17:6
“In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit”, or “everyone did what was right in their own eyes”. We see in Judges the sad state of the nation that is not following God. Very soon we will see the state of the nation under various kings. There are some good points, but the state of the nation is no better, and ends up with Israel (Judah) being turfed out of Jerusalem and sent into exile. Even the good kings end in failure. So what are we to learn? The nation needs leadership, but it must be godly leadership. They need God as their king. In the churches we see all sorts of models of organisation, from fairly freewheeling models, to very formal ones. The precise nature of the organisation and leadership is not the key issue. What matters is is Jesus head of the church, or is it doing what “seems right in its own eyes”?
17:7-13
A young Levite comes sling looking for somewhere to stay . Micah invites him in, and because of his being a Levits, he invites him to be his priest. So we see the sad state of affairs. A veneer of godliness has been added, some token obedience to the Law, having a Levite as priest. The Law said the Levites were the priestly tribe, so surely God would bless them now? In today’s church something using the same words as we find in the Bible may be added, with the intention of making people think it is now godly. But is is heart obedience, true faith, that counts.
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