And there was a man of Mount Ephraim whose name was Micah. The fine meaning of this man's name, "who is like Jehovah," does not change the fact that the evils of the period were growing, that the decay of the priesthood had set in, that there was a general prevalence of discord and immorality, not t... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MAKING OF THE IMAGE... [ Continue Reading ]
And he said unto his mother, evidently a widow to whom her husband had left a considerable sum of money, THE ELEVEN HUNDRED SHEKELS OF SILVER (about $700) THAT WERE TAKEN FROM THEE, ABOUT WHICH THOU CURSEDST AND SPAKEST OF ALSO IN MINE EARS, BEHOLD, THE SILVER IS WITH ME; I TOOK IT. So the awful cur... [ Continue Reading ]
And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand for my son to make a graven image and a molten image; now, therefore, I will restore it unto thee. The money which her son handed back to her, af... [ Continue Reading ]
Yet he restored the money unto his mother, still from fear of the curse which she had uttered; AND HIS MOTHER TOOK TWO HUNDRED SHEKELS OF SILVER (about $128), her ardor for Jehovah having evidently cooled since she actually had the money in her hands once more, AND GAVE THEM TO THE FOUNDER, to the s... [ Continue Reading ]
And the man Micah had an house of gods, a place where he worshiped, AND MADE AN EPHOD, a garment like that worn by the high priest, with the Urim and Thummim, Exodus 39, AND TERAPHIM, small household gods, oracle gods, AND CONSECRATED ONE OF HIS SONS, filled his hand, made him his priest, Leviticus... [ Continue Reading ]
In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. This note is added by the author in order to give one reason for such conditions as here described, namely, the absence of a central civil authority. The sin of Micah is committed throughout the length... [ Continue Reading ]
And there was a young man out of Bethlehem-judah, later the birthplace of the Savior, OF THE FAMILY OF JUDAH, WHO WAS A LEVITE, AND HE SOJOURNED THERE, he lived there for a while as a stranger.... [ Continue Reading ]
A Levite Made the Idol's Priest... [ Continue Reading ]
And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehem-judah to sojourn where he could find a place. Many of the cities which had been allotted to the Levites being still in the hands of the Canaanites, this man had no real home, and so traveled from the territory of Judah toward the north, in the hope... [ Continue Reading ]
And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.... [ Continue Reading ]
And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, to be treated with all reverence and honor, AND I WILL GIVE THEE TEN SHEKELS OF SILVER BY THE YEAR (about $6. 40 cash) AND A SUIT OF APPAREL, the necessary clothing, AND THY VICTUALS, his board was thus also included. SO T... [ Continue Reading ]
And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, he made up his mind to stay; AND THE YOUNG MAN WAS UNTO HIM AS ONE OF HIS SONS, he took care of him in the same manner as he did his sons.... [ Continue Reading ]
And Micah consecrated the Levite, filled his hand, the standing expression for ordaining a priest, for inducting him into office, taken from the ceremony of laying the offerings required at the consecration of a priest upon his hands; AND THE YOUNG MAN BECAME HIS PRIEST AND WAS IN THE HOUSE OF MICAH... [ Continue Reading ]
Then said Micah, Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest. It was a peculiar blindness which caused Micah to look for blessings to Jehovah against whom he was sinning with his image worship. The mere fact that the man belonged to the tribe of Levi and was really... [ Continue Reading ]