Judges 17 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Jud 17:1-13

1 Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim 2 said to his mother, ‘The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse – I have that silver with me; I took it.’

Then his mother said, ‘The Lord bless you, my son!’

3 When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, ‘I solemnly consecrate my silver to the Lord for my son to make an image overlaid with silver. I will give it back to you.’

4 So after he returned the silver to his mother, she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who used them to make the idol. And it was put in Micah’s house.

5 Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household gods and installed one of his sons as his priest. 6 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.

7 A young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who had been living within the clan of Judah, 8 left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.

9 Micah asked him, ‘Where are you from?’

‘I’m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,’ he said, ‘and I’m looking for a place to stay.’

10 Then Micah said to him, ‘Live with me and be my father and priest, and I’ll give you ten shekels of silver a year, your clothes and your food.’ 11 So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12 Then Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. 13 And Micah said, ‘Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest.’ priest and lived in his house.

A. Find Out:    

1. What did Micah confess and to whom? v.1,2
2. What did she do with the silver? v.3,4
3. What did Micah do? v.5,6
4. Who was looking for a home? v.7-9
5. So what did Micah do with him? v.10-13

B. Think:

1. What signs are there in this chapter of devotion to God?
2. What signs are there of superstition?
3. How would you therefore describe this situation?

C. Comment:

  A dictionary defines ‘syncretism’ as an attempt to reconcile different systems of belief. That is what we now find here in this chapter, which moves from showing us the judges to ruled, to practices that prevailed. It shows us a family situation where there is a middle-aged man, Micah (who has at least one grown up son), and who appears to have his mother still living in the home. He had stolen her savings and she had cursed the thief. Fearful of the curse he returned the money and she, in gratefulness of the return, had the silver turned into a statute(s) that became the focus of their worship.

  The story shows us the spiritual nature of these people, still wanting to worship, and their references are continually towards the Lord (v.3,13). They are aware of the low spiritual state of the nation and try to create their own mini-spiritual-provision. Micah wants a focus of his religion and so creates a shrine, puts the images in it and appoints one of his sons to act as a priest for them. When a travelling Levite comes back he buys him into his service, because the Levites were the tribe that served in the tabernacle. We thus have a blend of worship of God moulded together with superstitious idol worship – a messy religion far from that which God had ordained through Moses- yet it does show the spiritual desires within these people, misguided as they were! That indicates the general state of the Land at that time.

D. Application:

1. We cannot make up our own religion. The Lord decrees the way.
2. Self-centred religion is in fact godless.