The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 17:13,
"Now I [Micah] know that the Lord will be good to me, since this
Levite has become my priest."
Micah offered a wandering young Levite a job to be his priest. He
would pay him four ounces of silver a year and provide his clothing
and food. Further, he reasoned that since he had done this the Lord
would be good to him.
Moses and Aaron were from the tribe of Levi. Out of that tribe only
Aaron and his offspring were appointed by the Lord to serve as
priests, "Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the
Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar,
so they may serve me as priests." Exodus 28:1. Some "insolent" Levite
half-wits (Korah, Dathan and Abiram), challenged this set up telling
Moses, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one
of them, and the Lord is with them." Numbers 16. Moses' response to
them was, "Now listen, you Levites! Isn't it enough for you that the
God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite
community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord's
tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them? He
has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you
are trying to get the priesthood too. It is against the Lord that you
and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you
should grumble against him?" Numbers 16:8-11.
The uprising was ended horrifically when, "the ground under them
[Korah, Dathan and Abiram] split apart and the earth opened its mouth
and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah's men and all
their possessions. They went down alive into the grave, with
everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished
and were gone from the community. At their cries, all the Israelites
around them fled, shouting, 'The earth is going to swallow us too!'
And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men [who had
joined in the rebellion] who were offering the incense." Numbers
16:31-35.
Not only who was to serve as priests for the Israelites, how the
priests approached the Lord had its importance as well. Look at what
happened to two of Aaron's sons who did it wrong, "Nadab and Abihu,
however, fell dead before the Lord when they made an offering with
unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai." Numbers 3:4.
Levites had their commission by the Lord for service at the Tent of
Meeting. "The Lord also said to Moses, 'I have taken the Levites from
among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every
Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, for all the firstborn are mine.
When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself
every firstborn in Israel, whether man or animal. They are to be mine.
I am the Lord.'" Numbers 3:11-13. However, only the descendants of
Aaron where to serve as priests.
In Micah hiring a wandering Levite to be his personal "priest" and for
the wandering Levite to accept the position as Micah's personal priest
demonstrates how "low-information people of God" the Israelites had
sunk to. And this, in spite of the fact that, not so many generations
earlier, the Levite rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram ended in
such a horrific judgment of God! And, Micah actually thought this
would bring him God's favor! Astonishing!
Not surprising, unfortunately. We still have people doing just these
kinds of things today, during the church age we now live in. Folks set
themselves up as "priests" in the church where in reality everyone is
a priest, obviating the need for a special "priesthood". As Peter told
all believers, "As you come to him, the living Stone [Jesus
Christ]—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you
also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be
a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:4-5. Folks set themselves up as
apostles in the church when no such thing has existed since the
passing of the apostolic age. Folks do all kinds of things to show
they hold God's imprimatur for fame, fortune, power or whatever.
It is easy to point the finger, but I suspect some introspection is
due on my part. Have I accepted all God has ordained out of that which
touches my life? Do I attempt to thwart or alter what God has
determined, decreed or decided that touches my life? I think the story
of Micah, beyond its astonishing nature, is a cautionary tale for us
all.
What do you think?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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