Judges 17:1-13
1 Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
2 And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you put a curse, even saying it in my ears—here is the silver with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my son!” 3 So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, “I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the LORD for my son, to make a carved image and a molded image; now therefore, I will return it to you.” 4 Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a carved image and a molded image; and they were in the house of Micah.
5 The man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod and household idols; and he consecrated 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.
7 Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and was staying there. 8 The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. 9 And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” So he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to find a place to stay.”
10 Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in. 11 Then the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12 So Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and lived in the house of Micah.
13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, since I have a Levite as priest!”
1 Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
2 And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you put a curse, even saying it in my ears—here is the silver with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my son!” 3 So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, “I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the LORD for my son, to make a carved image and a molded image; now therefore, I will return it to you.” 4 Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a carved image and a molded image; and they were in the house of Micah.
5 The man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod and household idols; and he consecrated 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.
7 Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and was staying there. 8 The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. 9 And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” So he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to find a place to stay.”
10 Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in. 11 Then the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12 So Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and lived in the house of Micah.
13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, since I have a Levite as priest!”
This is a dark time for God’s people after their final judge Samson, and before the time of the kings. Their idolatry was in their anarchism of rebellion against the LORD, everyone doing whatever their scale of right and wrong, acceptable actions and a moving line to cross into what they would not tolerate. This line of shifting morality is simply situational ethics, which often seeks the lowest scale of right and wrong, yet was wholly in each man’s view; there were no absolutes of righteousness or evil, just what each wanted to excuse as personally acceptable. They did not want a leader, judge or government, to tell them what to do. Therefore, this Micah found a wayward Levitical priest to manage his idol altar of false gods which was built with stolen money from his mother (albeit returned and then allocated with her blessing for this cursed use). Since there was no king, no government set over the people by God, the sin nature of His people did whatever they pleased while willfully and blatantly disregarding His word and will. Micah even bragged that he had a Levite and thought that would bring the blessings of the LORD whom he was sinning against in the process. To him it was right because he reasoned it out apart from God’s clear commands to the contrary. Even in these current times we see this attitude, both in the world and among God’s people who choose their own reasoning on how to love or disregard their neighbors in their own quest for being the government over themselves in place of subjecting their pride with obedience to the authorities which God puts over us (Romans 13:1-5, 1 Peter 2:13-17). Sadly, some choose to do what is right in their own eyes, reasoning that the church somehow exempts them from these commands of our Lord in order to excuse disobedience which is not in opposition to His gospel. Our convenience is no reason or rationale for disobedience unless it is government keeping us from proclaiming the gospel which is primarily by us outside a church building, and not dependent on meeting together inside our designated buildings. We do not do well to rule ourselves apart from His word, for that is quite simply the idolatry of spiritual anarchy and disobedience. We are to love God with all we have and do, and likewise love each other (Mark 12:30-31, Romans 13:10) as we follow in submission to Him and each other (Ephesians 5:15, 21). This is submitting in love for His glory and rule over us, not in the anarch of disobedient idolatry of self-will and personal desires.
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