Catholic Commentary on Judges 17

"In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit." (Judges 17:6)

Micah's Idolatry

A man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim steals eleven hundred shekels of silver from his mother and then confesses when she curses the thief. She consecrates the silver to the LORD and has two hundred shekels made into an idol. Micah sets up a shrine with the idol and an ephod and installs one of his sons as priest. A wandering Levite comes from Bethlehem and Micah installs him as his personal priest: now I know that the LORD will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest. The chapter ends with the editorial comment that gives all of Judges 17-21 its frame: In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.

The Catechism identifies this verse as the diagnosis of the moral chaos that results when the covenant is abandoned: without the kingship of God acknowledged through his law, every individual becomes the arbiter of their own righteousness (CCC 1786). Micah's religion is entirely self-constructed: his mother's silver, his son as priest, his personal Levite, his private shrine. It looks devout but it is entirely about his own comfort and the reassurance that the LORD will be good to him.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, everyone did as they saw fit is a description of the age and a warning. When the acknowledged kingship of God is absent from a community, the result is not freedom but chaos disguised as religion. The personal shrine built from stolen silver and manned by the highest bidder is the logical conclusion of religion without covenant accountability.

Prayer

Lord God, be King in our hearts and communities so that we do not each do as we see fit. Deliver us from the private shrines built from stolen silver and the priests hired for our personal comfort. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

17
Micah’s Idolatry
1 Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim 2 said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver * 17:2 1,100 shekels is approximately 27.6 pounds or 12.5 kilograms of silver; also in verse 3. that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse-I have the silver here with me; I took it.”
 
Then his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD!”
 
3 And when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I wholly dedicate the silver to the LORD for my son’s benefit, to make a graven image and a molten idol. Therefore I will now return it to you.”
 
4 So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels of silver † 17:4 200 shekels is approximately 5 pounds or 2.3 kilograms of silver. and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into a graven image and a molten idol. And they were placed in the house of Micah.
 
5 Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordained ‡ 17:5 Hebrew filled the hand of; also in verse 12 one of his sons as his priest. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
 
7 And there was a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah who had been residing within the clan of Judah. 8 This man left the city of Bethlehem in Judah to settle where he could find a place. And as he traveled, he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.
 
9 “Where are you from?” Micah asked him.
 
“I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,” he replied, “and I am on my way to settle wherever I can find a place.”
 
10 “Stay with me,” Micah said to him, “and be my father and priest, and I will give you ten shekels of silver § 17:10 10 shekels is approximately 4 ounces or 114 grams of silver. per year, a suit of clothes, and your provisions.”
 
So the Levite went in 11 and agreed to stay with him, and the young man became like a son to Micah.
 
12 Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”

*17:2 17:2 1,100 shekels is approximately 27.6 pounds or 12.5 kilograms of silver; also in verse 3.

†17:4 17:4 200 shekels is approximately 5 pounds or 2.3 kilograms of silver.

‡17:5 17:5 Hebrew filled the hand of; also in verse 12

§17:10 17:10 10 shekels is approximately 4 ounces or 114 grams of silver.

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