The Failure of Idols

You may be seated.

Good morning.

My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.

And it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

Special welcome if you're new or visiting with us.

We're glad that you're here.

And we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,

but because we're following Jesus together as one community.

And as we follow Jesus together, we've become convinced that there's no one so good.

They don't need God's grace.

And no one so bad that they can't have it,

which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in his word.

We're continuing our series in the book of Judges.

And you'll remember that the book of Judges is about a number of things.

It's about the need for constant renewal and revival among God's people.

It's about the need for a faithful and true king,

a king who can do what no human can do, which is to change the hearts of men.

It's about the power of spirit-filled leadership.

It's about God's mercy to hard-hearted people, people like you and me.

This morning we're picking up in Judges chapter 18.

Judges 18 · chapter mention

You may remember, if you've been with us, that as we ended chapter 16,

we actually ended the story of the Judges,

if we think about Judges as the leaders of God's people.

And while we may be finished with the Judges,

we are not finished with the book of Judges.

Since the last five chapters, turn away from Israel's leaders

and instead show us what life was like for normal, everyday people,

Monday through Sunday.

Last week, or two weeks ago now, in chapter 17,

we met the figure of Micah.

And you'll remember that Micah had stolen 1,100 pieces of silver from his mom.

He found out that she had cursed whoever had stolen the silver.

And so to avoid the curse, he quickly gave it back to her.

And both of them used it to set up idols,

violating what we looked at earlier this morning, the second commandment.

In fact, in the first five verses,

they managed to break four of God's Ten Commandments.

And so we talked about the fact that they had lots of religious show,

no religious substance.

They had lots of religious superstition, religious activity

that wasn't tethered at all to any sort of real holiness or real obedience.

And we saw in verse 6 the phrase that we're now going to begin to hear

at the very end of the book,

that in those days there was no king in Israel.

Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

This week in chapter 18,

we're going to pick up on a theme that started last week

that we left to the side

because it comes more to the forefront in this chapter,

which is the great disappointment,

the great futility of idols.

Micah makes these idols in chapter 17

with great hope, great expectation, great trust.

He finds out in chapter 18

just what a terrible decision that was.

And so with that, I invite you to turn with me in God's word.

You can turn in your worship guide.

You can turn in your phone.

You can turn in your Bible.

No matter where you turn,

remember that this is God's word.

And God tells us that his word is more precious than gold,

even the finest gold,

and it is sweeter than honey,

even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb.

And so that's why we read now

Judges chapter 18, starting in verse 1.

Judges 18 · chapter mention

In those days there was no king in Israel.

And in those days the tribe of the people of Dan

was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in.

For until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel

had fallen to them.

So the people of Dan sent five able men

from the whole number of their tribe,

from Zorah and from Eshtael,

to spy out the land and to explore it.

And they said to them,

Go and explore the land.

And they came to the hill country of Ephraim

to the house of Micah and lodged there.

When they were by the house of Micah,

they recognized the voice of the young Levite.

And they turned aside and said to him,

Who brought you here?

What are you doing in this place?

What is your business here?

And he said to them,

This is how Micah dealt with me.

He has hired me, and I have become his priest.

And they said to him,

Inquire of God, please,

that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.

And the priest said to them,

Go in peace.

The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.

Verse 7.

Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were there,

how they lived in security after the manner of the Sidonians,

quiet and unsuspecting, lacking nothing that is in the earth and possessing wealth,

and how they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone.

And when they came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtail,

their brothers said to them,

What do you report?

They said, Arise and let us go up against them,

for we have seen the land,

and behold, it is very good.

And will you do nothing?

Do not be slow to go,

to enter in and possess the land.

As soon as you go,

you will come to an unsuspecting people.

The land is spacious,

for God has given it into your hands,

a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.

Verse 11.

So 600 men of the tribe of Dan,

armed with weapons of war,

set out from Zorah and Eshtail

and went up and camped at Kiriath-Jerim in Judah.

On this account,

that place is called Mahanadan to this day.

Behold, it is west of Kiriath-Jerim.

And they passed on from there to the hill country of Ephraim

and came to the house of Micah.

Verse 14.

Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish

said to their brothers,

Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod,

household gods, a carved image, and a metal image?

Now therefore consider what you will do.

And they turned aside there

and came to the house of the young Levite

at the home of Micah

and asked him about his welfare.

Now the 600 men of the Danites,

armed with their weapons of war,

stood by the entrance of the gate.

And the five men who had gone to scout out the land

went up and entered and took the carved image,

the ephod, the household gods,

and the metal image,

while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate

with 600 men armed with weapons of war.

Verse 18.

And when these went into Micah's house

and took the carved image,

the ephod,

the household gods,

and the metal image,

the priest said to them,

What are you doing?

And they said to him,

Keep quiet.

Put your hand on your mouth

and come with us

and be to us a father and a priest.

Is it better for you to be a priest

to the house of one man

or to be priest to a tribe

and a clan in Israel?

And the priest's heart was glad.

He took the ephod and the household gods

and the carved image

and went along with the people.

So they turned and departed,

putting the little ones

and the livestock and the goods in front of them.

When they had gone a distance

from the home of Micah,

the men who were in the houses

near Micah's house were called out.

And they overtook the people of Dan.

And they shouted to the people of Dan

who turned around and said to Micah,

What is the matter with you

that you come with such a company?

And he said,

You take my gods that I made

and the priest and go away

and what have I left?

How then do you ask me

what is the matter with you?

And the people of Dan said to him,

Do not let your voice be heard among us,

lest angry fellows fall upon you

and you lose your life

with the lives of your household.

Then the people of Dan went their way.

And when Micah saw

that they were too strong for him,

he turned and went back to his home.

Verse 27,

But the people of Dan

took what Micah had made

and the priest who belonged to him.

And they came to Laish

to a people quiet and unsuspecting

and struck them with the edge of the sword

and burned the city with fire.

And there was no deliverer

because it was far from Sidon

and they had no dealings with anyone.

It was in the valley

that belongs to Beth Rehob.

Then they rebuilt the city

and lived in it.

And they named the city Dan

after the name of Dan,

their ancestor,

who was born to Israel.

But the name of the city

was Laish at the first.

And the people of Dan

set up the carved image for themselves.

And Jonathan,

the son of Gershom,

son of Moses,

and his sons

were priests

to the tribe of the Danites

until the day

of the captivity of the land.

So they set up Micah's carved image

that he made

as long as the house of God

was at Shiloh.

I invite you to pray with me

as we come to this portion

of God's word.

Our Father in heaven,

we do thank you again

for your word

that you

create,

nurture,

sustain life

by your word.

You did it

in the creation of the world.

And you do it

through the scriptures

that you've given to us.

And so we ask this morning

that you would give us life.

That you would use

this passage

to encourage

and to challenge us.

You'd use it

to change us

and to grow us.

And most of all,

you'd use it

to show us, Jesus,

that we would see

our great need

and we would also see

his great mercy.

You would use it

to make us

more and more like him.

We ask these things

in his mighty name.

Amen.

As we begin

chapter 18,

we are confronted

immediately

with a major problem.

The tribe of Dan,

which is one of the 12 tribes

of Israel,

it turns out,

actually have no territory.

They do not have

the land

that they need

and that raises

the question of why not.

Well, that,

to understand,

would take us

all the way

back to chapter 1.

You might remember

back in chapter 1,

we heard the story

of how the different tribes

were coming in

and taking the territory

that belonged to them.

And yet,

part of the warning

at the very beginning

of the book of Judges,

part of the foreshadowing

was that we saw

that they were not

actually able

to take the land

that God had given them.

You may also remember

one commentator said this,

that they said

we could not take the land

and God in chapter 1

basically says,

no,

you would not

take the land.

You were not faithful.

You did not believe

the promises

that I gave to you.

And so this failure

that we encounter

right here at the beginning

is this lack

of faith and obedience.

The lack of obedience

from the tribe of Dan

is catching up with them.

In fact,

there's a problem

that's not explicit

in the passage

but that we know

from geography

which is that

they are squeezed in.

The tribe of Dan

does not have

what they need

in terms of land

to grow crops,

to sustain themselves,

and to feed themselves.

And so their disobedience

has really,

in a sense,

put them into a corner.

They don't have the land

they actually need

to survive.

And so that,

rather than obedience

and faith

and trust in God,

is what's pushing them

to finally do

what they should have done

a long time ago.

It makes sense then

that this is the land

that they take.

We're told in verse 10,

it is a place

where there is no lack

of anything

that is in the earth.

So they're living,

not enough land,

not the right land.

Suddenly they find

the spies

that go out

the greatest land.

Now we're getting

ahead of ourselves here though.

This story breaks up

into several parts

and the first couple parts

are these two expeditions.

The first expedition

is the expedition

of five men

who are meant to spy.

And then after that

there's an expedition

of 600 men

who are meant to capture.

And so we find first

the spying expedition

in verse 2.

These five men

are sent out

and what is it

that they discover

very quickly?

Well in verse 4

they run across

our character

that we met

in the last chapter,

Micah.

And you may remember

I told you

Micah was looking

for work.

He had a LinkedIn profile.

He had changed

his profile picture

and it said

open to work

because he wanted

everyone to make sure

that they knew

that he was a Levite

and he was ready

to serve

in whatever way possible.

Of course that's

what he's excited

to tell them.

He shares with them

in verse 4

how good this is.

This is how Micah

dealt with me.

He has hired me

and I have become

a priest.

In other words

wow look at me guys

I got the job

I have the income

I made the deal.

Notice what Micah

doesn't say.

He doesn't say

wow I am so grateful

that God has given me

this position

so I can serve him

and teach people his ways.

Now we already know

from last chapter

Micah is not really

that interested

in teaching people

God's ways.

He's someone

who has figured out

how to use

religious service

simply for

an income.

That's a foreshadowing

in and of itself

of what's going to happen

to Micah next.

If he's interested

in one good job

will he not

of course

be interested

in an even better job?

And that's what's

going to be

offered to him.

Knowing that he's

a Levite

of course they want

a word from the Lord

verses 5 and 6

to know if their journey

is going to be successful.

And this is actually

one of the stranger

parts of this passage.

We don't hear

that Micah actually

inquires of the Lord.

There's no indication

that this is a true word

that he gives them.

Even more than that

it's extremely ambiguous.

Look with me

at verse 6.

He says

the journey

on which you go

is under the eye

of the Lord.

Which means what?

I don't know.

Yeah, God's aware

of your journey.

It's under his eye.

It could be good.

It could be bad.

I don't know.

He's in a sense

a wise false teacher.

He gives them

something that could

go in multiple directions.

These men though

looking for God's favor

hear exactly

what they want

to hear.

So they go out.

They spy out the land.

Verses 7 through 10

they see,

hey, this is a place

that is ripe

for the picking.

It's a good land

and it's an unsuspecting land.

Remember later

it says they took it

because they were

so far away

from the Sidonians.

They had no communication

with anyone.

They didn't have

the allies they needed.

And so the spying expedition

goes extremely well.

We move quickly

to the conquering expedition

verses 11 through 20

but things very quickly

get pretty strange.

Verse 14,

we see the scouts

who have gone ahead

decide to give

the 600 men

sort of this

inside scoop.

They tell them,

hey, we met this guy

named Micah

and they say this.

This is verse 14.

Do you know

that in these houses

there are an ephod,

household gods,

a carved image,

and a metal image?

Now therefore,

consider what you will do.

In other words,

hey guys,

we just want to make sure

you know

there's some great things

in this house.

I'm not going to tell you

what to do with that.

You do what you want.

What do we find out

right away?

The 600 men

make a show of force

outside of the house

and they go ahead,

they steal the idols

and they take Micah

as well.

In fact,

in verses 16 and 17 here,

this is simply that.

It's a show of force.

The 600 men,

they don't have to do

any fighting.

They just stand by

the entrance of the house

so that Micah

and his people know

there is no point

in pushing back.

This battle is over

before it's begun.

With the 600 men outside,

the five men

who are the scouts

go in,

they plunder the house,

they get what they want.

Micah should here

be providing

some sort of protection.

We're moving forward

to verses 18 through 20.

But instead,

they tell him,

hey,

keep your mouth shut.

Verse 4,

he's told them,

wow,

I have a job.

Isn't this great?

Verse 19,

they say,

wow,

you know what?

We'll give you

a better job.

Is it better for you

to be a priest

to the house

of one man

or to be a priest

to a tribe

and a clan

in Israel?

And how does Micah respond?

Does he say,

no,

I have to remain

faithful to God

and his ways.

Don't you realize

you're breaking

the eighth commandment?

You're stealing things

you shouldn't steal.

Don't you realize

God's blessing

may not be with you

because you haven't

obeyed him?

No,

that's not Micah's word.

Verse 20,

and the priest's

heart was glad.

Micah has the promotion

he wants.

His influence,

his power,

perhaps his compensation

are going up.

Then Micah decides

he's going to chase them down.

This is verses 21 through 26.

He quickly realizes

he's outgunned

and overpowered,

so he heads home.

Conquering expedition,

they roll in

to Laish,

they find that

it's unprotected,

they conquer it,

they wreck it.

Very end,

we have this sad note,

verse 31.

They set up

a rival worship site

to God's true

worship site

at Shiloh.

So what do we do?

What does the author

of Judges

want us to understand

from chapter 18

as we think about

Micah's story,

his setting up

of the idols,

his hiring of the Levite,

and then his losing

of him?

Some of it,

we see a similar theme

to last week.

Remember last week,

we talked about the fact

that they were full

of religious show

and they had no

religious substance.

And we see that

all over again

as the story continues here.

They care about

having a Levite,

right?

Just like Micah did.

The men of Dan

want the same thing.

They don't care about

the fact that maybe

they're stealing

a lot of things

and doing some

underhanded business

to get there.

They want to know

that God is with them.

It's important to them

that the Levite

gives them this word

of success

on the one hand.

On the other hand,

they really don't care

about how crazy

the stuff they're doing is.

Right?

Religious show,

no religious substance.

They end up doing

what God says

he hates

in the name

of worshiping God

and honoring God.

Following after God

on the one hand,

supposedly setting up

a rival worship site

on the other hand.

Of course,

sad here,

the Levite

obviously cares

about money

and prestige.

He cares not at all

for God's honor

and his glory.

No,

he's available

to the highest bidder.

Whoever pays him

gets his services.

And so that's

a repetition

in a sense

a continuation

of the theme

from last week.

What's new

about this week

is this,

Micah's idolatry

finally comes

home to roost.

The stupidity

of the creation

of these idols,

the fact that he made

this carved image

and the metal image,

he has the ephod,

the household gods

in the shrine,

the consequences

of that

finally come out

to bear.

He gets to face

the music

of what he's done.

And just for a sake

of review,

we've seen this quote

before,

but I'm going to invite

you to look at page

eight of your worship guide.

As we talk about idolatry,

we're talking about

this larger concept

of what it is

that we worship

and love.

And we're told this

as a definition.

Idolatry is loving

anything more

than Jesus Christ.

Idolatry is treating

anything as more

important than Jesus Christ

for your meaning

in life,

for your happiness,

for your security

and hope,

or for your self-regard.

Idolatry is looking

to good things

as great things.

It's taking

something that's good

and saying,

I want this to give me

something that God alone

can provide.

I want this thing,

in this case,

Micah wants the idols

to give him the security

and success

that only God

can bless him with.

And so we come

to the most perhaps

devastating statement

in this entire chapter.

And this perhaps

is the key

to chapter 18.

And it's in verse 24.

Micah has his idols

stolen from him

and he says this,

You take my gods

that I made

and the priest

and go away

and what have I left?

In other words,

this was what was

most important to me.

This was where

I had placed

all my trust

and confidence.

You take this,

I have nothing left.

And it's his own words

that reveal

how tragic this is

because before he says that,

he already admits,

my gods

that I made.

of course

they're powerless,

right?

Of course

they can't deliver him.

Of course

they can't provide

hope and security.

They didn't make him,

he made them.

So the point

of chapter 18

is very simple

and it's this.

Idols

will always

break

your heart.

Idols

will always

disappoint.

They will

never

deliver

on their promises.

What are

these gods

supposed to do?

They're supposed

to protect Micah.

What ends up

happening?

He is

totally

plundered,

right?

They cannot

do

what they

promise

to do.

Idols

may not

break

your heart

today,

right?

We didn't

see them

breaking Micah's

heart in

chapter 17.

Give it

enough time

and they

will.

Play

the timeline

out

long enough

and your

idols

will

leave you

high

and dry.

Idols

will always

break

your heart.

It's not

just that

Micah has

lost

what's

most

valuable

to him.

It's

that he

finally

realizes

what is

most

valuable

to him

is

completely

weak

and

powerless.

And so

there's a

sense here

in which

the punishment

fits the

crime.

Micah

steals

from his

mom.

Remember

last chapter?

What happens?

Those very

same things

are stolen

from him.

Micah

steals

from mom.

Dan

steals

from Micah

no

honor

among

thieves.

Idolatry

works like

this.

If you

live by

the sword

you'll

die by

the sword.

If you

live

for money

you'll

die by

money.

If you

live

for romance

you will

be

devastated

by romance.

If you

value

power

above

all

else

you will

be

crushed

by

power.

If you

pursue

comfort

more

than

anything

else

you

will

find

yourself

extremely

uncomfortable.

Maybe

not

today

but

eventually

it

will

come

back.

not

saying

that we

shut

ourselves

off

to

those

things

money

and

romance

and

power

have

their

place

and

their

value

in

life

and

we

keep

them

in

the

right

place.

We

maintain

the

right

perspective.

We

know

these

are

not

the

things

that

will

save

us

and

rescue

us.

We

see

in

this

chapter

why

it

is

that

we

flee

away

from

idols.

It's

not

because

God

is

a

kill

joy.

It's

not

because

he

hates

for

his

people

to

have

fun.

It's

not

because

he

doesn't

want

them

to

enjoy

the

good

things

that

he's

brought

into

his

creation.

It

is

this.

We

flee

away

from

idols

because

that

protects

us

from

great

danger.

it

is

God

who

will

not

break

our

hearts.

You'll

see this

on

verse

9

of

your

worship

guide

summarizing

the

warning

and the

danger

of

idols

and it

says

this

ultimately

we

pay

the

cost

of

putting

ultimate

trust

in

what

can

never

deliver

ultimate

security.

Ultimately

it seems

we never

learn

that

false

gods

never

fail

to

fail.

That

is

the

only

thing

about

a

false

god

that

you

can

depend

on.

False

gods

fail

that

is

their

only

truth.

Do you

want

life?

Worship

of the

true

God

is

the

only

safe

worship.

hope

in

the

true

God

is

the

only

hope

that

will

not

disappoint.

Security

in

the

true

God

is

the

only

one

that

will

not

fail.

Idols

will

always

break

your

heart.

I told

you that

there's

a key

verse

here in

verse

24.

there's

another

final

gut

punch

we get

here at

the

very

end.

You

may have

noticed

that

last

chapter,

chapter

17,

we were

told that

Micah had

a name.

It was

Micah.

We were

not told

the name

of the

Levite.

And the

author of

Judges

strategically

saves it

here for

the very

end of

the story.

Verse

30.

Who is

this

unfaithful

Levite?

Who is

this man

who cares

about money

and power

and influence

more than

anything else?

This is

Moses'

grandson.

the

grandson

of one

of the

greatest

leaders

of God's

people.

And so

what the

author is

telling us

is this,

this is

how far

Israel

has fallen.

This is

how bad

things actually

are.

even

Moses'

grandson

has

given

in.

Even

he

has

abandoned

God's

ways.

And the

point of

all of

this is

not to

make us

discouraged

or pushed

down.

No,

it's to

drive us

to what

we saw

in verse

one.

In

those

days,

there

was no

king

in

Israel.

In

case

there

is

any

doubt,

what the

author is

trying to

tell us

is this,

Israel

needs

rescue.

And that

rescue

will not

come from

a man.

It wasn't

going to

come from

Samson.

It will

not come

from the

descendants

of Moses.

No,

Israel

needs

someone

even

greater

and more

powerful.

We might

say that

Israel

needs

a faithful

and true

king.

Israel

needs a

king who

can do

what no

human can

do,

which is

to change

the hearts

of men.

And so

once again,

judges

is pointing

us forward,

right?

This is

something that

Solomon and

David will

not be

able to

do.

What

Israel

needs is

not a

earthly

king,

but a

divine

king.

Micah

has to

look to

something

beyond

idols for

security

and blessing.

And as

we now

know the

end of

the story,

we know

that Jesus

is the

true and

greater

king.

we know

that he

is the

one and

the only

one who

can rescue

a people

that have

fallen

this far.

Last week,

we talked

about Jesus

as the

true king

who rules

by his

spirit,

right?

As he's

ascended to

the right

hand of

God the

Father,

that he's

the one

who's able

to change

the hearts

of his

people in

a way

the judges

never

could.

This

week,

we see

Jesus

is the

true king

who can

provide

what idols

can only

promise.

Jesus

is the

one who

gives his

people the

security

that they

long for.

Idols

can arouse

and entice

they can

never

fulfill.

And why

is it that

we look

to Jesus

as the

one who

gives us

those

ultimate

things?

Jim already

read it for

us this

morning.

It's on

page three

of your

worship guide.

Jesus

makes this

promise in

Matthew

chapter six

as he's

preaching the

sermon on

the mount.

He says,

therefore,

do not be

anxious.

This is

verse 31,

saying,

what shall

we eat

or what

shall we

drink

or what

shall we

wear?

For the

Gentiles,

in other

words,

the idolaters,

those who

worship carved

images and

metal images,

seek after

these things

and your

heavenly

father knows

that you

need them

all.

idols can

arouse and

entice,

they cannot

fulfill.

Jesus says

here,

I will

provide.

Look at the

birds of the

air,

they neither

sow nor

reap nor

gather into

barns,

and yet your

heavenly father

feeds them.

Are you not

of more

value than

they?

My hope

is the

true hope.

My security,

the true

security,

my provision,

the true

provision.

look to

me,

not to

what you've

made with

your hands.

And how do

we know that

Jesus' promise

to us is

true?

How do we

trust his

words here in

Matthew chapter

six?

We trust them

because we have

an even greater

promise that has

been kept.

We trust them

because we look

and we see that

Jesus came and

lived the perfect

life that we

should have

lived.

He came and

died the death

that we should

have died as a

punishment for

our sins.

He kept his

promise to

his people.

And as I've

told you many

times before,

Romans chapter

eight,

verses 31 and

32 tell us,

hey, look,

he who gave

you his own

son, will

he not also

with him give

you all

things?

If he gave

you the great

thing, will

he not give

you the small

things?

You don't need

to look to

idols.

you can look

to him.

He's given

you ultimate

things and

give you all

things.

So we trust

him, we

follow him

above and

beyond everything

else.

Let's pray.

Our Father in

heaven, we do

praise you and

thank you

that by being

anxious, we

can't add a

single hour to

our life.

You care for

us and protect

us.

You give

what idols

can only

promise.

We ask that

you would

remind us of

that this

morning, that

you would

stir it up in

our hearts, that

we would believe

it more and

more, that we

would look to

you and you

alone as our

hope, our

comfort, our

protection, our

provision.

We ask all of

these things in

the mighty name

of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

I invite you to

stand for our

closing hymn.