Judges Part 17

XVII. Judges 17. A. This chapter sets forth a curious mingling of ignorance, superstition and idolatrous images with a professed honoring of the true LORD, a popular form of religion. 1. There are three main characters: Micah, Micah’s mother, and a gadabout Levite. 2. This chapter is very appropriately a place for the general theme of Judges: “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (v. 6). 3. This chapter sets the stage for the next chapter which shows the degeneracy of religion in Israel spread broadly, as told in the continuing misadventures of Micah and the Levite. B. vs. 1-6. 1. Micah’s mother had a nice cache of 1100 pieces of silver that went missing and Micah turns out to be the reason. How many parents have suffered similar pains? a. Perhaps she was a beneficiary of Delilah (JDG 16:5), so that 1100 pieces that served to the ruin of Samson was a prelude to 1100 pieces that served to the ruin of religion. b. She was a woman of some age since she was a grandmother (note v. 5) but she was not senile nor blind: she knew she had 1100 shekels of silver and that they had disappeared. c. We read not that she swept the house (LUK 15:8) but swore a curse. When “edged,” try sweeping rather than swearing. Sweepers get a clean house; swearers a dirty mouth. 2. She had cursed indirectly or directly and Micah heard, so he confessed the deed to her and restored the money, a notable turn. c/w LUK 15:21. 3. Her response, “...Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son” (v. 2) shows us that the true God was still in vogue in her heart (but horribly confused with vain thoughts). a. She had not utterly sold out to Baal (or any other false god). b. Her compassion is notable but it may have been influenced by the fact that she apparently had intended the money for Micah’s benefit to begin with. 4. However, her designs for the money were askew: she intended to make forbidden images (EXO 20:4) which were for her son’s benefit. a. How many parents have similarly thought they could buy influence from the LORD for their children by corrupt motions of religion? b. Consider the parent who thinks they are doing the child a favor with a corrupt rival gospel of Santa Claus with his carnal gifts. c. What she had planned was little different from the “golden calf incident” at Sinai which involved precious metal formed into a forbidden image to the glory of the LORD and the “good” of the people. EXO 32:4-6 c/w 1CO 10:7. d NOTE: much evil is done in the name of the LORD by vain thinking about precious metals, and also when corrupt religion is deemed to be the best way to carnal prosperity. 1PE 1:18; JER 44:17. e. Those who lay claim to the NAME are to depart from iniquity, not sanitize it for use by false good intentions. 2TI 2:19; 2CO 6:15-16. 5. The woman fudged on her stated dedication (1100 to 200). She lied to her son or lied to God. Small wonder that a religion built on lies is lived out by lies. Maybe she was “slapping him in the face” with this pittance of her original plan. v. 4. a. Apparently there was an idol founder in the land, a craft which depends upon false religion and so is defended with ridiculous zeal. ACT 19:23-28. b. God’s tolerance of her fudged dedication was not repeated for Ananias and Sapphira. ACT 5:1-11. 6. “And the man Micah had an house of gods...” (v. 5). a. This would have been the church of the dead gods, pillar and ground of lies. ct/w 1TI 3:15. b. The house of God is the gate of heaven (GEN 28:17) but houses of gods are gates of hell (MAT 16:18). False religion is the worm-hole to Satan’s kingdom of lies. There is one gate to God (JOH 14:6), many gates to Satan. c. “Micah’s House of Gods” sounds like a roadside curiosity on Rt. 666. 7. “...and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest” (v. 5). Micah developed a complete rival system similar to what Jeroboam later did, incorporating heathen superstitions. 1KI 12:28-33. a. He made an ephod (priestly vestment). c/w EXO 28:4. b. He made teraphim (idols, images to be revered and used for divination), from teraphym (SRN H8655), otherwise translated as images in 2KI 23:24 and EZE 21:21. c. He consecrated one of his sons to be his priest. But he was not a Levitical son of Aaron to confer such an office, nor would his son be eligible. HEB 5:4. d. He did this assuming the LORD was his God and knowing that it was a compromise. v. 13. C. vs. 7-13. 1. In this section we have the coincidental coming together of wayward Micah and a wandering Levite which results in a happy mutual arrangement for the two of them. a. It was as if the stars were aligned to bless them (I speak as a fool). This is another example of the error of concluding truth or right from circumstances rather than reasoning from the Scripture. b. Herod and Pilate were happily brought together over their shared condemnation of Jesus Christ. LUK 23:12. 2. The young Levite was from “...Bethlehem-judah of the family of Judah...” (v. 7) which was not a Levitical city listed in JOS 21. a. He was a sojourner (temporary resident) there, and sought to sojourn where he could find a place (to his liking). vs. 8-9. b. He didn’t seek out Shiloh where the tabernacle was set up (JOS 18:1), which would have been an appropriate destination for a good Levite. DEU 18:6-8. c. He was as a wandering bird looking for a comfortable nest. PRO 27:8. d. His “house to house” model was not evangelical, as is evident from his willingness to sell himself to Micah for benefits over principles. vs. 10-12 ct/w ACT 20:20, 33; TIT 1:7, 10. e. I have known men who shopped around for an ordination and/or ministry when they were not even qualified. 3. Micah jumped at the chance of a personal Levitical priest and seems to have abandoned interest in his priest-son. He polished his first error with an unqualified Levite, thinking this error was an upgrade for his interests. NOTE: every valid priest had to be a Levite but not every Levite could be a priest: only the sons of Aaron qualified (and Micah still had no authority to consecrate someone). a. “No marvel if those who can make any thing serve for a god can also make any thing serve for a priest...Thus those who please themselves with their own delusions, if Providence unexpectedly bring any thing to their hands that furthers them in their evil way, are too apt to infer thence that God is pleased with them.” (Matthew Henry) b. Depicted here is an idolatrous folly coated with elements of true religion administered by a false ministry of “...a father and a priest...” (v. 10) which is pleasing to all involved in it. This is obviously similar to Catholicism with its hybrid of paganism and Christ. Note MAT 23:9. c. Hiring an unprincipled Levite means the Levite is a captive to the expectations of his hirer, a regrettable model of denominational church systems. d. Micah made and bought a personal priest for personal benefit. The Levite prostituted himself to Micah for personal benefit. What could possibly go wrong with this mutually happy arrangement? Read the next chapter. 4. “Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest” (v. 13). a. He is assuming God’s favor is automatically triggered and obligatory, based on outward forms of religion which substitute for personal righteousness. c/w 2TI 3:5. b. Contrast his assumption with the prayer of PSA 125:4. c. “Carnal hearts are apt to build too much upon their external privileges, and to conclude that God will certainly do them good because they are born of godly parents, dwell in praying families, are linked in society with those that are very good, and sit under a lively ministry; whereas all this is but like having a Levite to be their priest, which amounts to no security at all that God will do them good, unless they be good themselves, and make a good use of these advantages. (Matthew Henry)