Judges 18:12

Judges 18:12 says, And they went up, and pitched in Kirjathjearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this day: behold, it is behind Kirjathjearim.  Verse thirteen adds, And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah.  After camping once on their way, they came to the house of Micah.  This time, there were the six-hundred soldiers as well as the five spies.  I am not sure how Micah felt about having that many people there, and I am not sure they really had a lot of concern for Micah.  Verse fourteen continues, Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do.  The five spies told them that there was an ephod, a teraphim, a molten image and a graven image in the house of Micah, and asked what the others thought they should do about it.  As a part of God's chosen people, they should have destroyed them, but they didn't ask God what to do about it.  If we come across idols in our life today, we don't need to debate about what to do about them, but need to simply get rid of them under God's guidance.  Verse fifteen states, And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him.  They then went to the house of the young Levite and saluted him.  They still had not consulted Micah about what they might do.  Verse sixteen adds, And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.  Verse seventeen continues, And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.  While the six bundled men of war stood by the gate with the young Levite, the five spies went in and took the ephod, the teraphim and the graven and the molten images.  These things had not been ordained by God, but actually went against His law, but this army wanted them to signify His presence and blessings.  The things of the world that many people see as sign of God's blessing or presence may often be just idols that we are worshipping.  Verse eighteen says, And these went into Micah’s house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye?  After the men took the carved image and the molten image, or idols, and also the ephod, and the teraphim, they asked the priest what he was going to do.  Had he been a real priest, devoted to doing God's will, he would have said that he was first going to pray about it, but we find no evidence of his doing so.  I believe that when we have any choice to make as followers of Christ today that we should first pray about it.  Verse nineteen adds, And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?  They told the priest to keep quiet and come with them, asking if it were not better to be a priest to a whole tribe of Israel than to one house.  Preachers today should never be tempted to move to a new place of service simply because it is larger.  Verse twenty continues, And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.  The young priest was happy, and took the ephod, the teraphim and the graven image and went into the midst of the people.  Still, neither the priest nor the soldiers had asked God about any of this.  We as Christians should never go about doing anything that we say is for God if we haven't gotten His approval for what we are doing, and we can be certain that if what we are doing goes against His laws that He is not leading us to do it.  Verse twenty-one concludes, So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them.  They also took some of the children and the cattle with them.  They were not satisfied with just stealing the things associated with God, but took material possessions as well.  Of course, these things associated with God really didn't have anything to do with Him.  If we start chasing after idols, we may never be satisfied, but may always want more and more.