Commentaries, Commentary on Judges · Chapter 17
¶The .xvii. Chapter.
1 THere was a man of mount Ephraim, whoſe name was Michaiehu.
2 And he ſay d vntounto hys mother: The eleuen hundreth peeces of ſyluer that were taken frō thee, for the which thou curſedſt, and ſpakedſt it euen in myne hearing, behold the ſyluer is wyth me, I tooke it. Then his mother ſayde: bleſſed be thou my ſonne of the Lorde.
3 And when hee had reſtored the eleuen hundreth peeces of ſyluer to hys mother, hys mother ſayde: I had dedicated the ſyluer to the Lord, of myne owne hand for my ſonne, to make a grauen and molten image. Now therefore I wyl geue it thee againe.
4 And when he had reſtored the mony vntounto his mother, his mother toke two hundreth peeces of ſiluer, and gaue them to the goldſmith, whych made thereof a grauen and molten image, and it was in the houſe of Michaiehu.
5 And this man Micha had a houſe of God, & he made an Ephode, and Theraphim, & conſecrated the hand of one of his ſonnes, and he was his prieſt.
6 In thoſe dayes there was no kinge in Iſraell, but eueryevery man did that, which was good in his owne eies.
Fyrſt I think good to enquire in this hiſtory cōcerning ye time wherin theſe thinges happened. For al men do not aunſwere a like vntounto this queſtion.When thys hiſtory happened The elder Rabbines do thinke, that this was done, when Ioſua was olde, and hee not able for age to execute hys offyce, neyther was there anye other Magiſtrate ſubſtituted in his place. But this is not verye likely, bicauſe wee reade that in all his time the Iſraelites worſhipped God rightly and orderlye,It is not to be aſcribed vntounto ye time of Ioſua. and that he in the latter time of his life, renued the couenant of god with the people. Other thinke that they were done after Ioſuas death, when Othoniell gouerned. This ſentence R. Selomoh defendeth. The ſonne of Gerſon thinketh that this happened vnderunder Eglon kinge of Moab, whome Ehud afterward ſlewe.R. Selomoh. Leui ben Gerſon. But this alſo can not be proued, for in the x. chap. of this boke it is written, that the people cried vntounto the Lord when they were oppreſſed of theyr enemies. And that Iiphtah was ſtirred vp by the ſprite to bear rule. But before God aunſweareth the very ſharpely. For he ſayd: I will not helpe you, bycauſe you alwayes returne vntounto your Idoles, and forſake me. But rather cal vponupon your gods let them helpe you. Which words when the people heard, they repented, & put away frō them their idols which they had made. But this idole which is now ſpokē of,Theſe thinges ſeme to hauehave happened after the deathe of Samſon. indured to the time of Samuel: Wherfore it cānot ſeme probable that it was done at that time. The order of the holy ſcriptures is of moſt high authority wt me, and therfore I thinke yt theſe things happened after the death of Sāſon. Foraſmuch as frō that time euen to Heli there wer many yeares paſſed, wherin ye Philiſtians poſſeſſed ye land of the Iewes, neither ſuffred they any magiſtrate to be ouer thē.Ioſephus. Ioſephus agreeth with the Rabbines, but he is many times deceued. Wherfore it ſhalbe beſt to follow that opinion, which agreeth with the ſimple order of the holy hiſtory.
Howbeit ther is one thing which ſemeth to be a let,An obiection. namely if a man rekē the yeares frō Samſō vntounto Saul, he ſhal find thē to be ſcarſe .60. or at ye moſt .70. And whē as by reaſō of filthy whoredom ye tribe of Beniamin was almoſt brought to nothing, and they which remained of it, had no wiues, but thoſe which they got by violence: how could it be, that in ſo ſhort a time it ſhould ſo much encreaſe, ye Saule was out of that tribe choſen a king? This argumēt hath a certain ſhew, but it is not firme nor ſound inough if a man more deligentlye examine it. For although there were but a fewe remayninge of that tribe, yet were they not ſo few, but they mought very much multiply. For there eſcaped ſixe hundreth mē of warre, who had wiues geuen them partly of the men of Iabes Gilead, and partly by violence. And ſixe hundreth men wer able in the ſpace of .60. or .70. yeares to beget a great yſſue, and to ſe theyr childrens children. They could not indede be ſo many as to be equall with the other tribes, but yet they might encreaſe to a ſufficient numbre.
But that is farre more harde whyche is obiected concernynge Pinhas, An other obiection.namelye that hee remayned on lyue euen to the tyme of the warres of the Beniamites. Whiche if it be ſo, then muſte he be at that time .300. yeares of age Therfore ſome thinke that it is more commodious to draw backe this hiſtorye vntounto the beginninge of the Iudges. But I ſee not what ſhould let, but that god might permit him to liue ſo longe. For when he had ſlaine a prince of Iſraell & a Madianitiſh woman, when they were committing whoredome, god graunted him not onelyonly to ſuccede his father in the prieſthode, but alſo gaue him very long to liue.D. Kimhi. But vndoubtedly I chiefely allow the order and courſe of the hiſtorye, from which vnleſſe great neceſſity vrge, I will not depart. And in this ſentence I follow the iudgement of Dauid Kimhi, whoſe authority in expounding of the texte I thinke is not to bee contemned. Yea and all the Hebrewes in a manner agree in this, that Pinhas liued a very long time, and there are ſome whiche produce his age euen vntounto the time of Elias the Prophete. VntoUnto whome I doo not agree, bicauſe no neceſſity compelleth me thervnto. Howbeit as cōcerning this thinge I will not much ſtriue: But I leaue it free to eueryevery willing mind to follow which opinion he will.
And in this hiſtory firſt I marke the inſtitution of idolatry, then the conſecration of a prieſt, which was twiſe doone. For firſte Micha inſtituted his ſonne a prieſte: and then when by chaunce he met with a Leuite, he made him a prieſt. But wherefore was this ido le made?What a vowe is. For her vowes ſake. For the promiſe of ye mother of Micha was not ſimple, but wt a vow. And a vow (as al deuines affirme) is a holy promiſe made to God of thinges which are ours. Wherefore it muſt nedes be that this woman was a widow, with whome paraduenture her ſonne dwelled. For if ſhe had beene a wife, or a maiden vnmaried, or a widowe in the houſe of her father, ſhee coulde not hauehave vowed a firme vowe, as it manifeſtly appeareth by the booke of Numb. Thoſe perſons might not vowe with out the conſent of their father or huſbād. For the law ordeined that if they wer againſt it, the vow ſhould then be voide. Hanna did in dede vowe in the firſte of Samuell, but we muſt beleue that Helkana her huſbande confirmed her vowe. This woman ſinned, not bicauſe ſhee vowed, but bicauſe ſhee vowed a thinge vngodlye, namely, an idole. For it was at that time lawefull for anye to vowe anye thinge of his owne thinges, for the adorninge of the temple of God, and to amplify his honor. But to inſtitute a new and forbidden worſhippinge, it was vtterly vngodly.
The ſonne had ſtolen from his mother that money: neyther is it any maruall if he would ſteale, whych was ſo redy to idolatry. He which ſinneth againſt the firſt table, doth eaſely ſinne againſt the ſecond.
The mother curſeth the theefe, whoſoeuer he were: neyther doth ſhe ſo greuouſly take the matter for the money taken away, as for that ſhe could not performe her deteſtable vow. And ſhe curſeth, as men in a manner vſe to do, in aduerſities. Yea and God himſelf alſo vſed curſes in the old teſtament, in the aſſembly to the mount Hebal & Garizim. The prieſt alſo curſedly prayed for barēnes, diſeaſes, loſſe of children, and other thinges of like ſorte. And in our time, the Pope,Women do eaſely fall to curſinges. by what wicked zeale I know not, in the day of the ſupper of the Lord ſē deth forth curſes vponupon all thoſe whiche hauehave alienated themſelues from his inſtitution and ſect. This woman curſed the theef: and no maruaile. Bycauſe women when they fail in ſtrength, do eaſely fall to curſinges.
The ſonne as ſoone as he heard the curſe of his mother, was a feard. For ſo hath nature ordeined, that children do wonderfully feare the curſes of their parents. But this man feared not to violate the lawe of God: which thing happeneth not ſeldome vntounto men, to hauehave horror of ſmall ſinnes, and to neglect them that ar more grieuous. Ther is ſome fruit ſomtimes of curſes, euen as of excō municatiō. Ther ar ſome ſomtimes ſo hard & obdurated yt they can be bowed by no other meanes then by curſes, although they be corrected by publike and apert reprehēſion. But whither this ſonne knew that his mother had by a vow dedicated that mony vntounto the Lord, before he tooke it away, it appeareth not by the wordes of the hiſtory.
Neither is this to be paſſed ouer, in that the mother ſayth yt ſhe had conſecrated it vntounto the lord, and he vſeth the name of .4. letters.The maner of idolatries. foreign. Wherfore we muſt conſider that there are two kinds of Idolatry. The one is, wherby a ſtraūge God is called vpō, the other is, wherby the true God indede is worſhipped, but not with that worſhipping which he himſelf hath commaunded, but by images or idoles, or by ſome other meanes inuented of our ſelues. To the ſeconde kinde of idolatry perteineth the ſinne of this woman. As often as we heare an image that is made, and a ſtraunge God not added, we muſte vnderſtand that that image was made vnderunder the ſhew of the worſhipping of the true god: but that religion is far contrary to the inſtitution of ſound religiō. Wherfore when the people (as it is written in Exodus) made themſelues a golden calfe, Aaron proclaimed a holye day vntounto the Lord, that is to the true god, and not to an idole. For they counted it abſurd, to worſhippe, either the true god himſelf without an image, or els an image without the title of the true God. And ſo muſte we thinke that Ieroboam did when he conſecrated the golden calfes in Dan and Bethel. For I doo not beleue that in images he inſtituted the worſhipping of Baal, or Aſtharoth, or Chamos, but he would vnderunder them worſhip the Lorde. Into the ſelfe ſame error fell the Samaritanes alſo,Ioſephus. who (as Ioſephus writeth) woulde hauehave a temple amonge them like that which was at Ieruſalem. And the ſelfe ſame thing went the Iewes about at Helio polis, when they were in exile in Egipt. And it was deteſtable to worſhip god with oblations and ſacrifices in any other place, then in that which he himſelfe had choſen to be worſhipped in. Wherefore the woman vowed that ſhe would make an idole, which ſhee deliuered vntounto her ſonne, that he ſhould inſtitute a newe religion in her houſe. I wyll (ſayth ſhe) that thou hauehave the ſyluer, but thou ſhalt make an idole thereof.
Why theſe two wordes grauen and molten are ſo ioined to gether,Grauen and molten. the interpretors do doubt. Some of the Hebrewes and ſome of our writers doo thinke yt there were two images, of the which the one was grauen, and the other molten. But this ſemeth not to be ſo, bicauſe theſe woordes are oftentimes ioyned together in the holy ſcripture: neyther is it neceſſary, as often as we finde them, ſo to vnderſtande many images. Other thinke that that image was firſt molten and then grauen, or wroughte. The opinion of other is, that wee ſhoulde reade grauen and molten diſiunctiuely, that is, an image which was either grauen or molten. But I very wel allow the opiniō of Dauid Kimhi, D. Kimhi.who writeth that it was the maner to graue images firſte out of marble ſtone, or ſome other matter, and afterward to couer them with ſiluer or copper plates or peces. And ſo in one and the ſelfe ſame image was either: For it was both grauen, & the plates alſo were moltē & extenuated to lay ouer it. For this hebrew word Naſach ſignifieth to couer. We muſt vnderſtand by this word houſe of god, a priuate tēple, wherin ſhe would worſhip the idole. How much the peeces of ſiluer were, or of what kinde, valew and waight it is not expreſſed. The Rabbines do thinke that they were ſiluer ſyckles. And a ſyckle (as Ioſephus ſayth) conteined .4. drammes of Athenes. And a dramme of Athenes (as Budeus gathereth in his booke de Aſſe) conteyned thre ſhillings of Towres. A ſhilling of Towres is the half part of halfe a batſe.A ſickle Ioſephus. Budeus wherfore a dramme was as muche in valew as a ſhilling of Argentine, that is, three halfe batſes. By which meanes a Sickle conteined ſixe baiſes. That is .4. ſhillinges.Two ſortes of Sickles. Obuli. But there was two manner of ſickles, one was vſual and prophane, & the other was of the ſāctuary. The holy ſickle was double ſo much as the prophane. Wherefore Ezechiel in his 45. chapter ſayth, that a prophane ſickle conteined .20. halfe pence, but the ſickle of the ſanctuary .40.
There is a fable among the Hebrewes, that this woman was Dalila whiche deceaued Samſon, as though ſhe had receaued this mony for the rewarde of her prodicion. Theſe thinges are ſayde by the Rabbines, but without reaſon. But I with reaſon thinke contrarily. For Dalila receaued of eueryevery one of the Lordes of the Philiſtians .xi. C. peeces of ſiluer. Wherfore ſeing there wer fiue of the lords, then muſt ſhe nedes hauehave receaued 5500. ſickles. But theſe whereof we nowe entreate were but .1100. Seing therefore the number agreeth not, the fained tale of the Hebrewes is eaſely confuted.
The ſonne bringeth againe vntounto his mother the money which he had taken a way. She ſtraightway ſaith: Bleſſed art thou in the Lord my ſonne. As though ſhe ſhould hauehave ſaid: Now I reuoke my curſes, and turne thē to good and lucky prayers. How ſuperſticious ye woman was, appeareth by theſe words. She commē deth her ſonne, bycauſe he had brought the money againe: but ſhe reproueth him not, bicauſe he had before ſtollen it. Straightway ſhe entreateth with him about idolatrye. This mony ſayth ſhe, thou ſhalt not loſe, thou ſhalte hauehave it indede, but yet in an idole. Neyther made they onelyonly a molten and grauē image, but alſo an Ephod: The papiſtes tunicle.by which woorde wee muſte by the figure Sinechdoche vnderſtande all ornamentes longing vntounto a prieſt. For an Ephod if we ſpeake properly, ſignifieth a prieſts garment that commeth ouer his ſhoulders.
TheraphimThey made alſo Theraphim. Touching the ſignification of this word, there is greate ambiguitye amonge the expoſitors. But I vnderſtande it to be that idole whyche they had grauen and molten, when all the other thinges were redye which ſerued for idolatry, they at the lēgth brought that image vntounto the temple. And of theſe Theraphim or images they were wont in the olde time to aſke oracles. In Geneſis we reade that Rachel the wife of Iacob ſtale awaye the Theraphim of her father. And in the firſt of Samuel the .19. chapter whē Dauid eſcaped, Michel put in his bed Theraphim. In Amos alſo the third chapter, it is written: There ſhalbe neither Ephod nor Theraphim, that is, yee ſhalbe ſo vexed and led into exile, that ye ſhal neyther be able to worſhip god nor idoles. In Ezechiell alſo it is written: They ſhall enquire of Theraphim. An in Zachary the .x. chapter: The Theraphim ſpake lies. Other thinke that Theraphim were certaine inſtrumentes of Aſtronomy, whereby houres, degrees, eleuations, declinacions, both of the ſunne and of other ſtarres are taken. Which opinion Abin Ezra reciteth in the hiſtory of Rachell. But I thinke not this ſentēce true. For here is entreated of an Idole, in worſhipping whereof there neded no aſtronomicall inſtruments.
It is ſaide that Micha filled the hand of his ſonne. By which Hebrew phraſe is ſignified that he conſecrated him a prieſt. This forme of ſpeaking ſeemeth to ariſe hereof, bycauſe Moſes when hee conſecrated Aaron and his ſonnes, did put in their handes ſweete cakes, the ſhoulder, breſte, and other thynges, whyche by them ſhould be offred vntounto god.
Now is the idolatry inſtituted. But how could that be doone in Iſraell? Bycauſe ſaith the hiſtory ther was no king in Iſrael: but eueryevery man did that which ſemed right in his owne eies. By theſe words is declared that it was a wicked and deteſtable acte, that the mother and the ſonne committed. If ther had bene a law full magiſtrate, who oughte chieflye to hauehave a regarde to the worſhippinge of God, and obſeruation of the firſte table, this hadde not beene permitted nor ſuffred vnpuniſhed. Wherefore let it not ſeeme meruailous if the lawe ſlepte: For there was no Magiſtrate whyche ſhoulde hauehave beene the keeper thereof. And if at any tyme there be Magiſtrates whiche hauehave no care of theſe things, bycauſe they execute not their office, it is all one as if there were none. Publique wealthes do oftētymes degenerate a kingdome into Tyranny, Ariſtocratia into Oligarchia, & a publique wealth into Anarchia, & an vnrulines of ye people,Anarchia whiche is w… of a ruler, is a deſtructiō o publique wealths yt eueryevery man doth what himſelfe liſteth. And there is nothing in the ſociety of mē more pernicious, then that eueryevery man ſhould follow his owne will. For our nature is corrupt & vitiated, therfore whoſoeuer followeth it onelyonly as a leader, muſt nedes exceedingly erre. But a law is a true minde, and a firme and ſure rule of men in doyng of thinges. Plato in Cratilo elegantly ſayth: As we call the mynde foreign,Plato. What foreign ſo call we the lawe foreign, as it were foreign, that is an abydyng & ſtable minde, otherwiſe the minde of men is wandring. For ye whiche ſeemeth good vntounto one, the ſame ſeemeth not ſo vntounto an other. Neither doth one and the ſelfe ſame mā abide alwayes in one and the ſelfe ſame opinion. Wherfore for as much as all thinges are vncertayne, as often as any man doth that whiche ſeemeth good in his owne eyes, for the moſt part he ſtrayeth from the true end.
7 There was alſo a yong man out of Bethelehem Iudah, of the familie of Iudah: who was a Leuite, and ſoiourned there.
8 And the man departed out of the Citie, euē out of Bethlehē Iudah, to dwell where he coulde finde a place: and as he iourneied, he came to mount Ephraim to the houſe of Micha.
9 And Micha ſayd vntounto hym, whence cōmeſt thou? And the Leuite anſwered him I come from Bethlehē Iudah, & go to dwell where I may finde a place.
10 Then Micha ſayd vntounto hym: Dwell with me, and be vntounto me a father & a Prieſt, & I will geue thee ten peeces of Siluer by yeare, & a ſute of apparell, & thy meat and drinke. So the Leuite went in.
11 And the Leuite was content to dwell with the man, & the yong man was vntounto hym as one of his owne ſonnes.
12 And Micha conſecrated the hand of the Leuite, and the younge man was his Prieſt, and dwelled in the houſe of Micha.
13 Then ſayd Micha: Now I knowe that the Lorde will be good vntounto me, ſeyng I hauehave a Leuite to my Prieſt.
Here is ſet forth the conſecration of an other Prieſt. For by chaūſe there cō meth a younge man of the tribe of Leui, whom Micha hyreth to miniſter in hys holy ſeruices, and remoueth his ſonne from the prieſthood. And the Leuite ſoiorned to find out a place where he might get his liuing, for he deſired a ſtate of life. Micha receaueth him to be his prieſt. By this Hyſtory is gathered,Idolatrous worſhippyngs do imitate the true worſhypping of God. ye idolatrous worſhippings, although they be cōtrary to the inſtitution of god, yet they enterpriſe as much as may be, yt they may be like vntounto it. For euen as Apes wil ſeeme to be men, although they be not men in deede, ſo idolatrers, although they worſhippe not the true God, yet they will ſeeme to worſhip hym. For they labor to retayne ſome ſhewe of his worſhipping as much as may be. So Micha, that he might ſeeme to worſhip the true God rightly, inſtituted an Ephod, a temple, and a Prieſthode. Laſtly, bycauſe he would not much ſtraye from the inſtitution of God, he ordreth a Leuite ouer his holy ſeruices and ceremonyes.
The Leuites wandred hether & thether.The tribe of Leui was diſperſed amonge other tribes. For that tribe was diſparſed among the other tribes. In whiche thing we muſt remember the maner of the publique wealth of Iſrael. The other tribes had landes and poſſeſſions, and conteyned thē ſelues in ſome certayne regions. But the Leuites dwelled diſperſedly among them, that they might the eaſelyer miniſter vntounto them. The Leuites in deede had their Cities alſo: but many of them wandred abrode through other tribes. This younge man was of Bethlehem which perteyned vntounto the tribe of Iudah.
But it may be demaunded, if he were a Leuite, howe he belonged vntounto ye tribe of Iudah? There are ſome whiche thinke that he had a Leuite vntounto his father, but his mother was of ye tribe of Iudah. For tribes were oftentymes mingled as concernyng matrimonyes.D. Kimhi. But Dauid Kimhi ſomewhat doubteth concernyng that thing. For he ſayth it is not the maner of the holy Scriptures, for the ſonnes to deriue his tribe or famely of his mother. Other aunſwere, that whiche Kimhi ſayth, is for the moſt part true, but not alwayes. For if ye mother wer an inheritor, the ſonne had his ſurname of her, and to proue this true, they alledge a place of the .2. booke of Paralp. where Ezron of the tribe of Iudah toke to wife ye daughter of Machor of the tribe of Manaſſeh, & the children which he had by her, were named by the name of their grandfather on the mothers ſide, & were called the children of Machor. And that was done, bycauſe the mother was an heire of 30 Cities. So it may be, that this young mans mother was an inheritor of Bethlelem, of the tribe of Iudah. But me thinketh theſe thinges are ſpoken ſuperfluouſly,The Cityes called Bethlehem. & peraduēture not very truly. For it is ſayd a young man of the tribe of Leui, of Bethlehem Iuda. And in that it is agayne added of Iuda, ye ought to be referred vntounto Bethlehem, that it might be ſeparated from the other Bethlehem yt lay in the tribe of Zabulon. If we fellowe this interpretation, then is there no ambiguity. But how dwelled the Leuite in Bethlehem? Not vndoubtedly as a Citezine, but as a ſtraunger, and he wandred abrode to ſeke his lyuing. Wherfore it is not very likely that his mother was an inheritor, when as he was compelled to ſeeke his lyuing beggingly.
Why the tenthes were not at this tyme geuen vntounto the Leuites.And that the Leuite ſo wandred abrode being compelled by hūger, was not for lacke of order by the law. For by it ye tenthes were geuē vntounto the Leuites to lyue by. But as the tymes were then, they were not geuen vntounto thē, partly bycauſe ye Philiſtines oppreſſed the Iewes, in polling thē of their riches, & partly bycauſe there was no Magiſtrate, to loke that the people ſhuld pay their tenthes. And mē are of themſelues willingly in a manner ſo couetous, that vnles they be cōpelled they will not pay thē. Laſtly, bycauſe the Iſraelites were at ye tyme very prone vntounto idolatry, neither did they much regarde ye worſhipping or Miniſters of the true God: therfore they ſuffred the Leuites to ſtarue. Wherfore it is no meruaile if this young mā were compelled to wander abrode, & to begge his lyuing. Nehemias in his .3. chap. ſayth, that when Leuites had not ſo much geuen them as was ſufficient for their liuing, they fled away, neither would they miniſter in ye tēple.
The Leuite came and turned into Micha, not minding to tary there, but to go on in his iorney, but Micha, when he vnderſtood that he was a Leuite, hired him to be his Prieſt. The name of the Leuite is not in this place ſpoken of, howbeit by the latter end of the .18. chap. of this booke we learne that he was called Ionathan the ſonne of Gerſon, the ſonne of Menaſſe.
How much the ſtipende of the Leuite was.He promiſed him ten ſilueringes a yeare: which ſūme is (as they ſay) in a maner as much as fiue crownes of Kyne, & an ordre or ſute of apparel, yt is, garmentes for winter, & garments for ſummer. Hereby we gather, yt althoughe Micha wer an idolatrer,The law of nature iudgeth that ye holy miniſtery is to be had in honour. yet had he ye miniſtery in eſtimation. For he nooriſheth his Prieſt, he geueth him apparel, wages, and other thinges neceſſary. So did alſo the Gentiles which knew not god. It ſemeth to be the law of nature, that they which labor in the holy ſeruices, ſhould hauehave both liuing, & honour. He doth not in deede geue him any great ſtipend, but yet ſo much as was ſufficiēt. Paul ſayd: Hauing meate and drinke & clothing,The Synode of Antioche. with theſe things let vsus be content. Alſo in the Sinode of Antioche (as it is had in the .12. queſtiō the .3. chap. Epiſcopus) the ſtipend for a miniſter, is appoynted to be ſo much as is ſufficient for the neceſſity of lyfe. And afterward in the .20.The ſeuenth Synode. queſtion the .1. chap. Clericus, and it is the ſeuenth Sinode, is decreed the ſame thyng, where the gloſe demaundeth: What Church is to be counted riche, and what Church poore: and it anſwereth,What Church is riche. that that Church is ſufficiently riche, whiche can nooriſhe his miniſters with their famely, ſo that they may be able alſo to keepe hoſpitality. But in our time nothing is ſufficiēt. They heape benefice vponupon benefice, neither make they any end of ſekyng for riches. What then at the length ſhalbe ſufficient? The gloſe aunſwereth, that ye can not be preſcribed, for we muſt hauehave a reſpect vntounto the place, perſon, & tyme, & ſundry and diuers thinges agree to ſundry perſons, tymes, and regions.The Synode of Chalcedonia The Synode of Chalcedonia decreed that one man ſhould not hauehave a title in ſundry Churches. But they hauehave now long ſince aboliſhed theſe thyngs.
And that the lawe of nature (as I ſayd) willeth that Miniſters ſhould be nooriſhed, appeareth alſo by that whiche Paul writeth to the Conrinth. in his .1. Epiſtle, when he teacheth that ſame, he bringeth argumentes euen from nature. No man ſayth he, goeth on warfare at his owne charges. Thou ſhalt not moſel the mouth of the oxe whiche treadeth out the corne. Who fedeth a flocke, and eateth not of the milke? Wherfore ye yong man ſinneth not in that he taketh a ſtipend. For that was lawfull both by Gods law and by the lawe of nature.Wherein this Leuite ſinned. But in that he letteth his miniſtery to hyre vntounto an Idole, hee very haynouſly ſinned. For nowe he worſhipped not God, but his belly. Suche alſo were they whiche Paul ſayeth, ſerued not the Lorde Ieſus, but their belly. This man nothing cared in what Religion he miniſtred, ſo that he myght get a liuyng. For this thing do very many euen now a dayes labour for, yea all the Maſſemongers for the moſt part, who nothyng regard, howe vngodly it is to ſay Maſſes. Herein is all theyr care to keepe ſtill their reueneues and benefices. This Leuite ſayeth not, God is not ſo to be worſhipped. Such a cup ſuch a couer. An euill Micha, hath gotten an euill Leuite. In his thyng alſo ye Leuite ſinned, bycauſe he was nothyng made afeard by the example of Core, who when he would hauehave vſurped the office of a Prieſt, was ſwallowed downe quicke into the earth. This younge man was not of the famely of Aaron, he was onelyonly a Leuite of the famely of Gerſon, as ſome ſay. Neither doth Micha enquire of hym from whēce he was, or of what famely, or howe well he was inſtructed in the lawe of GOD, but he ſtraightwaye conſecrateth hym a Prieſt. But he ought fyrſte diligently to hauehave examined hym: for GOD would not hauehave vncleane Sacrifices offred hym, and ſhall we thinke that he abhorred not from corrupte Prieſtes? This younge Leuite thought it a goodly thyng to be exalted to the miniſtery of a Prieſt. Thou ſhalt bee to me a Father and a Prieſt. Miniſters of God are to be… counted for fathers.He ſeemeth vndoubtedly with great reuerence to honour the Miniſter. And in deede the Miniſters of GOD are to be counted for fathers. For the holy Ghoſt vſeth their miniſtery for the regeneration of other. So Paul ſayde, he had agayne begotten the Galathians, when as he had before begotten them vntounto God. The ſame Paul writeth vntounto the Corinthians: Althoughe ye hauehave many ſchoolemaſters, yet hauehave ye not many fathers.
Nowe the Lorde will doo good vntounto me. Nowe GOD (ſayeth he) wyll increaſe my thynges: for there were many whiche would come vntounto thoſe holy ſerſeruices, and he ſhould be partaker of all the oblations and Sacrifices, and ſo the miſerable man thinketh that gayne is godlynes. And in deede Paul ſayeth to Timothe, that piety is a great gayne with ſufficiency, but he addeth: That they whiche will be riche, doo fall into temptacions and ſnares of the deuill, and many whiche deſire to be riche, hauehave fallen into ſhipwracke from the fayth, and hauehave wrapped themſelues into great ſorowes. All theſe thinges happened vntounto Micha: for he both ſtrayed from the fayth, and was moſt greuouſly afflicted with vnlooked for calamityes. For the Danites, as we ſhall heare, inuaded hys houſe, and ouerthrewe it with all his felicity. They led awaye the Leuite with the idole. And yet he in the meane tyme flattereth hymſelfe and ſayth: The Lord will bleſſe me.