Judges 17:1-6
1 Now 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 hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the Lord.”
3 He then returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “I wholly consecrate the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son to make a carved image and a cast metal image; so now I will return them to you.”
4 So when he returned the silver to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith, who made them into a carved image and a cast metal image, and they were in the house of Micah.
5 And the man Micah had a shrine and he made an ephod and household idols, and consecrated one of his sons, so that he might become his priest.
6 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Micah and His Idol
The mother’s curse
Judges chapter 17 to 21 describe the state of Israel immediately after the death of Joshua. It illustrates how the nation fell into corruption after losing its leader. The following verse best describes the state of Israel at that time: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (v 17:6). Micah was from the hill country of Ephraim. (1) The name Micah means “Who is like the Lord,” but despite his name, his actions are in complete disregard of the Lord. (2) There was a town called Shiloh in the hill country of Ephraim. At that time, the tabernacle was located in Shiloh, but even being close to the tabernacle, Micah was not influenced by it in any positive way. (3) He stole 1,100 pieces of silver from his mother, but when he heard his mother’s curse, he became terrified and returned it. In the context of pagan beliefs, curses were thought to linger over the cursed person. Especially, curses from one’s parents were believed to be most fearful.
Creation of an idol
Series of violations of the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses are committed. (1) While Micah’s mother said that she had consecrated the silver to the Lord, she didn’t take it to the tabernacle in Shiloh as offering. She used it as she saw fit. (2) She took 200 pieces of the silver and made an idol and a cast image with it. She then placed them in Micah’s house. (3) Micah had a shrine in his own house, which was also a violation of the Law. The house of God must be established in the place the Lord designated, which at that time was in Shiloh. (4) He also made an ephod (a priestly garment) and teraphim (household idols) and consecrated one of his sons to become a priest. This was yet another violation of the Law. A nation without a leader is indeed miserable. The Israelites didn’t forsake the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but their faith became Canaanized and entrapped in syncretism. Let’s pray for leaders who will boldly declare God’s will among us at all times. Are you walking in the fear of the Lord each day? Let’s remember that the path to life is narrow and continue to walk according to His Word.
Today's prayer
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the most frightening is compromise and syncretism. Please guide me onto Your narrow path. I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.