Judges 17: 6 (also 21:25)
In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.
This verse is repeated, so it appears twice in this book. It is the theme of the book.
God was to be the King over His chosen people Israel, but they just wouldn't stay true to Him. This book illustrates for us how we will go around the cycle of: being blessed of God; then taking Him for granted; then thinking we did it all ourselves; then being drawn to other gods, worldly ideas; then being conquered by the surrounding Nations (or our own addictions); then turning back to God, crying out for help; then God raises up a military leader to win back their freedom (or means to overcome our addictions) and we worship God again; then be blessed by Him again; and the cycle goes on.
We are so weak, and we justify to our own minds all our choices and decisions, no matter how poor or foolish or evil they be.
The people seem to have lost their sense of God's holiness, His only-ness. This chapter tells us about how Micah and his mother dedicated some silver coins to God, then proceeded to make idols out of it, as though God could be represented by a statue, or even that all the pagan dieties were versions of God. Not realizing that all the images that are honored and prayed to are backed by demons (KJV "devils," I Corinthians 10:19-20).
God designated the Levites to be scattered throughout all of Israel to teach the people God's Laws, His rules and regulations for living; but even they fell down in their duties. Micah hired a Levite to be his own personal priest, and he thought that God would be pleased with him (verse 13).
O my Father, You are holy! You are totally Other from all that You have created, everything that exists. You are Light, You are Love, You cannot be pictured by anything You have made.
You have showed us that we cannot justify ourselves, we must depend on You, only You, my Father. Only You are God. Only You deserve to be worshipped and prayed to. When we pray to any image or any other created thing, we are ascribing to them Your attributes, asking them to do what only You can do.
O Father, I pray for all those today who are bowing down to statues, lighting candles to them, or asking them for favors. Open their eyes, Father, to see that You only are God, and You love them more than they can imagine. Let them see how holy and good You are, draw them to Yourself with Your kindness, and receive all the credit, all the glory for what You are doing in the World to continue to carry out Your great Plan of the Ages.
O Father, be our King. Reign over us all. Teach us Your ways, that we may follow them and reap the benefits, Your blessings, now in this World and in the World to come in the New Heaven and New Earth.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
