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Monday, December 12, 2016

Let God Be King

Our current series is entitled, “The Need for a King.”  Most of the weeks are being spent going through the book of Judges.  It is a regular reminder of what happens when we do not have a King.

Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim said to his mother, "The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse--I have that silver with me; I took it." Then his mother said, "The LORD bless you, my son!"  (Judges 17:1-2 NIV)

If I went out to my checking account and found it zeroed out, got angry about it, and then had my son come up to me and say, “Dad, I was the one who stole your money;” I’m not sure my first reaction would be, “The LORD bless you, my son!”  I think I would have had to fight back some more negative thoughts before speaking to him.  That gives me hope for this mom.  Perhaps she is a grace-filled, God-following mom.

When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, "I solemnly consecrate my silver to the LORD for my son to make an image overlaid with silver. I will give it back to you." So after he returned the silver to his mother, she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who used them to make the idol. And it was put in Micah's house. (Judges 17:3-4 NIV)

It doesn’t take long, though, before the mom falls from my ideal picture of her.  She takes the returned silver, creates an idol of God, and puts it in her son’s house.  In other words, she celebrates her son breaking the ten commandments (do not steal) by breaking them herself (do not make idols of God).  Just like the other stories we’ve read so far in the book of Judges, this family is a mess.

Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household gods and installed one of his sons as his priest. In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit. (Judges 17:5-6 NIV)

The irony of this last statement is that Israel did have a King.  The King was God.  This is the same King we have today.  When Jesus taught us to pray, he started out in this way:

This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ (Matthew 6:9-10 NIV)

How about you?  Is God Holy, Holy, Holy in your eyes?  Is God your King?

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