And so closes the book of Judges with a one-line commentary on the spiritual conditions that allowed such things to happen as documented in the book: Awful things which no one thought possible. Not solely limited to individuals, even the whole of Israel was gripped by spiritual bankruptcy. Of course, our notion these many centuries later is that this was rooted in primitive man’s ignorance and natural barbarism. Nothing like this could happen today, right?
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I truly wish I could categorically state my empathy with Israel’s follow-up to carrying out God’s judgment on Benjamin, but such is not the case. There is no gray area regarding the sin committed by Benjamin nor the judgment brought on them as the result of the rest of Israel taking action based on God’s response to their specific inquiries. Benjamin is the undisputed, absolutely, without-a-doubt guilty party deserving of everything they received. And yet, at the end of the event, it wasn’t Benjamin that rushed to God’s feet to seek reconciliation, but the innocent—the rest of Israel.
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Twice before the sons of Israel inquired of God on this very issue. ^{[1] [2]} The first time God responded, “Judah shall go up first”, but they were defeated. When asked again, God affirmed, “Go up against him.” And they were defeated yet a second time. Only in His third response did God stipulate, “I will deliver them into your hand.” There appears to be a strange tension between having one’s prayers answered, following God’s instructions, and still experiencing defeat.
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None of the native residents paid attention to the needs of the visitors, only a visitor himself seemed to care. The custom of the day was for visitors to go to the town square and accorded hospitality voluntarily by its citizens. But no one responded to the needs of the outsider except an outsider himself.
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Nothing will strengthen the chains of spiritual deception more quickly than by giving respect to the deluded. Even a moderately observant Jew would have found a dozen problems in the Levite’s tale, but instead they not only legitimize the Levite’s choices by allowing him to go unchallenged, but become accomplices in pursuing false religion by entreating him to intercede with the One True God on their behalf.
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So, so many things are wrong here. Levites are supposed to serve as needed in the tabernacle, not roam about looking for alternative sites. Just because one is a Levite doesn’t mean that person can become a priest; only certain, specific families within the Levites were allowed by God’s Law to be ordained as priests. And certainly no Levite nor priest could serve God in a shrine of graven images. But the core of the problem on the parts of both these men is revealed by their own words and can be summed in the one word “pride”. The Levite is “going to stay wherever I may find a place”—he seeks self-satisfaction outside of what was established for Levites—and Micah is pleased because, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me”—he is more concerned for the fulfillment of his own desires rather than God’s.
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Is everything done in the name of God indeed a thing approved by God? Can God’s name be attached to events and actions which in reality He doesn’t approve? Micah’s mother seems to pursue a very strange method of praising God by directly breaking the 2nd commandment. Does God allow that someone’s good intentions can make up for a lack of 100% compliance with His Word?
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