ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 Falaite Novema 5, 2021

Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

takitaha fai hono loto.

Fakamaau 17 (Judges 17)

(v. 6) Ko e taimi ko ia na‘e ‘ikai ha tu‘i ‘i ‘Isileli; na‘e takitaha fai hono loto.

(v. 6) In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible

Here begins the final section of the Book of Judges which is of the nature of an appendix. The events here recorded must have taken place closely following the death of Joshua. They give us a picture of the internal condition of the people, and it is probable that they were added with that intention by the historian.

Micah's act was a violation of the second commandment. He made to himself and for his household certain images. In doing so he was not adopting the idolatries of the heathen. His mother's language reveals her recognition of Jehovah as she said, "Blessed be my son of Jehovah." Moreover, Micah's own words, when persuading a Levite to act as his priest, show the same thing, "Now know I that Jehovah will do me good. . . ." The images were intended to aid him in the worship of Jehovah but were distinctly forbidden, as we have said, in the second commandment.

The whole story is a (revelation of a degenerate condition. Micah had robbed his mother. On making restitution he accompanied the act, at her instigation, with what she supposed to be a religious movement. The consent of the Levite to become a priest in the house of Micah for the sake of a living is a further revelation of degeneracy. Micah was attempting to maintain his relationship with God by violating the commands of God. The Levite degenerated into an attempt to secure his own material comfort by compromise.

David Guzik :: Study Guide for Judges 17

There was, in fact, a king in Israel – Israel should have recognized the Lord God as their King. But since Israel rejected God as King, they were without any good and effective leadership.

This refers to the radical individualism that marked the time of the Judges. People looked to self for their guide to morality and ethics. The people genuinely felt that they did what was right, but they measured it only by their own eyes.

This is very much like the modern, “follow-your-heart” or “let-your-heart-be-your-guide” thinking. Modern culture regards this as the ideal state of society. Yet the Bible and common sense tell us that this kind of moral, spiritual, and social anarchy brings nothing but destruction.

· It seemed right to the eyes of Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, but God said it was wrong.

· It seemed right to the eyes of the sons of Jacob to sell Joseph into slavery, but God said it was wrong.

· It seemed right to the eyes of Nadab and Abihu to offer strange fire before the Lord, but God said it was wrong.

· It seemed right to the eyes of King David to commit adultery with Bathsheba and cover it with murder, but God said it was wrong.

· It seemed right to the eyes of Judas to betray Jesus, but God said it was wrong.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12). When man follows his own instincts — apart from the redeemed nature of the converted person — it leads to ruin. We need to follow God’s way, not our own.