Year 4, Day 279: Judges 18

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Up

• Up: Up is the word we use for what we worship.  If we are following God’s will, God will occupy the Up position.  Our life, our identity, our mission, our family on mission is all derived from Up.  This is why God needs to be in our Up position.

What is in our Up position?  That is one of the fundamental questions of life.  That question leads to our identity and our authority.  Each of those things leads us to our obedience and our power.  Let’s look at two players in this chapter and see what is in their Up position.

The Levite is asked a difficult question as the 600 Danites rob Micah’s house.  They ask him whether he would rather be a priest and a father to one person or a priest and a father to a whole tribe.  We know what answer the Levite gives to us.  We know the Levite goes with the Danites.  What is in his Up position?  The Levite is looking for renown.  He is looking for his own reputation.  The Levite fails to recognize that it is better to do the will of the Lord than to seek our own glory.

Let’s also look at Micah.  When Micah realizes that his manmade gods, the ephod, and his priest have been stolen out from underneath him, he confronts the people of Dan.  Look at Micah’s words.  “If you take all my stuff, what will I have left?”  This expression hurts because it reveals Micah’s character.  What is in Micah’s Up position?  Certainly not God!  Micah is worried about his stuff, his manmade gods, the ephod that made him famous, and his own personal priest.  Micah worries about the stuff that can be taken away from him rather than entrusting his life into God’s hands. 

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