What Happens When The Leadership Of The Nation
Is No Longer God Appointed?

In Judges chapters 17-21 we see what happens to a nation when ALL of its Godly leaders are removed. Though Eli and Samuel are judges, they are not in the picture until 1 Samuel. Samson was the last God appointed judge in Israel in the Book of Judges. Those who rise next have nothing to do with God.

This should be a cautionary tale for America. In 2024 we will once more prayerfully vote for our elected representatives. I say PRAYERFULLY because your leadership matters. The leadership of the nation matters. The leadership of our businesses matters. The leadership of our communities, our homes, they all matter.

Chapter 17 begins with a man named “Micah” (his name means “one who is like God”) stealing 1100 shekels of silver from his mother. When she curses the thief, he returns the silver. On confessing that he is the thief (which is a violation of the 5^th commandment – Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and mother”) the mother confesses that she was saving the silver “for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image” (verse 3). This is a violation of the 2^nd commandment – Exodus 20:4 “you shall not make a carved image … to bow down and worship it”. It is obvious that the mother has violated God’s commandments to teach her children to do the right thing. God told Israel:

Deuteronomy 6:4-6 … Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children …

This mother has taught her son Micah to steal and to dishonor authority. Now the mother continues the lesson. Though she said in verse 3,

Judges 17:3 … I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand for my son…

that is, ALL of the silver was to be used for the creation of idols, we read:

Judges 17:4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.

Only 200 shekels was used by the mother to build an idol. Where did the other 900 shekels go? We don’t know. But the mother violated God’s Law numerous times, and is appears that the 900 shekels that were wholly dedicated to God were kept in her possession.

Micah made a silver graven image and a molten image. He didn’t make two images, but had the image poured, then additional details carved into the image. Micah was meticulous in his creation of the image – it was not tossed together, but a piece of artwork! This was NOT the first idol that Micah made. We read:

Judges 17:5 And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

Micah had first a “house of gods”. My commentary notes:

“Micah and his mother are sharply distinguished from Samson and his mother [and even more from Samuel and his mother] by their materialism and idolatry. Here there is no evidence of the presence or call of the Spirit in their lives.”

He did not have just one false god, but many false gods. Having false gods, Micah didn’t want to be the “priest”, so he established one of his own sons to be a “priest”. This is a totally man-made religion. Micah also makes an “ephod”, a ceremonial breastplate or vest-plate worn by priests as they led people in worship. The High Priest of Israel had …

Exodus 28:4 …. a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre (worn on the head), and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

Micah was very thorough in creating his man made religion. We read that he also had “teraphim” (tᵊrāp̄îm), which is a smaller idol used for household shrines. When Rachel left her father’s house with Jacob, she took with her her father’s “images” or “teraphim” (Genesis 31:19, 34-35). These small images – about the size of a Barbie™ or a G.I. Joe™ doll – were carried in pouches, and used in people’s homes. It’s possible that Micah made these small images so that others could participate in his religion.

To Make Evil Legitimate,
Blend It With Established Religion

Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

This could be a reference to America today. “there was no king in Israel”. No one cared about God or His commandments. Our God is …

1 Timothy 6:15 … the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords…

Our God chose Israel to be His nation, He told them:

Deuteronomy 7:7-10 (ESV) It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.

God loved Israel because of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God keeps His promises. But Israel’s blessing depended on her obedience to Him as King. When Israel rejected God as King, God stopped raising up judges to deliver them. The fact that there is “no king in Israel” is emphasized and repeated in:

Judges 18:1 In those days there was no king in Israel …

Judges 19:1 … in those days, when there was no king in Israel …

Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel …

Who was king in Israel as we go through these last chapters of Judges?

Judges 17:6 every man did that which was right in his own eyes

The Enduring Word Commentary notes:

• It seemed right to the eyes of Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, but God said it was wrong.
• It seemed right to the eyes of the sons of Jacob to sell Joseph into slavery, but God said it was wrong.
• It seemed right to the eyes of Nadab and Abihu to offer strange fire before the Lord, but God said it was wrong.
• It seemed right to the eyes of King David to commit adultery with Bathsheba and cover it with murder, but God said it was wrong.
• It seemed right to the eyes of Judas to betray Jesus, but God said it was wrong.

The Bible warns us in Isaiah (5:20), “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”. When each person establishes their own religion, with their own standard of right and wrong, mass confusion takes hold. Micah set up his own religion, but he obviously has trouble “filling the house”. So what happens next?

Judges 17:7-12 And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 8 And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. 9 And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place. 10 And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in. 11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons. 12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

The devil sends a “young man out of Bethlehemjudah” to Micah. When we choose to do evil, the devil will often help us facilitate that evil. This young man is out of “Bethlehemjudah”, which will one day be the “City of David” (1 Samuel 17:12; 2 Samuel 5:7, 9-10). David would be one of the first God chosen Kings of Israel, and from David would come the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord (Luke 2:11). Yes, the Messiah and David came from “Bethlehemjudah”. This young man, however, is NOT a priest. He is a Levite, but is NOT a priest.

The Levites were the tribe of Israel descended from Levi, one of the twelve sons of Jacob. Every priest was a Levite – but not every Levite was a priest.

Leviticus 21 established the rule for priests. The priests were to be holy unto the Lord. They were only to marry virgins. Further, priests were NOT to have any physical defect:

Leviticus 21:18-21 (ESV) No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed; 19 no man with a crippled foot or hand, 20 or who is a hunchback or a dwarf, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles. 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect is to come near to present the food offerings to the Lord. He has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God.

This young man is a Levite, but is not qualified to be a priest according to God. We read that this man is traveling and “sojourn(ing) where he could find a place” (vs 8). Though he is disqualified according to God’s decree, he is hunting a paid priest’s position. He comes to Micah’s home, and Micah tells him:

Judges 17:10 … Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals (Hebrew miḥyâ, that which preserves life)

This young man – unqualified to be a priest – is looking for a priesthood. Micah decides that this is the perfect opportunity. To legitimize his religion, he will blend it with Judaism and it’s system of Levitical Priests. Micah ignores the lack of qualification of this man, and installs him as a “hired gun”. He pays the young man a good wage (ten shekels of silver (yearly)), a good clothing allowance (a suit of apparel), and gives him room and board (victuals). The fake priest quickly agreed! This chapter ends with Micah making a profound statement:

Judges 17:13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.

Micah thought that his man made religion would be blessed by his association with a Levite. This is not Judaism, nor is it Christianity. It is superstition. And yet, this is something not just common among fallen Israel, but common among the fallen Church in America today. People think, “If I have my own Preacher or Pastor, if I pay his salary and feed and house him, then that brings me favor in the eyes of God”. Benson’s Commentary notes:

“So blind and grossly partial he was in his judgment, to think that one right circumstance would answer for all his substantial errors, in making and worshiping images against God’s express command, in worshiping God in a forbidden place, by a priest illegally appointed. “He persuades himself,” says Calmet, “that the people, seeing his chapel served by a man of the family of Levi, will come thither with greater confidence, and that this concourse, together with the offerings to be brought, will procure him considerable gain. It is evidently this gain which he here calls the blessing of God. How just a representation is this of those superstitiously covetous persons who would connect religion with the love of riches, and who, as St. Paul expresses it, fancy that piety should serve as a means of enriching themselves.”

God is no more impressed by our man made religion than He was impressed by the Pharisees and Chief Priests who demanded Christ be crucified!

God is never favorably impressed by our disobedience, but by our obedience to His will and His Word. Micah consecrated the Levite, just as he consecrated his son – and yet, that does not mean that he was consecrated. Only God can consecrate! I spoke to a member who was being wooed to another local Church by a false prophet-pastor. This false prophet-pastor said,

“If you come over to MY Church, I’LL MAKE YOU a DEACON”.

That sounds fine, but it is not Biblical but man made. The Scripture tells us that:

1 Corinthians 12:18 (ESV) … as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

It is God Who sets the requirements for offices and gifts in the Church. The Southern Baptist Convention is currently undergoing some disturbance because our Baptist Faith and Message (2000) states:

VI. The Church: … {the Church’s} scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.

We have recently disfellowshipped from several local Churches – one of which was Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church – because they ordained female pastors. As Baptists we hold that the qualification of Pastor is based on Scripture:

1 Timothy 3:2-7 (ESV) … an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

There are many who say, “But women are CAPABLE to Pastor”, and that may be true. But it is not in accordance with the teaching of Scripture. Just because you CAN doesn’t mean you SHOULD. It is God Who establishes the standard. It is God Who gave the commandment to “not eat of the forbidden” to ADAM and not EVE (Genesis 2:15-17). Who does God blame for the fall of man into sin? Though EVE was the first one to eat of the forbidden, the Bible says:

Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Since sin entered the word “by one man” (Adam), when the Savior came the Savior was a MAN and not a WOMAN:

Romans 5:15, 17 … For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. (17) For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

It is God Who establishes the standard, not us. Many Churches today are setting up their own standards, but this is very dangerous. The Bible warns:

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Man made religion does not please God. We must approach Him the way the He demands. There is no other way to peace with God.

In Judges 17 we see how Micah creates a man made religion. In Judges 18 we see Micah’s religion spread to infect the Tribe of Dan.

Judges 18:1-2 In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel. 2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.

Those of the Tribe of Dan had an inheritance given them of God, but because of disobedience “all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel”. The land was theirs, but it was still occupied by the Canaanites. In order to take the land Israel had to heed the Lord God and His directions. This is what God told Israel through Moses:

Deuteronomy 4:1-2 (CEV) Israel, listen to these laws and teachings! If you obey them, you will live, and you will go in and take the land that the Lord is giving you. He is the God your ancestors worshiped, 2 and now he is your God. I am telling you everything he has commanded, so don’t add anything or take anything away.

God never promised Israel the land of Canaan outside of their obedience to Him. So when the Bible tells us:

Judges 18:1 In those days there was no king in Israel

this tells us that the Tribe of Dan was NOT following God, but still wanted the blessings of God. Moses told Israel,

Deuteronomy 4:25-27 (CEV) … I am giving you fair warning today, and I call the earth and the sky as witnesses. If you ever make idols, the Lord will be angry, and you won’t have long to live, because the Lord will let you be wiped out. 27 Only a few of you will survive, and the Lord will force you to leave the land and will scatter you among the nations.

God will not bless disobedience. The Tribe of Dan is not obeying God, so rather than REPENTING and doing as God says, they send …

Judges 18:2 … five men from their coasts, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land

They sent 5 brave men from Dan on a Lewis and Clark expedition to find a better place to settle. As they traveled, the Bible tells us that they …

Judges 18:2 they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah…

When you’re disobeying God and following the devil, he will give you opportunities to destroy yourself! They come to the House of Micah, and find a hired priest there.

Judges 18:3-6 When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here? 4 And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest. 5 And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous. 6 And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the Lord is your way wherein ye go.

My commentary notes: “These Danites on a sinful mission met with a sinful Levite and wanted to know from a righteous God if their mission would be successful. Then the sinful Levite sent the sinning men on their way with God’s blessing.”

Based on this false promise from God, the Danites move outward and go to “Laish”:

Judges 18:7-9 Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man. 8 And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say ye? 9 And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.

In Laish these men found the Sidonians, and believed them to be an easy mark. Believing the Levite false priest, these men return home and gather 600 soldiers to take Laish. On the way back to Laish they will stop at Micah’s home once more. We’ll return to this point next week! May God bless you all to follow HIM, and not the spirit of Dan or of Micah. Amen and Amen.