Chapter 17
Introducing Micah and the Levite
There is a plot change in the book of Judges between chapter 16 and 17, while still in a period known as the time of judges, the telling of various judges and those that delivered the people of Israel from oppression is now done. We begin the telling of a brutal and bloody story that does not involve foreign nation oppression, but all within Israel involving only the people of Israel. Being a dark time in Israel’s history that may be best described by the sixth verse in this chapter, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6, ESV)
The timing of the the events of the following chapters is the subject of debate and often referred to as being the “two non-chronological appendixes” to the book of Judges (being chapters 17-18 and 19-21). Some believe that the events of chapters 17-18 should be after chapter 21. In either scenarios they are considered to have occurred earlier concurrently with previously recorded events.
17:1 There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2 And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD.”
Apparently Micah’s mother had 1,100 pieces of silver stolen from her, some connect the amount of silver to the 1,100 pieces of silver that Delilah was paid to betray Samson, making her the mother in this story, but there is no other evidence to support that belief. Micah, after hearing her curse which was spoken in his ears (the mother may have suspected him, even though God’s name will be frequently used, pagan beliefs are predominant in this chapter) confesses that he took the silver. The mother blesses him for admitting his guilt.
17:3 And he restored the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said, “I dedicate the silver to the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.” 4 So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image. And it was in the house of Micah. 5 And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
When Micah gave back the silver to his mother she dedicates he silver to YHWH, but in the form of a carved image (Hebrew pě’·sěl, a hewn or cut image, graven image) and a metal image (Hebrew mǎs·sē·ḵā(h)’, a molten metal image), both of which were forbidden by God’s law (see Exodus 20:4; 34:17; Leviticus 19:4; 26:1; Deuteronomy 5:8; 27:15). Micah then assembled a shrine in his house, had an ephod made, added his household gods (Hebrew ṯerā·p̄îm, can be several types of idols, often related to inheritance rights, often ‘consulted’ which was a practice strongly condemned, see 1 Samuel 15:23; Ezekiel 21:21, 26; Zechariah 10:2), and ordained one of his sons as a priest. The name of YHWH was exalted but they were ignorant of His Word, as he and his family violated His law. Which is attempted to be explained by verse six, but having no king in Israel is no excuse to turn away from God.
17:7 Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
We are introduced to the next primary person, a young man of Bethlehem in Judah (Bethlehem Ephrathah, same location where Jesus was born, stated in Judah to differentiate from the Bethlehem in Galilee), of the family of Judah, who is a Levite. Since the territory names are the same as the tribal names it can be difficult sometimes to determine what tribe an Israelite is from. In this case this young man is a Levite that once lived in Bethlehem in Judah, but is likely originally from the territory belonging to Dan, as he is recognized by some Danites in the next chapter, and that Bethlehem Ephrathah is not a Levite city. He is, as mentioned here, a sojourner.
17:8 And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. 9 And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I may find a place.” 10 And Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living.” And the Levite went in. 11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12 And Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.”
The young Levite traveled to the hill country of Ephraim and encounters Micah who asks him, “Where do you come from?” The Levite explains that he is a Levite and is traveling around looking for a place to live. Micah invites him to live there and be to him a father (a title of respect, but in a spiritual context) and a priest. He agrees to the terms and stays and is treated like family. The Levite is ordained by Micah as a priest, which makes him happy, since he believes YHWH will look favorably on him because he now has a Levite for a priest.
Considerations
So Close But Yet…A Lesson in Applied Ignorance
This chapter opened with a mother’s silver being stolen, a curse, her son confessing and returning the silver, followed by making idols in honor of God! Then a wandering Levite enters the picture who is offered the job of being the family priest. The Levite accepts the role and is ordained by the son, who now believes God is going to prosper him more because he has a Levite for a priest.
Where does one start to count the violations against God? It would seem that the modern expression, “Throw the book at them,” applies here. They each got something right, but each were in violation. The mother offered curses (a pagan practice) and desired to dedicate idols to YHWH. The son set up a shrine with idols, made an ephod, hired a priest, and thought God would prosper him for doing these things. And the Levite accepted the role of being a priest for a home shrine, which is a problem for two reasons. The official priesthood had to be in the line of Aaron, we are told in Judges 18:30 that this Levite is in the line of Moses. Plus, they are only to serve God (offer sacrifices, etc.) in locations deemed appropriate by Him.
So, how does someone get so close to the truth of Scripture but yet fail so badly? It appears that the Word of God was not being taught, or at least not very consistently. Partial truths were remembered or passed on from one generation to another. This story highlights the importance of Bible study! It makes a strong case for the words from God Moses wrote in Deuteronomy chapter six: “Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7, NLT)