Religion that is Right in People’s Eyes (Judges 17-18)
This was early in Judges & indicative of Israel’s spiritual condition.
1. A disobedient family (17:1-6)
a) The focus is on Micah in the hill country of Ephraim (one of Israel’s strongest tribes). He confessed to his mother that he stole 1,100 pieces of silver from her after he heard her utter a curse upon the thief.
b) The mom calls for a blessing for her son & dedicates the 1,100 silver pieces for her son to make a graven image (metal idol) & molten image (formed by pouring molten metal into a mold or over a frame) for worship (Ex. 20:4). A silversmith made this image out of 200 pieces of silver.
c) They established their own worship center (house of god/gods), while the true house of God was not far away at Shiloh (18:31). Refrain (v6): They did not have a king, strong spiritual ruler (Deut. 17:18-20), so they did what was right in their own eyes (Deut. 12:8).
2. A disobedient spiritual leader (17:7-13)
a) A young Levite, the grandson (possibly great-grandson) of Moses (18:30), was sojourning in Bethlehem. He was an opportunist. Levites received 48 cities throughout Israel to provide a godly influence. Bethlehem was not one of them. He sojourned to Micah’s house in Ephraim.
b) Micah invited him to be a father/priest at his shrine and offered him 10 pieces of silver/year, clothing & sustenance for living. Micah consecrated him as priest & was convinced the Lord would prosper (do good to) him since he had a Levite as priest. Micah was not a priest to act this way & his confidence was misguided.
3. A disobedient tribe (18:1-31)
a) The Danites had land allotted to them (Josh. 19:40-48), but they had to conquer powerful Amorite & Philistine forces who forced them into the hill country (Judges 1:34-36). They sent 5 spies to find easier land to conquer.
b) They came to Micah’s house & recognized the voice, or different dialect, of the priest & discovered what Micah did. They asked the priest to inquire of God as to whether He would prosper their journey (likely with stones from the ephod). He told them to go in peace since what they were doing had the Lord’s approval (not true).
c) They journeyed to an undisturbed place north of Israel SE of the Sidonians & SW of the Syrians called Laish. They returned to their tribe with the report that it was “very good” & “God has given it into your land.” This was language used to describe the land already given to them.
d) 600 armed Danites with their families headed north through the hill country & came to Micah’s house. The spies told their kinsmen of the shrine. They went to steal the graven image, ephod, household idols and molten image. When the priest objected (v18), they told him to be silent & offered him the greater opportunity of being a father/priest for a whole tribe. He was glad for this opportunity & helped them steal the religious objects & went among the people of Dan. They traveled with the vulnerable ones in front probably expecting an attack from Micah.
e) When Micah and his forces overtook them, the Danites acted surprised. Micah confronted them over stealing his gods. The Danites threated them with men of fierce temper that would kill them (they should have taken their inheritance already given from the Lord). They were too strong for Micah to conquer so he turned back.
f) The Danites killed the unsuspecting quiet & secure people of Laish & burned it with fire (as though given over destruction). They rebuild the city & called it Dan. They set up their own religious center of worship with their priest. This idolatrous center continued until the captivity of the land: likely some invasion early than the Assyrian one in 733-722 BC. What initially seemed secure left them vulnerable as the first in line for invading armies from the north. Religious life: stealing, blatant idolatry, selfishness, disobedience to & reinterpreting God’s guidance, empty confidence, forcing your will on others, killing a peaceful people, neglect of true worship.