Judges 17:1-13 Micah and the Levite
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Judges 17:1-13
Micah and the Levite
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Summary of passage
We have here in this passage two “free agents”: Micah and the Levite (we will also address Micah’s mother). Each of them wants to be free, to do what he wants, when he wants, and where he wants—And he doesn’t want to have to answer to God for it.
As such they are a case study of Israel at the time—of an Israel that had no kings; of an Israel that, left to itself, falls into blatant idolatry and perversion of their relationship with the one true God.
This story also serves as a cautionary tale for the readers, as we too are prone to do what is right in our own eyes, and as a reminder that life and freedom comes not through radical independence, but ultimately through submission to the one true King, Jesus Christ.
Original Context & Exegesis
Passage Boundaries
I. Boundaries
A. Setting.
1. This episode begins the third section of the book of Judges. It is the first of the narratives after the last judge, Samson, and deals with a new character, Micah. Judges 16:31 clearly ends Samson’s narrative with the closing phrase, “he had led Israel twenty years.”
2. The location switches from Samson’s burial place (between Zorah and Eshtaol), to the hill country of Ephraim.
B. Syntax.
1. 17:1 begins with a waw consecutive plus imperfect of haya.
2. 18:1 begins a new section after Micah’s direct discourse ends.
II. Unity
A. 17:1-13 introduces Micah, and introduces the silver. By the end, the silver has become an idol, with a priest installed.
III. Meaning
A. This passage introduces Micah, his idol, and the Levite from Bethlehem.
B. It is a case study of just how depraved Israel has become, with neither a king nor a judge to lead the people.
C. It ends with an implicit question: “Will YHWH actually be good to him? When will YHWH smite him for his great sin?!”
Exegesis of passage
Clearly Micah is older than the Levite (though he is first described as talking to his mother). Micah has multiple sons. Curiously, he asks the Levite to be like a father to him: (v. 10), yet v.11 reports that the young Levite became like one of his sons to him.
1-2
The reader is immediately told Micah’s name and where he is from. Micah’s confesses the stolen 1100 shekels of silver to his mother. His mother absolves him and blesses him instead of cursing him.
But is this really repentance? No! He doesn’t ask for forgiveness, he doesn’t confess that he has broken the covenant, and 2 of the 10 Commandments! (We see that after breaking the 5th and 8th commandments by stealing from his own mother (hardly honoring her!), he goes on to break the 1st and 2nd commandments, against worshiping other gods and fashioning images of other gods.
Micah is immediately characterized as someone who is not to be trusted. The very first thing we learn of him is that he has stolen an astronomical amount of money from his own mother. This amount of money may lead us to believe that he is a rich and spoiled ne’er-do-well. Returning the money does not seem to be motivated by remorse, but by fear of his mother’s curse.
Micah is not only guilty of grievous sin, but has been cursed (v.2). This curse is not wiped out by his mother's blessing, but will come true in the eventual crashing down of his private shrine.
3-4
Micah's mother is an interesting study: She consecrates (seemingly all) the silver to Yahweh, and yet she gives only 200 of the 1100—and this to make a graven & cast idol! What happens to the other 900 shekels? Why does she speak so devoutly, yet decide to make an idol when this is against Yahweh’s most basic commandments? She seems to be a Yahwistic syncretist. She sends very mixed messages. Not to mention that she has a stealing, idolatrous son like Micah.
5
Micah sets up the idol as a shrine and installs his son as priest.
6
The verse appears regularly throughout Judges, and has been called the "Judges Macro-Textual Marker." This verse anchors the entire narrative to the rest of the book of Judges. Placed in the middle of the narrative, this verse also holds the story together, explaining both the preceding and the following events.
7-8
Introduction of the sojourning young Levite. Unlike Micah, the name of the Levite is withheld, though we are told where he is from. He leaves Bethlehem and in his travels ends up at Micah’s house. The Levite does not have a name, so apart from the usual deductions based on family, we must base the characterization on other information. He could be seen as a mysterious drifter, up to no good. First of all, he is a Levite who has been sojourning in Bethlehem. This is not one of the prescribed Levitical cities, nor is it prescribed for Levites to set out as free agents to wherever they might “find a place” to render their services.
9-11
Micah offers to hire him as a private priest. The Levite accepts and Micah installs him. Curiously, Micah invites the young Levite to be “a father” to him (v.10), and then we read that he is “like a son” to Micah (v.11). Perhaps the repeated references to the Levite as a young man, along with Micah’s request that he be a father to him, underscore the irony that this young Levite rebel is wholly unqualified for even this disobedient line of employment.
12-13
Micah declares Yahweh will bless him, because he has a Levite as priest. Surely it is tragic irony for Micah to say he “knows” Yahweh will bless him, and it is comic irony that Micah thinks having a Levite staff his private, idolatrous shrine will make the difference. Is Micah evil, stupid, or both, to think that Yahweh will bless him for having a Levite at his private shrine? Micah’s untroubled confidence in Yahweh’s blessing points to the inevitable destruction of his idolatry. Surely Yahweh will NOT bless him, but give him the justice that he is due for his idolatry.
Literary Features
The genre is narrative.
Imagery and Extended Metaphor: The locations of these two primary characters are not without consequence. Both characters represent larger groups of people. Micah represents all of Ephraim or perhaps all the northern tribes; the Levite is a representative of all the Levites and the decline of cultic worship of Yahweh at this time. Both characters also represent disobedience, a disobedience that is at first packaged in a nice, religious exterior, and moves to greater and more flagrant displays of idolatry. The fact that he was sojourning in Bethlehem, of all places, should not be forgotten either.
The theme of cultic decline (and resulting moral decline) unites this narrative of the immoral man who made an idol and the priest who sold--prostituted--himself to idolatry.
The silver may represent all the blessings lavished on Israel by Yahweh; the small percentage given back represents Israel’s grudging return, and then its application as an idol captures Israel’s idolatrous tendencies perfectly: Just like Micah, Israel takes its blessings from Yahweh and uses them for idolatry.
Connections to the rest of book
The passage serves the rest of Judges as another example of king-less, judge-less Israel and the accompanying covenant-breaking idolatry and immorality. Though Israel talks Yahwistically, their hearts are far from him. It points to the rampant idolatry which characterizes the northern tribes, and of the failure of the Levites to perform their duties properly.
The passage introduces Micah and the Levite (identified in Judges 18:30 as Jonathan), and sets the stage for the Danites’ evil rebellion in ch. 18. Because of the evil, it implicitly argues for a monarchy which will restrain idolatry. As a case-study it also argues for proper cultic worship, and in doing so argues for the centralization of worship, where no one can set up his own shrine.
Connections to the rest of Scripture
Micah's name has some ironic value to it. In its initial form (vv.1,4), it literally means “Who is like our God?” a good name for a God-fearer to have. This is a question that Scripture asks many times, and answers the same way: “NOBODY!” You remember the prophet Micah—with him its an appropriate name; with this Micah, its ironic.
Let’s look at a few of the more memorable answers to this question, “Who is like our God?”: • The Psalms repeatedly testify to the power, holiness and work that is unique to Yahweh:
Psalm 71:19 Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, you who have done great things. who, O God, is like you?
Psalm 89:8 O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.
• Moses’ famous speech to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 4:32-40 reminds us that not only is God unique, but so is His relationship with His people, specifically in his redemptive work in the Exodus and the Conquest of the Promised Land. Moses repeatedly asks if any other nation has ever experienced what Israel experienced, if any other "god" has ever done what YHWH did. The answer is a resounding "No!"
• Time and time again, we see Israel’s leaders referring to their unique God’s saving work on behalf of his unique, chosen people. We see this in David’s words, in 2 Samuel 7:22-24 "How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel--the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God. (2 Samuel 7:22-24; cf. 1Chron 17:20-22)
• We also see it in Isaiah’s words in Isaiah 46:9 (which paraphrase Moses’ words in Deut. 4):
Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.
Jesus Christ: The Redemptive-Historical Context
The repeated question throughout Scripture of "Who is like YHWH?" is a clue to how this passage connects to Jesus Christ. As we look at Micah's conduct, we see him committing the first sin, that of putting ourselves in God’s place, trying to "be like him" in the sense of usurping him.
In Genesis 3, what did the serpent tempt Eve with? He said, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Of course, Adam and Eve DIDN’T become just like God after eating it—in fact, the consequences were only a greater separation from God, and death! Yet humans keep putting ourselves in God’s place, and fashioning the god WE want.
In a sense, Micah answers the question posed by his own name with the damning answer, "I am."
Christ the King
During this period before Israel had a king, godly people were very aware that a king was not automatically the answer to disobedience. The problem goes much deeper, to the human heart. The human heart is more than willing to exchange the glory of God for a cheap trinket. As Calvin said, the human heart is an idol factory! Oh, the king might be obedient, but he would also disobey, and lead others into that disobedience.
That’s why Moses, in anticipating the Israelites’ desire for a king, laid down some ground rules, in Deut. 17:14-18:2. Moses knew the peril involved in choosing a king. So he wanted them to select a king who would be God’s choice, not the people’s. The king should not accumulate a great deal of anything. He must be dependent on God. He must follow God’s law. He must be humble, not considering himself better than others. In short, he should not do anything that would make him appear god-like.
There is nothing extraordinary about these mandates—they are to be expected of any true follower of Yahweh. The King was to typify this humility and dependence on God. He was to lead the nation in love-filled keeping of the covenant which God had made with them. He was to do what was right in God’s eyes, not his own. This is as true for a king as for “Joe Sixpack.”
The history of Israel's monarchy is filled with many more negative examples that positive ones. They got kings who did right in their own eyes. They got many kings who could care less about what the eyes of the LORD were seeing. They got human kings who made them forget their heavenly king, proving once again that the real need is for a righteous King, one who would transform the heart. The only King who could do that is Jesus Christ.
Christ the Priest
The Levite came from Bethlehem. But there was another man who came from Bethlehem. Jesus Christ came NOT to be a free agent, but to do his father’s will. He came to submit. He came not to seek his own profit, nor to sell himself to the highest bidder. He came to suffer, to serve, to seek and to save what was lost. He actually gave up everything to do this. Though he was God, he humbled himself and submitted himself to the Father, on our behalf. You see, the Levite—and us—want to be free agents. We say “I’ll go where I want to go.” But Christ says, “I will go and serve and intercede and suffer wherever God asks me to.” We say, “I’ll worship God on my terms, when it’s convenient and when it’s to my advantage.” Jesus says, “I will only worship God in the way he prescribes, even if that means I must suffer.” We say, “My will be done.” Jesus said, “Not my will, but YOUR will be done!”
Current Context
If we have this king, King Jesus, how can we then do what is right in our own eyes? We too are without excuse. We too have his Word, his promises, his church and the worship of him. Through these, we come under the reign of our King. It’s easy for us to neglect these things that act as restraining influences on our idol-making hearts, just as Micah did. We need these things, because without them, we are up to our ears in our own rebellion. Without them, we are a people without a King. We do right in our own eyes, not the eyes of the LORD.
In the end, we’d rather have our own religion, our own rules, our own system. Really, all three characters like to have some sort of religion, but strictly on their terms. Look at Micah—he has a priest on the payroll, and he knows that if he’s paying the bills for this guy, he also has a certain amount of say into what the priest will do and preach. What do you think happens to the priest if he says something Micah doesn’t like? We love to do the same thing. We love to have some form of God, but on our own terms.
Like Micah, and like the Levite, we are a people bent on doing what is right in our own eyes. We are determined to be the little kings of our worlds. Like Israel’s kings, whose reign ended in captivity, so will our determined rebellion only end in futility. We must "repent and believe the Gospel" (Mark 1:15). We repent of our sinful rebellion and idolatry, and look to Christ. We repent of building our counterfeit throne, but Christ gave up his legitimate claim to the throne, and now He reigns. Therefore, let us give up our claim to the throne as well, and let the only Good King rule our lives!
We repent of wanting to be free agents, able to do whatever we want. But Christ wholly submitted himself to the Father’s will, suffering even to death—and now he is resurrected and reigning in glory! So instead of being free agents, let us be under God—and only then, be truly free!
We repent of wanting people to respect, esteem and even worship us. But the sinless Savior humbled himself, and was despised and rejected by men. But now he is vindicated, glorified and adored! Therefore, let us discard our religious veneer, and admit our true condition so that we can know the true glory of God’s grace at work inside us!
As we repent and believe the Gospel, because of Christ’s work, we can actually become like God—though in a way our sinful hearts never imagined. God is actually working into us a “family resemblance,” where we become like our Savior and our King.
Links/References/Bibliography
Representative sermons on the passage
Examples and Illustrations
Have you ever seen “Jefferson’s Bible?” This is a Bible that Thomas Jefferson took, and with his scissors and paste made a new Bible with all the parts he liked, and none of the parts he didn’t like. None of that pesky supernatural stuff. None of that stuff that talks about how needy we sinful humans are. None of that stuff about being accountable to God. Talk about doing what seems right in your own eyes! We may not take our scissors to our Bibles, literally, but maybe mentally. We love to do what’s right in our own eyes.
Commentaries on this book
Block, Daniel. Judges. New American Commentary, Vol. 6. New York: Brandon and Holman, 1999.
Boling, Robert G. Judges. Anchor Bible. New York: Doubleday, 1975.
Cundall, Arthur E. Judges—Ruth. Tyndale. Chicago: InterVarsity Press, 1968.
Moore, George Foot. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Judges. International Critical Commentary. New York: Scribner, 1900.
Ryken, Leland, James C. Wilhoit & Tremper Longman III. Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1998.
Articles on this book or passage
Groves, J. Alan. Notes on Judges: Introduction in New Geneva Study Bible. Nashville: Nelson, 1995.
Citations
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