Judges 17: Wasting Wealth on Worthless Worship

The Rev. Terry Yahr, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Chillicothe, OH, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Judges 17.

This chapter introduces us to a man named Micah. Micah admits to his mother that he had stolen silver from her. His admission only comes because he found out that she had placed a curse on whoever took it. They then both hatch a plan to override the curse. They fashion an idol, build a shrine to it, ordain one of their sons, and eventually hire a traveling Levite to be their personal priest. In other words, they demonstrate just how far the Israelite’s had departed from the proper worship of God.

The Book of Judges tells the story of Israel's descent into chaos and idolatry, and the subsequent rise of a series of judges, or redeemers, who deliver them from their enemies. The judges are flawed heroes, but they are also instruments of God's deliverance. The book ends with the Israelites in a state of moral and spiritual decay, but it also offers hope for a better future.