Half Way is No Way

“And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.  And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals.  So the Levite went in.”  Judges 17:9-10

For reasons not explained, a young man from Bethlehem in Judah set out to travel to the land of Ephraim.  He was a Levite because his father apparently was a Levite, but not a direct descendant of Aaron, the first high priest during the time of Moses.  The young man’s mother was from Judah.  The tribe of Levi was the tribe from whom the men were called to be the priests of Israel.  Men from other tribes were not permitted to be a priest.  As the young man journeyed, he needed a place to stay.  Perhaps he left home to seek employment, but we have no indication that he was looking for a position as a priest.  He came to Mount Ephraim and found himself on Micah’s doorstep.

Who was this Micah?  He is not the same as the minor prophet of the same name who lived during the latter years of the kings of Judah.  This Micah lived during the period of time of the judges, many years before the time of the kings.  He did not have a very good reputation.  He actually stole money from his mother, but felt guilty and returned the money to her.  However, she had the money, which was in the form of silver, made into images of which Micah displayed in his home.  He even made one of his sons his personal priest.  Scripture states that “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:1-6).  The last part of that verse is proof that history does repeat itself.  If we don’t learn from history and from our past mistakes and sins, then we are doomed to repeat them again.  Our present day situation, in my opinion, is never going to get better because “every one is doing what is right in his/her own eyes”.  People have completely ignored God and His word, consequently, some of the actions and ideas being presented are coming from folks who have seemingly lost their minds.  Of course, sin and evil have always been with us and will continue until Jesus comes and sets everything right side up.

Naturally, Micah was curious about his visitor.  (People back then didn’t fear strangers at the door like we do today.)  When Micah found out the young man was a Levite, he likely thought, “Wow, a real Levite.  Now I can have an authentic priest in my home.”  Micah offered the young man room, board, and a small salary if he would live in his home and be his priest and head of his household.  The young man agreed.  Micah took him through the process of anointing him as priest, but Micah had no authority to do that.  Folks have a bad habit of taking God’s Word and changing it to suit their own whims, peculiarities, notions, and desires.

People also have a bad habit pf presuming upon God, that is, taking it for granted that partial obedience, man’s attempt to justify himself, or a half-hearted attempt to worship God will be sufficient to please God.  This was Micah’s attitude.  He actually expected the LORD to bless him because he had brought a Levite into his home and made him a priest, sort of like a “good luck charm”.  Micah reminds me of folks today who believe their “good” deeds can out-weigh their “bad” deeds and thus make them acceptable to God.  However, the LORD God requires perfection.  A thousand “good” works can never obliterate even one sin.  How then can a man or woman be justified before a holy and righteous God?  They must have a perfect, sinless Savior, Jesus Christ, to stand in their stead.