Today, people value independence and diverse perspectives…
Here’s the problem with this idea: everyone ends up perceiving truth differently.
The prevailing idea valued right now is relativism, meaning that right and wrong can vary by culture or by individual. There are no absolute moral rules, only social norms that evolve over time. This viewpoint is often linked to personal autonomy, which just emphasizes an individual’s right to determine what they consider to be good above all else.
But ideas have consequences! Ideas are always shifting; What was in a decade ago is now out, and what was out is now in. It all depends on what the “current expert” has to say. It’s enough to make your head spin.
But here is the truth: ideas not based on objective facts
will eventually, at some point, run into reality. We see this with the sexual revolution of the ’60s and ’70s; what was promised as liberation has led to more brokenness and bondage.
Relativism and autonomy are not new ideas; in fact, there is nothing new under the sun. This age-old issue appears in the Book of Judges, illustrating for us the phenomenon of people rejecting God as King and everyone doing what seemed right in their own eyes, which only led to devastation and chaos.
This week, we’re diving into the Book of Judges. If you brought your Bible with you this morning, turn to chapter 17, where we will focus our attention today. But before we go there, let me provide some background information to help set the context for our passage.
The Book of Judges covers roughly 350 years, which is quite a bit of time. To provide some perspective, the U.S. will celebrate its 250th anniversary next year, which makes the timeline of this book nearly 100 years longer than the country’s age.
The book is not organized chronologically; it’s structured thematically to better convey the author’s message.
The first two chapters introduce the main ideas, while chapters 3 to 16 explain the cycle of judges, and the last few chapters (17 to 21) offer a conclusion. And when you read this week, I don’t want you to picture judges as men in black robes in a courtroom. Instead, think of them as military leaders that God raised up to help His people
As you read these stories, you’ll notice a repeating pattern: The people sin, experience oppression, cry out to God for help, and God raises up a judge to rescue them, restoring peace, only for the entire cycle to start over again.
And with each cycle, you’ll see how the people’s depravity worsens with every new judge, eventually leading to complete chaos.
As we reach the book’s last chapters, it’s like watching the whole story implode. Everything just falls apart—it’s really tough to read.
The Promised Land feels like it’s transformed into a desolate wasteland, an unwelcoming place where people hide in caves, constantly at risk. Rather than being a land overflowing with milk and honey, it has become a harsh reality for them.
The judges came one after another, offering glimpses of hope, yet with each one’s passing, that hope faded a little more.
And now the judges are gone; there’s no one left to turn to. Israel has become its own worst enemy. What Israel needs most is to be saved from herself. And it is here you’ll read:
“In those days, there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever seemed right to him.”
This key theme in Judges guides our understanding of the book.
It is mentioned four times in Chapters 17-21. I don’t want us to miss the importance of this statement. I want us to see what the author is driving home today. He wants us to contemplate these examples of what happens when there is no king to uphold justice, and everyone acts according to their own will, doing whatever they want—they go rogue, so to speak, and do as they please!
Today, we will look at the conclusion of Judges, especially the story of Micah. We will draw out the lesson it provides and see how Jesus provides hope for the issues raised in Judges.
Let’s turn to Judges 17; you can follow along as I read.
There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Micah. 2 He said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver taken from you, and that I heard you place a curse on—here’s the silver. I took it.” Then his mother said, “My son, may you be blessed by the LORD!”
3 He returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, who said, “I personally consecrate the silver to the LORD for my son’s benefit to make a carved image and a silver idol. I will give it back to you.”
4 So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took five pounds of silver and gave it to a silversmith. He made it into a carved image and a silver idol, and it was in Micah’s house.
5 This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household idols, and installed one of his sons to be his priest. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever seemed right to him.
We don’t really know who Micah is (he’s not the prophet Micah) but we know what his name means: “Who is like the LORD.” Micah is anything but like the LORD. He’s a thief!
He breaks six of the Ten Commandments in these first six verses!
He stole silver from his mother and felt no remorse until he heard her curse. It’s not fear of the LORD that prompts his return of the silver, but fear of his mother’s curse.
Micah returned the silver, but he should have also done two things: acknowledged his sin before the Lord, made restitution, and offered a guilt sacrifice through the priest for his actions.
Look at what his mom does to neutralize the curse. It’s not what we’d expect her to say. She says, “I personally consecrate the silver to the LORD, for my son’s benefit, to make a carved image and a silver idol.” She solemnly consecrates the silver to Yahweh for her son to make an idolatrous object!
This is just crazy! She thought she could please God by breaking one of the most important commandments God gave to Israel. “Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them…”
(Ex 20:4-5)
What does Micah do? Micah happily accepts the idols from his mother to display in his home. They’ll complement his personal shrine and the ephod he crafted for his son to wear as his priestly garment.
Stop for a moment to think about what’s happening here. These were God’s chosen people. They were to have no other God but Yahweh. (Deut 6:4-9)
Clearly, Micah had forgotten this… or he didn’t care.
Either way, it’s not good. No one is following the law—not Micah, his mom, or the silversmith—and that’s the point. They’re all doing what feels right in their own eyes!
Let’s keep reading…
7 There was a young man, a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who was staying within the clan of Judah. 8 The man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. On his way he came to Micah’s home in the hill country of Ephraim.
9 “Where do you come from?” Micah asked him.
He answered him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,
and I’m going to stay wherever I can find a place.”
10 Micah replied, “Stay with me and be my father and priest, and I will give you four ounces of silver a year, along with your clothing and provisions.” So the Levite went in 11 and agreed to stay with the man, and the young man became like one of his sons. 12 Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in Micah’s house. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me because a Levite has become my priest.”
18 In those days, there was no king in Israel…
Micah had no problem kicking his son to the curb when he could bring in a Levite as his priest! No, he didn’t waste any time. He jumped at the opportunity to make his little sanctuary legit! But legitimate in whose eyes?
Micah must have felt like he was on top of the world, as if he could do no wrong. Maybe he thought, “I’m doing everything right because just look at how well everything is going for me.”
And this is where we meet a new character…
the Levite who’s chosen to set out and make it on his own.
You have to ask yourself what’s going on here. The Levites had designated duties and specific places to carry out their responsibilities. They’re not supposed to fend for themselves. The Israelites were to provide for the Levites with their offerings.
So, is that not the case? Why is he roaming around? What’s driving him to seek a better spot? Why is he looking for a place to settle down?
This Levite represents the religious turmoil of the time. The writer wants you to see that it’s a free-for-all. The judges’ sins have come home to roost, so to speak, and like a plague spreading throughout the nation, they have infected God’s people.
Even the Levitical priesthood is drifting, like a ship without an anchor. More than anyone among God’s people, they should have been anchored to the word of God and pointing people back to the LORD. Instead, “Everyone is doing whatever seems right in their own eyes.”
Micah’s own Idolatry is what blinded him from the truth and led him to believe he didn’t need a king—Because he had a priest, one he ordained and paid for, who served in his shrine and took care of him. And it’s this misplaced hope that gives him the confidence to say. “Now I know that Yahweh will prosper me because I have a Levite as a priest.”
Chapter 18 just continues this downward spiral. Since we can’t cover everything in it right now, I’ll focus on what it says about Micah and summarize the chapter.
Chapter 18 shows how Micah’s idolatry and sin spread like wildfire through the entire tribe in Israel. The tribe of Dan is roaming the country…(This presents a problem in itself. You’ll recall from Chapter 1 that the tribe of Dan failed to conquer the land allotted to them. So, what are they doing roaming the land? This again illustrates the point that everyone was doing whatever seemed good in there own eyes)…They come across Micah and see that he has a shrine filled with household idols, and he even has his own priest.
They end up stealing Micah’s household idols and make an even better deal to Micah’s priest, who willingly goes along with the Danites.
Once Micah realizes what has happened, he musters his men,
pursues the Danites, and catches up to them. What follows is a pretty intense standoff. Micah and the Danites go back and forth. I want you to listen to Micah’s final words. His response is telling: “You took the gods I had made and the priest, and went away. What do I have left?” Everything Micah put his hope in was gone, and he was left with nothing.
Do you recognize the irony in all of this? The gods “I made” and the priest “I anointed” were gone. He’d turned to these idols for his salvation, but instead of being saved, Micah sets out to rescue the very objects of his worship—the foundations of his life—but he is unable to do so; he is left shattered and alone.
The Danites took control of the unsuspecting city of Laish, a territory that wasn’t granted to them, and renamed it Dan. There, they established the idols they had stolen from Micah,
and those idols remained there the entire time the Tabernacle (the true place of worship) was located in Shiloh. And in an unexpected twist, we finally find out who the idolatrous priest is—it’s none other than Moses’ grandson. He does not come from Aaron, the ancestor of the Levites.
Maybe Moses’ grandson believed he could become a priest simply because he was part of Moses’ family, which he thought entitled him to sacred duties. But, his lineage did not qualify him for the priesthood. And the descendants of Moses’ grandson would serve as priests for the tribe of Dan for roughly 500 years until the time of the exile. This isn’t good.
And things only spiral down even further. The Book ends with the horrific abuse of a woman, which leads to an all-out bloody civil war against the tribe of Benjamin.
The Book of Judges close with this statement: 25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever seemed right to him.
It’s shocking! It’s the result of humans acting according
to what seems right to them.
The people need a king like the one we read about in Deuteronomy 17 during week 9, one who will uphold the Word of God. Who will meditate on God’s word day and night to avoid temptation. The people would get a human king—King David—but even he fell short as both an adulterer and a murderer. A mere human king will not prove to be a solution.
All this points forward to the one true human and divine king, King Jesus, he is the only solution for humanity’s condition.
The lesson of judges is timeless, remaining as relevant today as it was during the era of the Judges. And that is this: There is truth—ultimate reality—and it is found in a relationship with the One true God, King Jesus! We are called to enter a relationship with him and trust his promises as we seek his guidance, even in difficult times.
You see the book of Judges shows that we are our own worst enemies. Our issues aren’t merely caused by the people around us, the unjust circumstances we face, or the families we were born into. No, the real issue lies within our hearts. This has been humanity’s problem from the very beginning
when Adam and Eve sought to decide for themselves what was good and right in their own eyes.
Micah desired to be religious as long as it aligned with what he thought best to worship. This is what put him at odds with God.
The Book of Judges tells us, “Don’t be like this! No, you need a Righteous King!” The antidote, then and now, is the same…we need Jesus and the Word of God.
Sadly, many are unaware of the truth. They think they’re fine. They’ll give Jesus a nod, then go about their business. When in reality, they know little about Him beyond their own perceptions. Like in the time of the judges, they follow their hearts instead of Jesus, not realizing their hearts act as an idol factory, producing what seems right to them.
People often prioritize jobs, money, accomplishments, relationships, and social issues over God, seeking meaning and happiness in these areas. This can create idols that leave them feeling empty and lost. What they truly need is the King.
Jesus is the righteous King we long for! The message of His gospel impacts everything! It serves as a message of hope, healing, and reconciliation through faith in Christ.
The bottom line is this:
Micah’s lament about being left with nothing will echo the plight of everyone who puts their faith (trust) in false idols. Don’t let this be true for you.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
This is true; this is reality! You don’t need what the world tempts you with; you need Jesus! Our faith in Jesus empowers us and encourages us to live our lives “in Him” so that we reflect His character in our daily lives.
This doesn’t mean there won’t be difficulties in your life—far from it—rather, it simply indicates that you’ll be living your life according to his will.
Listen to what Jesus says to counter the whole idea of living for self… “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. 26 For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life?”
See, I’d love to ask Micah or the priest this last question… What will it benefit someone if they gain the whole world yet lose their lives?
The paradox is clear: we find true life by losing our own. What we build our lives on matter. Truth is the foundation that matters!
Jesus told a parable of two foundations.
It’s a parable we’d do well to heed… 24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.”
The question for us this morning is, what foundation are you building on?
In just a minute, we will pray. I want you to reflect on what we discussed this morning: are you placing your hopes in the things of this world or Jesus? What foundation are you building on?
When we pray, I want you to talk to God. I encourage you to share what’s going on in your heart with the Lord. Let the Spirit of God speak to you. If you need to repent—turn away from sin and turn back towards God—I challenge you to do so. Trust Him. He will provide the hope that you need.
If you’re here and thinking, “I’m good,” I challenge you to ask yourself this question: Is there anything in your life that, if taken away, would make you feel the same way Micah felt when he lost everything? Remember, our hearts can be deceitful and wicked, often without us even being aware of it. Talk to God about this and ask Him to search your heart and reveal anything that is hidden. Ask Him to guide you in the ways of righteousness.
What we need most is what the world has always needed—a Righteous King, and it’s Jesus, our Prophet, Priest, and King!
Will you submit to him?