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| Image courtesy of Pierpont Morgan Library. MS M.322-323. | |
Scripture
1There was a man in the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. 2He said to his mother, "The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and even spoke it in my hearing, - that silver is in my possession; I took it; but now I will return it to you." And his mother said, "May my son be blessed by the LORD!" 3Then he returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother; and his mother said, "I consecrate the silver to the LORD from my hand for my son, to make an idol of cast metal." 4So when he returned the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into an idol of cast metal; and it was in the house of Micah. 5This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and teraphim, and installed one of his sons, who became his priest. 6In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.
7Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the clan of Judah. He was a Levite residing there. 8This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah, to live wherever he could find a place. He came to the house of Micah in the hill country of Ephraim to carry on his work. 9Micah said to him, "From where do you come?" He replied, "I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to live wherever I can find a place." 10Then 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, a set of clothes, and your living." 11The Levite agreed to stay with the man; and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12So Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 13Then Micah said, "Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, because the Levite has become my priest."
(NRSV)
Devotion
Today's scripture passage is heart-wrenching. Micah (and no, it's not the same Micah as the prophet) and his mother both want to make sure that his household will prosper. The problem is that they go about seeking that prosperity in all the wrong ways.
First, there is the strange fact that Micah is somehow in possession of a large sum of money that had been stolen from his mother. Second, when he returns the money, his mother tries to bless him by having it some of it down and turned into an idol for him to place in his home. Micah builds a household shrine for the idol, purchases the clothes necessary for conducting religious rites, and finds a Levite priest to live in his home. Because he does all this, Micah wrongly assumes that God will help him prosper. He doesn't realize that everything he's doing is abhorrent to the very God he wishes to please.
So how did Micah and his household get to this place? Well, the answer can be found in the words, "there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes" (vs. 6). Rulers during this time were understood to have a special relationship with God. When the author states that there was no "king," they are saying that there wasn't a leader to offer direction on how to follow God's will. Everyone was simply relying on their own logic and making choices that seemed reasonable to them.
The problem was that what seemed right to the Israelites was being distorted by human sin and the religous and cultural practices of other people inhabiting the land. The cultures around Micah prayed to idols as a way of directly accessing their gods, so Micah thought it was a good thing for him to do the same. He had either forgotten or never been taught the fact that God hated the use of idols. Other people with the means to do so installed their own personal priests, so he did the same. This story was meant to serve as an example of all kinds of misdeeds that were happening throughout Israel. Everyone was doing what seemed right to them but their actions were often the exact opposite of what God wanted. The Israelites needed someone to guide them back to the right path.
I worry a lot about the moments when people do what is right in our own eyes. No one sets out to make bad decisions. We try to base our choices on what we think will be good for the economy or national security or some other value that is important to us. Like Micah, we can become so focused on our own desires or so distracted by our surrounding culture that we don't take the time to discern whether what seems logical is truly in line with God's commandments. The actions that seem to be what is best to our human eyes end up hurting the most vulnerable people among us...the very people that Scripture calls us to help. We hurt and offend God without even realizing it. As we do so, we stray further and further away from God's will, it can seem like there is no "king" to lead us.
So where do we turn when we need to decide what will lead us to prosperity? I usually start with Scripture and prayer. When we quiet ourselves and seek the wisdom from God's Word, the Holy Spirit can lead us to right answers...even if they aren't the answers we hoped or expected to get. If we are still unsure, we can talk through our concerns with other people of faith, read expert's opinions, and write down our thoughts, questions, etc. in hopes of discerning answers.
Even after we've made a decision about a course of action, we can continue to reflect upon it and seek God's continued guidance. After all, just because Micah made the tragic mistake of accepting an idol didn't mean he had to keep using it. We can always repent from bad decisions and amend our ways to be more in tune with God's will.
We are all making tough decisions right now. As we try to make the right ones, let us ask the Holy Spirit for the wisdom to see not through our own eyes but through God's eyes. When God is our vision, we will have all the guidance we need to discern what will truly help the world prosper.
Prayer
God, our hearts cry out for you to be our vision. May we acknowledge you as our true king and listen to your voice so that we may learn to do what is best not in our own eyes, but in yours. Amen.
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