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Context No. 3782 of 4322 · Judges

Context · Reflection

Judges 18:18-23: in context

18When these went into Micah’s house, and took the engraved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19They said to him, “Hold your peace, put your hand on your mouth, and go with us. Be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” 20The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the teraphim, and the engraved image, and went with the people. 21So they turned and departed, and put the little ones, the livestock, and the goods before them. 22When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house gathered together and overtook the children of Dan. 23As they called to the children of Dan, they turned their faces, and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you come with such a company?”

This strange episode shows religion put entirely in the service of self-interest. The tribe of Dan, on the move, seizes the idols and the priest from Micah's house, and when the priest protests, they simply offer him a promotion: is it better to be priest to one man's house, or to a whole tribe in Israel? And at that, the priest's heart is glad; he takes the idols and goes along with them.

This is a sobering picture of a spiritual leader for hire, a man who serves wherever the position is larger, with no regard for truth or faithfulness. His religion is a career, and he goes where the reward is greater. There is a warning here that reaches beyond this priest. It is possible to treat the things of God as a means to our own advancement, to let the size of the opportunity, rather than faithfulness and truth, decide our path. The mercenary priest was glad to serve idols for a bigger congregation. God calls those who serve him to be governed by faithfulness, not by ambition.

Do I let faithfulness and truth govern how I serve, rather than treating the things of God as a path to my own advancement, glad only for the larger opportunity?

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