Judges Chapter 17 Part Two (Verses 6-13)

B. Micah hires an unscrupulous Levite

1. (Judges 17:6-8) An opportunistic Levite looking for employment
In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes. Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levitie; and he was staying there. Then the man departed from the city, from Bethlehem in Judah, to stay wherever he might find a place; and as he made his journey, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. 

In those days there was no king in Israel: These classic words signal to us the need Israel has for a king. As we see these words repeated throughout chapters 17 through 21, please be mindful of the words which immediately follow: Now there was a young man from Bethlehem. The text talks about a king and in the next phrase Bethlehem is mentioned. King David, a man after God's own heart, was from Bethlehem. Jesus, the ultimate king, was born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem is the city prophesized where the Messiah was arise from: "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity" (Micah 5:2).

Things were back to normal at Micah's house. His mother lifted the curse against her son, and their home sanctuary was operating with the new silver image of God at its center. 

Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah: A traveler shows up at Micah's house. He is a young man from the territory of Judah, but he is a Levite. While there may be some small doubts, it is very likely this man was a full Levite. He was probably only sojourning in Bethlehem in the territory of Judah. he was probably living with a family of Judahites.

He know from Scripture, the tribe of Levite was given 48 cities evenly distributed across the 12 territories as a place for them to live and carry out religious duties. However, Bethlehem was NOT one of those cities. The extended reference to the city as Bethlehem of Judah is necessary because there were several Bethlehem's scattered around the Promised land. This is the one we are most familiar with--the birthplace of David and Jesus.

Then the man departed from the city: This young Levite was but a temporary resident of Bethlehem. This indicates the sad state of the priestly tribe at this time. They were not being supported by the 12 tribes as they should have been and many of them left their designated cities and sought to make a living elsewhere. But the Levites were equally at fault because they were filled with apostasy and self-interest which trumped their calling and duty to serve on the God of Israel. While it cannot be stated with absolute certainty, there is really only one compelling reason for this one Levite to leave Bethlehem: this young man could not practice an idolatrous form of religion there, and he sought for a place where he could. Judah was perhaps the one territory and tribe who at least gave a concerted effort to stay near to the ways of the LORD. While by no means was it perfect, nor did every clan or family from Judah feel the same was about it, but we will see throughout the next several books of the Bible that of the 12 tribes, Judah was the least tempted into syncretism. Judah was the last to be conquered by foreigners as a consequence for their rebellion against God.

There was a division of loyalties between Judah and Ephraim. Both of them were the lead and dominant tribes. This began very early on, almost as soon as the territory was divided up and allotted. We do not see a final falling out between the two until shortly after King Solomon's death around 925 B.BC., which is about 400 years after Joshua's life. But it was always inevitable that this hostile separation would occur.

Thus we see this young Levite leaves Judah and goes to the hills of Ephraim, a place he knew was more receptive to his personal agenda and beliefs. This traveler would have stayed in several homes during his journey, and undoubtedly some family finally directed him to Micah's home. Staying in people's homes was a customary hospitality to travelers in those days. It was only in the largest cities that there would be rooms for rent.


2. (Judges 17:9-11) Micah hires the Levite
Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" And he said to him, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to stay wherever I may find a place." Micah then said to him, "Dwell with me and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a suit of clothes, and your maintenance." So the Levite went in. The Levite agreed to live with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons.

Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?": Upon arriving at Micah's residence, Micah discovers that this young man is a Levite. The young man says he is looking for a place to settle down.

Micah then said to him, "Dwell with me and be a father and a priest to me": Micah offers this young man employment. Micah tells the Levite to be a father and priest. The part about being a father has nothing to do with the young man taking on the role as an elder or parent. Rather, it is simply the term av or avva. This can mean a father in the sense we typically think of or it can be a term of respect for the wisdom of someone such as a spiritual advisor--this is the case here.

It seems Micah was looking to fire his sons and replace him with a priest of more statue.

There is absolutely nothing right about what Micah or this Levite was doing. Although all priest are Levites, not all Levites are priests. Only from the clan of Aaron (one of the three main sub-divisions of the tribe of Levi) could one rightfully be a priest. Thus we will see the use of the terms Levite and priest in the Bible, and they denote two different duties, lineages and status levels. This young man was NOT of the line of Aaron, but he was only a Levite. (This will become clear in chapter 18.)


3. (Judges 17:12-13) A false consecration and a false confidence
So Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in the house of Micah. Then Micah said, "Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, seeing I have a Levite as priest."

So Micah consecrated the Levite: Under some strange veil of authority, we are told in verse 12 that Micah consecrated the Levite to become a priest. Micah carried no such authority to consecrate priests.

One thing we need to remember, while in Egypt, Israel generally operated in the way we read about here concerning Micah. It was standard operating procedure for the father to more or less be the family priest, a duty that he passed along to his firstborn son. Before Mount Sinai during the exodus, Israel had no priesthood. But all religions of that day revolved around priests and rituals. So every Hebrew family had their own private family priest, and the rituals they performed took place in the home. They consisted of whatever the preferred within some hazy set of cultural traditions.

We also read from the end of the Book of Exodus onward that there was a real and ongoing power struggle within the Moses-led Hebrews to give up this standard family tradition and instead turn over all priestly duties over to one clan within one tribe, that is the clan of Aaron within the tribe of Levi. 

This was at the bottom of the rebellion part of teh rebellion which Korah led, when so many Israelites died as the leaders of the clans who did not like this new reality came to the Wilderness Tabernacle with their fire pans, only to be burned up by the anger of God. Then their families were killed as the earth opened up beneath them (Numbers 16). The Israelite fathers and firstborns generally did not like the requirement of the Torah to give up that position of honor (that of being the family priest). While apparently most complied, some did not. Thus once Moses and Joshua died, many Israelites simply turned back to the old ways, which were more closely aligned with their Canaanite neighbors. That is what we are seeing here with Micah and his private house of God, which is now to be officiated by a Levite.

Then Micah said, "Now I know the LORD will prosper me, seeing I have a Levite as a priest.": Verse 13 is not a divine reality. It is an ancient superstition that once Micah had a Levite to be a priest, God would bless him. Micah now thought God was obligated to grant special blessings on him and his household simple because he had hired a Levite to become his private priest for his family sanctuary. This belief was not biblical faith. It was a man-made doctrine. It was a well accepted and popular doctrine.

This is an example of false statements and lies made by men. We find many situations and characters in the Bible who tell lies, operate on false assumptions or rationalize their poor behavior. A classic one is the story of Balaam the sorcerer who says al kinds of things about how God must operate, but he is wrong. King David was infamous for rationalizing away some of his darkest moments. These words of Micah about how God would not especially bless him are another. God does not bless us for breaking His commandments or perverting His rituals and observances despite our sincerity.

The recorded scriptural word uttered by God or His designated prophets and messengers are factual and accurate and represent truth. But many of the words as spoken by ordinary men (although recorded accurately in the Bible) are words that do NOT reflect divine truth or Godly principle. Most of these cases are obvious, but some fly over our heads if we do not diligently study the Word of God to establish a firm foundation for out understanding. The Bible is 100% accurate, but it is full of statement and actions of men who are in error.