Wednesday, April 15   Judges 17-18; Psalm 21; Acts 1

Judges 17 & 18: What do you learn about Micah and his mother?  What do you learn about the Levite?

Acts 1: Why did Jesus tell the disciples to stay in Jerusalem?  

Journal Prompt:  Re-read Matthew 3:11.  What does it mean to to be baptized with fire?

Judges 17 & 18:  These stories are incredibly discouraging, but we can learn so much from them.  It’s easy to say, “Wow things were so bad back then.  How could they turn their backs on God like that?”, but we need to realize that the world we live in is no different.  The story of Micah (this is not Micah the prophet) is not so different from people I know who want to ‘tailor-make’ a religion of their own.  They pick and choose from the Bible, and they mix in other philosophies.  I believe this is part of why we are experiencing the pandemic.  God is telling us, “Listen, if you choose to do life your way, then you are, in fact, rejecting me.  If you are so set upon being in control, then I have no choice, but to let you.  However, don’t think you can serve your own gods and serve Me.  I’ve created you in My image, I’ve loved you to the point of sacrificing My Son for your sin.  I’ve restored you time and time again, but it’s time to part ways. It’s one of the hardest things I have to do, but I have to let you go.”

Micah and his mother were idolaters – and they seemed to have combined elements of true worship of God with idol worship – as they wanted to have a ‘Levitical priest’ and an ephod, but they also had foreign gods.  The Levitical priest is a lowlife.  First of all he agrees to be a part of this idolatry and then when he received a better option he steals the items from the family he has been ‘serving.’  Then he actually sets of a system of idolatry for the tribe of Dan.

Acts 1: Jesus told the disciples to stay in Jerusalem because in a few days they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.  Where were the disciples when Jesus ascended? What did they do after Jesus left? Why did they appoint a replacement for Judas?

Acts 1:  The disciples had been on the mount of Olives when Jesus ascended (they returned to the upper room where they were staying in Jerusalem).  They all gained together constantly in prayer.  

They appointed a replacement for Judas, perhaps because Jesus had chosen 12 (as in the 12 tribes – interesting how this is somewhat similar to the story we read today in Judges where the Israelites recognized a need to have all twelve tribes) but also Peter quoted scripture from the Psalms indicating they should replace the place that was deserted. (Psl. 69:25 and 109:8)