Judges chapters 17 through 21 (the end of the book) are usually called "appendices" by biblical scholars, and there is good reason for this because these chapters do not deal with any of the Judges. Rather, there is some good general information in these chapters which is meant to add to our overall understanding of the era of the Judges.
As often happens in the Bible, these final chapters are not in chronological order. So even though Samson was the next to last Judge (Samuel being the final Judge although he was more of a transitory figure ushering Israel from the time of the Judges into the era of the Kings), what we read does not come after Samson. In fact, because of the last several chapters' subject matter (the tribe of Dan), this occurred at least 200 years BEFORE Samson. Generally speaking, most Jewish scholars and a fairly broad majority of Christian scholars put these events during the time of the FIRST Judge of Israel, Othniel.
As an aside, the Bible is often not concerned with chronological order. The Hebrews were less concerned with time and more concerned about presenting a story based on the order things happened. The ancient Hebrews had a greater concern to present a story based on connecting the major elements of the story, even if it took place in different eras. Thus, since Samson was from the tribe of Dan, these so-called appendices deal with the tribe of Dan, the history of the tribe of Dan, and how they had fallen so far away from the LORD. It also discusses what happened when the tribe of Dan abandoned their territorial allotment to move north to live in an area with few enemies.
Lastly, these chapters affirm something I spoke about in our very first lesson about the Book of Judges; that is the entire purpose and tone of the period of the Judges is to demonstrate that Israel (and all mankind in general) needed a king. This generally flies in the face of the most mainstream Christian commentators who say the opposite--they believe the Book of Judges demonstrates God did not want Israel to have a king, with the idea being God wanted to be their king. Thereby, for Israel to want an earthly king was sinful.
Yet, the very words of this book, the pattern God lays down from Genesis to Revelation shows mankind (and perhaps all beings, physical and spiritual) must have a king to guide them. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus is called a king and a king forever which fulfills Old Testament prophecy. These prophecies continue to demonstrate that God wants man to have a king. The issue is which king, not whether there should be one.
We will find several places in the appendices the words, "At that time there was no king in Israel." These words are usually further amended with the words, "thus every man did what was right in his own eyes." In other words, one caused the other. The lack of a king led to each man choosing his own way. Israel's refusal to have a king caused a kind of spiritual anarchy to develop within the tribes. The reason the last few chapters are placed at the end of the book of Judges (instead of at the beginning where they would be in chronological order) is to focus on the decay inherent throughout Israel, and especially in the tribe of Dan. The entire premise for what goes on in the book of Judges and the deteriorating condition of the tribes of Israel can be summed up in the words, "At that time there was no king in Israel and every man did what was right in his own eyes."
Israel needed a king, and Israel is going to have a king (as will all mankind) in the form of Jesus for all eternity. And although Jesus is God, he also bore the form of a human. Thus, Jesus will be our ultimate earthly (and heavenly) king.
A. Micah makes a shrine for idols
1. (Judges 17:1-2) He returns a large amount of stolen silver to his mother
Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. He said to his mother, "The eleven hundred pieces of silver which were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it." And his mother said, "Blessed be my son by the LORD."
Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim: Verse one begins with a man named Mikhayahu in the area of the hills of Ephraim. We are given no other details of his exact location than this. It seems as though this man's given name at birth was Mikhayahu, which means "who is like God". This is a very honorable name; it imbues the hope of a great destiny. Interestingly, we will see that the name Mikhayahu is shortened in the following verses to Micah. Micah is NOT short for Mikhayahu nor is it a nickname. Micah simply means, "who is like" (the reference to God is dropped).
He said to his mother: The story begins with a startling admission from Micah. He stole from his own mother 1100 pieces of silver. He now wants to give it back. A question which should pop into our minds is this: why does Micah have this sudden bout of conscience? The reason is he overheard his mother speaking a curse on the thief. The Rabbis said it was no accident Micah's mother spoke this curse within his hearing because she knew her son was the thief. By Micah overhearing the curse, she hoped this would be an incentive for him to return the stolen funds.
And his mother said, "Blessed be my son by the LORD": Immediately, when the son confessed and offers to give back the silver, his mother blesses him. In biblical times, a curse was taken very seriously. We can call them superstitious, but to the people of that day, it was understood that being the subject of a properly worded curse from anyone put you under the darkest of dark clouds. In ancient times, a curse was not a mere sound on the lips, but it was an agent sent forth. It was an active agent which hurt people.
People went to great lengths to appease the issuer of a curse if they were fortunate enough to learn that such a curse had befallen them. Further, the curse of a parent was considered the most potent kind, second only to a curse issued by God. So by the mother making sure her son overheard the curse (rather than doing it privately as was the usual way to do it), it offered the son the possibility of a way out.
The son admits his crime to his mother, returns the ill-gotten gains and his mother responds by neutralizing her curse upon him with a blessing. All parties are relieved. But Micah's questionable character is now revealed to us. His honorable name Mikhayahu is removed, and he becomes merely Micah from here onward.
Eleven: The number eleven will be seen throughout the next several chapters. We saw it in chapter 16 in regards to Delilah and Samson. (Delilah was offered 1100 pieces of silver from each of the Philistine leaders if she could find out where Samson's great strength lie (Judges 16:5).)
Eleven often is represented as a symbol of imperfection, judgment and disorder. Eleven may symbolize a lack of organization and chaos. Sometimes it is even considered to be a symbol of sin and evil which exists among people. We can see all these themes are present in these chapters.
2. (Judges 17:3-4) Micah's mother directs that some of the money be used to make an image to be used in worship
He then returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, "I wholly dedicate the silver from my hand to the LORD for my son to make a graven image and a molten image; now therefore, I will returned them to you." So when he returned the silver to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith who made them into a graven image and a molten image, and they were in the house of Micah.
His mother said, "I will wholly dedicate the silver from my hand to the LORD": After Micah returns the money, his mother promises she is going to dedicate the 1100 pieces of silver to the LORD. Micah's mother is going to make a graven image and a molten image for her son. But, then Micah's mom turns around and gives less than 20% of that dedicated money to a silversmith in order for Micah to have an idol for the household. It is presumed the mother kept the other 900 pieces of silver for herself.
As we read these verses, we must keep in mind the time frame. This perverted thing has been repeatedly done over and over again in the tribes of Israel. This was not long after Joshua's death. Joshua's divine leadership ended with his death. The mother does what so many of us are even guilty of today: we wholly dedicate something to the LORD and then we give God only a fraction of the promised dedication. Micah's mother uses the money to make a Torah-forbidden image of God. And even that is selfish because she will use it only in her household. Nothing is actually given to God.
Brief Summary
There are three observations that we gained from the first four verses of Judges 17, which gives us insight into the spiritual climate of the times. First, you see how quickly religious and cultural syncretism overtook the tribes of Israel. Undoubtedly it was uneven. Some tribes easily abandoned the Torah of Moses while others made more of an effort to adhere to it. But all 12 tribes (and Levi) were heavily influenced by the many Canaanites who remained in the Promised Land. The Hebrews' propensity was to make allies and friends of them rather than driving them out or eradicating them (per God's instructions).
The syncretism seen here is one of mixing religious beliefs, in this case the God of Israel with the Canaanite Babylon Mystery Religions. It is amazing how quickly this happens, and how equally quickly a society adopts new ways and forgets where it came from. Invariably, there is a reason for this; it does not happen on its own. It can be for economic reasons, a desire to end conflict and have peace, or simply because the new ways look more attractive to the newest generation than the older ways practiced by their parents. It is natural to mix or dilute our religious beliefs with whatever seems expedient and popular. After a short time, this new platform of beliefs and behaviors becomes the standard and few even question it.
The second observation regarding the story of Micah is it is an example of the general condition of Israel in that era in that the Law of Moses was being violated on a regular basis. We can easily identify a number of direct trespasses against God in this story. Micah stole money from his mother, in doing so he failed to honor his parents, an image of God was made, etc.
The third observation is that Micah's mother showed the same ambivalence as her son towards God's commandments. She first vowed to donate the recovered 1100 pieces of silver to God, but instead, she kept the bulk of the money for herself. She used less than 20% of it to honor God, but even that was used in a perverted way by giving 200 pieces of silver to a silversmith to create a silver image of God. This idol would then be placed in an unauthorized manner by bowing down to it as an object of worship. It was placed in an unauthorized sanctuary which was serviced by one of Micah's sons whom he appointed as priest.
3. (Judges 17:5) Micah establishes an elaborate worship
And the man Micah had a shrine and he made an ephod and household idols and consecrates one of his sons, that he might become his priest.
And the man Micah had a shrine: It seems Micah owned a "house of God" or in Hebrew beit-elohim. In other words, Micah's family had set apart an area of their house, or perhaps built a small sanctuary, where they could perform their own rituals and observations. The molten image of silver would have been the centerpiece. The image was in honor of God, the God of Israel. Even more, Micah had a priestly ephod (an apron worn by the Levitical high priests) manufactured to be used in the services and consecrated one of his ons to be the priest who officiated the services.
This is a horrible perversion of the Torah, which God gave his own people. This was no more than a few decades after Joshua's death. But were Micah, his mother and his household doing this for the purpose of committing evil? Did they go into this endeavor, thinking, "Let's go against God!" Were they wicked? Of course not. They thought they were being righteous. Their intention was to be seen by God and man as an especially pious people.
They had knowledge of the Torah of Moses because they created the ephod (a garment mentioned in the book of Leviticus to be worn by the high priest), and they dedicated everything to God by name. But what they did is what seems God's people like to do: they took parts of the Word of God and followed them, while ignoring the rest of the Scripture.
Christianity is guilty of this as were Micah and his mother. We have a tendency to only "listen" to Scripture which tickles our ears and ignore those words which seem harsh. Many in Christianity distort the words of the Bible by adding to them or subtracting from them. Many believe we only need to ask God for forgiveness and we neglect to forgive our neighbor. This goes against Jesus' words which state, "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14-15). It is hard and can be energy demanding and painful to forgiven others. So, many Christians will skip forgiving others and simply ask God for forgiveness. If we read this passage, we will find out if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us. This is quite unsavory to most folks; hence they will subtract these words from their lives.
How could something so clear, right from the mouth of Our Savior, be ignored? Because we prefer to do things our own way.
Judaism has also fallen into this same fault. Orthodox Judaism has established the principle that Rabbis are the ultimate religious authority for them. They have the right to add, change or subtract from the Torah as they see fit. This directly contradicts Scripture: "You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you" (Deuteronomy 4:2). "Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy 12:32).
(This same command is given in the Book of Revelation: "I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which was written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, Godf will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book" (Revelation 22:18-19).)
We are commanded not to add and not to subtract from the commands of God, but it has been done regularly over the centuries with disastrous results.
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