Judges 17-18: When there was no king in the land

The text of Judges 17-21 repeats several times that at this time there was no king in the land and everyone did what was right in his own eyes.  The stories are meant to show the kinds of things theat were going on because there was no formalized system of meting out justice to offending groups or powerful individuals or even to corrupted religious leaders.  When the offenders were too many, it required the collective will of the people to get together and fight to set it right.  That required a leader people could get behind, preferably one who had been chosen and raised up by God.

It was probably hard to tell when it was appropriate to rise up and do this, so the people would seek out more efficient ways of administering justice to larger groups and powerful individuals, someone who would have power to call on and command an army so that things wouldn’t get so bad that the whole society had to destroy a town for some terrible atrocity the town committed against visitors, like in Judges 19-20.

Ultimately, the deeper message isn’t “this is the terrible state of society that doesn’t have a king,” but instead “this is the terrible state of society that doesn’t have God as their king.”

In Judges 17-18 we get a story about some powerful individuals and the religious error they perpetuate because of their riches.

It starts with an Ephraimite named Micah who steals 1100 shekels from his mother.  This is an immense sum of money, and since his mother had intended to dedicate it to the Lord (though in the wrong way) that indicates there is still plenty of money left afterward, so theirs must be a powerful family.

If you read through Judges17 and Judges 18, you’ll find so many instances of breaking commandments that it is almost like a game to find them all.  So let’s play.

--Micah stole 1100 shekels from his mom. (theft)

--He restored the 1100 shekels without adding the fifth part, according to the Law of Moses. (That he restored them at all indicates he was more afraid of her cursing him than of how the evil deed would spiritually affect him.)

--His mother completely dedicated the 1100 shekels to the Lord, but it was to make a graven image with.

--They use 200 shekels to make the graven image.

--Micah had a house of gods with idols and an ephod (priestly robe?)

--Micah had consecrated one of his own sons to be a priest, yet Micah doesn’t have authority.  (He’s an Ephraimite, not a Levite.)

--Next we get a Levite who is looking for a place.  This man is “out of Bethlehem-judah of the family of Judah,” yet he is a Levite?  How can a descendent of Judah be a Levite?  (Hint: He can’t.  He’s breaking the Law of Moses, taking the office to himself.)

--Micah hires the “Levite” to be his priest, paying him an allowance, room, board, and clothing.  Helloooo priestcraft!

--Micah consecrates the “Levite,” yet he doesn’t have authority to do so.

--Micah bears testimony, saying, “Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.”   (Sounds like a false testimony, huh?)

In the next chapter, we see Micah is himself not immune to being despoiled and suffering injustice, though in a larger perspective it is kind of a poetic justice.  The Lord can’t allow him to rest comfortably in this situation.

The tribe of Dan decides to go look for another inheritance they can actually conquer and they send out some spies to find land.  The spies run into Micah’s priest, the “Levite” and find out he’s priesting for Micah.  For some bizarre reason, they take it for granted that he’s legitimate and ask him to inquire of the Lord for them if they will succeed in their mission.  The “Levite” tells them they will.

They find a nice defenseless land in Laish and gather a strike force to take it.  On the way there, they pass Micah’s place again and decide to steal all Micah’s shrine stuff.  When the “Levite” objects, they recruit him with the argument that it would clearly be better for him to be priest for a tribe than to be priest to a single man, rich as that man might be. (Yup, priestcraft is for sale to the highest bidder.)  Put that way, the “Levite” becomes okay with their theft of Micah’s religious accoutrements, since it will ultimately benefit him.

Micah, however is understandably not okay with this and gathers a group of men together to help him protest.

The next verses are too fascinating not to reproduce.

23 And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?

 24 And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee? (Judges 18:23-24)

The idea of a man protesting because someone forcibly took away his gods highlights the ridiculousness of idol worship.  A true God can’t be stolen.

Micah’s sentiment “What have I more?” is commendable in its devotion, but it is wrongly applied to idols.  As a rich man, he may have felt that his shrine and his priest were the all-important part of his life, but even so he set his heart on tangible things that were of no real value because they were, after all, counterfeits for the real God.

In a way, Micah’s predicament can challenge us to look at our lives to see if we set our hearts on something tangible that would make us completely bereft if it were taken away.  I have often wondered how I would act if my blog were taken away.  Would I feel I couldn’t be good and serve God without it?  If we’re released from a highly visible calling, do we feel we can’t worship and serve God anymore?  I have heard at least one woman share that she saw raising her children as the way she worships God and when her children left home she felt completely at sea.  (Naturally, an empty nest will make a great void in the home, heart, and schedule, but is raising children the only way to serve God?  It’s not.  But I will also acknowledge it takes some painful time to figure out what to meaningfully fill that empty schedule with instead.)

Okay, so Micah had major problems in his life and he didn’t even know it.  Just about everything he did was wrong, but let’s try to look and see if we can derive something good from his experience.

I thought about Micah and I asked myself, “What would have cleaned up this situation?”

I realized that the best thing would have been for Micah to have his own copy of the scriptures—the Law of Moses—and read them every day.  If he was reading every day, he would have discovered all the commandments he was breaking, and if he were honest in heart, he would have realized he needed to repent and keep them.

That’s the neat thing about reading the scriptures every day.  We may be making all kinds of mistakes too, but if we read our scriptures every day with an honest heart, we will find out what we are doing wrong, which gives us an opportunity to repent through Christ’s atonement and learn to keep the commandments.

I don’t know if Micah had his own copy of the scriptures.  He was rich enough that he could have paid for his own copy to be made.  But I feel very thankful that we live in an age when every person can have their very own copy of the scriptures and read them every day.

The new priestcraft

5 And it came to pass that he [Nehor] did teach these things so much that many did believe on his words, even so many that they began to support him and give him money.

6 And he began to be lifted up in the pride of his heart, and to wear very costly apparel, yea, and even began to establish a church after the manner of his preaching. (Alma 1:5-6)

We in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often pat ourselves on the back when we read the story of Nehor and his priestcraft. We think that because our church has lay leadership that means that we are safe from priestcraft. It is true that the way the church is organized makes priestcraft much more difficult, but we are not out of the woods yet.

I have begun to see that we are coming to a time when the temptation of priestcraft is exploding from an unexpected direction—blogging. (Other internet communication can be included, but I want to focus on blogging because that is what I am involved in, and I need this message as much as anyone.)

And I don’t just mean religious blogging, I mean ALL blogging. We live in an age when distance is no longer an obstacle to disseminating a message. Technology level and language are still barriers, but if they aren’t, a message can go around the world and bloggers can gain followers from far beyond their physical range of influence. Bloggers are very susceptible to the temptation of priestcraft. See how these verses might apply to bloggers:

…priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world,

that they may get gain and praise of the world;

but they seek not the welfare of Zion. (2 Nephi 26:30)

Bloggers may start writing to get something off their chest, but bloggers continue to write in hopes of being read. Our human need for validation causes the hope of being read to become the hope of being appreciated. Hope for appreciation becomes desire for praise. Considering how our world values fame and celebrity, it is easy for the hope of receiving praise to transform into a hope for popularity. And considering how much our culture values creative enterprise and money-making, hope of popularity easily develops into the hope of someday making a living with one’s blog.

Many people start blogging because they feel they have something important and valuable to say to the rest of the world. We have a light we want to shine. As long as letting our light shine brings others to glorify our Father in heaven (Matt. 6:16), all is as it should be, but if becomes setting ourselves up as THE light to get glory for ourselves, then we get into dangerous ground.

Further, Nephi notes that the motives for setting oneself up as a light are the main thing to watch out for.

Priestcraft motive #1: That they may get…praise of the world

This is such a real danger in blogging. What blogger doesn’t love positive comments on what they’ve written? There are little blogging awards that get passed around, contests of popularity as to the best posts or comments, etc.

I am not immune from this. I feel the pull of the desire for honors too; I get fixated on positive comments and I sometimes feel the urge to self-censor or post more of what people seem to like when my goal should be always to inspire, motivate, and edify.

And let’s be honest; it is hard to keep writing without some sense that what you are doing is appreciated by somebody. Receiving praise from other people is one way to tell your writing is appreciated. Luckily, it isn’t the only way. The Lord is able to give us revelation about our effectiveness when no one else says anything. (I just wish I didn’t forget this so often!)

The best kind of comments though, are ones in which someone says that they learned something or they changed for the better because of what was shared; that gives writers true joy. (Those comments are part of what keep me going on this blog and help me feel like all the time and effort I put in has been worth it.) And when someone comments and shares an experience from their life that illustrates what I’ve written about, I am edified and very VERY grateful. Those comments strengthen my faith in the Lord and they teach me. (I love to learn from comments!)

But back to seeking for praise. Seeking for praise can occur in more insidious forms because of blogging tools that allow bloggers to analyze what posts are getting the most traffic and what gets the most comments, what posts cause people to exit their site, and so on. The ability to quantify popularity makes the quest for popularity alarmingly more scientific and calculating. On one hand, these tools can help a blogger hone their writing to become more engaging, which is good, but on the other hand, there is that subtle pressure to write more of what’s popular and less of what isn’t in order to expand and keep readers. (Just as an example of how bloggers value their popular messages and use them, many blogs have widgets on their sidebars that have a list of popular posts. What if we also had lists of unpopular and neglected posts in our sidebars?)

Elder Oaks gave a warning that can be applied to blogging about gospel topics in an address entitled, "Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall," Ensign, Oct. 1994. This is from an address previously given at BYU:

Another illustration of a strength that can become our downfall concerns charismatic teachers. With a trained mind and a skillful manner of presentation, teachers can become unusually popular and effective in teaching. But Satan will try to use that strength to corrupt teachers by encouraging them to gather a following of disciples. . . .Teachers who are most popular, and therefore most effective, have a special susceptibility to priestcraft. If they are not careful, their strength can become their spiritual downfall. They can become like Almon Babbitt, with whom the Lord was not pleased, because "he aspireth to establish his counsel instead of the counsel which I have ordained, even that of the Presidency of my Church; and he setteth up a golden calf for the worship of my people" (D&C 124:84). (http://www.lds.org/ensign/1994/10/our-strengths-can-become-our-downfall?lang=eng)

So, one error that we can fall into as religious bloggers is thinking that readers should listen to us and ignore the prophet and apostles the Lord has put in place to lead us. This is an obvious prideful wish like Almon Babbitt’s wish to supplant those the Lord set in leadership,

Another error is seek to gather a following. Satan does tempt bloggers to gather a following, and those “Follow Me” blog widgets can contribute greatly to it. I have a love-hate relationship with my own Followers widget on my blog. I appreciate it because it reminds me that I have an audience. But I have to continually remind myself when looking at all your pictures that you are looking to the Lord, to the prophets, to the scriptures, and to your local leaders, and my words are simply my personal, though well-considered opinion, which is not binding on anybody.

A different type of error we might make is when/if we find conference messages that repeat even vaguely something we have written about, and we may be tempted to think those speakers learned it from us. (Ohhhh, the insidious ego-ness thereof! Gag! Spit! Shun!) In actuality, the same heavenly source that teaches us, teaches the leaders. Our leaders learn through the Holy Ghost, independent of us, and if anything, the Lord may have actually been working on us to prepare us to heed the words of our leaders.

Blog popularity is double-edged. Lots of readers mean a message can be spread to a lot of people easily, assuming we have something worthwhile to say. But it also brings the high risk of pride, and the risk that we are pleasing people with a message that pleases the carnal mind. (Side note: I do not consider my blog to be popular, But believe me, pride can strike whether there are millions of hits or whether there are five.)

Elder David A. Bednar said in an address originally given to Seminary and Institute instructors:

[W]e must be careful to remember in our service that we are conduits and channels; we are not the light. “For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you” (Matthew 10:20). It is never about me and it is never about you. In fact, anything you or I do as an instructor that knowingly and intentionally draws attention to self—in the messages we present, in the methods we use, or in our personal demeanor—is a form of priestcraft that inhibits the teaching effectiveness of the Holy Ghost. “Doth he preach it by the Spirit of truth or some other way? And if it be by some other way it is not of God” (D&C 50:17–18). David A. Bednar, "Seek Learning by Faith," February 3, 2006, Address to CES Religious Educators, Jordan Institute of Religion.

(http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,5344-1-2783-5,00.html)

This scripture has some great perspective:

…the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner; and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man according to his strength. (Alma 1:26)

That verse holds a principle that has always been helpful for me to remember when I am about to puff myself up with pride. Just because I blog about the scriptures does not make me a more of a worthwhile person than someone who comments or someone who lurks or someone who doesn’t read blogs at all. We’re all equal. This is another reason why I love it when you comment and share inspiring stories from your lives about living the principles; it reminds me that the blogger and the commenter are equal.

If it sounds like I’m talking too much about myself, it is to show you that I am not immune from problems with this. I have to remind myself because I forget.

Priestcraft motive #2: That they may get gain

Popularity usually begins to bring on the next tempting aspect of priestcraft—seeking gain. There are all kinds of ways that people have discovered they can use to make money off their blogs—reviewing products, sponsorships, embedded ads, banners, affiliate links, etc. There are whole industries devoted to increasing online popularity, blogs and otherwise.

I’ve been tempted by this too. I go through stages where I wish I could find some way to “monetize” my blog, and then I have to slap myself out of that. I used to wish that I could make a living as a scripture blogger, but I’ve never been paid one cent for it, and I suppose that I probably never will.

Actually, I wrote the above paragraph a few months ago and then interestingly enough, someone commented on one of my posts, inviting me to become an affiliate so I could earn money with my blog. My first reaction was, “Wow, they think I have snagged enough eyeballs to make them money! I’ve arrived!” But my second reaction was “Priestcraft! Stay away!” I thought it through carefully, and I could see that if I became an affiliate site, my focus would change, and I would become more interested in what money I was making than in my labor of love of blogging about the scriptures, which I consider laboring for Zion.

Why is priestcraft such a big deal? Because the consequences are dire. Here’s Nephi’s warning for all those who engage in priestcraft:

For the time speedily shall come that all churches which are built up to get gain, and all those who are built up to get power over the flesh, and those who are built up to become popular in the eyes of the world, and those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of the world, and to do all manner of iniquity; yea, in fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear, and tremble, and quake; they are those who must be brought low in the dust; they are those who must be consumed as stubble; and this is according to the words of the prophet. (1 Nephi 22:23, emphasis added)

Consumed as stubble. That’s a heavy consequence for priestcraft.

Nephi observed priestcraft causing great problems in gentile society:

And the Gentiles are lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and have stumbled, because of the greatness of their stumbling block, that they have built up many churches; nevertheless, they put down the power and miracles of God, and preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain and grind upon the face of the poor. (2 Nephi 26:20)

These days churches aren’t just brick and mortar; they can be virtual as well. Nephi notes that spiritual hazards that go with priestcraft are denying miracles and preaching up one’s own wisdom (which may include scientific atheism), and neglect of (and even abuse of) the poor.

Seek the welfare of Zion

Seeking the welfare of Zion should be the motive of any blogging or preaching. It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? It’s about wanting to make the reader’s lives better, wanting to say something that will be of benefit, that may bring positive change, something that may help unravel difficulties and make the right way clear. It’s not saying something just to keep posting on schedule, but to edify and enlighten. It requires charity.

The goal is to not put oneself above others, but to show others how to rise to a higher level. The goal is not to champion our own view, but to increase perspective so the truth can be seen more clearly.

I’ve written about the different aspects of priestcraft that can enter blogging because I’ve had to struggle with it myself in all kinds of different ways. My hope is that sharing these things will help you to find and conquer priestcraft in yourself, and your desire to strengthen Zion with sound words and pure motives will be increased. We need as much of that as we can get.

The goal we are all striving for is this:

And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:34, emphasis added)

The day will come when teaching will be over because ALL will know. It will be a day of kings and queens, priests and priestesses, everyone at the pinnacle of knowledge and development. There is no room for pride and priestcraft in that future.

Alma 1 Comparison between fruits of priestcraft and fruits of true faithfulness; also the church’s defense against persecution

Alma 1 is an interesting chapter. I went through it today and at first I saw it as a series of unrelated events—“Nehor teaches false doctrines, establishes a church, introduces priestcraft, and slays Gideon—Nehor is executed for his crimes—Priestcrafts and persecutions spread among the people—The priests support themselves, the people care for the poor, and the Church prospers” (chapter summary).

But as I got toward the end of the chapter, I began to realize that the chapter actually sets up a contrast between the faithful people of the church and the people outside the church involved in priestcraft.

People who practiced and embraced Priestcraft	Faithful church members
Preached false doctrine (v3-4, 7, 16) (Ex: Nehor contended to lead Gideon and others away from the church)	Spoke the word of God (v7,26) (Ex: Gideon withstood Nehor with the word of God)
Preached for riches and honor (v16)	Imparted the word of God freely (v20) Teacher no better than the learner and vice versa (v26)
Lifted up in pride (v6, 32)	Showed humility (v20)
Contending sharply, persecuting with all manner of words (v7, 20)	No persecuting anyone in or out of the church (v21)
Preachers not laboring with their hands supported by the people (v3, 5)	Preacher and learners all laboring with their hands for their own support (v26)
General idleness (v32)	Diligently returned to labors after hearing the word of God (v26)
Wearing costly apparel (v6, 32)	Clothes neat and comely, Not wearing costly apparel (v27)
Indulged themselves in all manner of wickedness (sorceries, idolatry or idleness, babblings, envyings and strife; wearing costly apparel; being lifted up in the pride of their own eyes; persecuting, lying, thieving, robbing, committing whoredoms, murdering, etc.) (v32)	Steadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments (v25)
Envying, thieving, and robbing (v32)	Imparted their substance liberally to all, having no respect to persons (v27, 30)
Babbling, envying, strife, murdering (v32)	Had continual peace notwithstanding suffering persecutions (v28)

I think that Alma observed these characteristics as he saw them and that Mormon thought these observations important to include because it shows very well that false doctrines really do have an impact on how people live their lives and that it isn’t a good one.

Nehor’s doctrine had a bad influence on Nephite society, which led to the church suffering much persecution. According to Nehor’s doctrine, every priest and teacher had to be popular and had to establish a following. Undoubtedly this led to many people teaching to try amass a following, then trying to steal followers from each other and from the church. Because they felt popularity and material support legitimized a teacher rather than actually teaching the truth, in their view, priests and teachers in the church who didn’t have large followings and who weren’t paid for their preaching weren’t really legitimate and could be dismissed and denigrated. Further, free preaching destroyed priestcraft, so they had a material interest in discouraging free access to the word of God.

The church went through a whole lot of persecution because of this. And some of the church couldn’t resist giving back as good as they got. But most of them hung in there.

The chapter lists several things that the faithful people of the church did:

• They lived by a strict rule that none of them would persecute anyone whether in or out of the church.
• They stood steadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments.
• They left their labors to hear the word of God and then they diligently returned to their labors.
• They imparted of their substance to anyone who stood in need.

These sound like a list of good things that everyone should do, and they are, but I also started to see that there was a strategic quality to them that helped them cope with and dampen the persecution they suffered.

Living by the rule that none of them would persecute anyone whether in or out of the church helped minimize the amount of persecution that occurred. It meant that they could have a place of safety if they were among church members. It also meant that retaliatory persecution from the outside would be negligible.

Steadfastly keeping the commandments helped prevent any outsiders from persecuting out of a sense of having been wronged.

Leaving their labors to hear the word of God and then diligently returning to their labors meant that there would be far fewer idle moments around outsiders and less opportunity for persecution to occur. If outsiders thought labor was beneath them, then members would be safe while laboring as outsiders would avoid work.

Imparting of their substance to anyone who stood in need helped minimize the want that would drive priestcraft adherents on a rant to try to draw followers and their money. If those needs were provided for, they couldn’t complain and rail as much. (Also, refraining from wearing costly apparel prevented them from becoming a target of envy.)

The result of these strategic efforts was this:

28 And thus they did establish the affairs of the church; and thus they began to have continual peace again, notwithstanding all their persecutions.
29 And now, because of the steadiness of the church they began to be exceedingly rich, having abundance of all things whatsoever they stood in need….
31And thus they did prosper and become far more wealthy than those who did not belong to their church. (Alma 1:28-29,31)

How amazing that even in persecution, they began to have “continual peace” and were prospered to such an extent! Surely these principles were given as revelation from God through the prophet Alma (the high priest) to help them in those difficult times. I’m sure the principles the Nephite members followed are applicable today as well.

Will you share with me a time when you were able to achieve peace during persecution?