[One-Verse Meditation]

Judges 18:20 (NIV) “Then the priest was glad. He took the ephod, the household gods and the idol and went along with the people.”

[Meditation]

The Danites, while plundering Micah’s house of its idols and sacred objects, make a proposition to the Levite priest: will he be the priest of one man’s house, or the priest of an entire tribe? This is his response:

“Then the priest was glad.”

He “was glad,” and “he took the ephod, the household gods and the idol” and went with the people of Dan. He would probably teach the law and offer sacrifices in the same way he did yesterday. Let’s pause here for a moment. Whose word was the law he taught, and to whom did he offer his sacrifices? Wasn’t it all just a ‘golden calf’ borrowing the name of ‘the LORD’? What made his heart glad was not God, but better conditions and greater success.

Sometimes, very rarely, I have seen pastors who seem to make a bigger church and more success the goal of their ministry. It broke my heart. But to be honest, I’ve had that heart in me too. When I started my church, I was joyful and happy sharing the gospel with the few members we had. But when there was little growth, my heart grew heavy. So I often prayed this kind of prayer: “Lord, I’m doing this correctly and diligently, so what is this?”

I cannot cast a stone at this young Levite, because my heart was just like his. So instead, I examine my own heart. I ask what makes my heart ‘glad,’ and to whom my prayers, offerings, service, and worship are directed.

[Prayer]

Lord, help me to examine my heart honestly, and break the idols within me. I pray that today will be a day of rejoicing and delighting in God alone. Amen.
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[Daily Reading]

Judges 18:14-31