Who Was Micah in the Book of Judges — Meaning Explained

Micah (not to be confused with the prophet Micah) appears in Judges 17-18 as an example of the religious chaos that characterized the period when 'there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.' Micah lived in the hill country of Ephraim. He confessed to his mother that he had stolen eleven hundred shekels of silver from her. She had cursed the thief, but when he returned the money, she dedicated two hundred shekels to the LORD and had a silversmith make a graven image and a molten image. Micah placed them in his house and made an ephod and teraphim, establishing a private shrine. He then hired a young Levite from Bethlehem-judah to be his personal priest. '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.' The Levite agreed, and Micah was pleased: 'Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.' But the story takes a darker turn. The tribe of Dan, seeking territory, sent five spies who came to Micah's house and recognized the Levite's voice. They asked him to inquire of God about their mission. The Levite gave them a favorable answer. When the Danites returned with six hundred armed men, they recognized Micah's idols and convinced the Levite to come with them, offering him a position as priest to the whole tribe. The Levite took the ephod, the teraphim, and the graven image and went with them. Micah pursued them but was outnumbered and returned home empty-handed. The Danites then conquered Laish, renamed it Dan, and set up Micah's graven image. This idol remained in Dan throughout the period of the judges and became one of the centers of Jeroboam's golden calf worship. Micah's story illustrates the corruption of personal religion. A man creates his own worship, hires a priest, and thinks God is pleased. But his idols become the snare of a whole tribe.