What is a Priest for Sale?

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. 

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.

Time Marches On

Matthew 3:1-17

New Orleans jazz and blues songster, Dr. John, once wrote:

And now after all said and done

What good is life without havin' fun

'Coz life is given but only once

Time marches on

Another New Year begs the question, “Do you feel any older?” Time marches on. Humanity spends billions of dollars each year in an attempt to slow the place of the march of time. The quest for human immortality drives us to doctors, beauticians, cosmetics, and religion in an attempt to live forever.

Time marches on. It is a New Year. I thank God for the privilege of life lived another day. I thank Him for a dividing line that marks time--another year.

Jesus forever marked human history. He is the dividing line. All time before Jesus is designated B. C., “Before Christ.” All time after Jesus’ birth is designated A. D. for the Latin Anno Domini, meaning “In the year of our Lord.”

As one calendar is removed from the wall and another replaces it, you and I acknowledge our receipt of God’s incredible creative gift to humanity, time. God who transcends time, created time. Time does not confine or limit the Creator God. Triune God is Supra-time. Time is His creation for us to enjoy. God created us with a need for daylight and dark, work and sleep, labor and rest. He marks those divisions, and called it time.

Time marches on.

Then the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, came to the world He created. Transcendent Deity crossed the boundaries between timelessness and time, eternity and creation, heaven and earth... The Creator of time voluntarily took upon Himself the limitation of the time-bound. He invaded time and space through a womb. His first space was a barn. His first bed was a cattle feeder. And nothing has been the same.

So as dachshunds come down from the wall calendar, and mountains rise, I mark time. I mark the end of one year and the beginning of another. I am told that this year is worthy of a number. Not just any number. This number is a memorial to the time when Ultimate Reality invaded the human experience. The Holy Spirit conceived in the womb of woman. God became man. That changed everything! Even my calendar.

Time marches on.

Authority

Matthew 10:1-4

I want to gain an understanding of the privileges of grace afforded to us as children of God, and followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am certain that I lack an adequate comprehension of the authority that Jesus grants to his followers.

Jesus sent out his disciples with authority to cast out demons, heal people from all kinds of sickness, and even to raise the dead to life.

“And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him” (Matthew 10:1-4 NKJV).

Pancreatic cancer is one of the worst forms of cancer known to humanity in the 21st century. My friend and neighbor, Frances Munson, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1990. At the same time, actor, Michael Landon, was similarly diagnosed. Landon lasted but a few months. Frances had surgery. A stent was inserted into a bile duct. Chemotherapy was prescribed. Frances was given little hope.

Frances’ husband, Hugh, was my mentor and friend. He served as Vice President of Academic Affairs at Kentucky Mountain Bible College when I joined the faculty in 1991. Hugh also pastored a country church at Tallega, Kentucky. Hugh, along with my father, Eldon Neihof, had started the Bible college on a track toward accreditation in the 1980s. Early in my career, Hugh saw some potential in me for administration and accreditation. He began investing heavily in me.

Frances had always been frail. Hugh expected to outlive her. Yet, she seemed to recover and gain strength. In the early 1990s, I heard Frances share a public testimony. She spoke chilling words that I shall never forget: “I thank God for cancer.” She went on to explain that through her battle with cancer she had gained an intimacy of fellowship with Jesus Christ that she otherwise would never have known.

In the mid 1990’s Frances was blessed with the report that she was cancer free. She and Hugh celebrated by praising God for her healing and giving him all of the glory. Frances had been permanently and miraculously healed of pancreatic cancer.

April 9, 2007 Frances went home to heaven. She died of a heart attack. Her body was still cancer free. Hugh had preceded her in death just three years earlier.

Jesus grants His followers to heal people from all kinds of diseases in His Name. A sign at Tenwek Hospital in Bomet, Kenya announces the long-standing motto of the hospital: “We Treat. Jesus Heals.”

When God called me to Wesley Biblical Seminary, the seminary was dead. Chaos, despair, and toxicity reigned. But there were some prayer warriors who did not believe that God was done with Wesley Biblical Seminary. Dr. Rebecca Luman has been a part of WBS since her student days in the mid 1980s. Dr. Becky was grieving the apparent death of WBS. When God began speaking to me about leading WBS, Dr. Becky immediately threw her full support behind my candidacy and potential appointment. She accepted a request of the Board of Trustees to serve on a search committee that interviewed me.

Shortly after I joined the seminary, I met Melissa Clayton. Melissa was a student at Master of Divinity student at WBS. Nearly 60, she was a member of Dr. Becky’s discipleship group. Upon our first meeting, Melissa approached me with tears brimming in her eyes. She took me by both hands and leveled her gaze into my eyes.

“I have been praying for you before I even knew your name,” she announced.

I have often told people that I have witnessed a first-hand resurrection from the dead in God’s raising up Wesley Biblical Seminary. Internal debt, governance issues, inadequate leadership, had spiraled out of control, creating a spiritually toxic environment. God’s hand of blessing seemed removed. It seemed as if “Ichabod” had been pronounced. But God.

Wesley Biblical Seminary had been founded upon prayer, sacrifice, and faith. It has always been a radical demonstration of the miraculous. God was not finished with WBS, and he resurrected it from certain death. Someone recently commented, “God must want Wesley Biblical Seminary alive because he refuses to let it die.”

Deliverance from demons, miraculous healings, and resurrection from the dead are demonstrations of divinely wrought miracles. Jesus gave His followers authority to perform such miracles by faith in His Name. He continues to grant such authority today. Our God is a God of the miraculous. As you follow Christ in obedience and crucified surrender, He will grant you authority and faith to call on His Name for divine intervention that only He can perform.

Curses

Matthew 10:14-15, 11:20-24

My church experience has had very little to say about curses. Suddenly, in reading the Gospels, I realized that Jesus had some very powerful things to say about curses. He even appears to utter a curse.

Jesus had been preparing his twelve disciples to embark on an itinerant ministry of healing, casting out demons, and resurrecting the dead. He instructs them to go to Jews throughout Israel and minister in His name. If people accepted them, they were to bless that community with the miracles Jesus had authorized them to perform. If people rejected them, they were to move on to another locale that was more accepting of their message and methods.

Jesus issues a chilling condemnation when He comments on the fate of those who would reject the words of His sent ones.

“And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” (Matthew 10:14-15 NKJV).

And it happened just like Jesus prophesied in His instruction to His followers. Some villages listened, received, and obeyed His teachings and those of His followers. Some did not. Most troubling to Jesus were three Galilean towns in which He had done most of His ministry: Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. These villages were situated along the north coast of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus testified that He had performed many miracles in this region. So many miracles, He says, that if Sodom had seen them, its wicked residents would have repented.

“Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you’” (Matthew 11:21-25 NKJV).

Sounds like a curse to me. What do you think?

I cannot imagine the horror of living under a curse from Jesus. Some have. More will. But it’s not for me. And I pray it’s not for you.

So what are the lessons here? The Beatitudes (Matthew 5) teach us how to live under God’s blessings in the midst of a sin-cursed world. Now (Matthew 10 & 11), Jesus provides us with a clear warning as to what brings His curse upon our lives. Here are some observations.

• Living under the curse of Christ is brought about by a series of acts of rejecting God’s truth.
• Refusal to listen to Christ’s messenger.
• Abusing Christ’s messenger.
• Taking Christ’s messenger before courts and tribunals for the sake of their message.
• Killing Christ’s followers.
• Persecuting Christ’s followers.
• Blaspheming Christ by alleging that his messengers speak the words of Satan.
• Failing to recognize Christ’s miracles as from God.
• Pride.

As I read the words of Jesus describing these curses, He seems to say, “I am pained by the consequences of your sin and rebellion. I want to stop you from destroying yourself. I want to prevent you from living under a curse. But if you insist upon the path of rebellion, you will bring judgment down upon your own heads.”

Jesus cursed those who cursed themselves through rejecting Him. This truth is sobering. I choose to live under Christ’s blessings by following a path of obedience and service through faith in His Name. By God’s grace, I reject the path that brings Christ’s curse upon me, and I seek to warn others, lest their sin curses their lives.

Counter-Culture Christians

John 17:6-19

Jesus taught an incredible doctrine of Christian living. One of the key tenets is that His followers are to live in a world which they transcend. As Jesus faced the cross, He prayed that His followers would transcend the prevailing culture without being engulfed by it.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaimed a message of salt and light for His followers. He challenged His disciples to be a preserving, palatable, purifying, radiant influence in the culture in which they lived. They were obligated to elevate the moral tone of society. Mediocrity was unacceptable. Broad cultural sin and prevailing depravity were impermissible. The Christ-follower had to make a difference.

The Apostle Paul taught a doctrine of dual citizenship. We are citizens of the nations and empires of the world. Our earthly citizenship obligates us, as believers, to submit to the laws of the land. We pay taxes, vote, and participate as peaceful citizens. But our true loyalty is to another King, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Our citizenship is in heaven. When the laws of the land violate Christian principles, we follow Christ, whatever the cost.

The Apostle Peter taught a doctrine of submission. This submission began with submission to God, and extended from government to employment and into the home. Peter challenged the early church to be so thoroughly yielded to the Lordship of Jesus Christ that when faith in His Name conflicted with other loyalties, the believers would stand peacefully and graciously to suffer for His Name. If Jesus suffered for us, Peter challenged, we must be willing to suffer for Him.

“If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (I Peter 4:14-17 NKJV).

The 21^st century is a season that demands counter-culture Christians. “Courage” is the Christian watchword of the day. Moral slippage, relativism, and tolerance rule the doctrinal landscape of the popular cultural idolatry. Biblical morality is passe’. Truth is subjectified into absurdity. Tolerance has been weaponized with a scorched-earth policy upon all who hold to the authoritative, revealed truth of God’s Word.

Suffering is not simply coming for the church. Suffering is here.

But in the face of it all, I find myself terrifically inspired. I believe that no time has more clearly paralleled the first century world like the present. What happened with the Gospel in the first and second centuries? It spread hope, joy, salvation, and holiness like no other time before. Believers were multiplied. The church grew exponentially.

What is the potential for the Gospel today? Like the first century, I believe that the 21^st century is an era ripe for the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the face of relativism, tolerance, and the absurdity of their nihilistic ends, people are searching for meaning, belonging, and hope. That hope is found in the presence and person of Jesus Christ. But if we are going to proclaim Him, we must have the courage to be counter-culture Christians.

Journey with Jesus

Matthew 8:18-22, 16:24-27, 19:21-30
Luke 18:18-22
John 21:22
Philippians 3:12-14

Happy New Year. This New Year, I challenge you to journey with Jesus. For you and me, walking with Jesus means that fear is never justified, His plan will fit us just right, and faith is always required.

Christ’s call to walk with Him is a call to follow where He leads us. All too often, my response is one of fear.

“Where are You going, Jesus?”

But Jesus reminds me that my fear is never justified if I trust Him. When God called Beth and me to leave everything to follow Jesus from Jackson, Kentucky to Jackson, Mississippi, it was one of the most exhilarating and frightening experiences of our lives. We faced geographic changes, changes in relational networks that had been cultivated over a lifetime, along with cultural changes in moving from Appalachia to the deep South.

But fear is never justified when we are walking with Jesus.

You see, I was afraid of leaving where I was comfortable. I was afraid of leaving behind the miraculous provisions of the past. I was afraid of the daunting challenges to raise the financial resources to lead a significant nonprofit ministry. I have been able to trust God for my own provision, but at Wesley Biblical Seminary, I have to work hard and trust God to provide for a dozen families.

But when I am walking with Jesus, fear is never justified, if I remain faithful to follow Him in the journey. Jesus Christ calls us past our fears to follow Him into His plan that is tailor-made to fit.

Throughout the last few years before coming to WBS, there were some professional and interpersonal things in my professional relationships that chafed me. During that time, I honestly thought that these sore spots pointed out problems, perhaps even sins, in my character. However, once I heard and obeyed the call of Christ to leave everything and follow Him, I began to realize that the very things I thought were wrong with me would be sanctified by God in my journey to walk with Jesus. I learned that God had been shaping some values in my mind and heart about leadership.

In the past, when my values about leadership ran counter to those of my community culture and my leaders, I found myself chafed. When I obeyed God’s call to follow Him, I realized that the very things that caused me to chafe, were the very things that God was birthing in me for His glory and service in a new sphere of leadership. Jesus was calling me to walk with Him. I must follow. When I did, I found myself in a role that I felt like God had been preparing me for all of my life.

Christ calls us past our fears to follow Him on a journey into His plan that fits just right. If you and I are walking with Him into His plan, faith in the Christ of the journey is always justified.

• Faith births hope.
• Faith allows God to perform miracles. 
• Faith invites others to join a place and ministry in which God is moving. 
• Faith invites the Holy Spirit’s Presence. 
• Faith births and brightens our future. 
• Faith in the miracle working power of God is always justified!

Don’t fear. Have faith in Jesus. Walk with Him. Reject fear. Embrace His plan. It fits you just right.