WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
OCTOBER 27, 2024
TOPIC: AVOID GOING INTO ERROR
BY T. O. BANSO
“Then Micah said to him, ‘Live with me and be my father and priest, and I’ll give you ten shekels of silver a year, your clothes and your food.’ So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man became like one of his sons to him. Then Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. And Micah said, ‘Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest’” (Judges 17:10-13 New International Version).
Judges 17:5 says, “The man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod and household idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest” (New King James Version). This Israelite, Micah, went into error. God did not permit the Israelites to have shrines where they worshipped. They were to worship in a place that God had designated for worship. Also, God forbade the worship of images or idols. Micah also erred by consecrating one of his sons as his priest because the priestly office was for only the family of Aaron (Numbers 3:10; 16:17; Hebrews 5:4). Micah went into error.
Also, in Judges 17, a Levite went into error. The Levites had no permanent land but were allotted 48 cities where to live. Bethlehem, where this erring Levite came from, was not one of the cities (Joshua 21). He was looking for another place to live and left his place for the Mountains of Ephraim and to the house of Micah where he endorsed their idol worship by becoming a private priest and father to him. Levites were not to be private priests to anybody or a family. They were to perform their duties in the Tabernacle, not in a house.
He sold his call for money and position, as shown in Judges 17:10-13: “Then Micah said to him, ‘Live with me and be my father and priest, and I’ll give you ten shekels of silver a year, your clothes and your food.’ So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man became like one of his sons to him. Then Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. And Micah said, ‘Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest’” (New International Version).
This Levite went into error, performing duties not his. Numbers 3:5-9 says, “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community at the tent of meeting by doing the work of the tabernacle. They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle. Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to him” (New International Version).
Levites were supposed to assist the priests in the tabernacle worship but this Levite became a priest to a family engaging in idol worship. This was an error. Psalm 49:20 says “A man who is in honor, yet does not understand, is like the beasts that perish” (New King James Version). This Levite demoted himself. Judges 17:11 says that he became like one of Micah’s sons!
He lost whatever honour he had left when he allowed himself to be consecrated or appointed by Micah. Micah had no power to do that. That was unlawful just as his consecration of one of his sons as his priest. Not all Levites could be priests but all priests were Levites from Aaron’s family. But at this time, everybody did what seemed right in his eyes, as Judges 17:6 says.
Note what Micah said after employing this Levite. “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest” (Judges 17:13 New International Version). That was not true. Even if an Arch-bishop supports you in your error, it doesn’t make you right or bring you God’s favour. The pastor may say, “You are blessed, go in peace.” That is a lie. God is angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11). The LORD says there is no peace for the wicked (Isaiah 48:22; 57:21).
In Judges 18:30, the Bible gives the name of this erring Levite as Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses. In other words, this idolatrous priest was the grandson of Moses – Gershom was Moses’ son (Exodus 2:22, 18:3; 1 Chronicles 23:14-16). However, some Bible translations use Manasseh instead of Moses. What an error Micah went into! It’s more heartbreaking and painful that he was the grandson of Moses, the man of God, through whom God gave the Israelites the law.
How could Moses’ grandson engage in Idolatry in the house of Micah and later with the tribe of Dan? “There the Danites set up for themselves the idol, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the captivity of the land” (Judges 18:30 New International Version). This idolatrous priest, Jonathan, had colluded with the five Danite spies to steal the ephod, the household gods, and the idol of Micah, his former employer, and agreed to go with them and be the priest to the tribe of Judah (Judges 18:17-20).
No servant of God should allow his ministry to be for the highest bidder. Your anointing should not be for sale. Jesus said, “Give as freely as you have received!” (Matthew 10:8b New Living Translation). The Bible says a servant of God must shepherd the flock of God serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly, and not as being lords but being examples to the flock (1 Peter 5:2-3).
Don’t commercialize your anointing even if others do. Even when you’re rightfully paid according to the Word of God and in appreciation of your ministry, never forget that you are a servant of God.
Paul says, “I am not bound to obey anyone just because he pays my salary; yet I have freely and happily become a servant of any and all so that I can win them to Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:19 Living Bible). Paul says again, “Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant” (Galatians 1:10 New Living Translation). Avoid going into error.
You are not bound to obey people just because they’ve paid or will pay you. You shouldn’t do what is wrong just because they’ve paid you or will pay you. You are a servant of God even when you are paid a salary or honorarium. The money you are paid should not make you obey anyone to do what is contrary to the Word of God. Your relationship with human beings regarding what you minister should not be that of “He who pays the piper calls the tune.” Don’t let anyone use money to control you.
This Levite didn’t behave like a servant of God. He eventually became a servant of Micah! See what Judges 18:4 says: “Thus and so Micah did for me. He has hired me, and I have become his priest” (New King James Version). Don’t be a hireling – someone who works only for money. Who is your boss – God or man? Avoid going into error.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. Take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father God, save me from going into and leading others into error. I repent of unfaithfulness in any area of my life. Holy Spirit, help me to be faithful. I shall not commercialize the anointing of God upon my life. I shall not charge for the gift of God in my life.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
