Judges 17-18
Pastors love people. They care for folks’ souls. That care makes
us especially vulnerable to the temptation of being liked. The pastor’s desire
to be liked and accepted by his or her congregation allows the pastor to have a
role of influence in their lives. However, when pushed to an extreme, the
desire to be liked can compromise the message, ministry and mission of the
Kingdom of God in the world.
The story of Jonathon, the Levite, reveals some
characteristics of a priest for sale. In Judges 18, the young Levite is
identified by name, Jonathon.
A priest for sale is influenced by money and security.
“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.” (Judges
17:10 NKJV).
I live in Mississippi. Mississippi’s per capita income is
$36,000 (2016). Micah’s mother had 1100 shekels of silver. Micah agreed to pay
Jonathon 10 shekels of silver per year. If Jonathon Levite’s 10 shekels per
year were the equivalent of my state’s per capita income, Micah’s mother was
worth nearly $4 million!
In Micah’s household, Jonathan, the Levite, was connected.
He was content to be one of Micah’s family. But that family membership came with
a price. Jonathon forfeited the ability to speak truth into people’s lives.
“Then the Levite
was content to dwell with the man; and the young man (Micah) became like one of
his sons to him” (Judges
17:10-11 NKJV).
Once Jonathan sold himself to enjoy the luxury of status, he
abandoned truth.
“So Micah
consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and lived in the
house of Micah”
(Judges 17:10-12 NKJV).
Jonathon became the superstitious talisman for idolaters. Jonathon
became Micah’s rabbit’s foot, good luck charm, four leaf clover.
I grew up as a fan of University of Kentucky basketball. I
loved following “Pitino’s Bombinos” back in 1989. They were named the “Bombinos”
for several reasons. That version of the Wildcats was made up of Kentucky boys
who remained at UK after the program had crumbled in scandal. The dapper, young
coach of Italian ancestry needed an Italian sounding name for his crew, and “Bombinos”
was born. They were a fast-breaking, 3-point bombing, group of enthusiastic,
hard-working, blue-collar Kentucky kids.
It always amazed me that a foul-mouthed, braggadocio,
self-promoting guy like Coach Rick Pitino always had a priest on the bench at
games. Pitino placed Father Bradley strategically upon the on the sidelines
with the himself and his team. It seemed
to be a sort of athletic and animistic superstition that hoped that a tip of
the hat to the priest would bring the good fortune of a win.
A priest for sale is influenced by flattery. Jonathon seemed
to be a relatively insignificant Levite, but once Micah flattered him, he had
Jonathon billed as the high priest of the Hebrew nation! Such flattery of
Jonathon was intended to elevate Micah’s status in the community. It seemed to
work for a season.
“Then Micah said, ‘Now
I know that the Lord will be good to
me, since I have a Levite as priest!’” (Judges
17:10-13 NKJV).
A priest for sale blesses the un-blessable. Five spies of
the tribe of Dan came to Micah’s house. They recognized Jonathon, for they seem
to have been previously acquainted with him. The spies plot to steal Levite
Jonathan and the silver idols. Jonathon blesses them in their deceit:
“And the priest said to them, ‘Go in peace. The presence of
the Lord be with you on your way.’” (Judges
18:6 NKJV).
Jonathon blessed the Danite mess. He blessed a mess that was
not bless-able. Jonathon was undiscerning
of the holy. A priest of God must call the people of God to holiness. That
means we must name sin as sin.
A priest for sale gladly abandons
one flock in favor of another with greater pay, position, and prestige. Six
hundred Danites returned to steal the silver idols and the Levite Jonathon to
form their own idolatrous cult.
“When these went into Micah’s house and took the carved
image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image, the priest said to
them, ‘What are you doing?’ And they said to him, “Be
quiet, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us; be a father and a priest
to us. Is it better for you to be
a priest to the household of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a
family in Israel?’ So the priest’s heart was glad; and he took the ephod, the household
idols, and the carved image, and took his place among the people” (Judges 18:18-20 NKJV).
A priest for sale is morally
compromised. He quickly contextualizes his
idolatrous religion for a new group of idolaters.
“So they took the things Micah had made,
and the priest who had belonged to him, and went to Laish, to a people quiet
and secure; and they struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city
with fire. There was no deliverer,
because it was far from Sidon,
and they had no ties with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth
Rehob. So they rebuilt the city and dwelt there. And they called
the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to
Israel. However, the name of the city formerly was Laish. Then
the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the
son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the
captivity of the land. So
they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image which he made, all the time
that the house of God was in Shiloh” (Judges 18:27-31 NKJV).
A priest for sale shows no guilt or
regret over the loss or destruction of his former flock.
“So
they took the things Micah had made, and the priest who had belonged
to him, and went to Laish, to a people quiet and secure; and they struck them
with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire” (Judges
18:27 NKJV).
Jonathon simply yielded to the
theft, the destruction of the city, the apparent death of Micah’s family, and
his new post as priest.
A priest for sale institutes and ensures the multi-generational
curse of idolatry.
‘Then
the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the
son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of
Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. So they set up for themselves Micah’s carved
image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh” (Judges
18:30-31 NKJV).
Jesus called this sort of “priest for sale” a “hireling.”
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives
His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the
shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the
sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The
hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and
I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father
knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the
sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must
bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one
shepherd” (John 10:12-16 NKJV).
Jonathon was a priest for sale.
