ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 Tokonaki Novema 6, 2021

they set up Micah’s carved image

na‘a nau fokotu‘u ma‘anautolu ‘a e ‘īmisi ‘a Maika

Fakamaau 18 (Judges 18)

(v. 30-31) Pea fokotu‘u ‘e he kau Tani ma‘anautolu ‘a e ‘īmisi: pea ko Sionatane ko e foha ‘a Kēsome ko e foha ‘o Mōsese, ko ia mo hono ngaahi foha na‘e taula‘eiki ki he matakali ‘o Tani, ‘o a‘u ki he ‘aho na‘e taki pōpula ai ‘a e fonua. ‘Io, na‘a nau fokotu‘u ma‘anautolu ‘a e ‘īmisi ‘a Maika na‘a ne ngaohi, lolotonga na‘e tu‘u ‘a e fale ‘o ‘Elohimi ‘i Sailo.

(v. 30-31) And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. So they set up Micah’s carved image that he made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.

G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible

The account of the backsliding of individuals is followed by an illustration of its widespread existence among the people. While seeking new territory the Danites found Micah and the condition of things established in his house.

When presently they moved forward to success, they did not hesitate to size Micah's images and capture his priest. The terrible decadence of the religious ideal is startlingly revealed in this whole story.

Deeply embedded in the character of the people was the consciousness of the importance of religion. Micah must worship and the Danites felt the necessity of their enterprise for maintaining some kind of relationship with God. Yet in each case there was the most violent prostitution of religion to purposes of personal prosperity.

Micah hoped by the maintenance of some form of worship and the presence of a Levite that Jehovah would be his God, by which he evidently meant that material prosperity would come to him. The Danites, searching for new territory, were anxious to maintain religion.

Wherever religion is acknowledged and adopted merely in order to ensure material prosperity, it suffers degradation. In these stories we have a revelation of the beginnings of those terrible conditions which eventually issued in the ruin of the people.

David Guzik :: Study Guide for Judges 18

The children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image: This was the beginning of established idolatry in Israel in the Promised Land. There was individual idolatry in Israel long before this, but this is official idolatry.

Through a strange chain of events, this began with a son stealing 1,100 shekels from his mother (Judges 17:1-2). It ended with an entire tribe of Israel led into established idolatry.

So they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image: We can suppose that Micah had no idea how far-reaching the effects of his sin would become. His personal idolatry became the idolatry of an entire tribe, setting up a rival center of worship to the house of God... in Shiloh.

“Whether intentionally on the part of the writer or no, there is a touch of satire in this declaration. There, at Shiloh, was the true centre of the national life, the house of God... Nevertheless, at Dan they gathered about the false, and rendered a worship which was destructive.” (Morgan)