Judges 17:1 – 13 “Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have the silver here with me; I took it.” (1,100 shekels is approximately 27.6 pounds or 12.5 kilograms of silver.) Then his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD!” And when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I wholly dedicate the silver to the LORD for my son’s benefit to make a graven image and a molten idol. Therefore I will now return it to you.”
So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into a graven image and a molten idol. And they were placed in the house of Micah. (200 shekels is approximately 5 pounds or 2.3 kilograms of silver.)
Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordained one of his sons as his priest. In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
And there was a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah who had been residing within the clan of Judah. This man left the city of Bethlehem in Judah to settle where he could find a place. And as he traveled, he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim. “Where are you from?” Micah asked him. “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,” he replied, “and I am on my way to settle wherever I can find a place.”
“Stay with me,” Micah said to him, “and be my father and priest, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your provisions.” (10 shekels is approximately 4 ounces or 114 grams of silver.)
So the Levite went in and agreed to stay with him, and the young man became like a son to Micah. Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”
This is a terribly sad story! Joshua and all those of his generation and several generations afterwards are all dead and God’s laws and ordinances have been forgotten. What has survived is a form of Jewish folk religion – a mixture of magic practices with a pinch of truth, but only a pinch.
Micah steals a large quantity of silver from his mother and then later returns it, probably because he fears the curses his mother has put on anybody who has taken the money. Micah’s mother dedicates the money to the Lord…. for a graven image and a molten idol. HUH? God has expressly forbidden the Israelites to make any idols; however, parents have failed to teach children, and now the worship of the One True Living God has deteriorated into idolatry. Micah now has a shrine, an ephod that he has made, and some household idols. After Micah has ordained one of his sons as a priest, a young Levite from Bethlehem shows up. Micah doesn’t remember much about the priests of the Lord, but he does remember that the Levites are the priestly tribe, so he recruits the young Levite to be his personal priest. Having already done several things that are completely against the will of God, Micah tops it by assuming that having a Levite in his house will bring a blessing.
APPLICATION: The term “meshugganah” is a Yiddish word indicating someone who is crazy! This story is sad because Micah genuinely wants to worship the Lord but has no idea of what to do. Without any priest or teach to guide, Micah decides to create some of the trappings of the original tabernacle of Moses. Surrounding tribes have idols so Micah makes idols. The ephod was originally used for seeking the will of the Lord, so Micah creates an ephod in hopes of learning God’s will by divination, something else that God has forbidden. And Micah vaguely remembers that he needs a priest, so he looks around and selects one of his sons to act as a priest. Of course, this fellow has no idea how a priest is supposed to function, nor does he realize that he is from the wrong tribe to become a priest in the first place.
Given all these considerations, Micah might be excused if he gets really excited when the young Levite shows up. Somehow Micah remembers that the Levites are the priestly tribe, although he doesn’t remember anything else.
The key sentence in this chapter is verse 6: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” By this point in Israel, things are really in a mess, morally and spiritually, as illustrated by this story. What happened? Despite God ordering the Israelites to teach their children and their grandchildren His ordinances, the Israelites became so caught up in conquering the land of Canaan and enjoying the cities, fields, vineyards, and olive groves, that they lost sight of the Lord.
What are we doing with our children and grandchildren? Are we teaching them about God or are we hoping that if we send them to Sunday School, somebody else will teach them? Are our children and grandchildren seeing us honoring God in our lives, or do they see us worshiping fame, wealth, social position, or our professions? We are the most vivid Bible that our children and grandchildren will ever see. If we fail to honor God in our own lives, how do we expect them to honor God in theirs? God help us if we fail as parents and grandparents!
PRAYER: Father God, help! We ourselves do not honor You as we should; yet, we want our children and grandchildren to do what we are failing to do. Help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. Help us to teach our children and grandchildren the things of God, but also help us to show them how much You love them. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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