Judges, 17

Name: Judges
Author: Author's Name
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Idols Law Judgment Family Contentment Relationships Obedience Father Acknowledging Almighty Giving Blessing

The Israelites again worship other gods and are oppressed by their enemies.

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Bible version

The Levite's Concubine

1 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 an 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.

7 And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.

8 And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah 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 Bethlehemjudah, 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.

Commentary

In Judges chapter 17, we see the story of Micah and the Levite. Micah is a man from the tribe of Ephraim who has made an idol for himself and has hired a Levite to be his priest. This is a direct violation of the law of God, which states that only the Levites are to serve as priests. The Levite agrees to serve as Micah's priest, and Micah sets up a shrine in his home. The story then shifts to the Danites, who are looking for a place to settle. They come across Micah's shrine and ask the Levite if they can use it as their place of worship. The Levite agrees, and the Danites take the idol and the priest with them. The story ends with the Danites setting up their own shrine and worshiping the idol. This is a clear violation of the law of God, and it serves as a reminder of the consequences of disobedience. It also serves as a warning to us today that we should not be tempted to follow the ways of the world, but instead remain faithful to God's commands.