Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Judges
Book: Judges
Chapter: 17
Overview:
The beginning of
Idolatry in
Israel,
Micah and his mother.
(1-6) Micah hires a
Levite to be his
Priest.
(7-13)
1-6 What is related in this, and the
Rest of the chapters to
the
End of this
Book, was done soon after the
Death of
Joshua:
see chap. Jud 20:28. That it might appear how happy the nation
was under the
Judges, here is showed how unhappy they were when
there was
No Judge. The
Love of
Money made
Micah So undutiful to
his mother as to rob her, and made her
So unkind to her son, as
to
Curse him. Outward losses drive good people to their prayers,
but bad people to their curses. This
Woman's
Silver was her
God,
before it was made into a graven or a molten image.
Micah and
his mother agreed to turn their
Money into a
God, and set up
Idol Worship in their family. See the cause of this corruption.
Every
Man did that which was right in his own eyes, and then
they soon did that which was evil in the sight of the
Lord.
7-13 Micah thought it was a sign of
God's favour to him and his
images, that a
Levite should come to his door. Thus those who
please themselves with their own delusions, if
Providence
unexpectedly bring any thing to their hands that further them in
their evil way, are apt from thence to think that
God is pleased
with them.