Judges 17:6 In Their Own Eyes!👀

 ”In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.“ ‭‭Judges‬ ‭17‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. There was no king in Israel: There was, in fact, a king in Israel - Israel should have recognized the LORD God as their King. But since Israel rejected God as King, they were without any good and effective leadership.

b. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes: This refers to the radical individualism that marked the time of the Judges. People looked to self for their guide to morality and ethics. The people genuinely felt that they did what was right, but they measured it only by their own eyes.

i. This is very much like the modern, “follow-your-heart” or “let-your-heart-be-your-guide” thinking. Modern culture regards this as the ideal state of society. Yet the Bible and common sense tell us that this kind of moral, spiritual, and social anarchy brings nothing but destruction.

· It seemed right to the eyes of Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, but God said it was wrong.

· It seemed right to the eyes of the sons of Jacob to sell Joseph into slavery, but God said it was wrong.

· It seemed right to the eyes of Nadab and Abihu to offer strange fire before the Lord, but God said it was wrong.

· It seemed right to the eyes of King David to commit adultery with Bathsheba and cover it with murder, but God said it was wrong.

· It seemed right to the eyes of Judas to betray Jesus, but God said it was wrong.

ii. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12). When man follows his own instincts – apart from the redeemed nature of the converted person – it leads to ruin. We need to follow God’s way, not our own. (Guzik)

In Their Own Eyes!👀 

I’ve been guilty of the very thing written in today’s verse. I knew there was a God but I didn’t allow Him to be my King. Instead my king was me, myself and I! If it wasn’t for Jesus and His gift of grace I’d be destined to hell’s eternal fire 🔥! 

I believe the Lord gives us our golden years so we can reflect back on our life and our paths that we’ve taken, not so we can say what if, but to show us His grace, His hand prints on our lives and how He has prepared us for NOW. You have a life story, a moment in time that you accepted His grace!

Examine the examples above of sin! Study David’s repentance, forgiveness and grace! The Lord still used him!

Ask yourself this question, what does Jesus want me to do for His kingdom?

Blessings

Judges 17:5 Man-Pleasing Religion

 ”The man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod and household idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭17‬:‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Micah had a shrine: Micah first sets up a shrine - sort of a small temple, a place where others came to worship these idols.

b. And made an ephod: Micah imitated the worship at the true tabernacle of God by making an ephod. This was a specific garment worn by priests of Israel.

c. And household idols: In addition to this first idol, Micah also made household idols - literally, terephim - gods that were worshipped in hopes of gaining prosperity and guidance.

d. He consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest: Finally, Micah established an order of priesthood among his sons. In each of these, Micah did everything he could to set up a rival religion in Israel.

i. All of this came from Micah and not from God. This was a completely man-originated and man-centered religion. Therefore, the purpose of the shrine, the beautiful ephod, the attractive idols, and the established priesthood was to serve and please man, not God. This pattern of man-pleasing religion continues to be common with many religions and churches today.

Man-Pleasing Religion 

Throughout my lifetime I have been guilty of participating in a man-pleasing religion! From the churches I’ve attended and the attitude I’ve had while attending! When we worry about what others think about us in church, who are we attempting to please?

If Jesus is our Lord then He is the One we should be attempting to please, not man!

”Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.“

‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Dear Heavenly Father please give us the right attitude and heart so we are pleasing You, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Help us be pure and undefiled before You. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.

Blessings 

Judges 17:3-4 Idols

 ”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.” Judges‬ ‭17‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Some believe this was an image of a false god (such as Baal or Ashtoreth). Others believe that it was an image representing Yahweh. Either way, God strictly forbade such an image, whether it was meant to represent the true God or not.” (Guzik)

”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.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭17‬:‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“By his fallen nature, man wants to make God into his image. Many religious people carve their own concept of God and assume that this is the God of the Bible. It takes effort to understand and accept the God of the Bible.

The sense of this passage is that Micah did all this easily. It wasn’t hard to have an idol made in Israel at that time. This shows how Israel’s society was bent towards idolatry.” (Guzik)

Idols

”You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;“

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,“

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Idols come easily to us and can consist in many forms such as a smart phone, a television, money, a house, a car, and the list goes on. The Lord knew our human frailty, our weakness to serve other gods, which is why He commanded us not to make a carved image.

If you examined your life today, what are you putting above the Lord your God?

Blessings 

Judges 17:1-2 Spiritual State

 ”Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭17‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Now there was a man: Judges 17-18 present a detailed example of the spiritual confusion and sin in Israel during the days of the Judges. These two chapters show us just how bad things were.

Whose name was Micah: Micah, from the tribe of Ephraim, stole 1,100 shekels of silver from his mother and then returned them. His mother blessed her son for returning the money, even though he had originally taken it.

”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!”“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭17‬:‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

This account reveals a lot about the character of Micah, his mother, and the general spiritual state of Israel during this period.

Judges 17:10 indicates that ten shekels a year was an adequate wage. Therefore, 1,100 shekels was a great fortune.

Spiritual State

While growing up our family was raised under Catholicism and that set the spiritual state for our family. As we grew older some accepted, some rejected, while others were drawn into nondenominational faiths. After becoming born again, I refer to myself as a recovering Catholic because there are some teachings about Catholicism that aren’t biblical not to mention the child abuse that was rampant throughout the Catholic Church.

It is good for us periodically to examine the spiritual state of our family and to see if it’s lacking biblically. The truth to the matter is, many people are going to hell.

What is your spiritual state?

Blessings 

Judges 16:23-25 Our god

 ”Now the Lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice. And they said: “Our god has delivered into our hands Samson our enemy!”“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Our god has delivered into our hands Samson our enemy: “When Samson pursued his ungodly relationships, he might have justified it to himself by thinking that the only harm was done to himself. Yet here we see that his disobedience led to giving glory to false gods. Samson became a trophy for worshippers of false gods.” (Guzik)

”When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said: “Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, The destroyer of our land, And the one who multiplied our dead.”“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

When the people saw him, they praised their god: “The message preached by the followers of Dagon was clear. They said, “Our god is stronger than the God of Israel, because we have conquered Samson.” Often the disobedience of God’s leaders leads others to deny God.” (Guzik)

”So it happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Our god!

If we are truly honest with ourselves, at one time or another in our lives we worshipped something other than the Lord. Our god may have influenced others and our disobedience may have led to giving glory to false gods, denying God!

Samson could have done much more for the kingdom of God if he didn’t pursue ungodly relationships and controlled the lust of his eyes 👀.

The question we need to ponder, how much more could we have done for the kingdom of God if we __________? (Fill in the blank)

Blessings 

Judges 16:21-22 Sin Has its Wages!

 ”Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.“Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes: “It was fitting that Samson was first blinded in his imprisonment. He was attracted to ungodly relationships through his eyes. His failure to restrain this attraction to women brought him into bondage.”

They bound him with bronze fetters: “Samson didn’t humble himself in obedience before God - he insisted on the “freedom” of doing what he wanted to do. This left him with no freedom at all.” (Guzik)

“There is nothing perhaps in the sacred writings at once more pathetic and tragic than the vision of Samson with his eyes put out, grinding in the prison house of the Philistines. It is a picture and a parable needing no enforcement of exposition to make it powerful.” (Morgan)

“Sin has its wages, and this was Samson’s payday. His sin left him blind, in bondage, and a slave. Before Samson’s blindness, bondage, and slavery were only inward, but they eventually became evident outwardly.” (Guzik)

”However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“I wonder why these Philistines did not take care to keep his hair from growing to any length. If cutting his hair once had proved so effectual, I wonder that they did not send in the barber every morning, to make sure that not a hair grew upon his scalp or chin. But wicked men are not in all matters wise men: indeed, they so conspicuously fail in one point or another that Scripture calls them fools.” (Spurgeon)

“When Samson’s hair began to grow, what did it prophesy? Well, first, it prophesied hope for Samson. I will be bound to say that he put his hand to his head, and felt that it was getting bristly, and then he put his hand to his beard, and found it rough. Yes, yes, yes, it was coming, and he thought within himself, ‘It will be all right soon. I shall not get my eyes back. They will not grow again. I am an awful loser by my sin, but I shall get my strength back again, for my hair is growing. I shall be able to strike a blow for my people and for my God yet.” (Spurgeon)

Sin has its wages!

We all have sin and the Bible tells us:

”If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.“

‭‭I John‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I believe after studying the Bible cover to cover for years that everyone has an addiction of one type or another. An addiction can be anything that draws your time away from God. It doesn’t have to be drugs or alcohol but can be electronic devices, news, politics social media and much more.

We all need to evaluate our time spent with the Lord and ask ourselves, what will my sin wages be?

Blessings 

Judges 16:20 Departed from him

”And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I will go out as before: Samson didn’t know things were different. He lived in compromise for so long that he thought it would never make a difference.(Guzik)

“The story is one to fill the soul with holy fear. The possibility of going on in an attempt to do the work of God after God has withdrawn Himself, is an appalling one.” (Morgan)

“This is a tragic example of wasted potential and rejection of God’s warnings. Samson thought he could “get away” with sin and escape its consequences. He misinterpreted the merciful delay of God’s judgment or correction as a sign that He really didn’t care. He therefore presumed on God’s mercy and continued on in his sin, making things far worse.” (Guzik)

He did not know that the LORD had departed from him: Samson’s strength was not in his hair, it was in his relationship with God. He worked against that relationship to the point where God finally departed from him, in the sense that He no longer blessed Samson with supernatural strength. (Guzik)

As Christian’s our strength is in Jesus. 

Will the Holy Spirit ever depart from us?

”But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.“

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Do you have the Spirit of Christ?

Blessings