Judges 17 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Judges 17 Summary - A Quick Overview

WHEN:

• Most scholars place the period of the Judges between 1450 B.C. and 1000 B.C.

• We are not given exact dates for the historical events recorded in Judges 17.

CHARACTERS:

• Micah – A man from Ephraim who created a shrine and appointed his own priests.

• Young Levite – This man was hired by Micah to work in his shrine.

WHERE:

• Micah and his mother lived in the hill country of Ephraim.

• The young Levite who became Micah’s priest was from Bethlehem.

OUTLINE:

• MICAH BUILDS HIMSELF A SHRINE (17:1-5):

  • In Ephraim, there was a man named Micah who stole 1,100 pieces of silver from his mother.

  • Feeling bad about his dishonesty and being fearful of the curse his mother had spoken over the thief, he gave the money back.

  • His mother forgave him and dedicated 200 pieces of the silver to the creation of a metal image.

  • From the text it appears the metal image was supposed to represent the true God, but this had been forbidden in the 10 commandments.    

  • Micah took the image and made a shrine. In addition to the metal image, Micah added an ephod, household gods, and he appointed his son to be priest.

• MICAH FINDS A LEVITE TO BE A PRIEST AT HIS SHRINE (17:6-13):

  • “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (17:6). 

  • A young man from the tribe of Levi left his home in Bethlehem in search of a job.

  • As he journeyed through the hill country of Ephraim, he met Micah.

  • Learning that he was a Levite and knowing that the Levites were those ordained to serve at God’s Tabernacle, Micah offered the young man a job working as a priest in his shrine.

  • The young man accepted and over time he became like a son to Micah.

  • Micah concluded, “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.” 

APPLICATION:

• Why is this story and the stories in the concluding chapters of Judges included in the Bible?

• The end of the book of Judges contains a few unpleasant stories that may seem random upon first reading.

• I suspect these stories are included in the book to show the religious confusion and immorality that spread through the tribes of Israel.

• It didn’t take long for many Israelites to break their covenant with God.

• Some of the problems stemmed from ignorance of God’s laws, while others were a result of outright rebellion.

• As you read through the next few chapters, allow them to inform you on the spiritual state of the nation.