Fake Ordination, Fake Faith | Judges 17:12

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is Judges 17:12.

“And Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.” — Judges 17:12

Micah finally finishes building his fake religion. He’s got a shrine, a priest, and now an “ordination.” It sounds holy—but it’s hollow.

Micah “ordains” a Levite, believing that if he calls it spiritual, it becomes spiritual. He convinces himself it’s from God simply because he said so. But that’s not faith—that’s fabrication.

This is what happens when people stop grounding their beliefs in Scripture. They start declaring things “from God” that God never said. They replace divine revelation with human imagination—and then call it holy. It’s the birth of self-made religion.

Micah didn’t reject God outright; he simply replaced God’s authority with his own. And that’s what makes false faith so deceptive—it looks spiritual while quietly dethroning God. When we start believing our feelings carry the same weight as God’s Word, we’ve already started building our own religion.

We see it everywhere today.
People say, “God told me to be happy,” or “God just wants me to live my truth,” or “Love is love—so it must be holy.” But if it contradicts Scripture, it’s not revelation—it’s rebellion. Calling something “anointed” doesn’t make it approved.

Micah’s fake ordination is a warning to every believer who wants spiritual authority without scriptural submission. God’s blessing doesn’t rest on what sounds right or feels right—it rests on what is true.

And here’s the danger: when fake ordination goes unchecked, it breeds fake faith. Micah thought ordaining a Levite would make him holy, but both of them were lost—confident, religious, and completely wrong.

That’s what happens when we build a faith not on the foundation of God’s Word but on the echo of our opinions. It may look spiritual, but it leads people away from truth. And a lie repeated in God’s name is still a lie.

True authority doesn’t come from our declarations—it comes from God’s revelation.
The moment we separate “God said” from what God wrote, we’re not worshiping Him anymore—we’re worshiping our own imagination.

ASK THIS:

1. Have you ever declared something “from God” that wasn’t grounded in Scripture?
2. Where do you see culture redefining truth and calling it faith?
3. How can you better discern between human opinion and divine authority?
4. What step can you take today to anchor your faith more deeply in God’s Word?

DO THIS:

• Test every “God idea” against Scripture before you believe or share it.
• Read 2 Timothy 4:3–4: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching… and will turn away from listening to the truth.”

PRAY THIS:

Lord, keep me from creating a version of faith that fits my feelings. Anchor me in Your Word so deeply that I can spot false truth from a mile away. Teach me to follow revelation, not imagination. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

“Holy Spirit Come.”