Judges 17
Big idea: The book stops producing deliverers and starts showing what the country is like without them. A man returns silver he stole from his own mother, she dedicates it to Yahweh and has an idol made with it, and everyone in the story is convinced they are being religious.
The refrain appears here for the first time — in those days there was no king in Israel — and it will frame everything to the end of the book.
17:1–13 — Now I know that Yahweh will do me good
The theft is inside the family and the confession is prompted by a curse: eleven hundred pieces of silver taken from his mother, returned when he hears her curse the thief. Her response is to bless him in Yahweh's name and to dedicate the silver to Yahweh — in order to have a carved image and a molten image made. Two commandments are being broken in an act of piety.
1 There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2 He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred 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.” His mother said, “May Yahweh bless my son!” 3 He restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, then his mother said, “I most certainly dedicate the silver to Yahweh from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a molten image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.” 4 When he restored the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave them to a silversmith, who made a carved image and a molten image out of it. It was in the house of Micah. 5 The man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes. 7 There was a young man out of Bethlehem Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he lived there. 8 The man departed out of the city, out of Bethlehem Judah, to live where he could find a place, and he came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he traveled. 9 Micah said to him, “Where did you come from?” He said to him, “I am a Levite of Bethlehem Judah, and I am looking for a place to live.” 10 Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, a suit of clothing, and your food.” So the Levite went in. 11 The Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons. 12 Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that Yahweh will do good to me, since I have a Levite as my priest.”
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).