Dirty Money
Dirty Money
Judges 17:7 & 10 & 13
Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. … And Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living.” And the Levite went in. … Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.”
The first time I ever encountered this priest from the tribe of Judah in Bethlehem—who serves as an antithesis to our great High Priest from the same tribe and town, one getting bought off for a few shekels and the Other sold out for a few shekels—was in a scratchy, old recording from a pastor of yesteryear named Paris Reidhead, in his sermon called “Ten Shekels and a Shirt.” I don’t remember which Bible teacher in college tuned me in to the message, but I implore you to take time later today, or this week, to find a recording of the message and listen with open ears. Please, for your own soul, do that. The message is rough around the edges, both in terms of recording quality and in terms of material presented, and, frankly, some of the things brother Reidhead says don’t quite sit well with me; but the way he cuts to the heart of this scene in Judges 17, providing illustrations from his own life as an evangelist in Africa, and ending his sermon by relaying the accounts of Moravian missionaries who sold themselves into slavery for the sake of the gospel, is a stinging word you won’t soon get over. You’ll have forgotten this devotional by this time next week—or much sooner—but brother Reidhead’s sermon will stay with you for years to come.
Let me offer one warning of my own regarding this scene though, and it’s this: walking in blatant disobedience to God’s will still has a veneer of blessing. Christians who commit adultery often confess to feeling nearer to God. Megachurch pastors who’ve lost their love for the LORD boast of how many new members are joining the church. Business leaders who cut corners typically get ahead in an economic sense. So don’t mistake curses for blessings, friend. You might be ten shekels richer, but you’ll be poor as dirt where it matters.