BAD KIDS OF THE BIBLE: MICAH THE EPHRAIMITE
Text: Judges 17 – 18
Have you ever heard the saying, “What goes around comes around?” Well, the bad kid of the Bible that I am going to talk about today surely experienced that firsthand. It doesn’t seem to happen as much as we would like, but sometimes a person gets exactly what he deserves.
The person that I am talking about is Micah the Ephraimite, and his story is found in the book of Judges chapters 17 and 18. Now this is a lengthy passage, so I am going to break it up into parts. Please follow along in your Bibles.
Judges 17:1 – 6
We begin our story rather abruptly with some of it already having taken place. Micah has stolen 1,100 pieces of silver from his mother. His mother puts a curse on the thief, and Micah gets concerned, so he admits to taking the silver. According to Old Testament law, Micah was supposed to return the silver, pay an additional 20% fine, and go to the priest to sacrifice a guilt offering to atone for the sin, but Micah doesn’t do any of this. Instead, his mother cancels out the curse with a blessing, and tells Micah that she is consecrating the silver for God. She gives 200 pieces to Micah to take to the silversmith, and she pockets the rest for herself.
The silver that Micah takes to the silversmith is used to make an idol. Now this wasn’t an idol of Baal, or any other of the Canaanite gods. It was an idol that represented God Himself. This was in direct violation of one of God’s commandments. Exodus 20:4 says, “[4] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” In Deuteronomy 27:15, the Law also stated, “Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place.”
Judges 17:7 – 13
Another character enters the story at this point, a Levite from Bethlehem. Now when the land was divided up and distributed to the tribes of Israel, the Levites were not given any land. They were a tribe of priests and assistants, and were placed in cities throughout Israel. The curious thing is that this Levite was from Bethlehem, and Bethlehem was NOT one of those cities. Levites were not supposed to get a salary, but to live off the tithes of the other tribes. Since everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes, they had stopped paying their tithes, and the Levites had to go out looking for work.
The Levite happens to come across the house of Micah the Ephraimite. Micah takes him in, and when he finds out that he is a Levite, he hires him as his own personal priest. Micah had made a shrine in his house, and had placed the idol and several smaller idols there. He had also made priestly clothing and had installed one of his sons as the priest, but when he saw that he could hire a Levite, he jumped at the chance. His son was demoted, and the Levite went to work. Micah said, “Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.” (Judges 17:13)
Judges 18:1 – 6
Five more characters enter the story. Spies from the tribe of Dan find their way to Micah’s house. Now the tribe of Dan was given land when the land was divided among the tribes, but instead of driving out the Canaanites like God had told them to, they decided that they would go and find their own land in a place where they wouldn’t have to fight. Somehow, as they passed by Micah’s house they hear the Levite talking and they recognize his voice. They ask him why he is there, and the Levite tells them about being hired by Micah to be his priest. Immediately, the Danites ask the Levite to question the Lord about whether or not their mission will be successful. The Levite tells them that God will bless them in what they are doing.
Judges 18:7 – 21
The spies go on ahead with their mission, and find a city called Laish, 100 miles away from the land that God had given to the tribe of Dan. There they discover that the residents are wealthy and peaceful, and that they had no defenses for their city because they had no enemies nearby. Their closest allies were too far away to help them if they were attacked, so the spies agree to go back and tell the rest of the Danites that they should attack.
After hearing their report, the rest of the Danites agree to attack the city. They gather all their families and possessions and start marching toward Laish. As they pass Micah’s house, the five spies say, “This is the house where the Levite told us that God will bless our mission.” They figure that since the idol inside is going to bless their attack, it would be good luck to take the idol and the priest with them, so they start to take them. They offer the Levite a job as a priest for their entire tribe, and he gladly accepts and helps them steal the idols.
Judges 18:22 – 26
Later, Micah returns home and finds that the Levite and all of his idols are missing. Some neighbors tell him that the Danites have taken them, so Micah gathers a posse and goes after them. When they catch up to the Danites, he accuses them of theft, but the Danites threaten him. They say, “Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household.” Micah sees that he is outnumbered and outgunned, so he turns around and goes home.
Judges 18:27 – 31
The Danites go through with their attack, and the unsuspecting people of Laish are wiped out. The Danites make their own shrine, and the Levite serves as their priest.
There are many things that we can learn from this story. First of all, GOD decides how He is to be worshipped, not you or anyone else. Micah and his mother wanted to worship the Lord, but they went about it in the wrong way. God had clearly made the commandment not to make idols like the Canaanites did, but they went ahead and did it anyway. God had also commanded that everyone go to Shiloh to worship him, which was only a short distance away from Micah’s house, but Micah wanted a religion that was convenient, so he set up his own shrine in his own house, and installed his son, who was not a Levite, as his priest. Later, the Levite appears, and since he is not a descendant of Aaron, he is also unqualified to serve as a priest, but Micah installs him anyway.
This search for a self-styled religion of convenience is plaguing our country today. People think that they can decide for themselves how they are going to serve God. Even though God’s Word tells us to “not forsake the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25), people believe that they can go to church just when they feel like it, or when there is nothing else better to do. They pick and choose what parts of the Bible they are going to live by, as if God’s Word was a buffet. If they don’t want to give, they don’t. If they don’t want to pray, they don’t. If they don’t want to participate in feetwashing or communion they don’t. They decide that baptism isn’t for them, so they don’t do it.
The problem with that is that whether you think it is important or not, God does. One day you will stand in judgment, and God will not judge you based upon what you thought was right. He will judge you based upon what HE said was right. If you are living this type of lifestyle, let me earnestly urge you to reconsider your ways before it is too late.
Secondly, you cannot use God as a good luck charm. Notice what Micah says in the last verse of chapter 17, “Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.” Micah believed that just because he had a Levite under his roof God would bless him. There are people who believe that because their grandpa was a preacher, or that because they put a dollar in the offering plate every now and then, that God is obligated to bless their lives. Putting a Jesus fish on the back of your car or wearing a cross around your neck doesn’t obligate God to do anything for you. God is looking for a sincere relationship with him. If you are one of those people, stop placing your trust in the wrong thing and start trusting God Himself.
Next, we can learn that not everyone that says that they speak for God does. The five spies asked the Levite to inquire of the Lord about whether or not God would bless their mission, and the Levite said that He would. The truth of the matter is that God had already given the Danites land, but they were disobedient and would not take possession of it. They decided to do things their way instead. God didn’t change His mind; the Levite simply told them what they wanted to hear.
Today there are people on television and on the radio that are telling people what they want to hear. Paul warned Timothy about this in 2 Timothy 4:2 – 4: “[2] Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. [3] For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; [4] And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” These people tell you that all you have to do to be a Christian is to repeat a prayer, and you are set. You don’t have to go to church, or pray, or change the way you live. They tell people what they want to hear and people gladly send them their money. Beware of “preachers and teachers” that lead you in this direction. The way to guard yourself against this is to be faithful to a Bible believing and teaching church and to study the Bible for yourself.
Another lesson that we need to learn is that success isn’t always a sign that we are doing God’s will. Micah stole his mother’s money, but instead of being punished, he was given some of it and blessed. The Levite was unqualified to be priest, wasn’t living in the right place, wasn’t supposed to take a salary, and wasn’t supposed to lead people in the worship of idols, but he got a paid position with good benefits at first, and then became the priest of an entire tribe. The Danites were disobedient and wouldn’t take possession of the land that God had given them, but they attacked a defenseless city and had all they wanted. The truth is that sometimes wicked people seem like they succeed, but in the end, they will be found guilty and will be punished. The Bible says “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7) Micah stole from his mother, and had his idols stolen from him. The Danites that stole the idols from Micah later were ransacked had them stolen from them.
We should also realize that our sins ultimately affect other people. Micah’s mother sinned by encouraging her son to make an idol. Micah sinned by making the idol, and caused the Levite to sin by making him a priest. The Levite caused the Danites to sin by helping them steal the idols and creating their own shrine. Generations of Danites sinned by bowing down and worshipping these idols. Sin is so destructive. That is why God hates it so much.
That sin that you are doing right now, that sin that you think no one knows about, will not only hurt you, but may destroy your family and loved ones some day. Repent of it now before it goes that far. You may think that it is under control, but sin has a way of controlling us and making us think that we can handle it.
Finally, we should learn that righteousness is not hereditary. At the end of the story, we find the identity of the Levite. The King James Version identifies him as “Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh.” (Judges 18:30) This man was actually the grandson of Moses himself. Scribes were embarrassed that a descendant of Moses would behave in such a way, and they changed Moses’ name to Manasseh to protect the reputation of his family. Just because your daddy was a preacher or your grandpa was a deacon or your aunt is a Sunday school teacher doesn’t mean that you will make it into Heaven one day. You have to have a personal relationship with God for yourself. God accepts us as individuals, not families. If you don’t know Him as your Lord and Savior, bow your head and ask Him to forgive you for your sins right now. Tell Him that you are sorry that you have broken His commandments, and ask Him to lead you throughout the remainder of your life.
The story of Micah the Ephraimite is a sad story. There are no “good characters” in this story. Sin will destroy anyone it infects; mothers, sons, preachers, church members, and entire communities. Put an end to the sin in your life now, before it destroys you.
