Title: Micah's Religion/Judges 17:1-13
Entering the content:
So far, we have mainly dealt with the story of salvation from the oppression of the nation given as a result of the crime, but this chapter and thereafter are an appendix to the Book of Judges, which shows the corruption of the period of the Judges due to political and religious divisions and corruption within the nation. In particular, the chapter of today's verse mentions Micah's idolatry, which is a cross section of Israel's fall, and the incident where all the Levites in the house became priests of idols. Through today's message, I hope that you will discover the ugly side of your sin before God due to idolatry and learn the lessons it gives you.
1. Mixed religions
Syncretistic religion was seen as a form of false beliefs in the period of the Judges. It is a form of faith that confuses God with idols. One example is to make an image to show one's faith in a visible way, and this takes advantage of the weakness that humans easily believe in visible things but cannot easily believe in invisible forms. Verse 3 reads, “And Micah gave back a thousand and one hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and she said, “I will engrave an image for my son, and from my hand I consecrate this silver to the Lord as a car for pouring out an image. will give back to you.” It is clearly blasphemy to God to offer it to the Lord in the same form as Aaron's image of a calf (Exodus 32:4). Because it is against the word of the Ten Commandments, which God said, "You shall not make an idol for yourself" (Exodus 20:4). Even today, statues of great men who look like God and the world's values are established as forms of faith are all syncretistic religions that confuse God with idols.
2. Religion of relief
Mixing our faith in Jehovah with superstitious elements to explain our faith in terms of “blessings and curses” is a dangerous idea. This is because the essence of our faith in the Bible is not limited to blessings and curses. This is the kind of faith that is shown in the text. Micah's mother can't sleep at night when she realizes that the money is gone. He has lost his appetite, lost his will to live, and is in a situation where prayer comes only as a curse. (Verse 2) Micah, who was watching next to him, became concerned about his mistake and eventually confessed that he had stolen the money. At this time, the mother, who should be scolding her for her son's mistake, seems to be only interested in finding the lost silver, but rather blesses her son. “The mother said, ‘May the Lord bless my son.’” (verse 2) And he made an image of the silver for his son and vowed to offer it to God. This is seen as the pinnacle of unbelief of a believer. Therefore, the essence and essence of our faith must never be polluted. It should be clear.
3. Formal Religion
As I was arranging my words...
I will conclude The God we serve should not be treated like any other idol. What God hates the most is treating idols. It is an act that regards serving God as serving idols. I sincerely hope that you can discern whether my present state of faith is not being secularized, not breaking the frame of ups and downs, or a syncretistic form of faith, and looking at the truth in Jesus Christ only.