A lesson in not how to parent in Judges…
As we head into Judges 17 – 18, these chapters revolve around a man called Micah. This is not Micah the prophet but another fellow by the same name. He lived in the hill country of Ephraim.
Micah had stolen 1,100 shekels of silver from his mother but she called down a curse on whoever took her silver and Micah confessed to being the thief and returned the money he stole.
Micah is a bit of an enigma, for he is neither a good nor a bad person as such. If he had been a good person he would never have stolen the money in the first place but if he were thoroughly evil, he would not have given it back!
Micah’s mother on getting her money back reverses the curse and asked for Micah to be blessed instead.
Micah’s mother did not look or ask for real repentance from her son Micah and this led to there being no real full reconciliation.
Result – Micah, because he did not have to go through such, therefore has no deterrence to such future behaviour; no challenge to examine his own heart as to why he took the money; no humbling acceptance of the need for grace and change.
Mums and dads, here is a simple but sound lesson in parenting.
A condemning and punishing parent hurts a child!
But, so does an excusing one.
Micah’s mother’s parenting will reveal and help us understand why Micah is as he is. Especially this Sunday.
Our children need both God’s grace from us but also our admonishing when it is needed.
Let us pray for God’s balance and wisdom as we seek to raise godly children!