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Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Judges 17:1–6. His four-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
Here we have, I. Micah and his mother quarrelling. 1. The son robs the mother. The old woman had hoarded, with long scraping and saving, a great sum of money, 1100 pieces of silver. It is likely she intended, when she died, to leave it to her son: in the mean time it did her good to look upon it, and to count it over. The young man had a family of children grown up, for he had one of age to be a priest, Jdg 17:5. He knows where to find his mother's cash, thinks he has more need of it than she has, cannot stay till she dies, and so takes it away privately for his own use. Though it is a fault in parents to withhold from their children that which is meet, and lead them into temptation to wish them in their graves, yet even this will by no means excuse the wickedness of those children that steal from their parents, and think all their own that they can get from them, though by the most indirect methods. 2. The mother curses the son, or whoever had taken her money. It should seem she suspected her son; for, when she cursed, she spoke in his cars so loud, and with so much passion and vehemence, as made both his ears to tingle. See what mischief the love of money makes, how it destroys the duty and comfort of every relation. It was the love of money that made Micah so undutiful to his mother as to rob her, and made her so unkind and void of natural affection to her son as to curse him if he had it and concealed it. 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 thither into a graven or a molten image, else the loss of it would not have put her into such a passion as caused her quite to forget and break through all the laws of decency and piety. It is a very foolish thing for those that are provoked to throw their curses about as a madman that casteth fire-brands, arrows, and death, since they know not but they may light upon those that are most dear to them.
II.Micah and his mother reconciled.
1.The son was so terrified with his mother's curses that he restored the money. Though he had so little grace as to take it, he had so much left as not to dare to keep it when his mother had sent a curse after it. He cannot believe his mother's money will do him any good without his mother's blessing, nor dares he deny the theft when he is charged with it, nor retain the money when it is demanded by the right owner. It is best not to do evil, but it is next best, when it is done, to undo it again by repentance, confession, and restitution. Let children be afraid of having the prayers of their parents against them; for, though the curse causeless shall not come, yet that which is justly deserved may be justly feared, even though it was passionately and indecently uttered.
2.The mother was so pleased with her son's repentance that she recalled her curses, and turned them into prayers for her son's welfare: Blessed be thou of the Lord, my son. When those that have been guilty of a fault appear to be free and ingenuous in owning it they ought to be commended for their repentance, rather than still be condemned and upbraided for their fault.
III.Micah and his mother agreeing to turn their money into a god, and set up idolatry in their family; and this seems to have been the first instance of the revolt of any Israelite from God and his instituted worship after the death of Joshua and the elders that out-lived him, and is therefore thus particularly related. And though this was only the worship of the true God by an image, against the second commandment, yet this opened the door to the worship of other gods, Baalim and the groves, against the first and great commandment. Observe,
1.The mother's contrivance of this matter. When the silver was restored she pretended she had dedicated it to the Lord (Jdg 17:3), either before it was stolen, and then she would have this thought to be the reason why she was so much grieved at the loss of it and imprecated evil on him that had taken it, because it was a dedicated and therefore an accursed thing, or after it was stolen she had made a vow that, if she could retrieve it, she would dedicate it to God, and then she would have the providence that had so far favoured her as to bring it back to her hands to be an owning of her vow. "Come," said she to her son, "the money is mine, but thou hast a mind to it; let it be neither mine nor thine, but let us both agree to make it into an image for a religious use." Had she put it to a use that was indeed for the service and honour of God, this would have been a good way of accommodating the matter between them; but, as it was, the project was wicked. Probably this old woman was one of those that came out of Egypt, and would have such images made as she had seen there; now that she began to dote she called to remembrance the follies of her youth, and perhaps told her son that this way of worshipping God by images was, to her knowledge, the old religion.
2.The son's compliance with her. It should seem, when she first proposed the thing he stumbled at it, knowing what the second commandment was; for, when she said (Jdg 17:3) she designed it for her son to make an image of, yet he restored it to his mother (being loth to have a hand in making the image), and she gave it to the founder and had the thing done, blaming him perhaps for scrupling at it, Jdg 17:4. But, when the images were made, Micah, by his mother's persuasion, was not only well reconciled to them, but greatly pleased and in love with them; so strangely bewitching was idolatry, and so much supported by traditions received from their parents, Pe1 1:18; Jer 44:17. But observe how the old woman's covetousness prevailed, in part, above her superstition. She had wholly dedicated the silver to make the graven and molten images (Jdg 17:3), all the 1100 pieces; but, when it came to be done, she made less than a fifth part serve, even 200 shekels, Jdg 17:4. She thought that enough, and indeed it was too much to give for an image that is a teacher of lies. Had it been devoted truly to the honour of God, he would not thus have been put off with part of the price, but would have signified his resentment of the affront, as he did in the case of Ananias and Sapphira. Now observe,
(1.)What was the corruption here introduced, Jdg 17:5. The man Micah had a house of gods, a house of God, so the Septuagint, for so he thought it, as good as that at Shiloh, and better, because his own, of his own inventing and at his own disposal; for people love to have their religion under their girdle, to manage it as they please. A house of error, so the Chaldee, for really it was so, a deviation from the way of truth and an inlet to all deceit. Idolatry is a great cheat, and one of the worst of errors. That which he aimed at in the progress of his idolatry, whether he designed it at first or no, was to mimic and rival both God's oracles and his ordinances.
[1.]His oracles; for he made teraphim, little images which he might advise with as there was occasion, and receive informations, directions, and predictions from. What the urim and thummim were to the prince and people these teraphim should be to his family; yet he could not think that the true God would own them, or give answers by them, and therefore depended upon such demons as the heathen worshipped to inspire them and make them serviceable to him. Thus, while the honour of Jehovah was pretended (Jdg 17:3), yet, his institution being relinquished, these Israelites unavoidably lapsed into downright idolatry and demon-worship.
[2.]His ordinances. Some room or apartment in the house of Micah was appointed for the temple or house of God; an ephod, or holy garment, was provided for his priest to officiate in, in imitation of those used at the tabernacle of God, and one of his sons he consecrated, probably the eldest, to be his priest. And, when he had set up a graven or molten image to represent the object of his worship, no marvel if a priest of his own getting and his own making served to be the manager of it. Here is no mention of any altar, sacrifice, or incense, in honour of these silver gods, but, having a priest, it is probable he had all these, unless we suppose that, at first, his gods were intended only to be advised with, not to be adored, like Laban's teraphim; but the beginning of idolatry, as of other sins, is like the letting forth of water: break the dam, and you bring a deluge. Here idolatry began, and it spread like a fretting leprosy. Dr. Lightfoot would have us observe that as 1100 pieces of silver were here devoted to the making of an idol, which ruined religion, especially in the tribe of Dan (as we shall presently find), which was Samson's tribe, so 1100 pieces of silver were given by each Philistine lord for the ruin of Samson.
(2.)What was the cause of this corruption (Jdg 17:6): There was no king in Israel, no judge or sovereign prince to take cognizance of the setting up of these images (which, doubtless, the country about soon resorted to), and to give orders for the destroying of them, none to convince Micah of his error and to restrain and punish him, to take this disease in time, by which the spreading of the infection might have been happily prevented. 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. When they were without a king to keep good order among them, God's house was forsaken, his priests were neglected, and all went to ruin among them. See what a mercy government is, and what reason there is that not only prayers and intercessions, but giving of thanks, should be made for kings and all in authority, Ti1 2:1, Ti1 2:2. Nothing contributes more, under God, to the support of religion in the world, than the due administration of those two great ordinances, magistracy and ministry.
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Summary
Judges 17:4 profoundly illustrates the spiritual decay and moral relativism characteristic of Israel during the period of the Judges. It details how Micah, having returned stolen silver to his mother, witnesses her misguided piety as she dedicates two hundred shekels to the Lord, yet paradoxically commissions a craftsman to fashion both a graven image and a molten image. This act exemplifies the rampant syncretism and self-devised religion that flourished in the absence of faithful leadership, revealing a stark departure from the Mosaic Law and the true worship of Yahweh.
Context
Literary Context
Judges 17-21 serves as a crucial appendix to the main narrative of the book of Judges, providing a vivid, albeit disturbing, illustration of the spiritual and moral chaos that pervaded Israel in the absence of a king and centralized, faithful leadership. These chapters are not arranged chronologically but rather thematically, designed to underscore the tragic consequences of the nation's apostasy. Judges 17 specifically introduces the household of Micah, who establishes a private cult complete with an ephod, household gods (teraphim), and eventually a Levite priest. The immediate preceding verses Judges 17:1-3 set the stage: Micah steals 1100 shekels of silver from his mother, who then pronounces a curse upon the thief. Upon Micah's confession and return of the money, his mother, in a deeply misguided attempt at piety, dedicates a portion of it "unto the Lord" (though the Hebrew could also imply "for Yahweh") for the creation of images. Judges 17:4 then details the immediate execution of this plan, highlighting the outcome of their distorted religious zeal and setting the stage for the subsequent narrative involving the Danites.
Historical & Cultural Context
The era of the Judges (approximately 14th-11th centuries BC) was marked by a recurring cycle of apostasy, foreign oppression, repentance, and divine deliverance through judges. A defining characteristic of this period, explicitly stated in the book, was the absence of a king in Israel, leading to a state where "every man did that which was right in his own eyes" Judges 17:6; Judges 21:25. This spiritual vacuum fostered significant syncretism, as Israelites blended the worship of Yahweh with the idolatrous practices of the surrounding Canaanite peoples, particularly the worship of Baal and Asherah. The Mosaic Law, delivered at Mount Sinai, explicitly and repeatedly forbade the making of graven or molten images for worship Exodus 20:4-5; Deuteronomy 4:15-19. Micah's mother's act, though perhaps intended as a dedication to Yahweh, directly violated these fundamental commands, illustrating the profound spiritual ignorance and moral decay that had permeated Israelite society. The engagement of a "founder" (craftsman) for these images was a common practice in the ancient Near East for creating cultic objects, but in Israel, it constituted a direct affront to God's revealed will.
Key Themes
This verse contributes significantly to several overarching themes within Judges and the broader Old Testament narrative. Firstly, it powerfully illustrates Idolatry and Syncretism, showcasing how easily Israel mingled true Yahwism with pagan practices. Despite the stated dedication "unto the Lord" in Judges 17:3, the outcome was the creation of objects explicitly forbidden by the Second Commandment, revealing a dangerous attempt to control or visualize God rather than worship Him as an invisible Spirit. Secondly, the verse underscores the theme of Spiritual Degeneration and moral relativism. The actions of Micah and his mother demonstrate a society that had lost its moral compass, where divine law was disregarded or reinterpreted to suit personal preferences, leading to a profound spiritual confusion that is a hallmark of the book of Judges. Lastly, it highlights Misguided Piety. Micah's mother's intention to honor God with the returned money, while seemingly pious, resulted in a grave sin. This demonstrates that sincere intentions do not justify disobedient means, emphasizing the critical importance of aligning one's worship and actions with God's revealed will, not human ingenuity or tradition. This misguided devotion sets the stage for the subsequent narrative of the Levite and the Danites, further illustrating the depths of Israel's spiritual decline in Judges 18.
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
This term, derived from a primitive root meaning "to fuse (metal), i.e., refine," refers to a metalworker, refiner, or goldsmith. In this context, it specifically denotes a skilled artisan capable of casting metal. The engagement of such a professional highlights the deliberate and costly effort involved in creating these forbidden images, underscoring the extent of Micah's mother's misguided devotion and the resources she was willing to expend on her self-devised worship system. It also implies a recognized, perhaps even respected, role for such individuals in society, even when their craft was used for purposes explicitly forbidden by God's law.
This term refers to an idol carved from wood or stone, or perhaps cast in metal and then finished by carving. It denotes an image that has been "cut" or "hewn." The prohibition against pesel was central to the Mosaic Law, emphasizing God's transcendence and His rejection of any physical representation of Himself or other deities. Its presence here signifies a direct, flagrant violation of the Second Commandment, highlighting the profound spiritual ignorance or willful disobedience of Micah's household.
This refers to an idol cast from molten metal, typically bronze or silver. The process involved pouring liquid metal into a mold. Like the pesel, the massekah was explicitly forbidden in Israelite worship. The mention of both types of images suggests a comprehensive and deliberate effort to create tangible objects for worship, perhaps to ensure the cultic objects were robust or to incorporate different artistic styles, further emphasizing the depth of their idolatrous commitment and the extent of their departure from true Yahwism.
Verse Breakdown
"Yet he restored the money unto his mother;"
This clause begins by acknowledging Micah's act of returning the stolen 1100 shekels of silver to his mother. This restoration, prompted by his mother's curse (as detailed in Judges 17:2), is presented as a seemingly positive, albeit self-serving, action. It highlights a superficial adherence to familial duty, yet it immediately leads to a deeper spiritual transgression, demonstrating that outward conformity does not equate to inward righteousness or true obedience to God's broader covenantal demands.
"and his mother took two hundred [shekels] of silver,"
From the 1100 shekels returned, Micah's mother allocates a specific, substantial portion—200 shekels—for her religious endeavor. This detail is significant, indicating a considerable investment in the creation of the idols. It underscores the deliberate nature of her actions and the financial commitment to establishing this private cult, revealing a misplaced zeal for a form of worship that was anathema to God, despite her stated intention to dedicate it "unto the Lord."
"and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image:"
This is the pivotal action of the verse, revealing the profound spiritual compromise. Despite her stated intention to dedicate the silver "unto the Lord" (Judges 17:3), Micah's mother commissions a skilled craftsman to create two distinct types of idols. This directly contravenes the fundamental prohibition against images in the Decalogue (Exodus 20:4-5). The act reveals a profound spiritual ignorance or willful disobedience, attempting to worship Yahweh through means explicitly forbidden by Him, thereby creating a syncretistic religion that defiled His name and the purity of Israelite worship.
"and they were in the house of Micah."
The final clause establishes the location of these newly created idols. They are housed "in the house of Micah," signifying the establishment of a private, domestic cult. This highlights the decentralized and personalized nature of the apostasy during this period. Worship was no longer confined to divinely ordained places or practices but became a matter of individual preference and convenience, further illustrating the breakdown of religious authority and the widespread spiritual decay across Israel, where personal inclination superseded divine command.
Literary Devices
The passage employs several literary devices to convey its profound theological message. Irony is strikingly prominent, as Micah's mother dedicates money "to the Lord" yet uses it for objects explicitly forbidden by the Lord's law, exposing the deep spiritual confusion and self-deception prevalent in Israel. Her "piety" is, in fact, a direct act of disobedience. Symbolism is also powerfully at play; the graven and molten images are not just physical objects but potent symbols of Israel's spiritual adultery and their abandonment of the invisible, transcendent God for tangible, man-made substitutes. The very act of crafting these images symbolizes the human attempt to control or define God according to their own desires, rather than submitting to His revealed nature. Furthermore, the narrative employs Foreshadowing, as this seemingly isolated incident in Micah's house serves as a microcosm of the larger spiritual and moral collapse that will be dramatically illustrated in the subsequent chapters of Judges, culminating in the horrific events of Judges 19 and Judges 20. The private idolatry here prefigures the national chaos and the profound consequences of a people who have forsaken God's covenant.
Theological and Thematic Connections
Judges 17:4 serves as a stark theological commentary on the nature of true worship and the inherent dangers of human-centered religion. God, as revealed in the Mosaic Law, is an invisible, transcendent Spirit who cannot be contained or represented by human-made images. The creation of graven and molten images, even with the stated intention of dedicating them "to the Lord," fundamentally distorts God's nature and corrupts the very essence of worship. This act is not merely a ritualistic error but a profound theological transgression, reflecting a failure to grasp God's holiness, His sovereignty, and His exclusive claim to worship. It underscores the truth that good intentions, when divorced from divine revelation and obedience, can lead to grave sin and spiritual ruin. The passage thus highlights the critical importance of worshiping God according to His revealed will, not according to human imagination or convenience, emphasizing that true devotion is characterized by humble submission to divine commands.
Reflection and Application
Judges 17:4 offers a timeless and sobering warning for believers today. While we may no longer fashion physical idols of silver and gold, the human heart remains perpetually prone to creating "gods" in our own image or placing ultimate trust and devotion in created things rather than the Creator. Anything that takes God's rightful place in our affections, priorities, or reliance—be it wealth, career, relationships, comfort, self-image, or even religious traditions that subtly deviate from biblical truth—can become a modern idol. This verse challenges us to critically examine our worship practices, ensuring they are rooted in God's revealed Word and not in personal preferences, cultural norms, or a syncretistic blend of Christian truth with worldly values. True worship demands exclusive devotion to God alone, aligning our lives and our hearts with His commands, and seeking to know and honor Him as He has revealed Himself, not as we might prefer Him to be. Our piety must be guided by unwavering obedience to God's Word, not merely by sincere but misguided intentions that ultimately lead to spiritual compromise and a distorted view of the divine.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did Micah's mother dedicate the silver "unto the Lord" but then use it for idols?
This act highlights the profound spiritual confusion and syncretism prevalent during the period of the Judges. Micah's mother likely intended to honor Yahweh, the God of Israel, but she did so through means explicitly forbidden by the Mosaic Law. The Israelites often blended Yahwistic worship with Canaanite practices, believing they could use images to represent Yahweh or to facilitate their worship of Him, despite clear prohibitions in Exodus 20:4-5 and Deuteronomy 4:15-19. Her "dedication" was an attempt to legitimize an illegitimate form of worship, reflecting a society where "every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6), prioritizing personal religious expression over divine revelation.
What is the significance of having both a "graven image" and a "molten image"?
The mention of both a "graven image" (pesel, carved) and a "molten image" (massekah, cast) suggests a comprehensive and deliberate effort to create a robust and perhaps diverse set of cultic objects. It indicates that Micah's mother was not content with a simple representation but invested significantly in establishing a full-fledged, albeit illicit, worship system within her home. The presence of both types of images underscores the extent of their departure from true Yahwism and their embrace of forbidden practices, demonstrating a deep-seated spiritual compromise that permeated their religious life and set a dangerous precedent for the household's future.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
Judges 17:4, with its depiction of self-devised religion and syncretistic idolatry, powerfully underscores Israel's desperate need for a true King and a perfect High Priest—a need ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The spiritual anarchy and moral relativism ("every man did that which was right in his own eyes") that led to the creation of these forbidden images reveal humanity's inherent inability to worship God rightly on its own terms. Jesus, as the incarnate Son of God, is the perfect image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), rendering all man-made images obsolete and idolatrous. He is the true temple (John 2:19-21), the one in whom the fullness of God dwells, meaning we no longer need physical structures or objects to encounter the divine. Furthermore, Christ's perfect obedience and ultimate sacrifice on the cross provide the only means by which humanity can truly approach God and offer acceptable worship. He inaugurates a new covenant where worship is no longer tied to specific places or physical objects but is offered "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24), enabled by the Holy Spirit. Through Christ, the chaos and spiritual blindness of Judges 17:4 are redeemed, as He establishes a kingdom where God's will is perfectly revealed and true worship is made possible for all who believe, leading them away from self-made gods to the living and true God (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10) who alone is worthy of all adoration and obedience.