The book Judges ends with "There was no king in Israel at that time, and everyone did whatever he wanted". This sentence is the author's summary of the times of judges, and it is also the key to understand the records of judges.
The story of "There was no king at that time" is divided into three parts. Look at the family first, micah of Ephraim and his mother; Next, I will talk about a person's experience. A young priest wandered about looking for a job and was reused. Finally, let's talk about the migration and settlement of the entire tribe of the Dan nationality to the north. A family, intertwined, vividly depicts the scene of "there was no king in Israel at that time, and everyone acted at will."
There is no rebel king in this family.
There was a man named Micah in the hill country of Ephraim. He said to his mother, "Your 1100 shekels of silver have been taken away, so you cursed it and told me. Look, I have money. I took it. "His mother said," God bless you, my son! Micah returned the 1100 shekels of silver to his mother. His mother said, "I will give this money to the Lord for you, so that I can carve an image and cast an image." "I leave it to you now. Micah returned the silver to his mother, and his mother gave 200 shekels of silver to a silversmith, carved an image, cast an image, and put it in Micah's house. This Micah had a temple, made an ephod and household gods, and appointed one of his sons as a priest. At that time, there was no king in Israel, and everyone did as he pleased. (Judge 17, section 1-6)
This is a family matter between Micah of Ephraim and his mother, and it is also a domestic scandal. I lost something at home, and my mother's money was less 1 100 shekels! About 30 pounds at today's weight unit. At that time, ten shekels of silver could pay a worker's salary for one year, which was equivalent to 100 workers' annual salary. That's a lot of money.
Where's mom? Scold! Curse the thief in the most vicious language. Maybe it's the same as bitching in China culture. Thunder for five days, don't die a natural death.
The curse worked and the thief was exposed. It was none other than his own son Micah.
Micah was scared when he heard his mother's curse. He was worried that the consequences would really come true on himself. He quickly confessed, returned the stolen goods and strived for leniency. Seeing that the baby did it, the mother wiped her face and turned the curse into a blessing. "Never mind, son, I'll give you money. You can make it an idol. " Micah made a statue with silver, set up a private shrine at home, appointed his son as a priest, made a decent sacrifice at home for happiness, and a storm subsided. Isn't that great? Why did the biblical writer sigh "At that time, there was no king in Israel, and everyone did whatever they wanted"?
What's the matter? Look at micah first. His full name is Michael Yahu, which means "Who is like the Lord?" By this name, God asked Israel, "Who among you has the image of the Lord?"? Who walks according to the heart of the Lord and is a good witness of the Lord? Unfortunately, the answer is no. No one can be like the people of the Lord, "There was no king in Israel at that time, and everyone did as he pleased."
At first glance, Wang is not talking about the state system. At that time, Israel was not a country and there was no king. But it doesn't matter whether Israel has money from the king and Micah's family! The king mentioned in the scripture refers to the king of kings, the Lord of lords above the king, that is, the Lord God. Israel has a king, and Numbers says that the Lord God is with Israel, and "the voice of cheering kings is in it" (Numbers 23: 2 1). Psalm 5 David prayed to God and said, "Hear my cry, my king and my God!" In Isaiah, God is called "the Great King, the Lord of hosts (6:5)".
With a king, why not? Because they are rebellious, they do not listen to the king's words, they do not keep the king's statutes, and they do as they please, as if they had no king.
Similarly, when we say that Micah has no king in his house, we mean that he has not kept the command of the Lord God, and there is no king's law in his house.
What is Micah's behavior? The first is greed, the tenth of the ten commandments; And stealing, eight of the Ten Commandments. Sin has sinned against God, but God has no intention of repentance. Refund of money is just for fear of retribution. "I have money, I took it", how light and artistic it is!
In Kong Yiji, a novel by Lu Xun, the man stole a book, saying it was not stealing, but stealing. Stealing books is not stealing! Micah is better than Kong Yiji. The word "take" is easy to solve. This is another sin, lying and cheating, nine of the Ten Commandments. What did the mother do when her son broke three commandments in a row? Cover up, indulge. Without a word of blame, crime becomes misunderstanding and curse becomes blessing. What's the name of replacing principle with affection? Pet!
According to God's law, Leviticus chapter 6, 1 to 7, there are three steps to deal with Micah's theft: (1) repentance and repentance; (2) compensate one-fifth more; (3) Offering a guilt offering before the priest. Mother didn't do what God asked, but made a mental appearance and said that she would give money to God. Ironically, it was said to be dedicated to God, but it was delivered to the son. It is said that they are all dedication, but they are reluctant. It has reduced 1 100 shekels to 200 shekels. People don't listen to God, and their behavior is so absurd and contradictory.
When his mother suggested that Micah should be an idol, Micah got the message, immediately carved a wooden statue, then cast silver on the bread, set up a shrine, made an ephod for the priest, and appointed his son as a priest. There is something fishy (trick) in it. It is to hide the truth and cover up your sins! Think about it, if he comes to the priest to offer a ransom offering, his sin will be exposed to the world. Now the house of God is in his own house, and his son is a priest. How to offer and what to say have been discussed, and no one else knows. They calculated well. The original silver was returned, and they took out 200 shekels, which was one fifth, as an extra compensation. I will quietly offer the so-called "redemption sacrifice" in God's private temple. People don't know, ghosts don't know, and the end of a crime seems to meet the requirements of Leviticus.
I didn't know that I had committed another sin against God at the same time, that is, making idols, which violated the second commandment of the Ten Commandments, "You shall not make idols for yourself, nor shall you make anything like heaven, earth, underground or water (for example. 20:4)."
People do whatever they want, and the result is farther and farther away from God.
? to be continued