This is Spoken Gospel.

We’re dedicated to seeing 
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see what’s 
happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

Israel has rejected God as her King.

One by one Israel’s leaders reject God’s rule and
replace it with lust, idolatry, and brutal ambition.

But now, in the final chapters, we see how the people of Israel 
are no different than their leaders.

A man named Micah crafts an idol, builds
a shrine, and strangely dedicates it to God.

Micah tries to legitimize his shrine 
and manipulate God into blessing him  

by paying someone from the tribe
of Levi to perform his cultic rituals.

Micah knows enough of God’s law to
know that Levites are God’s chosen priests,  

but he doesn’t care that he has broken 
God’s first commandment to not make idols.

Micah and his priest are evidence that Israel
has rejected God as her King  

and now trust themselves more than God.

But strangely, the sacrifice
Micah makes at his false altar work.

The tribe of Dan is
looking for a new homeland.

The Danite leaders worship at Micah’s 
shrine, hoping for direction—and they get it.

They send spies into the land of Laish 
and determine it’s ripe for the taking.

Dan quickly musters its troops and even
steals Micah’s false idol and mercenary priest.

Seemingly securing God’s presence, 
they confidently overthrow Laish.

Moses’ grandson is then anointed 
as a priest over the Danites.

On the surface, the Danites have 
everything God promised them.

They have a homeland, a temple 
with their god’s presence,  

and a descendent of Israel’s founding 
father, Moses, as one of their leaders.

But the question becomes—at what cost? This tribe
of Israel has gained the world but lost their soul.

[music]

Unwilling to stand bravely against the religious, 
cultural, and ethical preferences of Canaan,

Israel adopts the beliefs wholesale.

Israel’s priests are mercenaries,  her leaders are
opportunistic, and the people are thieves and idolaters.

This story forces us to ask the question:  

Are we willing to lose our soul, if it means we gain
a kingdom? Is political power worth 
sacrificing true worship of God?

If we’re honest, it’s hard to tell if 
we’re all that different from Israel.

We’re either unwilling to stand against the cultural
preferences of our day and so we accept them uncritically,   

or we are unwilling to consider the loss of political
power and would rather adopt violence wholesale.

We all want to build a kingdom that’s
right in our own eyes.

We’re trying to build a kingdom 
without its proper King.

Jesus himself warns that if we are unwilling to
die to either political power or cultural acceptance,  

we might win for a while,
but we will lose our souls.

Instead, Jesus invites us to die a different type of death— a death
to the power plays of the tribe of Dan and
the cultural idolatry of Micah.

If we are willing to deny those impulses and pick up
our cross as Jesus did and die to all agendas except God’s, 

not only will we save our souls,
we will gain the whole world.

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open 
your eyes to see the God who is King.

And may you see Jesus as the 
King who picked up his cross  

so that all those who follow will 
keep their souls and gain the world.