- The first thought is that the 1100 shekels are eerily similar to the money that Delilah gained by betraying Samson. Although in her case it was 1100 shekels from each of the 5 rulers of the Philistines
- Eleven hundred shekels is a large amount of money, some commentators have suggested that you could live a lifetime with the money
- So, what is your first impression of Micah from this story
- He is a thief (and not even a petty thief)
- He is superstitious, since he only returns the money in fear of the curse
- He does not pay back the additional 20 percent which the law requires (220 shekels)
- What is the impression of the mother?
- She makes an oath but doesn't keep it
- She makes an idol out of the money in direct violation of God's command
- What is the overriding message of the story so far?
- The ten commandments are completely ignored
- Dishonoring of parents, coveting, stealing; idol worship; and lying
- APPLICATION: The word of God is completely ignored even though there is a resemblance of spirituality
- 2 Tim 3:1-5 (NIV) But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
- Note that the people have "a form of godliness"
- Constable calls these verse the sin of self-styled worship
- He originally installs his son as a Priest but upgrades to a Levite
- The man is obviously well off--the wages he offers are a good wage for that time period
- The Levite's agreement to work with him reveals other issues
- First of all, the Levite is called a priest and therefore probably a descendant of Aaron
- Secondly, he is living in Bethlehem, which is not one of the Levitical cities (so he is in violation of God's law)
- Third, the man has no sense of calling or direction. He is aimlessly looking for work
- Constable calls this the folly of self-determined service
- Micah's reasoning shows what about his thinking?
- Obviously, he does not understand or know the Word
- His religiosity is heavily based on superstition
- He would have been an easy target for the health and wealth gospel since he was looking for the formula to be blessed and not for God
- APPLICATION:
- Are we shiftless?
- Are we aimlessly looking for the place of service that feels right before we commit ourselves?
- How do you find your place of service?
- One, pray
- Two, you serve others biblically
- The Levite was not serving (he just wanted a job)
- The Levite was not following biblical practice
- There is no indication the Levite was praying
- Three, you evaluate your effectiveness and your heart
- This is not the entire tribe of Dan but rather some of the families
- Verse 18:1 is an important reminder, why?
- The people are running amok
- Nothing you read is anything other than a historical accounting of what happens when a people have no spiritual leadership, no knowledge of the word, an attitude of compromise with the world around them, no obedience to truth, and no real desire to know God
- So, knowing that, how do these Danites epitomize the times?
- They are selfish
- They are thieves--what is best for me trumps what is best for you
- They are ignorant of the word
- They have some knowledge because they recognize a Levite
- They lack any real knowledge because they continue the sin of Micah
- They settle things with violence and threats of violence
- The place they choose to live is isolated--they do not have to listen to anyone but can live as they choose
- They use religious terms
- "Possess the land"
- "God's will" from the ephod (wrong ephod)
- "God has given it into your hands"
- The use of spies is similar to the Exodus except these people are a pushover
- They were unable to conquer their land God gave them (all the cities were too big) so they move outside their land
- They murder innocent people
- Micah's attempt to recover the gods he made is pathetic. In the end, what does he say which reveals the problem with idolatry?
- He can't control the things he made
- "What else do I have?" Without his idols, he is left empty. The person whose life is surrounded by idols will feel empty when all the toys are taken away
- The so-called priest, the one he treated as his son, turns against him--showing a lack of integrity
- The real shocker of this whole story is that this Levite is a direct descendant of Moses
- Dan is one of the two places that is used for idol worship in the northern kingdom
- Dan is left off the census of tribes by 2 Chronicles
- Dan is the only tribe that does not produce 12,000 godly witnesses during the tribulation period
- APPLICATION:
- Constable calls this section an example of self-seeking security
- Ignorance of the word, disobedience of the word, in the end destroys a whole tribe
- Idolatry is a subtle sin that leaves us empty. Idolatry is not dead today, it just has new images
Judges 17:1–6 (ESV) — 1 There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim,
whose name was Micah. 2 And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of
silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also
spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother
said, “Blessed be my son by the Lord.” 3 And he restored
the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said, “I dedicate the
silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a metal
image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.” 4 So when he
restored the money to his mother, his mother took 200 pieces of silver and
gave it to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image.
And it was in the house of Micah. 5 And the man Micah
had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his
sons, who became his priest. 6 In those days there was no
king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
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 was to him like one of his sons. 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."
Judges 18:1–2 (ESV) — 1 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in
those days the tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an
inheritance to dwell in, for until then no inheritance among the tribes of
Israel had fallen to them. 2 So the people of Dan sent
five able men from the whole number of their tribe, from Zorah and from
Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, “Go and
explore the land.” And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house
of Micah, and lodged there.
Judges 18:14–19:1a (ESV) — 14 Then the five men who had gone to scout out the
country of Laish said to their brothers, “Do you know that in these houses
there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now
therefore consider what you will do.” 15 And they turned
aside there and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah,
and asked him about his welfare. 16 Now the 600 men
of the Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the
gate. 17 And the five men who had gone to scout out the land
went up and entered and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods,
and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with
the 600 men armed with weapons of war. 18 And when these
went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household
gods, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 And they said to him, “Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and
come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be
priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in
Israel?” 20 And the priest’s heart was glad. He took the ephod
and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people.
21 So they turned and departed, putting the little ones and the
livestock and the goods in front of them. 22 When they
had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses
near Micah’s house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan. 23 And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to
Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?” 24 And he said, “You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go
away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, ‘What is the matter with
you?’ ” 25 And the people of Dan said to him, “Do not let your
voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your
life with the lives of your household.” 26 Then the people
of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him,
he turned and went back to his home.
27 But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who
belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting,
and struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 28 And there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they
had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob.
Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29 And they
named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to
Israel; but the name of the city was Laish at the first. 30 And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and
Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the
tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up Micah’s carved image that he made, as long as the
house of God was at Shiloh.
1 In those days, when there was no king in Israel, …
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