What happens if we focus exclusively on the gifts over the giver? I don’t expect that relationship with that person to last long.

Likewise, If we focus on the blessings over God Himself, then that would eventually lead us to form a distorted worship practice centered around the blessings, which would eventually serve ourselves. 

This chapter shows a danger of this kind of practice.

From chapter 1 to 16, the story of the book of Judges centered around Judges. Starting from chapter 17, the story shifted to (some shocking) events associated with a few Levites. 

Summary of Judges 17

A man named Micah stole his mother’s 1,100 pieces of silver. Mother uttered a curse, and Micah returned all the stolen silver pieces to his mother. Mother blessed Micah and used 200 silver pieces to make a graven, molten image in her dedication to the LORD God.  Micah consecrated one of his sons to be his priest. 

Micah recruited a young Levite who was seeking a stable employment. Michah agreed to pay him and took him to be his priest. With a great certainty, he believed that he would prosper because he obtained a Levite as his priest. 

Family Obsessed with Blessings/Curses

The scene took place in Micah’s family. Micah stole 1,100 pieces of silver from his mother and returned it to her when he heard the cursing of her mother. Because silver coins were returned, his mother blessed him. Then she used 200 pieces of silver to build a molten, graven image to honor the LORD God. It is very difficult to make logical sense of this family dynamic. 

What I see in Micah’s family was a family value obsessed with the blessings/curses of God – but not the LORD God Himself. If Micah had any respect for the LORD God, he would not have dishonored his mother (a violation of the fifth commandment in Exodus 20:12) by stealing 1,100 silver pieces (a violation of the eight commandment in Exodus 20:15) to begin with. However, as soon as he heard the cursing of his mother, he returned the silver. His fear was based on the blessings/curses, not the LORD God Himself. 

His mother’s value seemed to be the same as that of Micah. If she had the fear of the LORD, she would have rebuked her son in order to teach him the right way (Proverbs 26:12, 29:15).  However, instead, because she was obsessed with blessings/curses, she instead decided to bless her son. 

Exclusive Focus on the Gifts over the Giver

Micha’s family’s great obsession with blessings/curses of God can be written out in a different way – an exclusive focus on the gifts over the giver. Because his family’s exclusive focus on the gifts, but not the giver, a series of strange actions took place. 

Ignorance + Sincerity = ?

This focus on the gift led to a strange subsequent action. As Micah returned her silver, Micah’s mother decided to use 200 silver coins to make a molten, grave image dedicated to the LORD. What does honoring the LORD have to with the graven, molten image? There is no connection between the two whatsoever. Neither Micah nor his mother knew anything about the LORD God. We call this ignorance. 

However, there was plenty of sincerity within the Micah’s family. She dedicated close to 20% of her entire wealth (please note that 20% of wealth, not income), 200 out of 1,100 pieces of silver to make a molten, graven image. Have you ever dedicated 20% of your entire wealth to do something? Without an incredible sacrifice, or sincerity, this would be a hard act to follow. Therefore, I believe that the Micah’s family had plenty of sincerity.

Let’s see how the summation of ignorance and sincerity played out. 

Digression: Unexpected Boost in Idol Manufacturing Industry

Collateral damage refers to unintended damage caused to civilians as a result of military operations. In this chapter, we see a “collateral benefit” to a silversmith who gained extra income due to manufacturing of a molten, graven image, as a result of a sincerely ignorant Micah’s family. 

Well, good for the idol industry, but not so good for the society. From an economist’s perspective, 200 pieces of silver could have been invested in a more productive way.

My Priest vs. God’s Priest

Outcome from a sincerely ignorant Micah’s family continued to “bloom.” Micah consecrated one of his sons to be his priest (17:5). Micah recruited a young Levite, who was seeking a stable living, and he consecrated the young Levite as his priest (17:12).

Priests belong to God and Levites were to be a sign that points to God. Priests should not be appointed by Micah for his own interest – a truly puzzling outcome. 

Comical Scene

Although the daily life of Micah and his household after having a young Levite as a priest is not described in the Bible, let’s try to imagine this worship service, a scene that would be truly comical.

At the center of the worship service of the Micah household, in which they assert themselves to be serving the LORD the true God, would be the molten, graven image that cost 200 pieces of silver. The shape of the image would be up to your imagination. The young Levite would be leading the worship service, with the help of a son of Michah. Because both of them were consecrated and employed by Micah, they would dare to say anything that would displease Micah. Because of their obsession with the blessings, the worship service would almost always begin and end with blessings to seek more blessings from the LORD God – putting in a different way, an extreme version of the Prosperity Gospel. 

The worship was conducted in whatever way Micah wanted. Indeed, “in those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit (Judges 17:6).” Here, king means the LORD God.

Lessons

Many applicable lessons are embedded in this chapter. What is our main focus of worshipping God the LORD? To receive the gifts, or to know the giver? In what ways are we similar to Micah’s family, who had sincerity, but very ignorant in the true knowledge of and fellowship with the LORD God? 

Let us examine our hearts and pray that God will try and test our hearts.