 05.01.22
Nick Lees   -   May 2, 2022

Portraits of Israel
Judges 17-18

Revealing the depths of Israel’s spiritual corruption

  1. A thieving, idolatrous Ephraimite
  2. A wandering, self-seeking Levite
  3. A disobedient, brutish tribe of Danites

Hey, did you know we’ve been studying the book of Judges for 16 weeks now? I’ve heard from some of you that this series has challenged your view of former childhood heroes like Gideon and Samson. I’ve heard from others that it has given you language for expressing the dangers of temptation/sin. (I have to admit the phrase “doing what’s right in your own eyes” has entered my lingo forever at this point!) I personally have been challenged by the weekly reminders of the outcome of living selfishly and turning away from God. I told my small group last Sunday that I see a little too much of Samson in me! It has been good to be challenged to identify specific ways we are not following God and to submit those to him for change/growth. This study in Judges has been eye-opening to the daily reality of our human struggle to trust and obey God.

Do you know why we’re studying Judges? Every study we do as a church is intentional. There is a reason or reasons behind it. Last year, when the pastor team sat down to discuss what we were seeing in the life of our church and in society at large, we realized that Judges would help address some areas of needed growth.

  • For one, we believed that studying Judges would help us see the importance of knowing God and training up the next generation to know God.

We have seen firsthand the bad fruit of failing to train up the next generation.

Judges 2:10 (ESV)

10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

The next generation rapidly departed from the Lord and entered the cycle of sin and brokenness that we’ve seen throughout the book of Judges. I’m sure we would all say with conviction that we don’t want that for our children and grandchildren. But are you taking ownership for your part in preventing it?

For the adults in the room, I hope you’ve grown in your conviction that you need to know God so that you can follow Him and then help the next generation follow him too. I pray that you have a growing desire to make disciples!

For the students and kids in the room, I hope you’ve grown in your desire to want an adult to train you up in the ways of the Lord. Life is so much sweeter when it’s lived in God’s will and ways.

  • Secondly, Judges also gives us examples of good and bad leadership.

Frankly, our church and our society need strong yet humble, bold yet godly leadership. Especially from men. Throughout our study of Judges, we’ve seen men and women who have been polarizing leaders. Some have led well and had a positive effect on the nation, while others have led poorly and led the nation further astray.

How you lead matters! Your influence can be used to help people know God and make Him known or it can be used to drive people away from God and into the selfish pursuit of sin and idolatry. What kind of leader are you seeking to be?

  • Third, Judges shows us the result of everyone doing what is right in their own eyes.

If we’re being honest, there is a certain temptation for all of us to operate individualistically. “No one tells me what to do or how to live!” “My decisions don’t affect anyone but me!” And so on… As Americans we often fail to recognize how sinfully independent and selfish we are.

One of God’s graces in the pandemic was bringing this sinful mentality into the light. So many were uncharitable, self-righteous, and judgmental of others. Regardless of what side of issues you were on, there was a decisive and noticeable lack of patience and grace extended to those on the other side. Unfortunately, our nation resembled (and still resembles) Israel in the days of the judges – full of anarchy and idolatry – the fruit of everyone doing what is right in their own eyes.

These themes in Judges help us turn the mirror of Scripture back on ourselves to evaluate how we can change to please God. They force us to see the ugliness of our own sin and point us to our need for our wonderful Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope Judges has led you to the end of yourself in specific ways in your life, so that you are able to cling to Christ and find deliverance from any idols you’ve put in God’s place. May we not be a people who live for self or for the approval of others or for a comfortable, easy life or ____________ (you name the idol that you are tempted to worship).

That’s why we’re studying Judges. I hope knowing this is helpful to you. I am thankful for those of you who asked me to reiterate these things as of late. It is good to be reminded why we’re doing what we’re doing.

With that in mind, let’s turn our attention to Judges 17-18 today. This is the transition to the conclusion of the book. The emphasis on the 12 judges of Israel ended with Samson and now we’re going to see the depths of Israel’s spiritual and moral decay/corruption. The author will introduce and repeat his catchphrase 4x over these next chapters:

Judges 17:6, 18:1, 19:1, 21:25

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

He is emphasizing the completeness to their apostasy – they have forsaken the One, True God, Yahweh. The twin fruits of anarchy and idolatry are going to pour forth in the nation.

Now with two entire chapters to be covered today, we’re not going to read all of it. I’m going to read parts of each and summarize some details in between. I assume you read the passage before coming each Sunday, that’s why we put next week’s reading at the bottom of the bulletin! As the sermon title reveals, we’re going to see Portraits of Israel today. Glimpses of characters that reveal the underlying problems within the nation at large. Our goal will be to learn from these characters to choose a better way for our own lives.

Let’s get into 17:1-6:

Judges 17:1–6 (ESV)

17 There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2 And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the Lord.” 3 And he restored the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said, “I dedicate the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.” 4 So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image. And it was in the house of Micah. 5 And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

There is so much to this story to make you stop and scratch your head or shout, “NO!” What kind of son steals from his own mother? What kind of mother leads her son into idolatry?

Our first portrait of Israel is of…

  1. A thieving, idolatrous Ephraimite

In these short 6 verses, 4 of the 10 Commandments that God gave Moses are broken. There are direct violations of the first, second, fifth, and eighth commandments here.

First, the son steals from and dishonors his mother! In fact, he steals A LOT OF MONEY. And perhaps just as shocking, when he confesses, his mom’s response is to bless him! But her shocking behavior doesn’t end there! She says she wants to dedicate some silver to the LORD to make a carved image and metal image… Now the mom and son are working together to build out a very sophisticated household idolatry set. This is a horrible interaction!

Sin leads to more sin… Son steals from mom. Mom encourages idolatry. Son ordains one of his sons as a priest, which was also a violation of God’s law! We have multi-generational sinning going on here.

This is simply setting the stage for even more idolatry, as this man, Micah, will continue to lead many astray when we continue reading. It’s a very pointed reminder that our choices do affect others and one sin easily leads to another! As I’ve said before sin does not stay confined. It’s a lie to believe “I can sin over here, but it won’t affect my life and relationships over here.”

We must guard against a lackadaisical approach to sin. If you sin against someone, handle it biblically! Go to God and to that person and confess how you sinned. Ask them for forgiveness. And be specific! Give them the opportunity to forgive you and be reconciled to one another. Stop the sin train in its tracks! And if you were the one sinned against, you have a part to play in this too. You must stand ready to forgive. Forgiveness is an active choice – to not bring up the sin again to yourself, to that person, or to others. This is the pattern Jesus Christ taught his disciples in Matthew 18.

My former senior pastor used to say something like, “Sin is like guppies, you can deal with the few you have today or the 1,000 you’ll have tomorrow.” His point was that unaddressed sin breeds more sin, just as we see in this text.

Kids, you’ve seen this firsthand at school or in your homes. When someone treats another poorly and doesn’t make it right, what usually happens next? That person turns around and responds in sin too. This can quickly become a compounding affect that ripples through an entire group or family. Soon everyone is sinning against each other!

Consider this scenario, boss chews out employee at work. Employee stews on it all the way home. Walks in the door and blows up at spouse. Dinner is tense. Kids are rascally and eventually dad/mom blow up on them. Then they blow up in return or turn away in tears. What happened?! How did we get to this point of brokenness in so many? Sin ran amuck. No one stopped the sin train.

This a good opportunity for us to stop and ask a few application questions. Let’s not just look at Micah and his mom, let’s turn the mirror of Scripture around to us:

  • How do you respond to sin?

Is your pattern to stop it in its tracks with confession and repentance? Or do you keep plowing on, inviting more sin to get onboard? *Choo choo, get out of the way of the sin train or get run over!*

Jesus Christ has provided a better way. We can be free of the thieving, idolatrous lifestyle of Micah and his mom. We don’t have to compound sin with more sin. By God’s grace, we can put it to death through confession and repentance. Let’s make it our aim to handle sin differently this week! (If you’re not sure how to do this, please shoot me an email or discuss it in your SG. I want to make sure you’re equipped.)

Let’s keep reading to see how sin compounds:

Judges 17:7–13 (ESV)

7 Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 8 And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. 9 And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I may find a place.” 10 And Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living.” And the Levite went in. 11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12 And Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.”

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy… Now we are introduced to an unnamed Levite who is not living where he should be… The Levites were one of the twelve tribes of Israel, but they had a unique calling to serve as the priests in the land. They were provided specific cities to dwell in and Bethlehem in Judah was not one of them! This man was wandering around, failing to fulfill his God-given duties. He is another example of everyone doing what is right in their own eyes!

Our second portrait of Israel is of…

  1. A wandering, self-seeking Levite

This young man will become a central part of the story in just a moment. For now, notice how each of these men’s sin has ensnared one another. Micah has his sinful household shrine that he wants the Levite to run (kicking out his own son!?). And because the Levite is out wandering around rather than fulfilling his God-given calling, he says, “Sure!” The offer he got from Micah was too good to ignore. He has a nice roof over his head, annual income, food and drink, and clothes! The Levite is living for his own gain…

These men have clearly set their sights on the wrong thing. They are living for self rather than the Lord. Micah even thinks he can manipulate God into favoring him because of this Levite in his household. What a fool!

Again, let’s turn the mirror onto us:

  • What are you living for? Are you where you should be?

Temptation and sin abound, especially when we are living for the wrong thing and doing what is right in our own eyes! (Repeat)

Each one of you has God-given roles in your life. Examples include parents/spouse/kid/employee/employer/neighbor/biblical man/woman… Each of these roles has God-given responsibilities and ways in which you can honor God. Are you doing what God created you to do?

At the root of it all, God has created each of us to accurately represent and reflect him.

Genesis 1:26–27 (ESV)

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27     So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

Your job, whether you’re male or female, is to show the world what God is like. To be visible representatives of the invisible God. People ought to be able to look to you to know God and follow God.

As we heard over the past 2 weeks from 1 Peter 2:9-10, God has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light so that you may proclaim his excellencies. You are ambassadors, disciple-makers. That’s your calling, if you are united to Christ in faith.

Which means life isn’t about you! It’s about loving God and loving others. If you are caught up in wandering around with little to no direction other than your own whims and selfish desires, like this unnamed Levite, then you will live sinfully and miss the reason for which God created you. Which will produce the anarchy and idolatry that we’ve seen in judges and rob you of the joy that comes from fulfilling your purpose. Not to mention, it is an affront to the holy God who made you and deserves to be brought glory through you! These are not small matters.

Let’s keep reading… I’ll read 18:1-6 and summarize 7-26. We’ve seen the spiritual corruption of individuals, but now we’re going to see that it’s much deeper and broader than that. The corruption of Israel extends to entire tribes.

Judges 18:1–6 (ESV)

18 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them. 2 So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, “Go and explore the land.” And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3 When they were by the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. And they turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” 4 And he said to them, “This is how Micah dealt with me: he has hired me, and I have become his priest.” 5 And they said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.” 6 And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.”

(Summarize) Judges 18:7-26

In verses 7-26, the 5 spies go up to a city by the name of Laish and see that the people are defenseless and unsuspecting and that their land is desirable and full of wealth. They decide that this will be their future home and encourage the entire tribe to go and take it, saying in verse 10, “The land is spacious, for God has given it into your hands…” Notice they don’t use the name of Yahweh. They act like pagans…

On the journey to Laish, they stop at Micah’s house and decide to plunder it. They rob him of the ephod, household gods, carved image and metal image. When the Levite priest asks, “What are you doing?” They respond by telling him to be quiet and to join them. They ask him, “What is better for you? To be a priest of one man or for an entire tribe/clan of Israel?” Look at verse 20 for the Levite’s response – “And the priest’s heart was glad. He took (Micah’s idols)… and went along with the people.” How utterly wicked and self-seeking. Sin compounding sin. More evidence that he was simply serving himself, not the Lord.

Micah and his neighbors pursue the tribe of Dan, but they back down when threatened by the 600 warriors of Dan. The tribe of Dan really acts as if “might makes right”. They have no regard for others, turning against their own country-men. Doing what’s right in their own eyes! Which brings us to verse 27 where I’ll resume reading.

Judges 18:27–31 (ESV)

27 But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 28 And there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29 And they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but the name of the city was Laish at the first. 30 And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up Micah’s carved image that he made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.

The ending of this narrative is as shocking and disgusting as the beginning! Beginning with Micah’s thievery and idolatry with his mother, we have witnessed the self-seeking corruption of Jonathan the Levite (descendant of Moses, no less), and now we have witnessed our final, most extensive portrait of corruption…

  1. A disobedient, brutish tribe of Danites

This entire tribe has brutalized the city of Laish and its unsuspecting inhabitants. This all stemmed from their failure to obey God and conquer their original territory back in Judges 1:34. (MAP) Dan was supposed to be in the plains next to the Mediterranean. Instead, they journeyed over 100 miles northeast to a place of their own choosing. They weren’t willing to risk themselves at war, so they go after a helpless people. In doing this, they act like brutes who have no regard for another. They only care about what serves them. They have disobeyed God and killed helpless people in another territory.

They are a disobedient, brutish people. Then they have the audacity to ask for a “new revelation” from God by inquiring of the Levite back in verse 5. Again, they don’t recognize God as Yahweh but rather use a generic name for God.

They don’t need new revelation because God already told them where to settle:

Joshua 19:40–46 (ESV)

40 The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans. 41 And the territory of its inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, 46 and Me-jarkon and Rakkon with the territory over against Joppa.

This is what they failed to conquer and instead they sought to change God’s will for their clan with their own insight. In fact, they listen to the ungodly Levite’s words, even though it is doubtful he sought the Lord. God would not have been ok with their sin! This ought to be scary for the Levite (Jonathan) because now he has taken the Lord’s name in vain, which is a violation of the 3rd commandment. These people are compounding sin upon sin.

Dan’s “might makes right” philosophy leads them to bully their fellow Israelite Micah and take his idols. This is ironic, as Micah the thief has now been stolen from… The one who thought he had manipulated God for his blessing now loses all that he values! That is some sad irony and a further revelation that putting our hope in anything other than God will always let us down. *Pause*

On the other hand, our narrative today seems to demonstrate that sin succeeds (at least at face value). The Levite, Jonathan, appears to acquire a comfortable life for himself with the Danites. And the tribe of Dan gets a fruitful land to call their home.

This ought to give us pause. “Success” doesn’t necessarily mean God was in it. Sometimes God allows us to have our way and then allows us to taste the fruit of our wicked choices. The northern tribes will face exile in Assyria in the future. By disobeying God here, the Danites put themselves in line to be among the first to be exiled! Their wickedness will not go unaddressed.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking “well my life is going well and I’m not facing trials so God must be ok with it”! We often conflate success with God’s approval. The reality is that it is possible for us to be living in sin and prospering in a worldly sense. What matters to the Lord is the orientation of your heart. Are you living to please Him or to please self? If you are living in unchecked sin, then it will come back to bite you, sooner or later. It doesn’t matter if you’re killing it at your job, stacking up accolades from your peers, living the “American” dream if, in the process, you’re neglecting to worship God and fulfill his calling for your life. I appreciated Daniel Bock’s comments towards this end:

Ironically, and perhaps tragically, the agendas people set for themselves are sometimes achieved—which sends a solemn warning to the church at the close of the twentieth century. Success is not necessarily a sign of righteousness or an indication that we must be doing something right. It may in fact be the opposite. God does not stifle every corrupt thought and scheme of the human heart. (NAC)

Whew! That ought to give us pause and challenge us to evaluate our motives. Let’s turn the Scriptures back on us again…

*Pause*

What can we learn from these portraits of failure? How do we respond in the face of such utter corruption?

There are two specific responses I want to challenge you towards today.

First, cultivate awareness of the deceitfulness of sin and its horrible fruit.

As we have studied the book of Judges, this particular lesson ought to be driven home week after week. But consider where things are at for the nation of Israel at the end of chapter 18. They look a whole lot like the Canaanites they have replaced, just with a different name.

  • No devotion to Yahweh
  • No integrity
  • Abundant moral/religious failure.

How could God’s chosen nation sink so low? By not taking sin seriously and allowing it to continue unaddressed. They were not concerned with knowing God or his word, and therefore they were not able to see sin or respond to it appropriately. Their hearts were deceived by sin, leading one generation to fail to train up the next, and before you know it, here are the results… an entire nation of unbelieving people who have utterly rejected God and have invited God’s discipline/wrath upon them. We must learn from Israel’s failure! *Pause*

You must cultivate awareness of the deceitfulness of sin and its horrible fruit. How? Let me put it this way:

  • What if God had given you a resource that helped you understand sin and the way to overcome it?
    • Good news, he has! His Word!
      • Spend regular, extended time in it if you want to grow. This is the primary way God will make you holy as he is holy!
    • Not a quick dip and off to the day, but time to read and process.
      • What does this mean? How am I to apply it?
    • What if God had given you a way to engage directly with him? To remember his promises and cry out in time of need?
      • Good news, he has! The gift and invitation to pray!
      • Spend regular, extended time in prayer
        • Respond to the truths God has revealed to you in His word
        • Take time to confess specific sins in your life and ask forgiveness
        • Start your day asking God to help you be aware of temptation and to fight for holiness
      • What if God had created a group for you to live life together with?
        • He has, the church! Prioritize and value Godly relationships
        • Let fellow believers into your life. Be real/honest with them.
          • Small group is a great place to find these relationships!
        • Identify 1 man (or woman) whom you can be completely transparent with. Whom you know won’t be afraid to challenge or help you as you have need.
        • Isolation is the breeding ground of sin and despair. God made you in his image, which means you were created as a relational being.

So that’s our first response – cultivating awareness of the deceitfulness of sin and its horrible fruit. The second is this – look to Christ and live.

At the end of the day, the hope for Israel is the same as for us – the Messiah, Jesus Christ, their Savior and ours. He is the perfect one. He never failed, always obeyed, maintained perfect righteousness, and was the ransom for us. It’s only through faith in Christ that a sinful man/woman can be saved and not repeat the patterns of brokenness and sin that we’ve heard about today. The brokenness of Israel in Judges points us to our need for Christ!

We see the beauty of this second response laid out in the book of Romans in the New Testament.

It begins with an acknowledgement that the fruit of sin is death, and that there is a better way through faith in Christ. Listen to these promises in Romans:

Romans 6:23 (ESV)

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 10:9–10 (ESV)

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

When a sinner turns to Jesus in faith, having that outward profession united to an inward heart belief, they are forever changed. They are no longer dead in sin but forgiven and redeemed. Made new. Declared righteous and able to live for God.

This is a point in time decision to believe in Christ – to look to him and live. But it is also an ongoing reality – every day we must look to Christ and live in him. I need Christ today if I’m going to live for him!

It’s through faith in Christ that we are forever changed and able to live for God. Paul speaks of it this way in chapter 12:

Romans 12:1–2 (ESV)

12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Paul links this call to action to the spiritual realities that he had just been discussing. God has worked, he has made a way for us to be rescued from sin and death. It is possible to look to Christ and live for him, both at a point in time for salvation and daily for ongoing growth in holiness. So, I want to end with the same appeal that Paul did…

Offer your body (life) as a living sacrifice to God. (Make it your aim to please him each day, in every moment. Transitioning from pleasing self to pleasing God.) à This happens as… Your mind is renewed. (From knowing God’s word – a lifelong pursuit and process of change) By this you will be transformed and be able to test and discern God’s will. (Connect what you know of God’s word to real life application each day.)

 

Let’s pray.