Judges 17:1 ¶ And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
Judges 17:2 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.
Judges 17:3 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.
Judges 17:4 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.
This chapter centers on a man named Micah that lived in mount Ephraim. He stole from his mother and heard her utter a curse against the thief. He admitted to his mom that he had stolen the 1100 shekels of silver and gave it back to her. I guess he was superstitious and feared the consequences of the curse.
The NIV Commentary notes that ten shekels was a normal wage for the year at that time, so the money stolen represented great wealth.
The mother blessed her son in the name of the LORD for returning it, but then proceeded to use 200 shekels of the silver to have an idol made. The image was carved out of wood and dipped in silver or gold. Micah kept it in his house.
It is interesting to note that the mother said that she had “wholly dedicated” the stolen money to the LORD, but she only invested a small portion of it to honor the god she worshipped.
Judges 17:5 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.
Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Micah had a place in his house specifically set apart as a place of worship. He made an ephod, a sacred garment similar to that used by the high priest, and brought in some other idols to add to his collection. He then consecrated one of his sons as his priest.
Smith: “Now Micah in making these images was not making really pagan kinds of images but images, no doubt, that would represent God to him. But in the second commandment God had expressly forbidden making any graven images or likeness of God, to bow down and worship. So he was violating the commandment of God but trying to make an image of God. He was not turning from Jehovah in that sense of making an image of Baal or Molech or one of the pagan gods but he was trying to make an image of God. And then with the teraphim and the ephod, seeking to tie the whole worship of Jehovah together, making a little worship center in his house where he has his own little idols in the house where he goes to pray and goes to worship. Now this was expressly forbidden by God, and yet, having lost the consciousness of God’s presence, he is wanting something to remind him of the presence of God.”
It is noted that there was no king in Israel at that time. We know, however, that they did have a king—the LORD God of Israel. They just did not recognize Him as such.
Then the sad refrain that will be repeated several times—“but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
What Micah did was a perfect example of that truth. The LORD had given Israel a whole set of laws designating the acceptable way to worship and honor Him, the one true God. Micah totally disregarded God’s word and decided that he would do things his own way.
Most of the people in the world today align themselves with Micah. They refuse to believe that there is only one true God that reigns over heaven and earth. They believe that they can choose to worship who they want, when they want, how they want and still expect to be received into heaven or an eternal state of bliss or whatever. They are in for such a shock if they don’t repent of their sins and turn to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior! God has declared that there is only one way to get to enjoy eternal life in His presence—through the gift of salvation that is only available through faith in His Son.
John 3:16–18 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
I am reminded of the words of Solomon.
Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Judges 17:7 ¶ And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
Judges 17:8 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.
Judges 17:9 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.
Judges 17:10 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.
Judges 17:11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.
One day a young man from Bethlehemjudah who was a Levite that lived in the tribal territory of Judah came to mount Ephraim. He ended up at the house of Micah. Micah asked him where he was from, and the young man told him; he added that he was looking for a new place to live. Micah offered to pay him ten shekels of silver a year and provide clothing and food if he would stay with him and serve as his father, his spiritual head, and priest. So the young man agreed. He stayed and became like a son to Micah.
Even though the young man was a Levite, he apparently had no qualms about disregarding God’s law.
Judges 17:12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
Judges 17:13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.
Micah then consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest. (I wonder what became of his son.) Micah thought he had assured himself of God’s blessing since he now had a Levite as his priest. This actually testifies further to the fact that he knew he was acting in disobedience to God’s command.
Micah actually brought to my mind thoughts of people I love who claim to know Jesus as their LORD and Savior, yet think that as long as they are kind and do good things for others and mind their own business, that is honoring God and is enough to expect His blessing. They are deceiving themselves. True faith will give evidence to the work of the Holy Spirit in one’s life. It will evidence a desire to know God’s word and to please Him by what we do and say because we love Him. God’s word tells us that our love is proven through obedience.
John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
Judges 18:1 ¶ In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.
Judges 18:2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.
Again, it is noted that there was no king in Israel—at least they did not recognize their King, the LORD God of Israel.
The people of Dan were not satisfied with the land that had been assigned to them and had not taken possession of it. They decided to send a group of five men to search out the land for a place to call their own. Eventually, they came to the house of Micah in mount Ephraim.
Judges 18:3 When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here?
Judges 18:4 And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest.
Judges 18:5 And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.
Judges 18:6 And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go.
While they were at Micah’s house, they heard the Levite talking and recognized his accent or his voice. This was not a town assigned to the Levites, so they questioned him as to why he was there. The young man explained that he had contracted with Micah to serve as his priest. Upon hearing that, they asked him to seek God as to whether they would prosper in their mission. The young man assured them that they could go in peace because the LORD was with them.
I liked this comment from Guzik: “This shows what a spiritually confused time this was in Israel. These Danites on a sinful mission met with a sinful Levite, and wanted to know from a righteous God if their mission would be successful. Then the sinful Levite sent the sinning men on their way with God’s blessing.”
Judges 18:7 ¶ Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man.
Judges 18:8 And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say ye?
Judges 18:9 And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.
Judges 18:10 When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth.
The five men went on their way and came to Laish, a Zidonian city near the foot of Mount Hermon and the headwaters of the Jordan River. They saw that the people were quite confident and secure and feared no enemy, even though they were quite distant from Sidon and had no designated ruler. They seemed to exist in their own little world separate from all around them. They returned home to give their report, adding that the land was very good. They urged their brethren to go and take possession of the land immediately. They would encounter a people who felt safe and secure in a large land that lacked nothing. They declared that victory was sure because God had given them this land.
Judges 18:11 And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war.
Judges 18:12 And they went up, and pitched in Kirjathjearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this day: behold, it is behind Kirjathjearim.
Judges 18:13 And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah.
An army of about 600 men from the tribe of Dan equipped with weapons headed out to war. They made camp in a place called Kirjathjearim in Judah and named the place of encampment Mahanehdan, “the camp of Dan.” From there they journeyed on to mount Ephraim and once again went to Micah’s house.
Judges 18:14 ¶ Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do.
Judges 18:15 And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him.
Judges 18:16 And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.
The five spies told the people of Dan that Micah had an ephod, teraphim, a graven image and a molten image (sounds like there were two of them, not just one). They then basically said, “You know what to do.”
So they went to the house to greet the Levite, while the 600 troops waited at the gate.
Judges 18:17 And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.
Judges 18:18 And these went into Micah’s house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye?
Judges 18:19 And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?
Judges 18:20 And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.
Judges 18:21 So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them.
The five spies stole Micah’s religious icons, but were confronted by the young priest. They urged him to be quiet and come with them to be their spiritual leader and priest. Wouldn’t he rather serve a whole tribe than just one family in Israel? The priest happily agreed and took possession of Micah’s religious icons. The group continued on their way, putting their children and possessions ahead of them.
I guess they were so confident of victory that they brought their families and everything they owned with them so they wouldn’t have to go back and get them.
Judges 18:22 And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah’s house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.
Judges 18:23 And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?
Judges 18:24 And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee?
Judges 18:25 And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household.
Judges 18:26 And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.
They had gone quite a distance when Micah and a group of his neighbors caught up to them. This seems to indicate that Micah had allowed his neighbors to worship at his personal shrine, and they didn’t want to lose that privilege.
They leaders of Dan turned to confront Micah and asked him why he had come to them with such a crowd of people. Micah basically said, “You stole my gods and my priest and left me with nothing, and then you have the nerve to ask me such a question.”
The leaders of Dan basically told him that he better be quiet and go back home or he and his family might lose their lives as well. Micah knew that he had no chance against such a strong enemy, so he went back home empty-handed.
Judges 18:27 ¶ And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.
Judges 18:28 And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Bethrehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein.
Judges 18:29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first.
The people of Dan continued on to Laish and conquered the city, killing its people and burning the city with fire. There was no one to come to their defense because they were so far away from Sidon and had no close allies. The people of Dan then proceeded to build their own city in place of Laish in the valley near Bethrehob. They called the city Dan, after the father of their tribe.
I believe the only reason God allowed them this victory was because it was His will that they possess the land and the Sidonians driven out.
Joshua 13:1&6 “Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him….All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephothmaim, and all the Sidonians, them will I drive out from before the children of Israel….”
Judges 18:30 And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.
Judges 18:31 And they set them up Micah’s graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
The people of Dan also set up their own place to worship and established Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons to serve as priests. Some translations say “Moses” and not “Manasseh.” The New Bible Commentary offers the following explanation: “The Hebrew text has a small ‘n’ (Heb. nun) inserted in the word ‘Moses’ to change it into ‘Manasseh’, the wicked king of that name (2 Ki. 21). This was done out of respect for Moses, but it is clear what the original reading was.”
So what happened to the Levite? Was this he? If so, it would seem that Moses, a son of Levi, would be correct. This family continued to serve the tribe of Dan until they were taken away into captivity.
It is noted that this was all done during the time that the house of God was in Shiloh. In other words, though there was a place in Israel established and recognized by God as the place from which He was to be worshipped, this tribe was the first tribe to establish their own place of worship in defiance of His will.