Judges 17
OGCA DIGEST OF CHAPTER 17
Micah’s image made. Micah stole eleven hundred pieces of silver from his mother. When she uttered a curse concerning it, he confessed that he had stolen it. Nevertheless, Micah’s mother carried out her intention concerning the money and paid a founder to forge an image. The rest of the money was probably used to perpetuate the idolatrous worship.
A Levite consecrated to be Micah’s priest. A young Levite who lived in Bethlehem-judah was induced to serve as the priest at Micah’s pagan sanctuary. Micah was thus satisfied with his wicked arrangements for the establishment of false worship in the midst of God’s chosen people.
LESSONS FOR LEARNING
A wicked son is a grief to his mother. Micah stooped so low as to steal money from his mother. Even when he gave it back to her and made confession of his theft, his mother had cause to be grieved; for he plunged deeply into idolatry. Although she herself was involved in the making of the graven image, Micah took the lead in setting up a center of image worship. He consecrated one of his own sons as a priest and became a leader of false religious practices in Israel. Such a son would surely be a heaviness of heart to any righteous mother, even if Micah were not so to his mother.
Counterfeit religion is hard to detect. Micah went to great trouble in order to make a false religion very much like the true religion. He made an ephod, the distinctive garment of the priests of Israel, He secured a young Levite of Bethlehem-judah to be his priest. God had ordered the priestly family to be of the tribe of Levi, More specifically, they were to be descendants of Aaron. The man who became Micah’s priest was probably a renegade who wandered up into Ephraim after he left his Levitical city in Judah, but he was still of the family from which the priests were taken. It is the same way with false religions today, They have many features copied from the true religion, but in essence they are only forgeries.
False priests serve for selfish reasons. Ezekiel roundly rebuked the fat shepherds of his day. The word of the Lord came to him saying, Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves (Ezekiel 34:2). Jesus once described shepherds who were hirelings as those who fled when the dangers threatened the sheep (John 10:12). Christian workers today who follow the example of the Levite in Micah’s day and go wherever they can find the best paying job without regard to the false way of life they must follow thereby are as reprehensible as was the man of Bethlehem-judah in the days of Micah.
TEN QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 17
Where was Micah’s home?
How many pieces of silver did he steal from his mother?
How much did the graven image cost?
Who first served as a priest for Micah?
Where had the young Levite lived before he came to Micah?
How many pieces of silver did Micah promise per year to the Levite?
What other pay did Micah promise the Levite?
Who consecrated the Levite to be a priest?
What other objects did Micah make for his false worship?
Was there a king in Israel in Micah’s day?
Judges 17:1-6
DOUBLE APPENDIX Judges 17:1 to Judges 21:25
The Idolatry of Dan Judges 17:1 to Judges 18:31
Micah’s Images Judges 17:1-6
And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my son. 3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee. 4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah. 5 And the man Micah had a house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
*1.
Who was Micah? Judges 17:1*
The word Micah is an abbreviation for Micaiah (Jeremiah 26:18). The name is interpreted by a question: Who is like the Lord? The name was given to a rather large group of men, there being at least eight men in the Old Testament who bore this name. The best-known man bearing this name is the prophet whose book is one of the Twelve. The Micah mentioned in this chapter of Judges is not further identified, but the account of his idolatrous worship is one of great importance.
*2.
Where was Mount Ephraim? Judges 17:1*
The land given to the tribe of Ephraim was largely composed of hill country. There were many smaller mountains within the border of this section of Palestine, but the northern part was especially hilly since the heights of Mount Carmel began to take their rise from the center of this land. On the northern border of the territory assigned to Ephraim were Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. Somewhere in this hill country Micah and his mother had settled.
*3.
In what way had Micah’s mother uttered a curse? Judges 17:2*
The Scripture is not clear as to the nature of the curse which was uttered by Micah’s mother, but it appears on the surface that she had prayed for God to curse whoever had stolen her money. There is a possibility of her simply placing a ban on the money or in other words, having dedicated it to the service of God. When the money was restored to her, she said she had sanctified the silver to the Lord. In either case Micah realized he was encountering a possibility of being smitten of the Lord for having taken his mother’s money. He had heard the curse which she uttered, and this frightened him into making a confession of his theft.
*4.
Why did his mother pray for him to be blessed? Judges 17:2*
When Micah made a confession of his theft, his mother prayed God to bless him. She saw in his confession a proof of his fear of God. More than this, his confession made possible her dedicating the silver to the Lord. When her son gave the money back to her, she was able to fulfill her intentions.
What kind of image was made? Judges 17:4
Two different words are used in the Hebrew text to describe the idolatrous image. The first word pesel is used for an idolatrous image made either of metal or wood. The word massecah stands for something poured or cast. When this latter word is used in the singular, it generally refers to the calf cast by Aaron or Jeroboam. The two words used together probably describe a symbol of the Lord. Judging from the events at Mount Sinai, Micah’s mother probably made an idol in the form of a calf to stand for the presence of the Lord. In Judges 18:17-18, the two words are not used together; and some think Micah’s mother made two different objects. It is hard to imagine, however, that Micah’s mother made two images of the Lord. For this reason it seems better to view this reference as signifying an image, pesel and a pedestal upon which it stoodthe massecah. In Judges 18:30-31 the pesel alone is mentioned. Likely it was probably an image of a bull similar to the golden calf which Aaron made at Sinai (Exodus 32:4) and the two golden calves which Jeroboam erected in Israel, one of which was set up in Dan (1 Kings 12:29).
*6.
What was the house of gods? Judges 17:5*
Micah’s house of gods was a private shrine which he erected on his property. It was not another tabernacle or a forerunner of the temple. God had decreed only one sanctuary (Deuteronomy 12). Although the house of gods which Micah erected was largely for his own private use, it is possible that neighbors and friends came to the sanctuary of false worship erected by this well-to-do man. Thus the seeds of idolatry were scattered far and wide from this center of paganism.
*7.
What was the ephod? Judges 17:5*
The ephod was the garment worn by the priests. God had prescribed the attire for priests. Various articles of clothing were describedan ephod, a robe, a mitre, linen breeches and breast plate. The ephod was a short garment without sleeves and formed the basic article of clothing.
*8.
What were the teraphim? Judges 17:5*
Teraphim were small household gods. They are sometimes called penates. Rachel stole Laban’s teraphim when she and Jacob fled from Haran (Genesis 31:19). These images were worshiped as the givers of earthly prosperity and as sources of divine knowledge. The form teraphim is the plural of the singular *teraph.
What was the meaning of the remark about no king? Judges 17:6*
The author is dating the event as being prior to the time of writing, which was probably in the early days of the monarchy. The events which transpired in Chapter 17 did not necessarily follow those which are described in Chapter 16 of the book of Judges. That is to say, Micah’s era was not later than that of Samson’S. Micah established his false worship some time during the period of the judges. More than likely it occurred early in the era and may be no less than a century after the false worship which erupted at Sinai was soundly denounced by Moses.
*10.
What is the bearing of this regarding the date of the book? Judges 17:6*
If the people were then becoming acquainted with the monarchy, it would help them make a comparison between their times and the early days. Throughout the last five Chapter s of the book of Judges we find constantly recurring references of a similar nature (Judges 18:1; Judges 19:1 and Judges 21:25). If Samuel were the author, he was evidently emphasizing the difference in the social climate under the judges as compared to that under the king. By the end of Saul’s lifetime the people of Israel had been given ample opportunity to see the nature of a king. They had asked for a king to enable them to be like all the nations (1 Samuel 8:5). Most of the time commentators view this period as a time of near anarchy. We may be led to believe that it was also a time when the spiritual climate was very poor. Nevertheless the record says that every man did that which was right in his own eyes. It does not say that every man did what was wrong. Things could have been worse.
Judges 17:7-13
Micab’s Hired Priest Judges 17:7-13
7 And there was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 8 And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehem-judah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah as he journeyed. 9 And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Beth-lehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place. 10 And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in. 11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons. 12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.
*11.
How could the Levite be from Bethlehem-judah? Judges 17:7*
Levites were given forty-eight cities spread throughout the length and breadth of the Promised Land. They were not given land on which they could plant vineyards and orchards. They did not have extensive fields in which they could sow. grain. Only about 1,000 cubits roundabout each of these forty-eight cities was provided as a place where they could tether their animals and raise gardens of herbs and vegetables. Thus the Levites might live in the land assigned to any one of the twelve tribes. The Levite who came to Micah was from the southern area, the tribe of Judah.
*12.
Why was the Levite so poor and so easily contented? Judges 17:9-10*
He was evidently not needed in the service of the Lord in Bethlehem-judah; and when he left his village, he had no means of making a living. The Israelites were not always faithful to God’s command to give a tithe to support the Levites. In the days of Nehemiah the Levites had been forced to go to labor in the fields. Nehemiah straightened this out and commanded the people to bring a tithe to support the Levites (Nehemiah 13:10; Nehemiah 13:14). It is also quite possible that this Levite was inept and rebellious. For this reason he was forced to go elsewhere to find a means of livelihood.
*13.
What was the reward for the Levite? Judges 17:10*
Micah promised the Levite that he would give him ten shekels of silver per year as his salary. By way of comparison, it is good to remember that the founder who made the image was paid 200 shekels of silveran amount equivalent to twenty years of pay for the Levite. The Levite was also promised a place to live and clothing to wear. In other words he was to receive room and board plus a small stipend.
*14.
Why did Micah think he would be blessed? Judges 17:13*
Micah was like many people who follow false religions today. They are superstitious and ignorant of the true meaning of worship. Because Micah had an image, a sanctuary in which to worship, robes for his priest and a priest who was related to the true priests of Israel, he felt that he had everything any religious man could hope to have. He felt that such rituals and forms of religion would bring him a blessing. He was willingly ignorant of the fact that God’s spirit does not dwell in externals. God is more pleased with obedience than with sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22).