And there was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
The verse stands in Judges 17-21, which record events from the early part of the judges period though placed at the end of the book, whose main story ends with chapter 16. It introduces a young Levite from Bethlehem-judah who left home to seek a place for himself and sojourned and settled at Micah's house in Mount Ephraim. There Micah hired him and irregularly set him apart as a household priest for his shrine with its molten images and idolatrous worship, a rival sanctuary in the time of the judges. The Danites later took this priest along with Micah's idols to Laish, established worship there after renaming the city Dan, and that worship continued until the ten tribes went into captivity.
The verse belongs to the pitiful record of backsliding in Judges 17-21, part of one composite record in Judges 3-17 and two stories of awful idolatry in the latter part of Judges. It shows backsliding followed by disgrace, punishment, suffering, oppression, captivity and servitude and returning to God followed by forgiveness and deliverance. It reveals the perversity, unbelief and constant lapsing into idolatry of the people and the long-suffering, goodness and restoring effort of God amid awful moral surroundings and the demoralizing influences of the tribes permitted to remain in the promised land, a record not delightful to dwell upon. It illustrates the disorder of a time when Israel had no king and people did as they pleased, when conventional hospitality was set above female virtue and loyalty to a tribe above rendering justice.
The early apostasy associated with the tribe of Dan in Judges 17 is suggested as a reason Dan was later omitted from the tribes listed among the 144,000 in Revelation 7. Micah acted on the idea that even idolatry would be acceptable to God if attended with the ordinances of religion by obtaining a true Levite as priest. This exemplifies the evasive human heart attempting to justify a transgression already committed and to make an excuse to God for a crime. The account gives no ground to think anyone can backslide with impunity, shows a condition still seen today, and shows there is never any excuse for sin.
The verse stands in Judges 17-21, which record events from the early part of the judges period though placed at the end of the book, whose main story ends with chapter 16. It introduces a young Levite from Bethlehem-judah who left home to seek a place for himself and sojourned and settled at Micah's house in Mount Ephraim. There Micah hired him and irregularly set him apart as a household priest for his shrine with its molten images and idolatrous worship, a rival sanctuary in the time of the judges. The Danites later took this priest along with Micah's idols to Laish, established worship there after renaming the city Dan, and that worship continued until the ten tribes went into captivity.
The verse belongs to the pitiful record of backsliding in Judges 17-21, part of one composite record in Judges 3-17 and two stories of awful idolatry in the latter part of Judges. It shows backsliding followed by disgrace, punishment, suffering, oppression, captivity and servitude and returning to God followed by forgiveness and deliverance. It reveals the perversity, unbelief and constant lapsing into idolatry of the people and the long-suffering, goodness and restoring effort of God amid awful moral surroundings and the demoralizing influences of the tribes permitted to remain in the promised land, a record not delightful to dwell upon. It illustrates the disorder of a time when Israel had no king and people did as they pleased, when conventional hospitality was set above female virtue and loyalty to a tribe above rendering justice.
The early apostasy associated with the tribe of Dan in Judges 17 is suggested as a reason Dan was later omitted from the tribes listed among the 144,000 in Revelation 7. Micah acted on the idea that even idolatry would be acceptable to God if attended with the ordinances of religion by obtaining a true Levite as priest. This exemplifies the evasive human heart attempting to justify a transgression already committed and to make an excuse to God for a crime. The account gives no ground to think anyone can backslide with impunity, shows a condition still seen today, and shows there is never any excuse for sin.