The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain
If we do not understand this we will not understand anything. Remember God had ordered the Israelites to conquer the peoples of Canaan when they entered that land. Joshua had given the tribes their inheritance and each tribe was to destroy those people holding the portion given to them. They failed in this. Instead they mingled with these people, intermarried with them and even adopted their gods. God was so angry he refused to do their battle for them, leaving them with no sanctioned leadership. They would turn again and agin to evil, and at such times God would bring a stronger tribe to enslave them until they turned their face back to God, then he would raise up a hero, a judge, to extract them from their predicament. After Samson there was no new Judge to guide. The Israelites had no king, every man did what was right in his own eyes.
There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the Lord.” And he restored the
1,100 pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said, “I dedicate the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.” So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image. And it was in the house of Micah. And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest. In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 17:1-6.
There is an easy error that can be made here, which is the assumption that Micah’s mother is Delilah. This mistake can happen for two reasons. One being the 1,100 pieces of silver matches what was given to Delilah to betray Samson. The other is because this passage follows right after the whole Samson Saga. However, this tale of Micah actually occurred long before Samson and Delilah, probably way back during the Judgeship of Othniel. Othniel was talked about in Judges 3 and he was the first Judge mentioned after the death of Joshua.
We don’t know who Micah’s mom was or how she got this silver. What we know is after his mother uttered a curse about the thief of her silver, Micah confesses it was he who took it, gives it back to her and she in turn dedicated the silver to God and used 200 of it to procure from a silversmith a carved image and a metal image.
The carved image was most likely wood coated with silver while the metal image was a molten idol of solid silver formed in a mold. For 200 silver pieces they were probably not large. Micah took these images and placed them in a shrine he had in his house. He also created an ephod, probably not golden like Gideon would do at a later date, and he ordained one of his sons to be a priest.
Sounds like Micah and his mother were pretty religious people going about honoring God. But remember, in those days there was no king in Israel. Everybody did what was tight in his own eyes. Yet there was a lot wrong with this.
What was the second commandment, right after “Thou shall have no other gods before me”? It was, “Thou shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven or the earth beneath.” But here is Micah doing just that, making two images, no less, and bowing down before them.
On top of this, Micah had ordained one of his son as a priest. The son was not of the priestly line and Micah had no right to be ordaining anyone a priest. That was certainly a problem.
Then perhaps a solution came down the road.
Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I may find a place.” And Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living.” And the Levite went in. And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. And Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest. Judges 17:7-13
Here comes a young man from Bethlehem from the family of Judah, who was a Levite. How was this possible? Because his father must have been of the Levites who had connected himself to the Judah tribe through marriage as Aaron had. Aaron married Elishaba, daughter of Amminadab (Exodus 6:23) who were of the tribe of Judah.
He was traveling looking for a place, so somehow he had either lost his position in Bethlehem or gave it up to go a-wandering. Anyway, this seems to have set him up as perhaps not the most reliable person. Nonetheless, Micah sees it as an opportunity to relieve his son of this faux-priest position and have a real priest. He hires the young Levite for ten pieces of silver a year, gives him a suit of clothes and room and board. Everybody is happy and Micah thinks because he has this Levite now as his private priest that God is going to proper him.
We will see how that works out for him.
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
We started tonight mentioning Judges 1:34:
The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain
Dan, like the other tribes had failed to wipe out the Canaanite tribes within their inheritance. Worse, they were being bullied by the Philistines and Amorites, enemies of Israel whose territory they were bordering. Instead of fighting for what God had given them and commanded them to take, they began looking for somewhere else to go. They sent out scouts, who happened across Micah’s house and heard a familiar voice. It was that sojourning Levite that Micah hired as his personal priest. They knew this guy from before. They asked this faux-Priest if they should continue their quest north. The faux-priest suddenly became a faux-prophet and told them to go for it, even saying it was under the eye of the Lord. Of course, everything is under the eye of the Lord. Judges 18:1-6.
They went on to the place called Laish in Galilee where some non-Israelites dwelt. Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting, lacking nothing that is in the earth and possessing wealth, and how they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone Judges 18:7.
Sidon sits on the coat of the Mediterranean Sea , which still exists in Lebanon. Laish was further inland, but these isolated people were similar to the Sidonians.
Sidon sits on the coat of the Mediterranean Sea , which still exists in Lebanon. Laish was further inland, but these isolated people were similar to the Sidonians.
The Danite scouts conspired with a couple other guys named Zorah and Eshtaol to invade these people. They went home down near Philistia and then led 600 Danite warriors North. .Judges 18:8-10
Micah and his neighbors gave chase, but when they caught up to the Danites soon realized they were no match for these men, so Micah and his followers turned about and went home, and disappeared in history.
The 600 Danite warriors went on to attack Laish, kill the people and burn down the city. They rebuilt the city and named it Dan. Here they set up Micah’s stolen idols. Judges 18:21
I don’t want to go too much further with this passage, except a
couple of notes. One, why would this tribe of Dan set up there own priest and worship Micah’s idols? Doing so certainly broke the Law. However, at this time the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant were in Shiloh (See Joshua 18:1). Shiloh was the seat of the Jewish worship and it was north from Jerusalem. All Jewish males were suppose to make pilgrimages to Shiloh to worship in Laish, which became Dan This city was 80 to 90 miles north of Shiloh, beyond all Israel settlements. The Danite probably didn’t want to make such along journey to Shiloh, so felt they could just create their own worship center with false idols and a questionable priest.
This priest is unnamed, but in the Talmud, the Rabbis decide this Jonathan, son of Gershom mentioned in Judges 18:30 was the same Levite Micah had hired and the Danites enticed away later. This may be, but in some translations Gershom is called the son of Moses and in others the son of Manasseh. There were some textural adjustments made to the word Moses in the scriptures and it is unclear exactly who this guy is. Saying he was the grandson of Moses or grandson of Manasseh are both problematic; best not get hung up on what this guy's name and linage were.
Speaking of wandering about Levites, we have yet another coming into the Hills of Ephraim. In those days, there was no king in Israel and everybody did as they pleased. So did this particular Levite and he had more to do with convenient sex than Holy Text. He was on a mission to Bethlehem, but not for religious purposes. This Levite had acquired a concubine in Bethlehem, who proved unfaithful to him. You can have a lot of questions about the morals of any of the characters we are about to meet, starting right there with the Levite and his concubine. This guy is referred to as her husband at places, but that were not technically the case. He had taken her as a concubine. She might fulfill some of the duties of a wife, but she obtained none of the rights of a wife. Her main duty would be sexual. At the time, this kind of relationship was considered lawful and was sanctioned by many.
She became unfaithful, but according to early documents, this might mean she had become angry with him. According to writings by Josephus she was angry and disgusted with the Levite because of frequent brawls between them. She ran away and returned to her father. After four months (yes, after four months) this concerned Levite finally decided to go look for her and bring her back. Even though a concubine she would be considered under the laws governing a wife, so his attempt to bring her back was forbidden by Deuteronomy 24:4.
She became unfaithful, but according to early documents, this might mean she had become angry with him. According to writings by Josephus she was angry and disgusted with the Levite because of frequent brawls between them. She ran away and returned to her father. After four months (yes, after four months) this concerned Levite finally decided to go look for her and bring her back. Even though a concubine she would be considered under the laws governing a wife, so his attempt to bring her back was forbidden by Deuteronomy 24:4.
The Levite comes to the father’s home and he and his servant are welcomed in. Actually, fed and bedded for four days. This father doesn’t seem to be upset with the Levite; however there is something very wrong throughout this story, The father does not want them to leave, but the the Levite insists even though it is approaching evening. He and the servant and the concubine all depart.
As night is about to fall, the servant suggests they go to Jebus, a city which will later become Jerusalem, but isn’t yet. The Levite won’t go there because he considers the Jebusites to be foreigners and prefers to push on to the Israel city of Gilbeah, a city of the Benjaminites.
They enter and set up to sleep in the town square. No one of authority comes to invite them in. This is a breach of hospitality in those times and places. Hospitality was very important. The concubine’s father kind of over did to, but perhaps he knew something about the surrounding people. Someone of a higher status should by protocol come and inited them in for the night, but no one did.
Then an old man comes from working the fields, sees this little band and asks where they are going. The Levite tells the old man they have plenty of supplies. The old man tells them not to spend the night in the square. He is insistent so they go to the old man’s home for the night, where he was very hospitable, not only to the levite, his servant and concubine, but also to his donkeys.
But that evening as they are making merry, the men of Gibeah begin gathering outside the old man’s door, Scripture calls them worthless fellows. They are also dangerous fellows. It is Sodom and Gomorrah redux. These men are yelling for the old man to bring out the Levite “Bring forth the man that came into your house that we may know him.” (Judges 19:22).
Much has been made of this word, “yada” in Hebrew and translated “know” in English. Some argue this just meant the men of the city wanted to be acquainted with the guy, find out about him, welcome him to the city. They were just being friendly. But this idea is dashed because the same Hebrew word is used in Judges 19:25 when they got their hands on the concubine and “knew her and abused her all night”. The word is understood by the context of what the old man goes out and tells these men.
“No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing. Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing.” Judges 19:23-24.
Hospitality and protection of a guest were high on the list of the day. This old man did not want to be scorned for letting anything happen to his guest, who in his view was the Levite. However, what he proposed was against the Law of God. There is no indication that the old man followed up on his offer and sent his daughter outside, but the Levite, the supposed man of the cloth, grabbed his concubine and forced her out the door to her fate. These men were cowards more worried about their own bodies than about the daughter and the concubine.
The concubine was set upon by this mob of men and raped and abused all night long. At dawn they released her and left. The poor woman staggered to the door and there collapsed as the sun rose.
In the morning our brave Levite opened the door to leave and there lay his concubine upon the stoop. Did he show concern or mercy? No he harshly tells her, “Get up, let us be going.” When she doesn’t answer, he unceremoniously lays her on the back of a donkey and takes her to his home. There he gets a knife and devides his concubine “limb by limb.
After his cutting he has 12 portions of the concubine and he sends
one portion to each of the 12 tribes of Israel. I could be misinterpreting this, but I think it was the tribes excluding Benjamin. Remember the inheritance had been divided among 13 tribes, with Ephraim and Manessah accounting for Joseph in the count. Since the Levite was pointing a finger to the Tribe of Benjamin he did not need send the evidence of the crime to them. We also have many references to the Tribes of Israel against the Tribe of Benjamin in the narrative which followed.
There was outrage over this event. A general gathering was called in a Mizpeh not far south of Shiloh. Mizpeh means place of convention. There had been many Mizpehs.
When the Tribe of Benjamin heard of the Mizpeh, perhaps by formal summons, it appears they disdained it. At this gathering the Levite testified about the rape and murder of his concubine. The result was Israel committed to go against the city of Gibeah of the Benjamin territory. An army was formed. The Israelites went to Bethel and inquired of God who should go first against Benjamin, and God answered that it should be Judah.
But the Israelites were stopped by the Benjaminites, losing many of their men. They went back to Bethel and asked God if they should fight again. God said, “Go against them.” They did and were turned back this second time.
This time they went weeping, fasted until evening and made offerings to God, something Israel had not done as a unified nation since Joshua died. God told them to go again on the next day and He would give Benjamin into their hands.
They went, set up an ambush and Benjamin did fall. The Israelites killed every man and beast of the Benjaminites. They found and burnt down all their cities.
The Israelis had also swore that none of their daughters would be allowed to marry a Benjaminite. This foolish rape and murder by some men of Gibeah that the Benjamin’s had refused to punish had led to war and now almost wiped out one of the tribes.
Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?” And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel. Yet we cannot give them wives from our daughters.” For the people of Israel had sworn, “Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin.” 19 So they said, “Behold, there is the yearly feast of the Lord at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebanon.” 20 And they commanded the people of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in ambush in the vineyards and watch. If the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and snatch each man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. And when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Grant them graciously to us, because we did not take for each man of them his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them, else you would now be guilty.’” And the people of Benjamin did so and took their wives, according to their number, from the dancers whom they carried off. Then they went and returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and lived in them. And the people of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance. Judges 21:16-24.
Benjamin struggled to regain itself and remained the smallest tribe there after They did survive however. King Saul was from Benjamin as was Esther and the Apostle Paul. These had been dark days for Israel and need not to have happened if they had only obeyed and honored God. Question for us today is how close are we to such failure and depravity?
During the period of the Judges, however, there was a story of hope and redemption. This was the life of Ruth and it follows as a separate book right after Judges. Here we have a widow named Naomi who travels from Moab with her two daughter-in-laws, both Moabites, named Orpah and Ruth. Oprah goes home, but Ruth stays with Naomi. (Orpah and Oprah?. Why chose Orpah anyway.) Ruth meets a man named Boaz, who becomes a redeemer. Boaz was the descendent of Rehab, the prostirute at Jericho. Boaz marries Ruth, who is also a widow, and they have a child named Obed, the grandfather of David and one of the great grandparents of Jesus.
The next book is 1 Samuel, and we learn of the miraculous birth of Samuel to Hannah. Samuel is the final judge for Israel finally gets a king.
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