In brief
Micah is a man of the hill country of Ephraim in the time of the judges, when there was no king in Israel. After returning to his mother the silver he had taken from her, he sets up a carved image, an ephod and household gods in his house, and hires a young Levite as priest. He thinks he is securing the Lord's favor. But men of the tribe of Dan carry off his idols and his priest.
What does the name Micah of Ephraim mean?
Micah is a short form of a Hebrew name generally understood as a question: who is like the Lord? This meaning contrasts sharply with the conduct of a man who makes himself a carved image. He should not be confused with the prophet Micah, whose name has the same origin.
The story of Micah of Ephraim
The stolen silver and the curse
Judges 17:1-2Micah, from the hill country of Ephraim, confesses to his mother that he took the eleven hundred shekels of silver over which she had pronounced a curse. His mother answers by blessing him in the Lord's name. The account thus opens with a theft committed within the family itself.
A manufactured house of God
Judges 17:3-6His mother dedicates the silver to the Lord to make a carved image and a molten image. Micah has a house of gods; he makes an ephod and household gods and consecrates one of his sons as priest. The text comments: there was no king in Israel, everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
A hired Levite
Judges 17:7-13A young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, looking for a place to live, arrives at Micah's house. Micah offers him ten shekels of silver a year, a suit of clothes and his food to be his father and priest. He consecrates him, then declares that he knows the Lord will do him good since he has a Levite as priest.
The spies of Dan
Judges 18:1-7The tribe of Dan is looking for territory. Five spies spend the night near Micah's house and recognize the voice of the young Levite. They ask him to inquire of God about their journey, and he tells them to go in peace. They then discover Laish, a quiet and secluded city.
The idols and the priest taken away
Judges 18:13-21Six hundred armed Danites pass by Micah's house. The five men take the carved image, the ephod, the household gods and the molten image. They propose that the Levite be priest to an entire tribe rather than to one man's house. The priest is glad and goes with them, taking the objects of worship.
What more do I have?
Judges 18:22-31Micah and his neighbors pursue the Danites. Micah complains that they have taken the gods he made and his priest. Threatened, he goes home. The Danites destroy Laish, rebuild it under the name of Dan and set up Micah's carved image there, served by Jonathan, son of Gershom, and his sons.
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What Micah of Ephraim teaches us
- Worship invented according to one's own ideas, even with good intentions, does not please God.
- God's favor cannot be bought by surrounding oneself with religious objects or a paid minister.
- When everyone does what seems right to them, a people's spiritual life deteriorates quickly.
- The gods that people make can be taken from them; the living God cannot be stolen.
- A servant drawn by prestige and pay can abandon the place where he had committed himself.
Key verses
“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.” This sentence sums up Micah's story and returns like a refrain until the end of the book of Judges.
“Now I know that Yahweh will do good to me, since I have a Levite as my priest.” Micah believes blessing depends on a religious arrangement, while he disobeys the law.
God had forbidden making a carved image. Micah and his mother claim to honor the Lord, but they do so by directly transgressing this commandment.
“You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away! What more do I have?” Micah's complaint shows the emptiness of a religion built on objects.
Sermons about Micah of Ephraim
Frequently asked questions
Why is Micah's story in the Bible?
It shows where the absence of authority and of obedience to the Word leads in the time of the judges. Micah mixes the name of the Lord with idols and a priesthood he invents. The account also explains the origin of the idolatrous sanctuary of the tribe of Dan. It serves as a warning against a religion built to one's own taste.
Who was the Levite hired by Micah?
He was a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who was looking for a place to live. Micah paid him to be his priest, then the Danites took him away with them. Judges 18:30 later names Jonathan, son of Gershom, as priest of the Danites with his sons; many recognize this same Levite, though the text does not say so explicitly.
Where can I find Micah's story in the Bible?
Micah's story is found in Judges 17 and 18. Chapter 17 tells of the setting up of his idols and the hiring of the Levite, and chapter 18 tells of the taking of these objects by the tribe of Dan and the founding of the city of Dan. This Micah is not the prophet Micah.