Take a look at the last verse of Judges chapter 17.
Micah in a state of joy says…
“Now I know that the Lord will be good to me,
since this Levite has become my priest.”
I hope you realize this statement reflects ancient superstition on Micah’s part and not Godly truth.
Micah really believed the Lord was now obligated to bless him and his family simply because he had hired a Levite to become his private priest…
A private priest who only a few days earlier was wandering the landscape looking for a place to ply his own false version of the Hebrew religion.
So understand what Micah said reflected popular manmade doctrine and not Biblical truth.
The problem is somebody who possesses zero Scriptural foundation might randomly open up the pages of his or her Bible, come to this verse in Judges and then assume it reflects God’s mind on the matter when the opposite is true.
Here’s what you’ve got to know.
The Scriptures are jam-packed with false statements and outright lies made by men.
And it’s up to us through a diligent study of the Scriptures to be able to discern the difference between their thoughts and God’s thoughts.
This whole incident reminds of Balaam the sorcerer who believed all kinds of zany things about how the God of Israel operated before the Lord took control of his speech.
Another good example is King David.
In his dark moments, he was famous for rationalizing away some of the evils he had committed.
And don’t we all do that?
Micah falsely assumed that God would now bless him because he had hired a Levite priest to officiate in his home.
He assumed wrong.
God does not bless us for breaking His commandments or perverting His rituals and observances EVEN IF WE’RE SINCERE.
Oh man, if there ever was a statement the gentile church needs to hear, it’s that last one.
Yes, the Bible contains God’s Words.
The messages he spoke through His chosen prophets or messengers represent truth and God’s mind on the matter.
However, the Scriptures also contain many uninspired words uttered by ordinary men.
These words are also accurately recorded in the Scripture…
But they do NOT reflect divine truth.
Got it?
Again, it’s up to us through diligent study and Holy Spirit guidance to discern the difference.
In most cases, it’s easy to know if some statement uttered by a Bible character is complete bogus.
But in other cases, if you don’t have a strong Torah foundation, you could completely misinterpret a statement that does NOT reflect God’s mind on a given matter.
And speaking of misinterpretation, I hope you’re not misunderstanding what I’m telling you right now.
I am NOT saying the Bible is full of error.
I’m saying it accurately records statements and actions of men who acted IN ERROR.
Actually, the very fact the Bible accurately records the words and behavior of men who acted in error is strong evidence of the integrity of the Scriptures.
Alrighty, I think I made my point.
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Do your best to present yourself
to God as one approved,
a worker who does not need to be ashamed
and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
-2 Timothy 2:15
“Brothers and sisters,
I could not address you as people
who live by the Spirit
but as people who are still worldly
—mere infants in Messiah.
I gave you milk, not solid food,
for you were not yet ready for it.
Indeed, you are still not ready.
You are still worldly.
For since there is jealousy and
quarreling among you,
are you not worldly?
Are you not acting like mere humans?”
-1 Corinthians 3:1-3
“Bear in mind that our
Lord’s patience means salvation,
just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you
with the wisdom that God gave him.
He writes the same way in all his letters,
speaking in them of these matters.
His letters contain some things
that are hard to understand,
which ignorant and unstable people distort,
as they do the other Scriptures,
to their own destruction.”
-2 Peter 3:15
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN JUDGES CHAPTER 18
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