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Judges 17:3-4, When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I solemnly consecrate my silver to the Lord for my son to make an image overlaid with silver. I will give it back to you.” So after he returned the silver to his mother, she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who used them to make the idol. And it was put in Micah’s house.

This is an odd story in the middle of the book of Judges about an unnamed Jewish family living in the hill country of Ephraim.  On the surface, the family seems devout, even God-fearing.  But as the story progresses, problems begin to emerge.

Be sure to read through the whole text, as our focus verses are but a small part of the story. There is a lot to tackle here.  The Jewish family seems to follow the Lord.  The son's name, Micah, even means "Who is like God?"  But right away, we see cracks in their faithfulness.  Micah is a thief who dishonors his mother by stealing her silver.  He steals 1100 shekels, which is a very large sum.  When he returns the silver, the mother says that she consecrates it to the Lord but there is no evidence this is done.  She doesn't take the silver to the priests at the temple but rather gives it back to her son to make an idol.  Note, only 200 shekels were given to the silversmith to make the idol; we don't know what happened to the remaining 900 shekels.  

Idols are clearly against God's law, as is Micah's home shrine.  He also establishes his own son as priest over the shrine.  When a Levite man from elsewhere comes looking for a place to stay, Micah decides to pay him to be the family priest. 

From the theft to having a family priest over a home shrine, the law is blatantly disobeyed.  What is the author trying to teach us through this story?  Why was it included in the book of Judges?  Certainly, we need to look below the spiritual veneer.  People and situations aren't always what they seem.  Faithfulness to God is best demonstrated through actions, not words. While they may have professed faith in Yahweh, in everything this family did, they looked more pagan than Hebrew. 

If an objective observer was peeking into your own life and home situation, what might they say about your faithfulness to God? 

Let's pray...Almighty God, Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight.  In Your Name, Amen.