Judges 17 Meet Jonathan

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
Judges 17:7 A young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who had been living within the clan of Judah, 8 left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way[c] he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.

9 Micah asked him, “Where are you from?”

“I’m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,” he said, “and I’m looking for a place to stay.”

10 Then Micah said to him, “Live with me and be my father and priest, and I’ll give you ten shekels[d] of silver a year, your clothes and your food.” 11 So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12 Then Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. 13 And Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest.”​

c. Judges 17:8 Or To carry on his profession
d. Judges 17:10 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams

Meet Jonathan. We'll get his name in the next chapter, but this character is really making a mistake. The commentaries are really really preachy over Micah, this Levite, and the agreement they just made.

This is from Bible.org.

In 17:7–13, we are introduced to a young Levite named Jonathan (see 18:30) who has been living in Bethlehem, which is not one of the cities assigned to the priests and Levites. He is probably unemployed. With the spiritual collapse of the nation, there is little or no demand for priests. Sadly, instead of seeking the Lord to meet his needs, Jonathan set out to find a place to live and work, even if it means abandoning his calling as a servant of God. Quickly he runs into Micah who invited him to be his personal priest. Certainly Micah knows that the Lord had appointed the family of Aaron to be the only priests in Israel; and if anybody outside Aaron’s family served as priests, they were to be killed (Num 3:10). Micah continues his sinful choices. Jonathan is no better. Think about this for a moment: What did Micah have in his house? Shouldn’t a Levite who is to able to teach the law know that Micah has broken God’s law? If Jonathan is typical of God’s servants in the period of the Judges, then it’s no wonder the nation of Israel is confused and corrupt. Jonathan has no appreciation for his high calling as a Levite, a chosen servant of God. He gives up God’s call for comfort and security in the home of an idolater. The irony in all this is Micah now thinks he has God’s favor because a genuine levitical priest is serving as his private chaplain. Micah practices a false religion and worships false gods (with Yahweh thrown in for good measure), and all the while he rests on the false confidence that God is blessing him! Little does he know that the day would come when his priest and his gods will be taken from him and nothing will be left of his religion.​

So.... what do we think of Micah and Jonathan? Micah stole money from his mother.... when he returned it to her she used some of it to make a little shiny idol for him. Now a hungry priest came along... apparently the people weren't doing a lot of sacrificing any more. Wouldn't this Levite have normally been assisting in hefting those big carcasses up on the alter? Not only that.... this Levite is willing to be the priest in a house full of shiny idols. So he's going to be a private priest. Is that like having a private chef or maid or butler? Maybe Micah thinks that if it's ok with the Levite then he must be doing what's right.

I wonder.... if Jonathan had gleaned out all those shiny objects from Micah's home.... would it have gone better for them?

:coffee:
 
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