JUDGES 17
Read Judges 17:1-13
We have seen the downward spiral of Israel since the death of Joshua in Chapter 2 with a succession of weaker and weaker leaders. Now Israel seems to have hit rock bottom. In Chapter 15 they didn’t even see the need for salvation from the enemy that God had brought against them as a punishment for idolatry. Now the problem is not the enemy without, but the enemy within. And the situation is summed up in verse 6, ‘In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit’. When there is no leadership anything goes, and in the context of God’s people, that means no one to bring people back to the standards that God has set out.
Here we see Micah making an illicit shrine with silver given to him by his mother (apparently after Micah had stolen it from her and then given it back). What a messy story this is turning out to be. Mother takes back the silver and consecrates it to the Lord (good!) in order that the son can make an idol from it (bad!). Micah made an ephod (v5 – bad!) which is a priestly garment and something he is not entitled to – and he made some idols (bad!). Micah is going way off beam here. But then – a genuine priest, a Levite, wanders by and Micah employs him. Now Micah is not going to take on the role of priest to which he is not entitled (good!). He makes the Levite an offer of money and goods. An offer too good to refuse and it looks like the Levite is swayed by such material considerations (bad!) because in the next chapter he is enticed by a better offer (18:19-20). And Micah now has a personal priest – which may suit him, but the Levites are called to serve the community as a whole, not individuals.
What a confused situation we find here. There is no strong leadership and God has been relegated to the background. There is still some recognition of God, but it is not God’s word that is uppermost in the minds of the people in the story. It is all about ‘me’ – it is all about materialism. Mother seems to have at least some though for God in all this, but is more motivated by seeing her son get what he wants, to the extent of overlooking his theft of silver from her. Micah is covering all bases by making many idols and employing his own personal priest in the belief that ‘the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest’ (v13). And the Levite has fallen on his feet by getting a very good wage and food and clothes for serving Micah as priest. All in all, nobody comes out of this very well.
And aren’t we living in similar times today? God has been relegated to the background. We live in a ‘me’ society that is out for all it can get in material terms; a society that does not recognise a moral standard that comes from God’s word. There is no absolute right and wrong – just what is right for you. Truly, this age is just like that of the Judges where ‘everyone does as he sees fit’.