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The Spirit of the Times: Bad Priests, Bad People
Micah’s Idol
17 There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. 2 He said to his mother, “You know that eleven hundred shekels of silver[a] which were taken from you, about which you spoke a curse that I heard—Look! I have the silver. I took it.”
His mother said, “May my son be blessed by the Lord.”
3 Micah returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother.
Then his mother said, “The silver that I received from my son I solemnly dedicate to the Lord to make a cast and engraved idol[b] for my son’s benefit.[c] So now I will return it to you.”[d]
4 He returned the silver to his mother, and his mother gave two hundred shekels of silver to the silversmith, who made them into a cast and engraved idol, which was placed in the house of Micah.
5 This man Micah had a “house of God,” where he placed a special priestly vest and a household god and where he ordained[e] one of his sons as his own priest.
6 In those days there was no king in Israel, and every man did whatever was right in his own eyes.
A Renegade Priest
7 Meanwhile, there was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, a city which belonged to a clan of Judah. He was a Levite, but he resided in Bethlehem even though he was not a Judean.[f] 8 This man left the city—Bethlehem of Judah—to take up residence wherever he could find a place to stay. As he went on his way, he came to the house of Micah in the hill country of Ephraim.
9 Micah said to him, “Where did you come from?”
He answered, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am going to take up residence wherever I can find a place to stay.”
10 Micah said to him, “Stay with me! Be a father and a priest to me. I will give you ten shekels of silver a year, an allowance for your clothing, and your food.”
So the Levite went with him. 11 The Levite was willing to stay with the man, and he became like one of his sons. 12 Micah ordained the Levite, so the young man became his priest and lived in Micah’s house.
13 Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will treat me well, because I have this Levite as my priest.”
18 In those days there was no king in Israel.
The Migration of Some Danites
Also in those days, some members of the tribe of Dan were seeking a territory of their own in which to live, because up to that day they had not taken possession of their inheritance in the midst of the tribes of Israel. 2 So the descendants of Dan sent out from Zorah and Eshtaol five men who were strong warriors. They were to represent their clans and to scout the land and explore it. They said to the five men, “Go explore the land.” So they went to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and they spent the night there.
3 When they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. They turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What advantage is there for you here?”
4 He told them what Micah had done for him: “He hired me, and I became his priest.”
5 They said to him, “Please inquire from God, so that we will know whether the way we are going will lead to success.”
6 The priest said to them, “Go in peace. The way you are going is approved by the Lord.”
7 So the five men continued their journey until they arrived at Laish. They saw that the people there were living in the same way as the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. There was no one to disturb them or oppress them.[g] They were far removed from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone else.[h]
8 Then the five spies returned to their fellow tribesmen[i] at Zorah and Eshtaol. Their brothers said to them, “What do you think?”
9 The five answered, “Get up! Let us go up against them, ⎣for we have entered the land and journeyed as far as Laish. We saw how the people lived in security in the same way as the Sidonians, but they were far from the Sidonians, and they had no dealings with Aram. Get up! Let us go up against them,⎦[j] for we have seen the land. We assure you it is very good. Why are you still sitting here? Do not be slow. Get going to the land and take possession of it. 10 When you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people, whose land is spacious. Yes, God has given into your hands a place where there is no lack of anything on earth.”
11 So the clan of Danites set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. There were six hundred men, equipped for war. 12 They went up and camped near Kiriath Jearim in Judah. (That is why the place has been called Mahaneh Dan[k] to this present day. It is west of Kiriath Jearim.) 13 Then they traveled on from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.
14 The five men who had gone out to spy on the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Do you know that in one of these houses there is a priestly vest and a household god, an engraved and a cast idol? So now, you know what to do.”
15 They turned in and entered the house of the young Levite at the homestead of Micah, and they asked him how he was doing. 16 Meanwhile, the six hundred descendants of Dan, equipped for war, were standing at the entrance of the gate. 17 The five men who had gone to spy on the land came and took the engraved idol, the priestly vest, the household god, and the cast idol while the priest was standing at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men equipped for war.
18 When these five men came into the house of Micah and took the engraved idol, the priestly vest, the household god, and the cast idol, the priest asked them, “What are you doing?”
19 They told him, “Be quiet. Put your hand over your mouth. Come with us and be our father and priest! Is it better for you to be priest for the household of one man or to be priest for an entire tribe and clan in Israel?”
20 Then the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the vest, the household god, and the engraved idol, and he went along with the people. 21 So they set out on their way and sent their children and their cattle and possessions ahead of them.
22 After the Danites had gone some distance from the house of Micah, the men who lived in the houses around the house of Micah were called out to pursue them, and they caught up with the Danites. 23 They called to the Danites, who turned toward them and said to Micah, “What is wrong with you? Why are you shouting like this?”
24 Micah replied, “You have taken my gods that I made and my priest, and you have gone off. What is left to me? How can you ask me, ‘What is wrong with you?’”
25 The Danites said to him, “Do not let us hear your voice. If you do, those men with a bad attitude will attack you, and you will lose your life, not to mention the lives of your household.” 26 The Danites then continued on their way, and when Micah saw that they were stronger than he was, he turned around and went back to his house.
27 So the Danites took what Micah had made and also his priest, and they went up against Laish, against a quiet and unsuspecting people, and they struck them down by the edge[l] of the sword and burned down the city.
28 The people of Laish had no one to rescue them, because they were far away from Sidon, and they did not have any alliance with anyone else. The city was located in the valley near Beth Rehob.
The Danites rebuilt the city and lived there. 29 They named the city Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel, but Laish had been the original name of the city.
30 So the Danites set up the engraved idol for themselves, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses,[m] and his sons became priests for the tribe of Dan, up to the day of the captivity of the land. 31 They maintained for themselves the engraved idol that Micah had made, throughout all the days that the house of God was in Shiloh.
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus
3 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these miraculous signs you are doing unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless someone is born from above,[a] he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
5 Jesus answered, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God! 6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh. Whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be surprised when I tell you that you must be born from above.[b] 8 The wind blows where it pleases. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 “How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus.
10 “You are the teacher of Israel,” Jesus answered, “and you do not know these things? 11 Amen, Amen, I tell you: We speak what we know, and we testify about what we have seen. But you people do not accept our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven, except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.[c]
14 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but[d] have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 The one who believes in him is not condemned, but the one who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. 19 This is the basis for the judgment: The light has come into the world, yet people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. 20 In fact, everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, or else his deeds would be exposed. 21 But the one who does what is true comes toward the light, in order that his deeds may be seen as having been done in connection with God.”
Psalm 104
Bless the Lord, Who Creates Wonders
Introduction
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with splendor and majesty.
Day One—Light
2 He wears light like a robe.
Day Two—the Sky
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy.
3 He lays beams on the waters to support his upper chambers.
He makes clouds his chariot.
He travels on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes his messengers[a] winds.
His ministers are blazing fire.
Day Three—the Waters and Plants
5 He placed the earth firmly on its foundations.
It cannot be moved forever and ever.
6 You covered it with the deep as a garment.
The waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled.
At the sound of your thunder they hurried away.
8 The waters surged up the mountains.
They went down into the valleys,[b]
to the place that you prepared for them.
9 You set a boundary that they cannot cross.
They will not return to cover the earth.
10 He makes springs flow into streams
that run between the mountains.
11 They give water to every wild animal.
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky live by the streams.
From among the branches they send out their song.
13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers.
The earth is filled with the fruit he produces.
14 He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants that people use[c] to produce food from the earth.
15 Also wine that makes people’s hearts glad,
olive oil to make their face shine,
and bread that sustains their lives.[d]
16 The trees of the Lord have everything they need.
He planted the cedars of Lebanon,
17 where birds make their nests.
The stork has its home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats.
The crags are a refuge for the rock badgers.
Day Four—the Lights
19 The moon marks off the months and seasons.
The sun knows when to go down.
20 You bring darkness, and it becomes night.
During it all the animals in the forest move about.
21 The young lions roar for their prey.
They are seeking their food from God.
22 The sun rises, and they gather together.
They return to their dens and lie down.
23 Man goes out to his work.
He continues his labor until evening.
Days Five and Six—Animals and Man
24 How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures.
20 A poor person is hated even by his neighbor,
but those who love a rich person are many.
21 A person who despises his neighbor is sinning,
but one who is kind to the oppressed is blessed.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.