The Silver, The Image, and the Priest
Looking back at part 1
Part one of our series, The Story of the Silver, the Image, and the Priest, reminds us how easily good intentions can turn into idolatry when the heart isn’t fully surrendered to God. What starts as a desire to honor Him can become self-serving if we use His name to justify our choices. True devotion doesn’t hide behind appearances of holiness; it comes from obedience, humility, and a heart that seeks God above everything else.
We also learned that idolatry isn’t always a golden statue or a shrine in the corner; sometimes it’s hidden in the deepest places of our hearts. It’s hidden in the things we cling to, defend, or prioritize above God. The lesson from the silver is clear: God desires worship that is pure, not convenient; repentance that is sincere, not superficial; and hearts that are guided by His Word, not by what feels right in our own eyes.
But Micah’s story didn’t end there. Having built his shrine and molded his image, he took one step further: he sought someone who could lend legitimacy to his private worship of the image in his home. And so, enters the priest, a man whose presence seemed to confirm God’s blessing, but whose role would expose just how far Israel had drifted from the truth.
The Image
Micah had a problem with his shrine. Although he had installed his own son as priest (see Judges 17:5), something about it still felt incomplete. It appears he knew his arrangement wasn’t correct. His family was from the tribe of Ephraim, not Levi, the tribe God had set apart for priestly service. To give his worship credibility, Micah decided he needed someone more “qualified.” He needed a Levite to lend legitimacy to his shrine, to give it the appearance of God’s approval. And it didn’t take long for him to find one.
7 “Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he was staying there. 8 Then the man left the city, Bethlehem in Judah, to stay wherever he would find a place; and as he made his journey, he came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah. 9 Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, ‘I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to stay wherever I may find a place.’ 10 Micah then said to him, ‘Stay with me and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a supply of clothing, and your sustenance.’ So the Levite went in. 11 The Levite agreed to live with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12 So Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, ‘Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as a priest.’”
Judges 17:7-13 (NASB)
Micah, feeling chuffed with his luck after finding a Levite to be his priest, felt sure that God would smile on his new priest. He came from the prescribed tribe from which priests were to come.
But Micah was faulty in his reasoning. In his scheming to have a place of private worship, he forgot that the image was:
- A representation of Micah trusting in himself rather than in Jehovah, the God of Israel.
- Forbidden to worship, as it was an image made by man.
- Powerless to save him, let alone help him in any way.
What were the chances?
What a moment this must have been for Micah. After all, what were the chances of a wandering Levite appearing at his door? In his mind, this was proof that God favored his efforts. Finally, his shrine had a genuine priest, someone from the right tribe, the one God had chosen for sacred service. Surely, that signified God’s approval.
But Micah’s reasoning was deeply flawed. His new arrangement still centered on disobedience, no matter how respectable it appeared. In his desire to create a place of private worship, Micah overlooked what God had already made clear about the image he had set up:
- It was forbidden to worship, for it was an idol crafted by human hands.
- It was powerless to save or help him in any way.
- And it was a reflection not of faith but of self-trust; a symbol of Micah depending on himself rather than on Jehovah, the God of Israel.
Not only was the image a problem for Micah, but the fact that he dared to “consecrate” the priest himself was an egregious error. No one, except the descendants of Aaron (who were from the tribe of Levi), was to be a priest and consecrate new priests.
Assuming and presuming
Micah assumed a lot. He presumed he could take authority that wasn’t his to claim, and then believed he could appoint a priest who was from the tribe of Levi but not from the Levitical line. How do we know he wasn’t a priest? Because this Levite was from Bethlehem in Judah (see Judges 17:9), which wasn’t a Levitical city (see Joshua 21). What was he? He was a Levite who could serve the priests but couldn’t be one himself.
Presumption is a trap into which Micah fell, and it is often set for those who dare to do things their way. David understood the danger well and prayed to be kept from being presumptuous.
Moses, the deliverer of Israel from Egypt, himself fell into the trap of presumption, taking something for granted, assuming he had permission, favor, or truth without having the right or evidence to do so.
“Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. 25 For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’ 27 But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.”
Acts 7:23-29 (NKJV)
Moses spent 40 years in exile, where he learned not to suppose or presume anything. In fact, he resisted the call of God, even though he was aware that he was God’s chosen deliverer (see Acts 7:25). His presumption cost him 40 years. The presumption of Micah was about to cost him as well.
A counterfeit priest
Had this Levite been a priest, he would not have accepted serving as Micah’s personal priest. He would have known his service was sacred to God’s worship alone in the Tabernacle (for the temple had not yet been built as of the time of Micah). He was a counterfeit.
But he agreed to serve Micah and the image he had set up. And the arrangement seemed to serve everyone well, until it didn’t. The repercussions of doing what seemed right were about to get real.
The story carries on in Judges 18, where it is again emphasized that there was no king in Israel; there was no leader over the people. So, every tribe was left to its own devices regarding where to go and how to live.
The tribe of Dan had not fully conquered its portion of the Promised Land (Canaan) and was seeking other territories to conquer. While out scouting for new land, a group of men from the tribe of Dan came across Micah’s house and decided to stay there.
“When they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite; and they turned aside there and said to him, ‘Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?’ 4 He said to them, ‘Micah has done this and that for me, and he has hired me and I have become his priest.’ 5 Then they said to him, ‘Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be successful.’ 6 And the priest said to them, ‘Go in peace; your way in which you are going has the Lord’s approval.’”
Judges 18:3-6 (NASB)
Recognized as a priest
It’s unclear in these verses how the men from Dan knew the priest. Perhaps they knew him personally, or maybe they just recognized his accent and wondered how he had ended up with Micah. Whatever the case, they recognized him as a priest, further complicating an already complicated matter.
Being from the tribe of Dan, they would have known that priests didn’t serve individuals privately. But since everyone was doing what they thought was right, and there was, after all, an image, shrine, and ephod with this priest giving credence to his ministry, he must be able to help them with a word from God.
The priest, probably conjuring something up in his mind, said, “Go in peace; your way in which you are going has the Lord’s approval.” (see Judges 18:6) Whether this was really a word from God is up for debate. In the following verse (see Judges 18:7-13), we see the Danites successfully taking the city of Laish as a possession. The tribe of Dan was known for its strength and courage, as well as its tendency to fall into idol worship. So, their taking the city of Laish was probably a foregone conclusion.
Returning to Micah’s house to fetch a priest
Remembering the priest and the image he served, the men who had gone to take Laish returned to Micah’s house to fetch the image and the priest. Their journey reveals more than just ancient failure; it illustrates our own tendency to seek out priests, people, or ideas that comfort us rather than bring us closer to the truth.
In Part 3, we’ll see how the priest’s willing departure and Micah’s helpless protest expose the depth of Israel’s spiritual decay, and how their continued worship of the image in God’s house foreshadows how far a nation can drift when devotion is replaced by imitation.
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