This week we shall continue the study of the Book of Judges of the Old
Testament.
The frequent comment in the Book of Judges that “In those days Israel had no king, everyone did as he saw fit” is particularly true when it comes to their worship of Yahweh and appears to have come to a climax after the death of Samson (17:6, 18:1, 19:1 and 21:25):
(1) This apparently adult son had stolen quite a large amount of silver from his mother (about 28 pounds). Why did he, all of a sudden, feel the needed to return it to his mother?
(2) How did it show the spiritual condition of this man? Did he fear God or was he simply afraid of the curse out of superstition?
(3) Why would the mother respond with “consecrating the silver to the Lord (i.e. Yahweh)”?
(4) Why would she think of carving out an image and casting an idol for such a “consecration” and then give the idol back to the son?
(5) The Law of Moses, and especially the 2nd of the Ten Commandments, has made it so clear that they are not to make God into any image. Why would this woman so blatantly violated the Law of Moses, yet presumably out of a heart of worship?
(6) How did her action fit the comment that “everyone did as he (or in this case, she) saw fit”?
(7) How much of the silver did she end up using to carve the idol? What might she be doing with the rest of the consecrated silver?
(8) What did this man choose to do with the installation of this new idol (for Yahweh)? Why did he do that?
(9) If this man was so reverent, why would he steal from his mother?
(10) Would you say that those who create a shrine at their home with the image(s) of saints or Mary are really not any different from this man?
(11) Pause and reflect on the main message to you today. How may you apply it to your life?
Note:
From what was being said in 18:17-18, it appears that the man did make two objects: a carved image and a cast idol with the former being the principal object of worship.
(1) Since the tribe of Levite was not assigned any land, consider the following:
a. Where would they live? (see Jos. 21)
b. What was the reason given by the Lord for this? (Deut. 10:9 and Num. 18:21)
c. What role would they play among the people and in the city where they live? (See Num. 16:9-10 and 35:6 also)
(2) Bethlehem was not one of the Levite’s cities:
a. Why would this young Levite sojourn in a city not meant for him?
b. Shouldn’t there be a city within Ephraim designated for the Levites?
(3) Do you think it was God’s provision for him in the house of Micah? Why or why not?
(4) Should the young Levite receive the offer by Micah? Why or why not?
(5) Whose priest did the young man become?
(6) Micah said, “Now I know the Lord will be good to me” based on having a Levite instead of his son serving as his priest. What’s wrong with Micah’s belief?
(7) In what way might we, as Christians, be like Micah?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
There were two possible reasons that this young Levite needed to look for a place to stay: (1) the towns assigned by Joshua to the Levites in Judah and Ephraim might not have been conquered yet, and (2) this young Levite had his personal reason for not living among his people.
Read “Note” below before considering the following questions for reflection:
(1) While being afraid of stronger enemies, the Danites sought to expand their territory and sent spies to see if there was an easier “prey”: How were the five spies received by Micah and why?
(2) Presumably the spies detected a very different accent from the priest: Why were they so interested in the priest and why did they ask him so many questions? What might they be thinking upon meeting a priest (by accident)?
(3) How did the young Levite answer them? Could a priest be “hired”?
(4) Can you recall what were within the shrine that this priest “served”? Do you think the Lord would speak to him?
(5) Do you think this priest violated the 3rd Commandment with his reply in v. 6? Why or why not? (See Exod. 20:7)
(6) What lesson can we learn from the action of this priest?
(7) What were the reasons given by the spies for taking the land they spied on?
(8) What if these people were strong and not “unsuspecting", should they then not go and take the land so allotted by Joshua?
(9) What then should the deciding factor be in taking any land for the Danites?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
To have a better understanding of the background of this passage, we need to remember that (a) the Danites numbered 64,400 males of 20 years and older (Num. 26:43); (b) they were not able to drive the powerful Amorites out of their land and were confined to live in the mountains (Jdg. 1:34); (c) they were now looking for some weaker neighbor to conquer; and (d) the Ark of Covenant was in Shiloh, the land of the Ephraimites.
(1) Why would the men of Dan be desirous of taking the ephod and why would they also want to take the carved image, the cast idol and other household gods from Micah?
(2) What sin(s) had they committed?
(3) Did the priest confront the Danites regarding their action? Why or why not?
(4) How did the Danites answer him?
(5) How did the priest respond to their offer? What kind of a priest was he?
(6) What kind of a warning should it be to all servants of the Lord?
(7) From the account in vv. 22-26, what kind of a society was it in Israel? What should God have done to them in your opinion?
(8) How long did this priest (described as the descendant of Gershom) and his descendants perpetuate this idol worship among the tribe of Danites?
(9) What does the remark that “all the time the house of God was in Shiloh” serve to highlight? (See Deut. 12:11, 13)
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
The phrase, “until the time of the captivity of the land”, perhaps refers not to the time of the captivity in the hands of the Assyrians or Babylonians, but to an earlier time that we are not aware of.
(1) What was God’s desire for the Levites? (Refer to the scriptural references about the Levites in Judges 17:7-13, Year 2 Week 41 Day 282.)
(2) How far had the Levites strayed from God’s desire if we use the Levite in chapter 19 as an example—having a concubine and servants and presumably quite a bit of possessions?
(3) What lesson(s) should the servants of the Lord of today learn from him?
(4) What do you think was the reason for the father-in-law’s repeated effort to entertain and detain the Levite time and again?
(5) What was the rationale or assumption behind choosing to stay in Gibeah versus Jebus?
(6) Can you think of any reason why “No one has taken” them into their house in this town?
(7) Why did the old man say, “Only don’t spend the night in the square”?
(8) What was the demand of the wicked men of the city? How wicked was their demand?
(9) What kind of a society was this city of Benjamites when compared to the city you now live in?
(10) Were the people in Gibeah (Israelites) better than those in Jebus (Jebusites)?
(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
Since Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, was still the high priest (Jdg. 20:28), this event probably took place not too long after the death of Joshua.
(1) How does this incident resemble that of Sodom in Genesis 19? But what might be the main differences between the two incidents?
(2) Should the old man and the priest sacrifice the women to save their own lives? Why or why not?
(3) As much as the woman had been unfaithful, should the man do what he did?
(4) What should they have done under the circumstance?
(5) Having sacrificed his concubine, what did the man intend to do when he opened the door? What did he expect to have happened to the concubine?
(6) Why then should he appear to be horrified to find her lying dead at the doorway?
(7) Which was more horrifying to you: the gang rape or the cutting up of the concubine limb by limb into twelve parts?
(8) How did everyone across Israel react to the incident and why?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) How many soldiers did the Israelites gather together for this cause and why?
(2) What was the demand of this united army of Israel from the tribe of Benjamin? Was it reasonable? (See Deut. 22:22)
(3) Why would the Benjamites not listen to the demand of their fellow Israelites? What could the possible reason be?
(4) How does the Bible describe the strength of the army of the Benjamites?
(5) Upon the refusal of the Benjamites, what did the Israelites do first?
(6) What was the result of the first two battles?
(7) Why did they not give up? Why did they still inquire of the Lord without presumably blaming Him?
(8) What if the Israelites were united like this in conquering the land of Canaan? Why didn’t they?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?