Judges Lesson #14 Micah s Idols (17: 1 18: 31)

Transcription

1 Judges Lesson #14 Micah s Idols (17: 1 18: 31) 1

2 Review Ibzan, Elon and Abdon, although very minor judges, lived lavish lives: Ibzan had thirty sons and thirty daughters whom he gave in marriage outside the family, while bringing in thirty wives for his sons from outside the family (12: 9), thus greatly extending his clan and family influence; Abdon, too, had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys (12: 14). The judges had become extremely wealthy, and they wielded considerable influence. But Samson, the last of the 13 judges, was the centerpiece of Lesson #13, and a unique figure among the judges. Samson was just couldn t stay away from the PhilisRne girls! 2

3 José Echenagusia Errazquin. Samson and Delilah (oil on canvas), Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, Basque, Spain. 3

4 Preview We ve been following the cycle of sin, with each cycle spiraling downward. In Lesson #14 we approach rock bo]om. Micah is an Israelite living in the hill country of Ephraim, in the central mountain range, north of Jerusalem. He has a houseful of idols, and he hires a rogue Levite to be his private priest, ministering before his idols. How low can you go? The Danites, who had been allocated land on the coastal plain, deep within PhilisRne territory, are unable to se]le it, so they set out to find a be]er place. Journeying through the central mountain range, they happen upon Micah s house, with his idols and his priest. They see the wealth within, along with the sycophant priest and they remember it. The Danites conrnue north to Laish (on the boarder of Israel and Lebanon of today), where they find a peaceful and unsuspecrng people, a people with few allies. When they return home, they recommend that Dan a]ack Laish, kill all the people in it, and take their land. On the way back to Laish for the a]ack, the Danites stop at Miach s house; hire hire priest, who steals Micah s idols; and the priest accompanies the Danites on their genocidal journey. Can our story sink any lower than that? 4

5 Having worked our way through 13 judges, we ve found that once people are given (or seize) power they are loathe to give it up, for with power comes great wealth and privilege. And with evergreater privilege and wealth comes evergreater corrupron and self-indulgence. Abimelech and Samson, the la]er judges, are a far cry from Deborah and Gideon, the earlier judges. With corrupron and self-indulgence among the judges comes corrupron and self-indulgence in society itself. Leaders lead by their acrons and example and people follow for be]er or for worse. And so, we meet a man named Micah... 5

6 There was a man from the mountain region of Ephraim whose name was Micah. He said to his mother, The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you pronounced a curse and even said it in my hearing I have that silver. I took it. So now I will restore it to you. Then his mother said, May my son be blessed by the Lord! When he restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, she said, I consecrate the silver to the Lord from my own hand on behalf of my son to make an idol overlaid with silver. So when he restored the silver to his mother, she took two hundred pieces and gave them to the silversmith, who made of them an idol overlaid with silver. So it remained in the house of Micah. The man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and teraphim, and installed one of his sons, who became his priest. In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own eyes. (17: 1-6) 6

7 There are so many bad things happening in this story that it s hard to know where to begin! Micah confesses to his mother that he stole 1,100 pieces of silver from her. Micah s mother is overjoyed that her precious boy would confess, and she rewards him, asking the Lord to bless him! Out of grartude, Micah s mother consecrates the 1,100 pieces of silver to the Lord to make an idol overlaid with silver! When Micah returns the 1,100 pieces of silver, his mother gives 200 pieces to the silversmith to make the idol, not the 1,100 she pledged! Micah then makes a shrine for the new idol, and he appoints one of his sons as priest even though his son is not a Levite! 7

8 Holy cow! In a ma]er of 6 verses we see how totally corrupt the Israelites have become! And get this: Micah s mother promises 1,100 pieces of silver, but only gives 200. Remember the story of Ananias and Not Sapphira me. in Acts 5: 1-11? I expect Micah s mother to drop dead at any moment! And norce the refrain: In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own eyes (17: 6). This refrain recurs throughout the rest of Judges. 8

9 There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, from the clan of Judah; he was a Levite residing there. The man set out from the city, Bethlehem of Judah, to take up residence wherever he could find a place. On his journey he came into the mountain region of Ephraim as far as the house of Micah. Where do you come from? Micah asked him. He answered him, I am a Levite, from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to take up residence wherever I can find a place. Stay with me, Micah said to him. 'Be father and priest to me, and I will give you ten silver pieces a year, a set of garments, and your living. He pressed the Levite, and he agreed to stay with the man. The young man became like one of his own sons. Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest, remaining in the house of Micah. Then Micah said, Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, since I have the Levite as my priest. (17: 7-13) 9

10 ç Laish (Tel Dan) HILL COUNTRY OF EPHRAIM ç Bethlehem miles km

11 This young Levite has been living in Bethlehem, within the tribe of Judah, and he sets out to find a be]er place in the hill country of Ephraim. What does that tell us about him? In Numbers 35: 1-8, God commands Moses to establish 48 cires for the Levites, from which they would minister to the Israelites; 6 of those cires would funcron as cires of refuge. Joshua 21 lists the 48 cires. Bethlehem is not among them. So this rogue LeviRcal priest is not funcroning as a priest at all; rather, he is an unemployed opportunist looking for a someone to swindle. And then he meets Micah. Micah is delighted to meet the young Levite, and he offers to hire him as his private priest to minister before his idols. The young Levite is delighted, too, and he snaps up the job. With that, Micah is quite certain that God will prosper him, now that he has his own private priest in residence! 11

12 Winner Micah 12

13 Oh, my! Things are going from bad to worse! You haven t seen anything yet! 13

14 In those days there was no king in Israel. In those days the tribe of the Danites were in search of a heritage to dwell in, for up to that time no heritage had been allotted to them among the tribes of Israel. So the Danites sent from their clans five powerful men of Zorah and Eshtaol, to reconnoiter the land and scout it. Go, scout the land, they were told. They went into the mountain region of Ephraim, and they spent the night there. While they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite, so they turned aside. They asked him, Who brought you here? What are you doing here? What is your interest here? This is what Micah has done for me, he replied to them. He has hired me and I have become his priest. They said to him, Consult God, that we may know whether the journey we are making will lead to success. The priest said to them, Go in peace! The journey you are making is under the eye of the Lord. (18: 1-6) 14

15 This secron starts off by paraphrasing the refrain from 17: 6 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Although the refrain may foreshadow be]er days to come under the future king David, the primary reference here is to God as king (as Gideon said: I will not rule over you... the Lord must rule over you, 8: 23). In these la]er days of the judges, the people no longer recognized God as their king or anyone else, for that ma]er. Then, we re told that no heritage had been alloned to [the Danites] among the tribes of Israel (18: 1), which is simply not true: 15

16 Land allocated to the tribe of Dan in Joshua 19: 40-48, right in the midst of PhilisRne territory. 16

17 Unable to wrest territory from the PhilisRnes, the Danites choose five men to scout out the land, looking for a soqer target. As they travel north through the hill country of Ephraim, they approach Micah s home, and they hear the young Levite intoning a liturgy in front of Micah s idols. Curious, the five men stop to invesrgate, and they ask the young Levite: Who are you, and what are you doing here? The Levite replies shrewdly, and he tells them how he has swindled Micah, boasrng that Micah has hired him as his private priest... for room, board and ten silver pieces a year (17: 10). The five men then ask the Levite to consult God about their journey, and the Levite cunningly assures them they will be successful. 17

18 Let me get this straight: the Danites reject the land God has given them, and they send scouts to target a peaceful, unsuspecrng people to murder and steal their land. The scouts meet the crooked priest, who brags about bilking Micah, and he encourages the scouts on their mission, laying the groundwork for curng himself a be]er deal with them. That s about it! 18

19 19

20 So the five men went on and came to Laish. They saw the people there living securely after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and trusting, with no lack of any natural resource. They were distant from the Sidonians and had no dealings with the Arameans. When the five returned to their kin in Zorah and Eshtaol, they were asked, What do you have to report? They replied, Come, let us attack them, for we have seen the land and it is very good. Are you going to hesitate? Do not be slow to go in and take possession of the land! When you go you will come to a trusting people. The land stretches out in both directions, and God has indeed given it into your power a place where no natural resource is lacking. (18: 7-10) 20

21 ç Laish (Tel Dan) Dan HILL COUNTRY OF EPHRAIM ç Bethlehem miles km

22 ç Laish (later, Dan) Sea of Galilee miles km

23 The city gates of Dan (formerly Laish). Photography by Ana Maria Vargas 23

24 Hiking through Dan, now a NaRonal Park in Israel. Photography by Ana Maria Vargas 24

25 The Dan River is one of three major run-off streams from Mt. Hermon, providing fresh, abundant water for Laish (later, Dan). Photography by Ana Maria Vargas 25

26 Dan is a veritable Garden of Eden! Photography by Ana Maria Vargas 26

27 BeauRful! Photography by Ana Maria Vargas 27

28 So six hundred of the clan of the Danites, men armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. They marched up into Judah and encamped near Kiriathjearim... From there they passed on into the mountain region of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah. Then the five men who had gone to reconnoiter the land spoke up and said to their kindred, Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, teraphim, and an idol overlaid with silver? Now decide what you must do! So turning in that direction, they went to the house of the young Levite at the home of Micah and greeted him. The six hundred Danites stationed themselves at the entrance of the gate armed with weapons of war... 28

29 ... The five men who had gone to reconnoiter the land went up and entered the house of Micah with the priest standing there. They took the idol, the ephod, the teraphim and the metal image. When the priest said to them, What are you doing? they said to him, Be still! Put your hand over your mouth! Come with us and be our father and priest. Is it better for you to be priest for the family of one man or to be priest for a tribe and a clan in Israel? The priest, agreeing, took the ephod, the teraphim, and the idol, and went along with the troops. (18: 11-20) 29

30 Wow! So 600 armed men learn that Micah is a wealthy man: remember Micah stole 1,100 pieces of silver from his mother, 100x what he paid the crooked priest as an annual salary. So, seeing his opportunity, the slimy li]le Levite joins the band of marauders, and he steals Micah s idols. I bet he stole the silverware and candlesrcks, too! 30

31 When the Danites had gone some distance from the house of Micah, Micah and the men in the houses nearby mustered and overtook them. They called to the Danites, who turned and said to Micah, What do you want that you have called this muster? You have taken my god, which I made for myself, and you have gone off with my priest as well, he answered. What is left for me? How, then, can you ask me, What do you want? The Danites said to him, Do not let your voice be heard near us, or aggravated men will attack you, and you will have forfeited your life and the lives of your family! Then the Danites went on their way, and Micah, seeing that they were too strong for him, turned back and went home. (18: 22-26) 31

32 The Danites arrive at Micah s house! 32

33 Having taken what Micah had made and his priest, they marched against Laish, a quiet and trusting people; they put them to the sword and destroyed the city by fire. No one came to their aid, since the city was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with the Arameans; the city was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. The Danites then rebuilt the city and occupied it. They named it Dan after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel. But Laish was the name of the city formerly. The Danites set up the idol for themselves, and Jonathan, son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his descendants were priests for the tribe of the Danites until the time the land went into captivity. They maintained the idol Micah had made as long as the house of God was in Shiloh. (18: 27-31) 33

34 Well, the Israelites have sunk to a new low! The Danites reject the land God gave them; they rob Micah; the crooked priest joins them, stealing Micah s idols; the Danites murder and plunder the peaceful people of Laish; they worship Micah s idols; and Moses grandson and his family serve as priests for the corrupt Danites. And it will only get worse! 34

35 Aieeee! 35

36 QuesRons for discussion and thought 1. Why does Micah steal 1,100 pieces of silver from his mother? 2. How does his mother react what she finds out? 3. How would you characterize the LeviRcal priest from Bethlehem? 4. How would you characterize the Danites? 5. How does the story of Micah and his idols funcron in the overall narrarve trajectory of Judges? 36

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