Growing Sin

O. T. #547  "Growing Sin"
June 29, 2015
Judges 17
So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into the image and idol. And they were put in Micah's house.  Judges 17:4

LET IT GLOW


Like a snowball rolling down a hill gets bigger attaching more snow, sin can grow bigger in our life until it consumes us and draws us away from God. We have to always be on the lookout for those things which attach to us in order to make us fall into sin. Micah should have recognized that his mother's request was a wrong thing for him to do (idolatry). We especially have to be alert to any sin lurking around our family or home.

Some think the last 5 chapters of the book of Judges are out of sequence with the chronology of the rest of the book and actually occurred during the early period of the judges. (Falwell)

Rabbinie commentators placed the story of Micah in the time of Othniel.  (Pfeiffer)

The spiritual condition and history of Israel is revealed during the time of the judges. Keeping in mind, the sin cycles were a repetition of repentance, worshiping God, then back into the sin of idolatry. We finished the seventh of those cycles. Now we read about the idolatry of Micah and the Danites. Since both Samson and Micah were of the tribe of Dan, it seems logical to place this story after Samson's.

In those days...
Israel had fallen from God's ways. God should have been Israel's King (Deut. 33:2-5), but there was no king. With no godly king or judge, every form of religion-and especially false religion-abounded, and much like today, everyone followed their own moral code, doing what was right in his own eyes. (The Jeremiah Study Bible)

What were the first two commands of the Ten Commandments which God gave to Moses back in Exodus 20? Love God and make no idols to worship.
Sounds like these people are headed for trouble.

Do we keep God's laws and commands in His Word as our foundation of faith and life? Or are we doing what we think best, doing what is right in our own eyes, not God's?

LET IT GROW

What is happening in verse 1:

• There was this wealthy mother who lived on Mount Ephraim that had a son named Micah.
• Someone stole 1,100 shekels of silver from the woman. She didn't know who had done it, so she pronounced a serious curse (probably in the name of Jehovah) upon the one who took it.
• This woman's son, Micah, came confessing to his mother that he had taken her money. He probably feared the power of his mother's curse.
• The mother's strange response was, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son. James 3:10 tells us, Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
• The son returned the money to his mother. (Perhaps she supposed the robber was one who would not return it, and she was relieved that it was her son who took it.)

Returning the money was a good thing for the son to do. At least he was honest about it. However, justifying the stealing is not. One thing leads to another. One sin leads to another when it is not confessed and stopped. Do we try to justify our sinful ways?

LET IT GROW

What else happened? The story didn't stop there.

• This woman claimed that she had dedicated this silver to the Lord, but then she gives her son 200 shekels of silver to have a graven image and a molten image made. This was not in accordance with the Mosiac Law.
• These idols were placed in the house of Micah as a shrine, along with other idols. He had an ephod and terraphim as additional idols.
• One of Micah's sons became priest over the idols. Ugh!
• Then an unnamed young man, who was a Levite, wandered into the area, ending up at the house of Micah.
• Discovering he was unemployed and away from his normal responsibilities, Micah lured him to their private family priest. (The Levite priests of God were assigned to serve in certain cities.)
• This man accepted the offer of 10 shekels of silver a year.
• Micah consecrated the young man, assuming the Lord would do good to him, since he had a Levite priest.

This house ignored the content of the Law of the Israelites. The Levite and Micah went deeper into apostasy. How sad!
A mother's request or a son's asking of a favor isn't always the best thing to do. We need discernment.

Do we try to justify our sin or confess it to the Lord and tern from it? If we don't, then we will get deeper into the cycle of sin like Micah's family did. Take heed lest we should fall.

LET IT GO

                             ... of those little sins before they grow into bigger ones.
                             ... of sinful habits before our family gets into them.
                             ... of it before it gets hold of me and hurts my testimony.
                             ... by searching my heart for any idols taking God's place.