Micah’s Idolatry

¹Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim

²said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silverthat were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have the silver here with me; I took it.”Then his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD!”

³And when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I wholly dedicate the silver to the LORD for my son’s benefit, to make a graven image and a molten idol. Therefore I will now return it to you.”

⁴So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels of silverand gave them to a silversmith, who made them into a graven image and a molten idol. And they were placed in the house of Micah.

⁵Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordainedone of his sons as his priest.

⁶In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

⁷And there was a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah who had been residing within the clan of Judah.

⁸This man left the city of Bethlehem in Judah to settle where he could find a place. And as he traveled, he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.

⁹“Where are you from?” Micah asked him.“I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,” he replied, “and I am on my way to settle wherever I can find a place.”

¹⁰“Stay with me,” Micah said to him, “and be my father and priest, and I will give you ten shekels of silverper year, a suit of clothes, and your provisions.”So the Levite went in

¹¹and agreed to stay with him, and the young man became like a son to Micah.

¹²Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house.

¹³Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”

The Danites Settle in Laish

¹In those days there was no king in Israel, and the tribe of the Danites was looking for territory to occupy. For up to that time they had not come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.

²So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them.The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.

³And while they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”

⁴“Micah has done this and that for me,” he replied, “and he has hired me to be his priest.”

⁵Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to determine whether we will have a successful journey.”

⁶And the priest told them, “Go in peace. The LORD is watching over your journey.”

⁷So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. And they were far away from the Sidonians and had no alliance with anyone.

⁸When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, “What did you find?”

⁹They answered, “Come on, let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why would you fail to act? Do not hesitate to go there and take possession of the land!

¹⁰When you enter, you will come to an unsuspecting people and a spacious land, for God has delivered it into your hand. It is a place where nothing on earth is lacking.”

¹¹So six hundred Danites departed from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war.

¹²They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. That is why the place west of Kiriath-jearim is called Mahaneh-danto this day.

¹³And from there they traveled to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.

The Danites Take Micah’s Idols

¹⁴Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Did you know that one of these houses has an ephod, household gods, a graven image, and a molten idol? Now think about what you should do.”

¹⁵So they turned aside there and went to the home of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and greeted him.

¹⁶The six hundred Danites stood at the entrance of the gate, armed with their weapons of war.

¹⁷And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went inside and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, while the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred armed men.

¹⁸When they entered Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

¹⁹“Be quiet,” they told him. “Put your hand over your mouth and come with us and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest for the house of one person or a priest for a tribe and family in Israel?”

²⁰So the priest was glad and took the ephod, the household idols, and the graven image, and went with the people.

²¹Putting their small children, their livestock, and their possessions in front of them, they turned and departed.

²²After they were some distance from Micah’s house, the men in the houses near Micah’s house mobilized and overtook the Danites.

²³When they called out after them, the Danites turned to face them and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you that you have called out such a company?”

²⁴He replied, “You took the gods I had made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’”

²⁵The Danites said to him, “Do not raise your voice against us, or angry men will attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives.”

²⁶So the Danites went on their way, and Micah turned to go back home, because he saw that they were too strong for him.

²⁷After they had taken Micah’s idols and his priest, they went to Laish, to a quiet and unsuspecting people, and they struck them with their swords and burned down the city.

²⁸There was no one to deliver them, because the city was far from Sidon and had no alliance with anyone; it was in a valley near Beth-rehob.And the Danites rebuilt the city and lived there.

²⁹They named it Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city was formerly named Laish.

³⁰The Danites set up idols for themselves, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses,and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

³¹So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image, and it was there the whole time the house of God was in Shiloh.

Bildad: Man Cannot Be Righteous

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

²“Dominion and awe belong to God;He establishes harmony in the heights of heaven.

³Can His troops be numbered?On whom does His light not rise?

⁴How then can a man be just before God?How can one born of woman be pure?

⁵If even the moon does not shine,and the stars are not pure in His sight,

⁶how much less man, who is but a maggot,and the son of man, who is but a worm!”

The Psalm of the Cross

¹My God, my God,why have You forsaken me?Why are You so far from saving me,so far from my words of groaning?

²I cry out by day, O my God,but You do not answer,and by night,but I have no rest.

³Yet You are holy,enthroned on the praises of Israel.

⁴In You our fathers trusted;they trusted and You delivered them.

⁵They cried out to You and were set free;they trusted in You and were not disappointed.

⁶But I am a worm and not a man,scorned by men and despised by the people.

⁷All who see me mock me;they sneer and shake their heads:

⁸“He trusts in the LORD,let the LORD deliver him;let the LORD rescue him,since He delights in him.”

⁹Yet You brought me forth from the womb;You made me secure at my mother’s breast.

¹⁰From birth I was cast upon You;from my mother’s womb You have been my God.

¹¹Be not far from me,for trouble is nearand there is no one to help.

¹²Many bulls surround me;strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

¹³They open their jaws against melike lions that roar and maul.

¹⁴I am poured out like water,and all my bones are disjointed.My heart is like wax;it melts away within me.

¹⁵My strengthis dried up like a potsherd,and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.You lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶For dogs surround me;a band of evil men encircles me;they have pierced my hands and feet.

¹⁷I can count all my bones;they stare and gloat over me.

¹⁸They divide my garments among themand cast lots for my clothing.

¹⁹But You, O LORD, be not far off;O my Strength, come quickly to help me.

²⁰Deliver my soul from the sword,my precious life from the power of wild dogs.

²¹Save me from the mouth of the lion;at the horns of the wild oxen You have answered me!

²²I will proclaim Your name to my brothers;I will praise You in the assembly.

²³You who fear the LORD, praise Him!All descendants of Jacob, honor Him!All offspring of Israel, revere Him!

²⁴For He has not despised or detestedthe torment of the afflicted.He has not hidden His face from him,but has attended to his cry for help.

²⁵My praise for You resounds in the great assembly;I will fulfill my vows before those who fear You.

²⁶The poor will eat and be satisfied;those who seek the LORD will praise Him.May your hearts live forever!

²⁷All the ends of the earthwill remember and turn to the LORD.All the families of the nationswill bow down before Him.

²⁸For dominion belongs to the LORDand He rules over the nations.

²⁹All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him—even those unable to preserve their lives.

³⁰Posterity will serve Him;they will declare the Lord to a new generation.

³¹They will come and proclaim His righteousnessto a people yet unborn—all that He has done.