Judges 17-18
Dear RTB’ers,
Two chapters today, two independent sets of activities – neither of which is praiseworthy – that come together and leave us wondering where God is in these activities, or more correctly, why the characters in these activities are not seeking the Lord in what they do.
So first, Micah and his mother in Judges 17. Micah steals his mother’s silver, she utters a curse, he returns the silver, and she has the silversmith make two household idols. An itinerant Levite happens along and accepts Micah’s offer of a salary, clothing, and living expenses. Two verses summarize this whole chapter. First, In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (v. 17:6) Here in one sentence we get a sense of how far the Israelites have fallen during the period of the judges. They do as they wish, failing to seek the Lord as they move forward. The second verse is equally condemning, Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.” (v. 17:13) Micah sets up idols and hires a Levite as his priest and claims prosperity as his “reward” for this idolatry.
Then the Danites in Judges 18. The tribe of Dan is allotted an inheritance just west of Judah and south of Ephraim, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, with the Amorites as the original inhabitants of that land and the Philistines composing their southern border. Sadly the Danites are not able to occupy their inheritance. Their alternative to seeking the Lord is to appoint five men as “spies” (similar to the twelve spies in Numbers 13) and 600 warriors and they make a plan to move north. On their way they make a better offer to Micah’s Levite (backed up by their military force) and he becomes their priest, taking along the ephod and the household idols. They then destroy a peaceful people and settle as the most northern tribe in Israel.
So, where is the goodness, the righteousness in these two chapters? Admittedly the Danites ask the Levite to seek the Lord for them and the Levite gives them God’s blessing. (vv. 18:5-6, 10) Beyond that, I don’t find much to cheer about in today’s reading. The peoples’ intentions in these two chapters are well-stated in the verse quoted above: In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Blessings!
See also: March 18 (2023) / Judges 17-18