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1 And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

2 And he said vnto his mother, The eleuen hundred shekels of siluer, that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine eares, behold, the siluer is with mee, I tooke it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my sonne.

3 And when hee had restored the eleuen hundred shekels of siluer to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the siluer vnto the Lord, from my hand, for my sonne, to make a grauen image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it vnto thee.

4 Yet hee restored the money vnto his mother, and his mother tooke two hundred shekels of siluer, and gaue them to the founder, who made thereof a grauen image and a molten image, and they were in the house of Micah.

5 And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an Ephod, and Teraphim, and consecrated one of his sonnes, who became his Priest.

6 In those dayes there was no king in Israel, but euery man did that which was right in his owne eyes.

7 ¶ And there was a young man out of Bethlehem Iudah, of the family of Iudah, who was a Leuite, and he soiourned there.

8 And the man departed out of the citie from Bethlehem Iudah, to soiourne where he could finde a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he iourneyed.

9 And Micah said vnto him, Whence commest thou? And he said vnto him, I am a Leuite, of Bethlehem Iudah, and I goe to soiourne where I may finde a place.

10 And Micah said vnto him, Dwell with me, and be vnto me a father and a Priest, and I will giue thee ten shekels of siluer by the yeere, and a suite of apparell, and thy victuals. So the Leuite went in.

11 And the Leuite was content to dwell with the man, and the yong man was vnto him as one of his sonnes.

12 And Micah consecrated the Leuite, 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 doe me good, seeing I haue a Leuite to my Priest.

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Commentary for Judges 17

The beginning of idolatry in Israel, Micah and his mother. (1-6) Micah hires a Levite to be his priest. (7-13)1-6 What is related in this, and the rest of the chapters to the end of this book, was done soon after the death of Joshua: see chap. #Jud 20:28|. That it might appear how happy the nation was under the Judges, here is showed how unhappy they were when there was no Judge. The love of money made Micah so undutiful to his mother as to rob her, and made her so unkind to her son, as to curse him. Outward losses drive good people to their prayers, but bad people to their curses. This woman's silver was her god, before it was made into a graven or a molten image. Micah and his mother agreed to turn their money into a god, and set up idol worship in their family. See the cause of this corruption. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes, and then they soon did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

7-13 Micah thought it was a sign of God's favour to him and his images, that a Levite should come to his door. Thus those who please themselves with their own delusions, if Providence unexpectedly bring any thing to their hands that further them in their evil way, are apt from thence to think that God is pleased with them.

Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.

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