“There was a man named Micah, who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. One day he said to his mother, “I heard you place a curse on the person who stole 1,100 pieces of silver from you. Well, I have the money. I was the one who took it.” “The Lord bless you for admitting it,” his mother replied. He returned the money to her, and she said, “I now dedicate these silver coins to the Lord. In honor of my son, I will have an image carved and an idol cast.” So when he returned the money to his mother, she took 200 silver coins and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into an image and an idol. And these were placed in Micah’s house. Micah set up a shrine for the idol, and he made a sacred ephod and some household idols. Then he installed one of his sons as his personal priest. In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. One day a young Levite, who had been living in Bethlehem in Judah, arrived in that area. He had left Bethlehem in search of another place to live, and as he traveled, he came to the hill country of Ephraim. He happened to stop at Micah’s house as he was traveling through. “Where are you from?” Micah asked him. He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am looking for a place to live.” “Stay here with me,” Micah said, “and you can be a father and priest to me. I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, plus a change of clothes and your food.” The Levite agreed to this, and the young man became like one of Micah’s sons. So Micah installed the Levite as his personal priest, and he lived in Micah’s house. “I know the Lord will bless me now,” Micah said, “because I have a Levite serving as my priest.””
Judges 17:1-13 NLT
The story of Micah and his priest demonstrates how far man can fall from God’s sense of order. There is thievery, there is idolatry, there is bribery. In this passage, as it will in many more, the scripture makes note that each person did right in their own sight. The phrase implies, not that they were doing the best they could with what they had, but that truth was a malleable pursuit based on whatever had caught their fancy. This language harkens back to the moment where Eve justified to herself the eating of the fruit because it looked good to her. In that same vain, Micah made an Ephod from the silver because he had justified that God would want the same thing as him for his worship. This sin also harkens to Cain who decided that he could worship God in his own way. The presence of the Levite man as his priest, shows that he knew that this wasn’t the worship he that God wanted. This type of behavior is rampant today. Our generation is filled with people crafting and using God’s scripture and iconography in unintended ways, hoping to legitimize their illegitimate behavior before God and men. This lifestyle is accelerated by the ease of wealth and access. We ought to be Leary of our own justifications. They are sure to destroy us in the end.
Justification for Sin: Micah’s belief that his actions were acceptable in his own sight highlights the human tendency to justify wrongdoing.
Micah’s Sin: Micah’s actions, including thievery, idolatry, and bribery, showcase humanity’s tendency to stray from God’s order.
Modern Relevance: The passage serves as a warning against contemporary trends of misusing religious teachings and symbols to justify sinful behavior.
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