Judges 17:7-13

Judges 17:7-13

[7] And there was a young man  out of Bethlehemjudah  of the family  of Judah,  who was a Levite,  and he sojourned  there. [8] And the man  out of the city  from Bethlehemjudah  to sojourn  where he could find  a place: and he came  to mount  Ephraim  to the house  of Micah,  as he journeyed.  [9] And Micah  said  unto him, Whence  comest  thou? And he said  unto him, I am a Levite  of Bethlehemjudah,  and I go  to sojourn  where I may find  a place. [10] And Micah  said  unto him, Dwell  with me, and be unto me a father  and a priest,  and I will give  thee ten  shekels of silver  by the year,  and a suit  of apparel,  and thy victuals.  So the Levite  [11] And the Levite  was content  to dwell  with the man;  and the young man  was unto him as one  of his sons.  [12] And Micah  consecrated  the Levite;  and the young man  became his priest,  and was in the house  of Micah.  [13] Then said  Micah,  Now know  I that the LORD  will do me good,  seeing I have a Levite  to my priest. 

What does Judges 17:7-13 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Judges 17:1-6 stress the sin of self-styled worship. Judges 17:7-13 emphasize the folly of self-determined service.
The writer did not call the young Levite who came to live with Micah a priest. He was evidently not a descendant of Aaron, though he was from the tribe of Levi. The Levites were, of course, living throughout Israel having received no tribal allotment of land but only cities within the territories of the other tribes. This young man had been living in Bethlehem of Judah, which was not a Levitical city ( Judges 17:7). His disregard for God"s will is obvious in his choice to live somewhere other than where God told the Levites to live (cf. Judges 17:6).
"Unlike Abraham, who also set out for an unknown destination but who went with a keen sense of the calling of God, this person is shiftless. He has no passion for God, no sense of divine calling, no burden of responsibility. He is a "laid back" professional minister following the path of least resistance and waiting for an opportunity to open up." [1]
This young Levite decided to move elsewhere and during his travels met Micah who, desiring to "upgrade" his priesthood, invited him to live with him and become a priest to his family. Micah had been content to have his son function as his family priest, but a genuine Levite would be even better, Micah thought. Family priests had passed out of existence in Israel since God had set the tribe of Levi aside for priestly service ( Exodus 32:28-29; cf. Numbers 3:12-13). Since Micah promised to support him financially, the Levite agreed to the arrangement that Micah proposed, which involved being a spiritual adviser to his patron. Micah proceeded to set the young man apart to his service ( Judges 17:12) and superstitiously concluded that Yahweh would bless him since he had a Levite as his priest ( Judges 17:13). He was wrong, as the following chapter shows.
"The apostasy of the Judges period, according to this chapter, was characterized by three observable trends1. Religious syncretism ( Judges 17:1-5).... 2. Moral relativism ( Judges 17:6).... 3. Extreme materialism ( Judges 17:7-13)." [2]