Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Jonathon, a Priest for Sale

Judges 17-18

I have spent my career in Christian communities of higher education. Biblical and theological education and ministry preparation have encompassed the mission of the institutions I have served. The focus of these schools has been pastoral preparation.

The Old Testament concept of the pastor was as a shepherd of the sheep. God embraces the shepherd metaphor for Himself. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ builds upon this metaphor and refers to Himself as the “Good Shepherd.” The Hebrew writer describes Jesus as the “Great shepherd of the sheep.”

Another Biblical title for the shepherd is priest. The Hebrew priesthood came from the tribe of Levi, the sons of Aaron. The Old Testament book of Judges tells a story of a Levite who became a priest first for Micah’s family and then for the tribe of Dan.

“Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. And he said to his mother, ‘The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you put a curse, even saying it in my ears—here is the silver with me; I took it.’
“And his mother said, ‘May you be blessed by the Lord, my son!’  So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, ‘I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son, to make a carved image and a molded image; now therefore, I will return it to you.’ Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a carved image and a molded image; and they were in the house of Micah.
The man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod and household idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
“ Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and was staying there. The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. And Micah said to him, ‘Where do you come from?’
“So he said to him, ‘I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to find a place to stay.’
Micah said to him, ‘Dwell with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance.’ So the Levite went in. Then the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him. So Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and lived in the house of Micah. Then Micah said, ‘Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since I have a Levite as priest!’”  (Judges 17:1-13 NKJV).
Consider the characters in this story. Micah the Ephraimite, was a thieving son. Micah’s mother, was a forgiving, yet idolatrous, mother. Micah hired the young Levite Jonathan, who turned out to be a priest for sale. The Danites spied on Ephraim, even staying in Micah’s home. They wanted a priest of their own. The Danites returned to Ephraim with 600 men, raided Micah’s house of its idols, and stole Micah’s priest, Jonathon the Levite. The Danites purchased Jonathon’s services as their priest, along with his silver idol, and burned the city of Ephraim to the ground. Jonathon, the Levite, then established an idolatrous cult among the Hebrew tribe of Dan which lasted for generations.

Not really the kind, loving sort of story one would expect to read in the Bible! I have often commented that if I were writing the Bible, I wouldn’t put all that sex, violence, and idolatry in it. But God did. He knew the sort of brokenness that would define our lives. He knew that there are even times when pastors, priests, and missionaries fail, and fail miserably.

The story of Jonathon, the Levite, was not the kind of story I would put in the Bible. Jonathon, the Levite, was a scandalous priest. He was a priest for sale.

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