DISCUSSION GUIDE :: SESSION 11

  A NATION IN TRANSITIONSIN MULTIPLIED, PART 1JUDGES 17:1-1311/20/2016

MAIN POINT

Sin doesn’t just affect us; it multiplies into the lives of others for potentially generations down theline.

INTRODUCTION

As your group time begins, use this section to introduce the topic of discussion.

Think back to when you were a kid. Did you ever do something wrong and then lie to try and cover it up?What happened?

Is it fair to say that sin leads to other sin? Why or why not?

What about the way sin affects other people? Can anyone ever truly make decisions that only affectthemselves?

We often justify our behavior by claiming that our actions concern no one but ourselves, but that’s not how life works.No one sins in a vacuum. Our wrong attitudes and actions do affect others even if we don’t realize it. Because we arelinked together with other people in our lives, our sin multiplies into the lives of others for potentially generations downthe line. Following the pattern of Gideon, Samson, and countless others who had abandoned their covenant with God,the writer of Judges introduces a man named Micah—a thief who dishonored his mother and violated the laws of God.His sinful behavior not only impacted his own life, but the lives of his family, the priests, and future generations.

UNDERSTANDING

Unpack the biblical text to discover what the Scripture says or means about a particular topic.

ASK A VOLUNTEER TO READ JUDGES 17:1-6.

How did the trouble described in this chapter begin?

How should have Micah’s mother responded? What does her response reveal about her heart?

It seems that greed and superstition were the dominoes that began to fall in Micah’s family. Are greed andsuperstition still significant problems for modern families? Explain.

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When we decide to ignore godly standards and choose sinful attitudes and actions, the people around us feel the affectsof our sin. Sin is never carried out in a vacuum. It always spreads to impact others, frequently including our immediatefamily members.

ASK A VOLUNTEER TO READ JUDGES 17:7-13.

What similarities do you see between this Levite and Micah and his mother?

In what ways did the Levite’s situation, working as a priest in Micah’s house, fall short of God’s calling on hislife?

Why was Micah especially pleased to have this young Levite as his very own priest?

What does this incident show that God wants from His people?

Levites were members of the Israelite tribe of Levi. This tribe was chosen by God and set apart for priestly service.Within the tribe of Levi, only the direct descendants of Aaron could serve as priests. The other Levites were to servethe Lord by performing other duties at the tabernacle. The young Levite in this passage did not meet the qualificationsto be a priest for the Lord. It seems Micah wanted to have God on his own terms with his private priest.

Do you ever feel that temptation? When?

APPLICATION

Help your group identify how the truths from the Scripture passage apply directly to their lives.

Even though godliness can’t be inherited, why is it crucial to pass along a godly heritage to your family andothers? How are you attempting to do that?

What bold action might you take to break a cycle of sin and disobedience that may have been passed downthrough your parents or other authority figure?

What hope do we have to offer those in our culture who suffer the consequences of the sin and disobedienceof those who came before them? What is our obligation to them?

PRAY

Thank God for the victory over sin that we have in Jesus Christ. Ask for His help as we recognizeand overcome sinful thoughts and actions in our lives. Pray that God would make us influences forrighteousness in the lives of those around us.

 

COMMENTARY

JUDGES 17:1-6

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Verse 1. Judges 17 opens with an abrupt change of subject from the account of Samson’s death and burial (16:30-31). Aman from the hill country of Ephraim named Micah stepped into the forefront of Israel’s chaotic history during the timeof the judges. Yet this man’s story has an equally abrupt—and unusual—beginning. It begins with a confession of sin.

Verse 2. Micah confessed to his mother that he was the one who had stolen 1,100 pieces of silver from her. Carefulreaders of the Book of Judges will recall that, oddly enough, this is the exact amount of money each of the Philistineleaders of Gaza promised to Delilah in return for her betrayal of Samson (see Judg. 16:5.). We’re told nothing of thecircumstances or motivation or Micah’s thievery. Nevertheless, the treachery of stealing from one’s own mother isself-evident (see Prov. 28:24).

Micah may have been tormented by his conscience, but he revealed something else that was on his mind when he said,“The 1,100 pieces of silver taken from you, and that I heard you utter a curse about—here, I have the silver with me. Itook it.” That he mentioned his mother’s curse suggests Micah was anxious about the power of that curse. He was afraidthat it would bring calamity down on him.

Micah had committed the sin of stealing. That act had been addressed somewhat by his confession and return of themoney. However, both he and his mother were superstitious, having more faith in the power of curses than in a life oftrue faith and obedience.

The mother’s response is in keeping with this picture of the family. She said, “My son, you are blessed by the Lord!” Thiswasn’t just an affirmation that her son had done the right thing in returning the money. This was a formal blessingdesigned to counteract the power of her previous curse. She didn’t want her son to be ruined.

Verses 3-4. Micah’s mother further demonstrated her compromised religious mind set when she said, “I personallyconsecrate the silver to the Lord for my son’s benefit to make a carved image overlaid with silver.” This act was anotherattempt to counteract her curse. Thus she took five pounds of silver and gave it to a silversmith. He made it into acarved image overlaid with silver, and it was in Micah’s house.

The image probably represented some household spirit. The purpose of such a deity was to bring blessings on the homeand its inhabitants. The practice of displaying images of household gods was common in the ancient world. TheEgyptians, for example, had a household deity named Bes, who looked like an ugly dwarf. Bes was believed to give safechildbirth for the women. Archaeologists in Israel have found examples of ancient household figurines as well.

Verse 5. Some amount of time might have passed between the events of 17:1-4 and this verse. We are now told thatthis man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household idols, and installed one of his sons to be his priest.Did Micah already have a shrine full of household gods, or was his mother’s silver image the beginning of his collection?We don’t know.

However that may be, though, Micah eventually built up quite an impressive family shrine. He had so many images ofgods that the shrine needed a full-time priest! Consequently, Micah appointed his son to the job. (Again, this eventmight have taken place years after the matron commissioned the silver image.)

The ephod was not an idol; rather, it was a special priestly garment. The Israelite high priest wore an ephod (see Ex.28:4). Thus Micah’s family was now thoroughly paganized, seeking out spiritual protection and material prosperity fromthe supposed power of these religious images.

Verse 6. The statement “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted” is a frequentrefrain in the last chapters of the Book of Judges. The statement reveals that the covenant community of Israel wasessentially in anarchy. The people of Israel were supposed to have a King: the Lord their God. The Lord was the GreatKing with whom they were in covenant. The law of Moses was the statement of His decrees and teachings. Had thetribes of Israel faithfully kept the covenant, they would have lived under the blessings and guidance of their true King.However, they repeatedly fell into apostasy, served other gods (as illustrated by Micah’s shrine), and descended intomoral chaos.

JUDGES 17:7-8,12-13

Verse 7. In the continuing story of Micah’s family, we are next introduced to a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, whoresided within the clan of Judah. That the Levite is described as living in the territory of Judah indicates he was not fromthe priestly family of Aaron. Priests who were descendants of Aaron resided and served at the main worship center ofIsrael, which at this time was the tent of meeting located at Shiloh (see Josh. 18:1; 1 Sam. 1:3). Other Levites, the onesnot belonging to the family of Aaron, lived in locations scattered throughout the promised land and served as a kind oflocal clergy. (See Explore More: Levite, below.)

Verse 8. The important point about the Levite’s having come from Bethlehem is that the town was far to the south ofMicah’s home. The text tells us that the man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to settle wherever he could find aplace. He was looking for a new place to live when he ventured as far north as the hill country of Ephraim. He hadtraveled a long way. The Levite evidently felt that he would never make much of a living as the equivalent of a

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backcountry parson in a small village. He decided to seek better possibilities in the heartland of Israel. He would try tobuild a life for himself in a place with more people, wealth, and opportunities. He eventually found his way to Micah’shome.

Verse 12. Micah knew that it was wrong for his son to be serving as a priest, but he consecrated the Levite, and theyoung man became his priest and lived in Micah’s house. In ancient Egypt, royal or other wealthy persons could endow apriesthood to conduct ongoing services in a mortuary shrine in honor of the family’s deceased members. In more recenttimes, some European royal palaces and nobles’ estates included private chapels administered by family priests.Likewise, Micah’s family was evidently quite wealthy. His mother could afford to dedicate “five pounds of silver” (17:4)to the making of a single carved image. Moreover, Micah built up a shrine that was extensive enough to need theongoing services of a priest. However, the Old Testament never endorses the idea of having a priest consecrated toserve a single household. Elsewhere in the Bible, priests and Levites always serve a community, not an individual or afamily.

Verse 13. Micah’s thinking is evident in his words: “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, because a Levite hasbecome my priest.” Micah still recognized the Lord as God, but he believed he could obtain God’s favor by having aLevite installed as his private priest. Micah’s notion of true religion was far from the biblical teaching of walking humblywith God (see Mic. 6:8) or of looking after orphans and widows in their distress (see Jas. 1:27). On the other hand,Micah’s viewpoint wasn’t unique. In the years to come, many Israelites would receive a prophetic rebuke for theiralmost magical trust in the Jerusalem temple and its priesthood as a guarantee of God’s protection, regardless of thepeople’s apostasy (see Jer. 7:1-15).

READING ASSIGNMENT FOR NEXT WEEK

Judges 18:30-31

 

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