Bible Studies
Micah Does What Is Right In His Own Eyes (Judges 17:1-5)
Series: Studies in the Book of JudgesIntroduction:
1. In our study of the Book of Judges we have reached the end of the recounting of the history of specific deliverers. Samson was the last of these. 2. “But I thought Samuel was the last judge before the kings.” Yes Samuel was the last judge before the kings, but Samuel is not mentioned in the Book of Judges and Samuel serves more as a prophet who judges by communicating God’s revelation and not as a military deliverer of the nation. Samson was the last of these military deliverers. 3. The author of the Book of Judges uses Micah as an example of just how far the spiritual condition of Israel has deteriorated. 4. There are many warnings to us in this text about spiritual compromise, about failure in the area of leadership and about self-made religion.Discussion:
I. The account of Micah’s idolatry is a mixture of sensitivity about right behavior and self-made religion.A. The account unfolds with Micah confessing that he has stolen 1100 pieces of silver from his mother.
B. His mother says, “Blessed be my son by the Lord.”
1. It is not entirely clear what she means by this statement.
a. Maybe she means that she is blessed because her son stole it rather than someone else and has now confessed and is willing to restore it.
b. Maybe she means that God has blessed her son with some sensitivity to doing what is right.
2. Whatever it is that she means the moral principle of “thou shalt not steal” is a factor in Micah’s life.
a. Both Micah and his mother are probably giving evidence that they are influenced by the revelation of God.
b. Micah certainly violated the law of God in stealing. He disrespected his mother. He was covetous, which is described in the N.T. as idolatry (Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5).
c. Appropriately he accepted responsibility for his wrong, confessed it and returned what he had stolen.
C. But then the account takes a radically negative turn. Micah’s mother says, “I wholly dedicate the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son to make a graven image and a molten image.” This action is in direct violation of the 2nd commandment.
1. She gave Micah 200 pieces of silver from which a graven and molten image was made. He kept it in his house.
2. Micah had a shrine. He made an ephod (a breastplate like the priests wore) and household idols. He consecrated one of his sons as priest.
3. Where is Micah’s father? Deceased? Perhaps. But there is no evidence of spiritual leadership from his father, only the misdirection of his mother.
4. And notice the intergenerational effect of this misdirection in his son’s appointment as priest.
5. “Well doesn’t Micah have good intentions?” Good intentions or not he is wrong!
D. The author of Judges says, “There was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.” The leadership post was abandoned. They did not follow the Lord as king.
1. God’s people need leaders that abide by His revelation.
2. They need leaders that have more than good intentions. Leaders need to take direction from God and they need to give direction from God.
3. Men no longer led in the way of the Lord. Micah’s mother led in the way of idolatry.
4. Micah did what was right in his own eyes, but the problem was widespread. Every man did what was right in his own eyes.
II. The mixture of things from Scripture and one’s own will continues in the appointment of a Levite as priest (17:7-13).A. A Levite from Bethlehem visits Micah and Micah appeals to him to be his priest.
1. What about his son?
2. Micah promises a salary, a suit of clothes and maintenance to the Levite. “Join my religion and I will pay you well.”
B. Isn’t this the way of self-made religion?
1. Micah has financial power, which gives him some authority, and he uses this power to to establish his religion.
2. He uses his power to influence the Levite.
a. Led on by his own carnality the priest accepts the security provided by Micah.
b. He has abandoned devotion to God and is now bound to Micah.
c. His loyalty is not to the Lord, but to Micah.
C. Micah’s perception is, “Now the Lord will prosper me.” His thinking is, “Now the Lord will bless me because of all the good things I am doing.”
1. But his appointment of the Levite as priest in place of his son confesses that he had done wrong in appointing his son in the first place.
2. Micah was misdirected. He was operating on his own authority, not God’s.
D. And what about this priest?
1. He was supposed to be directing God’s people in God’s way.
2. Why did he not correct Micah?
3. He was compromised by the promise of pay.
4. There was no leader who said, “This is wrong!”
III. The next part of the story illustrates what happens when those more powerful than you come along and operate on the basis of doing what is right in their own eyes. In a might makes right kind of way they take what they want (18:1ff).A. The Danites take Micah’s idols (14-20).
1. They appealed to the carnality of the priest.
2. They said, “Which is better for you to be a priest in the house of one man or to a tribe and a family in Israel?” “Our congregation is bigger than where you are now.”
3. Size doesn’t matter! Serving the Lord does! But the Levite has already abandoned the Lord. He is for sale to the highest bidder.
B. Micah pursued them.
1. The Danites asked him, “What’s the matter with you?”
2. It was obvious. They had stolen his religion.
3. But they were more powerful than Micah and threatened to destroy him. It would have been suicide for him to have done anything.
4. He went back to his house humiliated.
C. The Danites took over Laish and set up Micah’s graven image for themselves there. Yet the house of the Lord was at Shiloh.
Conclusion:
1. Self made religion springs from a lack of leadership.
2. It is a failure to follow the revelation that God has given.
3. Even if there are elements of truth mixed in with it is still false.
4. Such false religion uses power in inappropriate ways. It appeals to our fleshly side.
5. Once we have compromised our loyalty to the Lord no amount of seemingly good intentions will validate our self-made religion. We are only doing what is right in our own eyes.
