Micah’s Idol and Priest

Today's passage deals with the story of Micah's household in the land of Ephraim, early in the time of the judges. When Micah's mother finds out about the silver her son stole, she fears the curse and covers up his sin, and instead of setting things right she goes on to provide him with an idol and a priest, making the problem worse. Neglecting her son's character and proper discipline, she holds on to a misguided faith that serves her son like an idol for the sake of worldly success and her own desires.

This picture of Micah's mother resembles the heart of parents today who cover up their children's wrongdoing and want nothing for them but worldly success. The Levite who compromised his holy office to make a living, and the tribe of Dan, which used God for its own prosperity, also show a slice of an age in which faith had been corrupted. By making idols and hiring a priest, they treat God as their own possession, and they wander, having lost honest faith and the discernment that comes from the Word.

God does not exist for anyone's worldly blessing or success; he requires us to live holy lives through honest faith and faithfulness. We look at ourselves and ask whether, like Micah's mother, we cover up our children's sins; whether, like the Levite, we compromise our calling out of worldly calculation; or whether, like the tribe of Dan, we use God as our own tool.