Secret of Obed Edom, faulty premise more likely

In recent times, books, articles, and sermons had been spun out of this so-called secret of Obed-Edom, or the pleasing ways of Obed-Edom. Many of them were erroneous, for their core premise of one Obed-Edom throughout, was faulty. In this long article, by addressing who Obed-Edom was, I will show indeed the core premise used was incorrect, and therefore, the conclusions drawn are NOT admissible as exhortations from the life of an individual called Obed-Edom.
                                                                                 

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The following are the few questions that we need to address, with given information in the Bible:

1. The Obed-Edom who housed the ark for 3 months, who was he?
2. The Obed-Edom that followed the 2nd attempt by King David to bring the ark to City of David, who was he?
3. Who was the Obed-Edom who was said to be a musician? And who was the Obed-Edom who was said to be a gatekeeper?
4. And lastly, who was the Obed-Edom who was said to have been the treasurer?


The Obed-Edom who housed the ark for 3 months, who was he?
10 He {David} was not willing to take the ark of the LORD to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 11 The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household. (2 Sam 6:10-11).

The above was recorded of what David did after his first (failed) attempt to bring the ark of the LORD to the City of David (old Jerusalem), from the house of Abinadab. The ark was “parked” in the house of Obed-Edom, the Gittite, for 3 months. Who was this Obed-Edom? First, we need to know who was a Gittite? Scripture tells us that he was a native of Gath, one of the 5 main cities of the Philistines:

From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites: (Jos 13:3, KJV)
from the Shihor River on the east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north, all of it counted as Canaanite (the territory of the five Philistine rulers in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron—that of the Avvites);(Jos 13:3, NIV)

This verse below confirms that indeed, Gittites were natives of Gath:

All his {David’s} men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king. (2 Sam 15:18 – Here David was fleeing from Jerusalem because his son, Absalom, has revolted against him)

Now, from the above, we are clear that Gittites were natives of Gath; whether or NOT, Gittites also referred to residents of Gath-Rimmon, the Bible does NOT say. Gath-Rimmon (became of Dan, was believed, situate in the northen part of Dan, near{er} to the Yarkon River) and Gath (of Philistines, nearer to the Valley of Elah) were believed NOT the same.  Scripture said this of Gath-Rimmon, in Joshua 21 - it was one of the many towns given to the Levites in the Promised Land:

23 Also from the tribe of Dan they received Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 24 Aijalon and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands—four towns. 25 From half the tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands—two towns. 26 All these ten towns and their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans. (Joshua 21:23-26).

Now, there are people who linked “Gittite” to Gath-Rimmon, but they gave NOT their reasons. Of course, it does NOT make sense if David is said to have passed through Gath (in the territory of the Philistines) in trying to bring the ark to Jerusalem, for the house of Abinadab was already inside Israel’s territory (Kiriath Jearim {see 1 Chron. 13:6}); but that does NOT mean that the ark was necessarily parked at Gath-Rimmon even though Gath-Rimmon was inside Israel (and Gath was outside); 2 Sam 6:10-11 only said the ark was put aside in the house of a Gittite; not necessarily the place was Gath (regardless, Gath or Gath-Rimmon). Well, even the threshing floor of Nacon where Uzzah was killed for his “unauthorized touch” of the ark has NOT been identified (Nacon, likely to the name of a person, owner of the threshing floor, perhaps). 2 Sam 6:10-11 only said that the ark was taken aside to the house of a Gittite, most likely, a place in Israel, but NOT necessarily in Gath-Rimmon (You can look up old maps on the internet on the likely locations of Gath and Gath-Rimmon yourself.  I will NOT put any here, for copyright reason).

The most plausible conclusion to draw is that the ark was parked in Israel’s territory, at a house on the way from the house of Abinadab to the City of David; and that house belonged to a Gittite. It is completely possible that a native of Gath, therefore, called a Gittite, was staying in the land of Israel, for among the most faithful followers and warriors of King David were the Gittites, and 600 of them were still with David even when David was fleeing Jerusalem when his son, Absalom, revolted against him (2 Sam 15:18 – given above). The Gittites were loyalists; when David was a fugitive from King Saul, they followed David; and when David was again on the run, from his son, Absalom, they still remained loyal. I think it is NOT wrong to say they, despite being Gentiles (non-Israelites), were special vessels of God.

One possible reason for bringing in Gath-Rimmon, by people, I speculate could be because, they wanted to believe the ark of the LORD must be housed with a Levite or Levitical family, and Gath-Rimmon was given to the Kohathites-Levites, as was recorded in Joshua 21:23-26; but did it happen so? I reckoned nearly no one had wanted to take the ark of the LORD then! Even King David was afraid to continue to bring the ark to his City of David. Just imagine, even the son of Abinadab, Uzzah, died for the “unauthorized touch” of the ark. The ark was in the house of Abinadab for 20 years, yet Uzzah was struck dead when he was acting in good faith to steady the ark when the oxen stumbled. Indeed, many would be afraid to take the ark home. It was probably, a loyal Gittite coming to aid of the King, agreed to take the ark back to his house in that place. That Gittite was Obed-Edom.

Obed-Edom was indeed loyal and bold, for Gittites, taking the stance that Gittites were natives of Gath (and NOT Gath-Rimmon), would most likely, of all peoples with David, to remember that 20 years before that, when the ark was captured by the Philistines and circulated in the cities of the Philistines, God inflicted plagues against all the cities of the Philistines, including Gath (God brought tumors there!). But God honored the Gittite, Obed-Edom. God blessed him and his entire household (2 Sam 6:11), for the 3 months the ark was in his house. Frankly speaking, there was no evidence to expect the Gittite was a Levite, for in the first attempt (ark was put aside in this first attempt), David was NOT tasking the Levites to bring back the ark to the City of David; we only know that David went with 30,000 able young men of Israel (2 Sam 6:1). To me, squarely, the ark of the LORD did get housed in a Gentile’s house, and NOT a Levite’s house, and the LORD blessed that Gentile and his entire household.

Who was the Obed-Edom who housed the ark for 3 months? He was Obed-Edom, the Gittite, native of Gath, one of the 5 main cities of the Philistines.


The Obed-Edom that followed the 2nd attempt by King David to bring the ark to City of David, who was he?
1 Chronicles 15 recorded for us, how King David went about to bring the ark of the LORD to the City of David (old Jerusalem) from the house of Obed-Edom; in other words, it was a recording of the 2nd attempt of David to bring the ark to (old) Jerusalem, NOT of the 1st attempt. In Chr 15:4 we read David called together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites, and a whole list of names was given. Realising his mistake, David wanted the priests and Levites to do everything as prescribed by Moses in regard to moving the ark. Among other things, we also read in 1 Chr 15:16-24, this:

16 David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their fellow Levites as musicians to make a joyful sound with musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals. 17 So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his relatives, Asaph son of Berekiah; and from their relatives the Merarites, Ethan son of Kushaiah; 18 and with them their relatives next in rank: Zechariah,[b] Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel,[c] the gatekeepers. 19 The musicians Heman, Asaph and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals; 20 Zechariah, Jaaziel,[d] Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah were to play the lyres according to alamoth,[e] 21 and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah were to play the harps, directing according to sheminith.[f] 22 Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it. 23 Berekiah and Elkanah were to be doorkeepers for the ark. 24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer the priests were to blow trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were also to be doorkeepers for the ark (1 Chr 15:16-24).

David had wanted to have music and singing to accompany the procession, and the Levites appointed from among themselves (i.e. Levites) people to take various roles. Verse 17 said that Heman (a Kohathite-Levite {1 Chr 6:33-38}) was appointed, and from his relatives, Asaph (a Gershonite-Levite {1 Chr 6:39-42}) was appointed, and from their relatives, the Merarites (Kohathites, Gershonites and Merarites were sub-tribes within the Levi tribe – see 1 Chr 23:6 given below), headed by Ethan (Merarite-Levite {1 Chr 6:44-46}). Included among the 2nd tier Levites (“next in rank”) was one Obed-Edom who was a gatekeeper (v18). So, from here, we can see that the Obed-Edom here was a gatekeeper. He was a Levite, NOT a Gittite, NOT a warrior or bodyguard of David.

3 sets of instruments, cymbals, lyres and harps, were decided to be played. For the cymbals, the musician heads, Heman, Asaph and Ethan would be doing that. Verse 20 listed those who would play the lyres; for the harps, Obed-Edom, the Levite, was involved in there (v21). Another Levite head, Kenaniah, was in charge of singing (v22). Two senior Levites were assigned as doorkeepers for the ark (v23); and they were Berekiah, the father of Asaph (1 Chr 6:39), Elkanah, the grandfather of Heman (1 Chr 6:34), with the same Obed-Edom and one Jehiah as back-up {or maybe, rear-end} doorkeepers (v24). Clearly, Obed-Edom, the Gittite was NOT involved. The Obed-Edom involved in the procession was Obed-Edom, the 2nd tier Levite whose formal and usual job, was a gatekeeper.

From 1 Chr 16:1 we know that David was successful in bringing the ark to the City of David, on this 2nd attempt:

They brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before God (1 Chr 16:1).

We must understand that at this time, the Temple of Solomon had NOT yet been built; David had prepared a tent to house the ark of the LORD.

So, now, who was the Obed-Edom who was involved in the 2nd attempt by David to bring the ark to the City of David (old Jerusalem)? It was Obed-Edom, a 2nd tier (2nd rank)-Levite who was a gatekeeper, NOT Obed-Edom, the Gittite. Obed-Edom, the Levite, his role in the procession was to play the harp along with other Levites assigned, and secondarily, he served as back-up (or perhaps, rear-end) doorkeeper for the ark.


Who was the Obed-Edom who was said to be a musician? And who was the Obed-Edom who was said to be a gatekeeper?
From the above, the Obed-Edom who had a musical role in the procession was Obed-Edom, the 2nd tier Levite who was a gatekeeper. It had nothing to do with Obed-Edom, the Gittite; although I am NOT saying that it was NOT possible Obed-Edom, the Gittite, followed the ark to the City of David, but Scripture did NOT say he did that.

What about at the City of David? There was a celebration, and this is what was recorded for us:

4 He {David} appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, to extol,[a] thank, and praise the LORD, the God of Israel: 5 Asaph was the chief, and next to him in rank were Zechariah, then Jaaziel,[b] Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God. (1 Chr 16:4-6)

From 1 Chr 15, we continued into 1 Chr 16; the Obed-Edom in verse 5 (of 1 Chr 16) was the same Obed-Edom who played the harp in bringing the ark to the City. There is no reason to believe that a different Obed-Edom was involved. The difference in rank or tier was still reflected there, Asaph being higher in rank. He (Obed-Edom) just continued to minister before the ark in the same capacity as a harp musician, which was his temporary assignment, for his formal and usual function was a Levite gatekeeper.

It should be understood that the ark of God was moved to the City of David, and placed in a tent specifically made by the order of David for the LORD, but the original Tabernacle (Tent of Meeting) was NOT brought into the City with the ark.

It should be noted with the arrival of the ark in the City of David, David instituted a set of religious duties for the priests and general Levites to be undertaken before the LORD, and this had been omitted in the Book of Samuel, and so, it was more elaborately narrated in 1 Chronicles. I will NOT go into too much details, but it suffices to mention, firstly, the original Tabernacle was still in Gibeon, and secondly, there was then a scenario of 2 tents, one in the City of David with the ark of the LORD in it, and the other, with all the other implements of the tabernacle (including the altar of burnt offering) but without the ark, still in Gibeon. The original Tabernacle (Tabernacle of Moses) with all the other implements could NOT be ignored, and must continue to be maintained. Because of David’s instructions to include music and singing, the Tabernacle at the City of David was also called the Tabernacle of Praise. The Tabernacle of Moses essentially became the Tabernacle of Sacrifice (sacrifices were made on the altar of burnt offering still within the Tabernacle of Moses).

David instituted and wanted Asaph and his associates to minister to the LORD daily at the City of David, according to each day’s requirements. Asaph and his associates were musicians, and so, it is believed they ministered songs, praise, worship, and joyful sound before the LORD daily. Other Levites were left there to minister to the LORD, including the gatekeepers. Now, Obed-Edom was again reflected in David’s instructions:


37 David left Asaph and his associates before the ark of the covenant of the LORD to minister there regularly, according to each day’s requirements. 38 He also left Obed-Edom and his sixty-eight associates to minister with them. Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun, and also Hosah, were gatekeepers. (1 Chr 16:37-38).

39 David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the LORD at the high place in Gibeon 40 to present burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of burnt offering regularly, morning and evening, in accordance with everything written in the Law of the LORD, which he had given Israel. 41 With them were Heman and Jeduthun and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the LORD, “for his love endures forever.” 42 Heman and Jeduthun were responsible for the sounding of the trumpets and cymbals and for the playing of the other instruments for sacred song. The sons of Jeduthun were stationed at the gate. (1 Chr 16:39-42).

David appointed Asaph as chief musician to minister before the Tabernacle of Praise in the City of David (v37). The other key head musician, Heman, was sent up to Gibeon to minister before the Tabernacle of Moses where burnt offerings were still being done regularly. In verse 38, we read the Obed-Edom, the Levite, was the son of the Levite, Jeduthun. And he, Obed-Edom, together with his 68 associates ministered with Asaph (and his associates) before the Tabernacle of Praise. And Obed-Edom continued to function in his original role as a gatekeeper.

For one thing, since it was all a continuation, and there was nothing to cause to us to think otherwise, the Obed-Edom referred to, here, should be the same Obed-Edom as in 1 Chr 15, who took part in the procession of the ark into the City of David. Also, one unchallenged view has it that Jeduthun and Ethan of 1 Chr 15:17 {given above} were the same person. That being the case, since Ethan was a Merarite-Levite {1 Chr 6:44-46}, the Obed-Edom here was a Merarite-Levite.

Meanwhile, Zadok, the priest was assigned to Gibeon, for the priest must be there to carry out the burnt offerings on the altar of burnt offerings. Heman and Jeduthun (the father of Obed-Edom) ministered music there, and other sons of Jeduthun functioned as gatekeepers at the Tabernacle of Moses in Gibeon (Some of the sons of Jeduthun also functioned as musicians. Jeduthun family was believed to be great string instrumentalists, especially the harp {1 Chr 25:3 recorded it for us; now, Obed-Edom was NOT listed there; I believed it was because Obed-Edom was assigned to Asaph in the City of David to assist in music, even though formally he was a gatekeeper, while Jeduthun and some of his sons were assigned to Gibeon – The father, Jeduthun went to assist Heman, and his son, Obed-Edom assisted Asaph}).

From notations against the psalms in Scriptures (and also from 1 Chr 25:6 – these 3, Heman, Asaph and Jeduthun, were under the King’s supervision, and they in turn supervised those below them), we know the 3 head musicians of David were Heman, Asaph and Jeduthun, and therefore, I submit to you that, because of the 2 separate locations, due to the 2 Tabernacles, Obed-Edom, son of Jeduthun was put to assist Asaph, even as he (Obed-Edom) continued to serve as a gatekeeper {1 Chr 16:38}, making each location with 2 main musicians {Obed-Edom assisting Asaph, and Jeduthun, Heman}).

The above covered the time period where the Temple of Solomon had NOT yet being built; subsequent to this, in 1 Chr 23, we read that David had become old and he made his son, Solomon, King in his place, and because of his heart for the LORD and the lesson he learnt from his experience of NOT following the prescribed ways of ministering to the LORD, he once again specifically laid down the roles and duties of the Levites (including priests) concerning ministering to the LORD in anticipation of the Temple which Solomon would build, so that his descendants and the people would be careful to observe the requirements of the LORD.

He gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. The Levites of 30 years old or more were counted, and they numbered 38,000. This was how David divided the roles of the Levites: 24,000 were to supervise the work of the temple, 6,000 were to be officials and judges, 4,000 were to be gatekeepers, and the balance 4,000 were to praise the LORD, i.e. be designated as temple singers of the LORD, to sing and praise God with songs and musical instruments David had provided for that purpose.

In 1 Chr 23:6, we read this:

David divided the Levites into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

Levi, one of the 12 sons of Israel (aka Jacob) had 3 sons, Gershon, Kohath and Merari. From these 3 came the tribes of Levi.

Gershon’s descendants were listed there - 1 Ch 23:7-11. Moses and Aaron (also Miriam) were siblings, and their father was Amram, son of Kohath, son of Levi, meaning Moses and Aaron were Levites. Because the LORD had, right from the beginning, had Moses led the Israelites, out of Egypt, and Aaron, being made the high-priest, it was the Kohathites who had the exclusivity of being priests for the LORD, amongst the Levites. This meant that all priests were Levites, but NOT all Levites were priests. God designated that priestly functions were to be done by the priests, and the general Levites were subject to the High-priest. The general Levites were supposed to, under the direction of the High-priest (and his priests), to take care of the non-priestly functions. The priestly functions included: consecrating the most holy things, offering of sacrifices before the LORD, ministering before God, and pronouncing blessings in His name. The descendants of Moses were also listed there -1 Chr 23:15-20. The early {just the early} descendants of Merarites were listed there - 1 Chr 23:21-23.

1 Chr 24 further gave us the ancestries of the Levites from the functional (priest and non-priest) perspective. 1 Chr 25 gave us the singers and musicians. 1 Chr 26 gave us the gatekeepers, and in there we read of Obed-Edom!

Obed-Edom appeared in verse 4 (of 1 Chr 26), and because verse 1 has the word, “Korahites (clan of Kohathites), some interpreted Obed-Edom was a Kohathites or Korahites. Actually, there is ambiguity in the couple of verses there; for one, Asaph was listed there, verse 1, worded as if he was under Korahites when we know from 1 Chr 6:39-42, Asaph was a Gershonite-Levite. Although it was possible that some sons of Asaph, and therefore, clans from Asaph could be gatekeepers (as was the case for Jeduthun), Asaph (who co-ranked with Heman {and Jeduthun}) was NOT a Korahites (or Kohathites). It was ambiguous there; whether or not, one can conclude, the Obed-Edom there, in verse 4 (of 1 Chr 26) was also a Korahites, and therefore, conflicts with 1 Chr 16:38 which clearly said Obed-Edom was the son of Jeduthun (aka Ethan), and therefore, a Merarite-Levite, is subjective. I believe, in such a scenario, the correct approach to take, is to adopt the unambiguous verse, and that would be 1 Chr 16:38, i.e. the Obed-Edom who was a gatekeeper was a Merarite and NOT a Kohathite or Korahite Levite. Furthermore, the way 1 Chr 26:1-5 were worded, it appeared to want to refer to the “next in rank” gatekeepers, and their sons, and so, Jeduthun (or Ethan) was NOT reflected there; and also, Jeduthun (or Ethan) was NOT to be classified under “gatekeepers”, for he was a chief musician, and had been reflected in 1 Chr 25. In any case, it was clear that, the Obed-Edom who was a gatekeeper was a Levite, and could not have been a Gentile, Gittite.

Obed-Edom, the Merarite (I have preferred accepting 1 Chr 16:38), had 8 sons (1 Chr 26:4-5), and when lots were casted (then; lots would be casted for each new term), the lot for the South Gate fell to Obed-Edom, and the lot for the storehouse fell to his sons. (1 Chr 26:15). The section on gatekeepers concluded with verse 19 saying this: These were the divisions of the gatekeepers who were descendants of Korah and Merari (I believe Korahite (Kohathite) equivalent in rank with Obed-Edom (of Merarite) was Meshelemiah given in verse 1 (of 1 Chr 26). Just as Obed-Edom’s sons were listed (vv4-5), Meshelemiah’s sons were listed in verses 2-3).

Before we move on to who was the Obed-Edom who was said to be a treasurer, let me conclude on who the Obed-Edom who was said to be a musician, and who was the Obed-Edom who was a gatekeeper. Why did I go at great length about the genealogy and functions of the Levites? It is my hope that you get a clearer picture that it was highly unlikely if NOT impossible for the Gittite Obed-Edom to be functioning as a musician or a gatekeeper or doorkeeper before the ark or Tabernacle or in the Temple of God. I have omitted to refer to the Torah (or the 1st 5 Books of Moses), but if you go there, you will know that God left very strict instructions as to who could minister before Him, before the ark and in the Tabernacle, and therefore, also Temple of God. There was no doubt that David knew his God, the LORD, but he was initially NOT careful to pay attention to this aspect of the requirements of the LORD, and he learnt it the hard way (by the way, king Saul also learnt it the hard way), in his failed attempt (1st attempt) to bring the ark of the LORD from the house of Abinadab to the City of David. David learnt fast and he learnt well, and he wanted to make sure his successor, his son, King Solomon, to know well, and therefore, he laid down clearly, who and who were to minister in what capacities to the LORD. A Gittite Obed-Edom could NEVER be a Merarite-Levite; for who were the Levites was all predetermined, as 1 Chr 23:6 (given above) showed. Today, any believer can be a priest or a pastor, and can minister before the Lord, but that is because of the works of Jesus on the Cross, but back then, it was NOT so. The Obed-Edom who was a gatekeeper was the Merarite-Levite, son of Jeduthun; and he, Obed-Edom doubled-up to minister with head musician, Asaph, at City of David, because his father, Jeduthun was assigned to assist Heman in Gibeon.


And lastly, who was the Obed-Edom who was said to have been the treasurer?
Below is the section from 1 Chr 26 on the treasurers:

20 Their fellow Levites were[b] in charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries for the dedicated things. 21 The descendants of Ladan, who were Gershonites through Ladan and who were heads of families belonging to Ladan the Gershonite, were Jehieli, 22 the sons of Jehieli, Zetham and his brother Joel. They were in charge of the treasuries of the temple of the LORD.

23 From the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites and the Uzzielites: 24 Shubael, a descendant of Gershom son of Moses, was the officer in charge of the treasuries. 25 His relatives through Eliezer: Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zicri his son and Shelomith his son. 26 Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of all the treasuries for the things dedicated by King David, by the heads of families who were the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and by the other army commanders. 27 Some of the plunder taken in battle they dedicated for the repair of the temple of the LORD. 28 And everything dedicated by Samuel the seer and by Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner and Joab son of Zeruiah, and all the other dedicated things were in the care of Shelomith and his relatives. (1 Chr 26:20-28)

Another key function of the Levites was to act as treasurers for the temple of the LORD, for there were the general treasuries, and the treasuries of dedicated things. There were offerings dropped off, by the people who came to the Temple, there were the dedicated things of the Temple, and the latter included those dedicated by the kings, as well as plunders of war dedicated for the Temple or to the LORD.

From the above scripture passage, we know only 2 of the 3 sub-tribes of the Levites were involved as treasurers. From verses 21-22, we know the Gershonites were involved. From verse 23, we know the Kohathites were involved; Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites and Ussielites were all clans within Kohathites; Amramites, for example, were descendants of Amram, descendant of Kohath. (Some of the Kohathites were also assigned out of the temple to be officials and judges over Israel).

From the above, we know that Merarite-Levites were NOT involved as treasurers, and so, solely based on the above, there could NOT be a Merarite-Levite Obed-Edom who was a treasurer. Then, from where did that erroneous notion come? It came from a misunderstanding of what the role of the gatekeepers given charge of the storehouse of the Temple, and a misreading of 2 Chr 25:23-24 where the name Obed-Edom appeared.

In 1 Chr 26:14-16 we read this, regarding the Temple gates and the storehouse of the Temple:

14 The lot for the East Gate fell to Shelemiah.[a] Then lots were cast for his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and the lot for the North Gate fell to him. 15 The lot for the South Gate fell to Obed-Edom, and the lot for the storehouse fell to his sons. 16 The lots for the West Gate and the Shalleketh Gate on the upper road fell to Shuppim and Hosah. (1 Chr 26:14-16)

From the above, we know that in those days, among the gatekeepers (Levites), they drew lots to assign duties for each term. And we know, as previously noted, Obed-Edom, the Merarite-Levite was assigned the South Gate. From verse 15 above, we also know that the storehouse lot fell to Obed-Edom’s sons. Now, the whole section in this 1 Chr 26 was concerning the gatekeepers, in other words, the storehouse and the 4 gates came under the gatekeepers. Among the many duties, and you can read about them in 1 Chr 9:26-29 (although there, the scenario painted could be that of the Tabernacle {v24} rather than a temple, but it was still equally applicable), was that gatekeepers guarded over the gates, and if the storehouse was included, the guarding of the same. In other words, their main duties were that of a guard. Now, as a guard for the storehouse was different from being the treasurer of the treasury of the Temple. It is NOT even important to discuss what was found in the storehouse, but verse 28 of 1 Chr 9 painted to us, articles used in the Temple (made of gold and silver) moved in and out of the storehouse, and it was the duty of the gatekeepers or guards to check if correct number were taken out and returned. Gatekeepers in charge of the storehouse were guards on duty to ensure the storehouse was NOT broken into, burgled, and items pilfered, they were NO treasurers. The Merarites-Levites gatekeepers, like Obed-Edom or his sons, were NOT Temple treasurers.

Now, we turn to 2 Chr 25:23-24:

23 Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah,[e] at Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash brought him {king Amaziah} to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section about six hundred feet[f] long. 24 He took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the temple of God that had been in the care of Obed-Edom, together with the palace treasures and the hostages, and returned to Samaria. (2 Chr 25:23-24)

Now, the above incident happened, at least 180 years after the reign of King David (if you traced the genealogy of the kings of Judah, Amaziah came into power after more than ½ a dozen kings). So, firstly, the Obed-Edom here could NOT be the Gittite Obed-Edom. Secondly, the Merarite-Levite Obed-Edom, of David’s time, around the same time as the Gittite Obed-Edom, too, could NOT have lived until the time of King Amaziah!

One possibility is that the Obed-Edom here was referring to the clan name, started from The Merarite-Levite Obed-Edom. This means that the actual person(s) involved were the descendant(s) of the Merarite-Levite gatekeeper, Obed-Edom, NOT himself; and they were NO treasurers of the treasury of the Temple; they were merely gatekeepers, who, in that time, also had been assigned to guard the storehouse. If at all it was referring to a specific individual, then it had to be a recycling of ancestral name, which was NOT impossible, but it obviously was NOT the same Obed-Edom of David’s time (from the bringing of the ark into the City of David).

The king of Israel (Northern Kingdom, Israel, for the United Monarchy of Israel was already split, into Israel and Judah {in the south}) came attacking and broke a section of the wall of Jerusalem, went into the Temple, and looted the storehouse which was then under the guarding of the Obed-Edom clan, and the Israelites from the North (Samaria), also looted the palace treasury and took hostages.

The above was what it was all about; and there was NO Gittite Obed-Edom as treasurer, in charge of the Temple treasury, nor was there the Merarite-Levite Obed-Edom, son of Jeduthun, personally present (or still alive), but merely that the descendants of the Merarite-Levite Obed-Edom were on duty at that time as gatekeepers of one of the gates and the storehouse.

I repeat, books, articles, and sermons had been spun out of this so-called secret of Obed-Edom, or the pleasing ways of Obed-Edom; they were erroneous, for their core premise of one Obed-Edom throughout, was faulty. While I know 2 Tim 3:16 said that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”, still facts and reasonableness CANNOT be ignored. Filling-in of gaps is one thing, but no matter how we fill in the gap, we cannot contradict existing facts given in Scripture.

These are clear:
1. In the first attempt by David to bring the ark of the LORD from the house of Abinadab to the City of David, when Uzziah was struck by the LORD and killed, the ark was “parked” with the Gittite Obed-Edom. There was NOTHING to suggest the Gittite Obed-Edom was also the subsequent Merarite-Levite. A Levite was a Levite, he could NOT be a Gittite, and a Gittite could NOT be a Levite (Even if the Gath referred to, in 2 Sam 6:10-11 was equated to Gath-Rimmon, a Kohathite-Levite and a Merarite-Levite were NOT the same). By the way, Levites, they did NOT fight in battles, unlike the Gittites who were warriors for David.

2. The Obed-Edom who functioned as a musician, playing the harp, and served as a back-up (or rear-end) doorkeeper in David’s 2nd attempt to bring the ark to the City of David, was NOT the Gittite Obed-Edom. The latter, whether or NOT he followed the ark of the LORD down to the City of David, we know NOT, for scriptures did NOT say.

3. The Obed-Edom who functioned as a musician, played the harp, and served as a doorkeeper in David’s 2nd attempt to bring the ark of LORD to the City of David was the Merarite-Levite, Obed-Edom, son of Jeduthun.

4. The duties of Levites were all established during the time of Moses, right from the time God took the Levi Tribe as His own to minister to Him. They did NOT fight directly in battles, and they did NOT inherit territories but were given cities and places to live, and were (supposed to be) looked after, by the other tribes of Israel, as was instructed by God. Functions such as priests and gatekeepers were long established, the various sub-tribes and clans of the Levites knew what they were supposed to do. A clan assigned to be gatekeepers, generally stayed as gatekeepers for generations. Only certain Levites could be priests, the rest could NOT; all these duties and functions of the Levites were carefully observed, although there were periods of lapses (in Judges Period for example) but still occasions revealed in Scriptures were none of the kind that Gentiles taking over the roles of Levites as a normality. A Gentile could NOT be deemed a Levite and functioned like a Levite (At least NOT under the hand of David, after his realization of the importance of the roles of Levites, after his 1st attempt to move the ark). Examples are present in Scripture of the fury of God’s wrath when there was disobedience; the Uzziah incident was one; the 2 sons of Aaron died when they offered “unauthorized” fire before the LORD was another; and King Saul losing his kingdom when he took upon himself the role which the priest and prophet, Samuel, could function in, was also another. You should be convinced by the lengthy and detailed instructions of David concerning all of these, after he realised the seriousness of properly ministering before the LORD.

5. The Levite Obed-Edom was merely doing his duties, almost NOTHING more than that. He was a Merarite-Levite, and his job for life was a gatekeeper, and his sons were to be, also; except, because of David’s remodeling of the worship ministering before the LORD, he doubled up as a musician. As evidenced by scriptures which we have seen above, even after more than ½ a dozen kings later on, his descendants or clan were still gatekeepers.

6. There was nothing of the sorts that the Levite Obed-Edom did an extraordinary good job of having his sons also serving the LORD. No, if you were a Levite-gatekeeper, your sons would be one; they just would NOT be going round trying to do another thing, unless the King or the priest said so. If they did, most likely they were doing them against the wishes of the LORD or because the other tribes of Israel failed to provide for the Levite tribe (as they were required to, by the LORD) as recorded for us, in occasions, in the Judges Period.

7. Obed-Edom was NOT promoted from a gatekeeper to be a treasurer. If there was any scope expansion, it was only that David had let him doubled up as musician to support Asaph in the City of David, before the Tabernacle of Praise, which housed the ark, because his (Obed-Edom’s) father, Jeduthun, had to be at Gibeon to support Heman who was ministering before the Tabernacle of Moses (of Sacrifice).

Only if you are preaching Obed-Edom NOT in contradiction to the above points, you perhaps have a “legitimate message”. Similarly, for listeners or readers, watch what you hear or read; whatever the message, it must NOT contradict the above points. If you have NOT heard about Obed-Edom being portrayed as models in the likes of Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Esther, etc, until more recently, it was because Scripture did NOT make him out to be one. Separating him from the Gittite Obed-Edom, the Levite Obed-Edom was NOT given any comments by God of how he had functioned; we were merely told of what he functioned in, as a Levite, hardly enough to build any case of him having any pleasing ways or secrets!

                                                                                 

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Anthony Chia, high.expressions –
Lord, as far as I could search out, your Word did NOT contain the facts that could justify the use of the character, Obed-Edom, particularly, to say the way to receive prosperity blessings from you is to follow the ways of Obed-Edom, the Levite. But I did learn you used the Gentiles, Gittites, for your cause of protecting your servant, David, and the Gittites showed great dedication and loyalty to their leader, David; and you were pleased to bless when we revere you despite our fear.

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Judges series - Judges 20 - Levite and His concubine (continuation)

The way to read this article is that the orange underlined texts are the verses of the Bible (NIV, unless otherwise stated). The black texts following the Bible verses (and enclosed by square brackets) are my commentaries. At the end of these Bible texts and commentaries, I have inserted a section on "Points to take note/What we have learnt/can learn".
{For full listing of all articles in this series, click here}

Judges 20

[This chapter continues from the previous, and here is the recap of Judges 19: In this story, a Levite in the Ephraim hill country took a concubine from Bethlehem, Judah. The concubine was unfaithful, and afterward, had left home and gone back to her father’s house in Bethlehem. The Levite went to fetch her back, and the way back, when it was late, they decided to spend the night in Gibeah, a city, controlled by the Benjamin tribe. An old man, probably a fellow Israelite, extended hospitality to the couple. In the night, while everyone was inside the house, some wicked men of the city came to the door, demanding the Levite be given over to them to have sex, sodomy! The old man said that, that would be a vile and disgraceful thing to do, and countered, offering to give his own virgin daughter and the Levite’s concubine to the men, but the men refused. The Levite took his concubine and gave her to the men outside. The men raped and abused the Levite’s concubine until the next morning, and she died. Both the old man, and the Levite did nothing until the next morning! The Levite took the body and went back to his own home. On arrival, he cut up the body into 12 parts, and had them sent to the tribes of Israel, all over the place. When the people saw the parts, they were shocked, and wandered what to do.]

1 Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out as one man and assembled before the LORD in Mizpah. 2 The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand soldiers armed with swords. 3 (The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, "Tell us how this awful thing happened." [When the Israelites received the parts of the Levite’s concubine, they gathered before God in a place called Mizpah.]
4 So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, "I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. 5 During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died. 6 I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel's inheritance, because they committed this lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. 7 Now, all you Israelites, speak up and give your verdict." [The Levite explained the tragedy to the crowd gathered. He said it was the men of Gibeah who did the hideous act. He, of course, did not say he sent his concubine out, to save his own skin.]
8 All the people rose as one man, saying, "None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house. 9 But now this is what we'll do to Gibeah: We'll go up against it as the lot directs. 10 We'll take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred from a thousand, and a thousand from ten thousand, to get provisions for the army. Then, when the army arrives at Gibeah in Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for all this vileness done in Israel." 11 So all the men of Israel got together and united as one man against the city. [The crowd decided in one accord that they would form an army and go against the city of Gibeah.]
12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What about this awful crime that was committed among you? 13 Now surrender those wicked men of Gibeah so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel." But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. 14 From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. 15 At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred chosen men from those living in Gibeah. 16 Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. [Now, the tribes of Israelites did give the Benjamin tribe a chance to avoid the war. In fact, I might even think the tribes did not, in the first instance, accuse the Benjamites as the culprits (You already know from earlier discussions in Judges 19, that I do not think the Benjamites were the culprits). Verse 12 only said,” … that was committed among you”. The sad thing was that the Benjamites were complacent, did not bother. Herein lays one of the 2 problems. Remember in my commentary for Judges 19:11-15, I said there is an important point, I believe, the Lord wanted to show to the children of Israelites.

That point was this: The tribe of Levite belonged to God and must be taken care of by all the fellow Israelites. You can read the entire chapter 3 of the Book of Numbers to get the full picture; I will just quote verses 44 & 45 to support the assertion that the Levites belonged to God:

The LORD also said to Moses, "Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites are to be mine. I am the LORD. (Numbers 3:44-45)

The LORD gave specific instructions to the Israelites about taking care of the Levites. The Levites’ occupation was to help the high priests with ministering before the LORD (in those days, at the Tabernacle). Because they belonged to the LORD, they would not be allotted territorial lands in the Promised Land, unlike the other tribes. Their inheritance was the LORD. Below are some verses on the instructions:

Be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land (Deu 12:19). And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own (Deu 14:27). If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the LORD will choose, 7 he may minister in the name of the LORD his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the LORD. 8 He is to share equally in their benefits, even though he has received money from the sale of family possessions (Deu 18:6-8). "Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands around the towns (Num 35:2).

That the story began with the saying, “Now a Levite….” was not without reason; the failures of the Benjamin tribe were therefore firstly, that they were complacent and neglected the tribe of the LORD, apart from not having taken care of the city they lived in, and secondly, they were proud and have taken offence of the hostility demonstrated by the fellow tribes. The seriousness of the matter was compounded by the fact that the offence was done to a Levite – that, I believe, accounted to the great turnout before the LORD. How else could you justify the condoning of the LORD for the battle against the Benjamites (despite the failing of the Levite himself) which you shall read of, subsequently? Of the standard commentaries I looked at, none had correctly approached this story from this angle.]
17 Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fighting men. 18 The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, "Who of us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?"
The LORD replied, "Judah shall go first." [What I am going to elaborate on, are things that came to mind as I write, it is up to you to think whether or not, they are all necessarily connected.

A little history, a little background: We know Benjamites descended from Benjamin, son of Israel (aka Jacob). Do you know he was the youngest son (Gen 42) and was the brother of Joseph, both sons by Rachel. Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin; before her death she gave the baby, the name Ben-Oni, meaning son of my trouble. Israel (aka Jacob) changed the name and gave the name, Benjamin instead. Benjamin meant son of my right hand. Benjamin was trouble but was also right hand. Before Israel died, he blessed his sons (Gen 49), giving each the blessing appropriate to him (Gen 49:28). Of the sons, and therefore, the tribes that followed, 2 were blessed as great men of war. One, of course, was Judah, the other was Benjamin. This is what was said of Benjamin in the blessing:

"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
in the morning he devours the prey,
in the evening he divides the plunder." (Gen 49:27)

Also, we know of King Saul (the Kings period was after this {Judges period}), he was a Benjamite. What did the Bible said of his physique? 1 Sam 9:2 stated that he was an impressive young man without equal among Israelites – a head taller than any of the others. The Benjamites were mighty men of war; that was why they were proud, that was why so many Israelite fighting men gathered, that was why the Israelites inquired of the LORD who should fight the Benjamites. And it might have been the reason the LORD said Judah shall go first.

As a side, as to being the right-hand, in split of the United Monarchy Kingdom of Israel, into northern kingdom, Israel, of 10 Tribes, and the southern kingdom, Judah, of 2 Tribes, it was the Benjamin tribe that stayed with the Judah tribe, in the south portion of the Promised Land. This, of course, happened, later, subsequent to this Judges period.]
19 The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. 20 The men of Israel went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. 21 The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. 22 But the men of Israel encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. [First battle, 22,000 Israelites killed by the Benjamites.]
23 The Israelites went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and they inquired of the LORD. They said, "Shall we go up again to battle against the Benjamites, our brothers?"
The LORD answered, "Go up against them."
24 Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. 25 This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords. [Second battle, 18,000 Israelites got killed, making a total of 40,000 Israelites killed at the hands of some 25,700 (or 26,700) Benjamites.]
26 Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD. 27 And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, 28 with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, "Shall we go up again to battle with Benjamin our brother, or not?"
The LORD responded, "Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands." [This was the third time the Israelites inquired of the LORD, after 2 crashing defeats. The LORD said to go, and the Benjamites would be defeated.]
29 Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah. 30 They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before. 31 The Benjamites came out to meet them and were drawn away from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as before, so that about thirty men fell in the open field and on the roads—the one leading to Bethel and the other to Gibeah.
32 While the Benjamites were saying, "We are defeating them as before," the Israelites were saying, "Let's retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads." 33 All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place on the west of Gibeah. 34 Then ten thousand of Israel's finest men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize how near disaster was. 35 The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. 36 Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten. Now the men of Israel had given way before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush they had set near Gibeah. 37 The men who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword. 38 The men of Israel had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke from the city, 39 and then the men of Israel would turn in the battle. The Benjamites had begun to inflict casualties on the men of Israel (about thirty), and they said, "We are defeating them as in the first battle." 40 But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the smoke of the whole city going up into the sky. 41 Then the men of Israel turned on them, and the men of Benjamin were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come upon them. 42 So they fled before the Israelites in the direction of the desert, but they could not escape the battle. And the men of Israel who came out of the towns cut them down there. 43 They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. 44 Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters. 45 As they turned and fled toward the desert to the rock of Rimmon, the Israelites cut down five thousand men along the roads. They kept pressing after the Benjamites as far as Gidom and struck down two thousand more. 46 On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters. 47 But six hundred men turned and fled into the desert to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. 48 The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put all the towns to the sword, including the animals and everything else they found. All the towns they came across they set on fire.
[The proud Benjamites thought that they would win again but they were defeated. Verse 35 said that the LORD defeated the Benjamites. The rest of the verses were details of the battle, including the strategy deployed. 25,100 Benjamites got killed, leaving behind only 600 who fled into the desert to the rock of Rimmon. This chapter ended with the statement that the men of Israel went to all the towns of the Benjamites, killed everything and set them on fire. Nothing was left of the Benjamin tribe except the 600 men at Rimmon – how great a prize to pay!]

What we can learn here:
Now, perhaps, we can put down a few lessons, when we did not when we were just having the narrations in Judges 19. Below are what I have:

1. The Levites belonged to God, and should have been taken care of. Extrapolating, I believe, the consecrated servants (full-time, even part-time ones) of God belong to God, and likewise, should be taken care of. Frankly speaking, the argument that tithing and offering are Law, and therefore must not be practiced, is a weak one when we understand the rationale behind making provisions for such servants. God had wanted the people of God to provide for the Levites whose duties were to tend to matters of the tabernacle or temple. So, in similar light, Christians are to provide for those amongst them who gave of themselves to serve God. The Benjamites failed to look after the Levite, and that was one of the reasons, God had sanctioned the attack on the Benjamites. Are we taking care of the consecrated servants of God in our midst? Please do not rebut by saying that every one of us is a servant of God; you know what I mean.

2. We are to be the gatekeepers of our city. If we, the people of God, do not “guard” our city properly, wickedness will take over, disorder, corruption and vileness can become the order of the day, and it will be a sad state of affair, and a sad day or time. Without going against the governmental authority over us, we are to endeavor to guard our city against licentious idolatry, and general licentiousness, vileness, and all wickedness. Make our stands known, stand up and be counted; pray and intercede against such. When God punishes a place for detestable practices, the Word of God said that even the very righteous ones can only save himself, not even his sons or daughters! (Eze 14:12-20).

3. When God humbles, receive it; do not be stubborn and continue to hold on to pride. The Benjamites were proud and had taken offence of the hostility demonstrated by the fellow tribes. Had they put aside their pride, confessed, repented, and asked for forgiveness, perhaps they need not have to suffer near annihilation (the whole tribe was left with only 600 men), and a lot of fellow brothers of the other tribes had not need to die, and suffered. So, it is the same, with us, when we are wrong and have sinned, we are to confess, repent, and ask for forgiveness, in accordance to 1 John 1:9, and be thankful for the grace and mercy of God. By the way, 1 John 1:9 is for believers; if you are not convinced of it, please read my separate article, “1 John 1:9 is for believers”.



Anthony Chia – LORD, forgive me for not being a good watchman, and gatekeeper. Help me to be a better one. God, for the sake of your Name, and for the sake of the church and the nation, will you please raise up more watchmen and gatekeepers. Amen.

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Judges series - Judges 19 - A Levite and His Concubine

The way to read this article is that the orange underlined texts are the verses of the Bible (NIV, unless otherwise stated). The black texts following the Bible verses (and enclosed by square brackets) are my commentaries. At the end of these Bible texts and commentaries, I have inserted a section on "Points to take note/What we have learnt/can learn".
{For full listing of all articles in this series, click here}

Judges 19

A Levite and His Concubine

1 In those days Israel had no king. Now a Levite who lived in a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 2 But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her father's house in Bethlehem, Judah. After she had been there four months, 3 her husband went to her to persuade her to return. He had with him his servant and two donkeys. She took him into her father's house, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him. 4 His father-in-law, the girl's father, prevailed upon him to stay; so he remained with him three days, eating and drinking, and sleeping there. [These last few chapters of Judges are difficult chapters for even the best Bible scholars. I scanned the standard Bible commentaries but there was nothing very “solid” written about these chapters. I tell you these chapters are difficult, that explained why I scanned for help myself. Often, we find standard Bible commentaries might omit explanations for verses because they were easily understood but the omissions of much commentaries for these chapters were perhaps intentional, just on the ground that the scholars really did not know what to make out of these stories. Even as I write I am saying it isn’t easy for me either.

The time period of this story is believed to during the early Judges period. That it showed up in later chapters of the Book of Judges does not necessary mean that it occurred at later part of the period. It was early Judges period, because of the mention of the Levite high priest, Phinehas, in Judges 20:28. The morality depicted by this story was really bad, so bad that it makes one wondered why it could be done by God’s people, and allowed to be recorded here. When you finished the story, you will know what I mean.

Conquered lands were for the possession of the people of Israel. Moses distributed some territories, those on one side (the east) of the Jordan River (Moses did not cross over the Jordan River). Joshua was the one who led the Israelites across the Jordan River, took Jericho, and then later on, took other territories in the Promised Land, as the LORD fought and gave the territories over to the Israelites. Joshua distributed captured territories among the tribes of Israel (By the time Joshua was old and died, not all territories of the Promised Land were captured). But in the distribution, the Levi tribe got no land, they being the priestly tribe, was to live among the other tribes and depended on the other tribes to provide for them as they (the Levites) served as priests for the Israelites. This explains this particular Levite (and even the Levite of Judges 17), moving about the lands of various Israelite tribes (although this did not mean that members of other Israelite tribes did not move about/dwell in their brothers’ lands).

In this story, the Levite was in the hill country of Ephraim (this, I believe, was referring to the hill country of Samaria. This, later became part of Israel, the northern kingdom, the first king {Jeroboam} of which, was an Ephraim, the half-tribe of the house of Joseph. But please note that at this time, there were not yet, the duo kingdoms). He took a concubine from Bethlehem, Judah. The concubine, recorded here, in verse 2, was unfaithful to the Levite. She left the Levite and went back to her father’s house in Bethlehem. The Levite went to his father-in-law’s house to get his concubine back. The father-in-law kept asking the Levite to stay longer.]

[Added: 1 Mar 2013: Concerning the statement of the concubine being unfaithful, the word translated “played the whore” (KJV) and “unfaithful” (NIV) in Hebrew is zanah.  According to Dr Claude Mariottini, in his article, http://claudemariottini.com/rereading-judges-192/,

 “The word has a primary meaning of committing fornication, being a harlot. However, according to Koehler-Baumgartner, Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1958), 261, the word also can mean “to be angry, hateful” or to “feel repugnant against.”

The Professor went on to say:

“Thus, taking the above meaning of the word, the translation of the NRSV makes better sense: But his concubine became angry with him, and she went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah.  This is the view also adopted by some ancient translations such as the Septuagint, the Targum, and the Vulgate.  Neither of these ancient translations nor Josephus accused the woman of conjugal infidelity.”

 
I leave it to you to assess this; as far as I am concerned, it changes NOT, any of my other commentary on this account.]

5 On the fourth day they got up early and he prepared to leave, but the girl's father said to his son-in-law, "Refresh yourself with something to eat; then you can go." 6 So the two of them sat down to eat and drink together. Afterward the girl's father said, "Please stay tonight and enjoy yourself." 7 And when the man got up to go, his father-in-law persuaded him, so he stayed there that night. 8 On the morning of the fifth day, when he rose to go, the girl's father said, "Refresh yourself. Wait till afternoon!" So the two of them ate together. 9 Then when the man, with his concubine and his servant, got up to leave, his father-in-law, the girl's father, said, "Now look, it's almost evening. Spend the night here; the day is nearly over. Stay and enjoy yourself. Early tomorrow morning you can get up and be on your way home." 10 But, unwilling to stay another night, the man left and went toward Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine. [The father-in-law kept asking his son-in-law to stay longer; what exactly was the motive was not revealed. Finally, despite it being almost evening, the Levite still set off with his concubine and servant.]
11 When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, "Come, let's stop at this city of the Jebusites and spend the night." 12 His master replied, "No. We won't go into an alien city, whose people are not Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah." 13 He added, "Come, let's try to reach Gibeah or Ramah and spend the night in one of those places." 14 So they went on, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin. 15 There they stopped to spend the night. They went and sat in the city square, but no one took them into his home for the night. [Because they set off late, soon it was nearly dark, and they had to spend the night somewhere, before continuing the next day. The Levite’s servant suggested a nearby city of the Jebusites. Jebusites was a local tribe of the inhabitants of the land (not one of the tribes of Israelites). But the Levite insisted on going to an Israelite-occupied city, and so they ended up in Gibeah, in Benjamin. Benjamites was a tribe of the Israelites.

They were at the city square but no one took them into his home for the night. In those days, hospitality to fellow travelers was expected to be the norm (Because of this norm, Abraham, entertained The Three Vistors/Men – you can read this in Who were The Three Visitors/Men), yet none of the Benjamites took the Levite in. What are we to make out of this? What was the intention of the LORD for having this recorded as such? Was it to show to us, with the disobedience of the Israelites as explained in Judges 2, brotherly kindness also went down the drains? The lack of brotherly kindness bothers the LORD, I believe, that was why we find that Jesus, in his earthly ministry, told of the story of the Good Samaritan. By the way, the “love thy neighbor as yourselves” is not a new command from Jesus; it was an Old Testament command (Lev 19:18); many believers are not aware of this! Or was it to indicate that things were so bad, in terms of moral values, that people just were too afraid to take any strangers into their home, lest they get robbed, molested or even killed?

In present times, do you take strangers into your home to stay? If not, what does it tell of the condition of mankind? Yes, perhaps, it is not wise (whose wisdom?) to take in strangers but how about servants of God (itinerant preachers, overseas preachers/speakers, visiting pastors, etc)? This chap, in the story, was a Levite – priestly family, in those days. There is an important point I believe the LORD had wanted to show to the children of the Israelites – I will dwell on it later, in my commentary for the next chapter, Judges 20.]
16 That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was living in Gibeah (the men of the place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the fields. 17 When he looked and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, "Where are you going? Where did you come from?" 18 He answered, "We are on our way from Bethlehem in Judah to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim where I live. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah and now I am going to the house of the LORD. No one has taken me into his house. 19 We have both straw and fodder for our donkeys and bread and wine for ourselves your servants—me, your maidservant, and the young man with us. We don't need anything." 20 "You are welcome at my house," the old man said. "Let me supply whatever you need. Only don't spend the night in the square." 21 So he took him into his house and fed his donkeys. After they had washed their feet, they had something to eat and drink. [It is not very clear whether the old man in verse 16, was an Ephraimite (member of the half-tribe of the house of Joseph) or just a local of the Ephraim land, who was then living in Gibeah, the city of the Benjamites.

But I believe the old man should be an Ephraimite. My reason is this: We read earlier on, the Levite did not want to stop at a city belonging to the Jebusites for the reason that the Jebusites were aliens. So, if the old man was an alien, it was likely that the Levite would have again declined. Furthermore, the Levite’s saying that he was going to the house of the LORD, I believe, was an attempt to appeal to old man to take him in for the night – only an Israelite would be bothered whether or not, the strangers were going to the house of the LORD.]
22 While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, "Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him." [Some Bible translations use the phrase, “sons of Belial” which was translated in the NIV version here as wicked men. There are various definitions of the sons of Belial, some referring to demons, some referring to men. In this context, it should be correct to say that men were being referred to. Some definitions included wicked men, worthless men, yokeless men (I take it to mean men without any meaningful work), men never to rise (“men without future”) – generally, scum of society. In the Book of Jubilees (aka Lesser Genesis, an ancient Jewish religious work), uncircumcised heathens were called sons of Belial.

It is important that we know who these people were, because of the offence committed and the consequence and punishment thereafter, which were the “offensive” elements in this story. Many commentators just assumed that since the city belonged to the Benjamites, the Benjamites did the hideous thing that you would read about later on.

If you have been following this series of mine on the Book of Judges, you would remember that the very thing that the Israelites did wrong that broke the Covenant God made with them was this: that they did not destroy the inhabitants together with all the altars of the pagan gods. Therefore, in places dwelled in by the Israelites, there would be local inhabitants amongst them. For some instances, the Israelites only forced the locals into forced labor, in others, inter-marrying happened afterwards, mixing of bloods and cultures, including worship of gods/deities. The latter was what God did not want to see happened, and it was fundamental in the covenant God had with the forefathers of the then Israelites.

I postulate that the wicked men in verse 22 were not Benjamites. I would not say that I have looked at all the commentaries on this story but of those I looked at, none postulated as such - that the wicked men were not Benjamites. If you look at the definitions of sons of Belial that I have talked about above, particularly the definition from the Book of Jubilees, you might agree with me. I am not saying that it was not possible, but I would say it was highly unlikely that the scum of the city of the Benjamites, made up of Benjamites; it would be more likely that the scum included original locals, other tribes from rural areas sojourned into the city and got dysfunctional much like what we see even in some of our societies and cities. Of course, here the owners of the city, the Benjamites could not escape from the responsibility for the city, leaving the scum of society to do what they like.

Some commentators dealt with the phrase “the people in the house were enjoying themselves” as if to imply that was a sin that “brought on” the subsequent hideous event. I think, that would be reading too much into a very “innocent” phrase.  {Added 26/09/2011: The same "enjoy/merry" {yatab, H3190} was also used in verses 6 & 9 above, by the father-in-law of the Levite - surely there was not the connotation of "sin" there.  It is probably and simply equivalent to "make yourself comfortable and enjoy your meal or stay"!}

Just in case, some did not understand what the wicked men were demanding, they were demanding that the Levite man be given to them for sodomy, for homo-sex. Homosexual practices were and are still expressly forbidden by God – Lev 18:22, Lev 20:13, Rom 1:26-27, 1 Cor 6:9, Jude 1:7 {Added 26/09/2011: My understanding is that God loves sinners, and therefore, including homosexual persons, but hates sins, and that included homosexual practices.}]
23 The owner of the house went outside and said to them, "No, my friends, don't be so vile. Since this man is my guest, don't do this disgraceful thing. 24 Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But to this man, don't do such a disgraceful thing." 25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. 26 At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight. 27 When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said to her, "Get up; let's go." But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home. [Yes, this account sounded so familiar, isn’t it? There was a similar account just before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; yes, compare this old man here with Lot, Abraham’s nephew. Even compare the entire story.

Here is one more reason I think the old man was an Ephraimite, not a local inhabitant sojourned into Gibeah. The locals would remember the destruction of their twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Yes, Lot, then was staying among the locals of the land on the plains of Jordan. But would they, the locals, have known and passed down the generations, the part of the event that had Lot’s proposal of letting his daughters be defiled instead of the men who were guests at his (Lot’s) house {the 2 men at Lot’s house were angels, and they saved the day, the daughters were not defiled and the twin cities were destroyed by God through the raining down of burning sulphur (Genesis 19)}; I think not.

All the people of Sodom and Gomorrah died except Lot and his daughters. From Lot and his own daughters {the girls slept with their father} came the Moabites and Ammonites; and we also have read in Judges, in an earlier chapter, on Judge Jephthah, that Israelites did not destroy the 2 descendant tribes of Lot, when they (the Israelites) came out of Egypt to go to the Promised Land. Lot and Abraham came from the same bloodline of Shem, son of Noah. I believe on the account of the bloodline, the love of Abraham had for his nephew, and the pact Abraham had with his nephew, God did not want the wars between the Israelites and the descendants of Lot, if it could be avoided (see Deu 2:9,16). For these reasons, the part of the story about Lot’s proposal to the vile men of Sodom (to have his daughters) and how he (Lot) escaped death at Sodom, I believe, got passed onto the Israelites, pointing to the old man was an Israelite.

Alternatively, Abraham could be the one who passed down the story to the Israelites because even though the Bible did not record that he (Abraham) went to look for Lot after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, it was highly probable that he searched out Lot after the destruction since he pleaded with the LORD in Genesis 19, because he knew his nephew was in Sodom. I believe the old man had to be an Israelite to care about such a story and approach, and imitated Lot.

While I did not think the scum were Israelites (also, not Benjamites), I am of the opinion that the old man was an Israelite (not necessarily a Benjamite, though), and not an uncircumcised heathen. If the old man had been the latter, old Bible translations would not have recorded the wicked men as sons of Belial, which meant uncircumcised heathens (according the definition in the Book of Jubilees) with the old man in context, for the old man would then fall in the same category.

I believe, here is a sad case of these: firstly, people (the old man) not knowing well enough, particularly the dealing of God with His pinnacle creation, Man, and did a wrong thing, thinking that history would kind of repeat itself with angels coming to the rescue; secondly, people (the Levite) conveniently manipulated the same.

Maybe some of the cultish “Christian” sad stories of more recent times, involving loss of many lives, were similarly rooted in the misinterpretation and manipulation of scriptures and our true faith heritage. But this does not point towards the suggestion that, not knowing is better than knowing. Because if we do not know the Word/Bible, although we would not be influenced by it, including misinterpretations thereof, at the same time, we would be deprived of its goodness, and instead be influenced and governed by our other knowledge, acquired in life and in dealings with the non-Christian world. The way out is not to throw out the Bible, but to correctly, interpret the Word of God.

In verse 25, we read that eventually, it was the Levite who gave his concubine to the wicked men, not the old man. So the old man’s daughter did not get implicated. But from verse 24, it was clear the old man had thought like what Lot thought of, but it was the Levite who did it. The Levite must have thought likewise (the thoughts of Lot), or in agreement with the old man, and made use of the Lot’s story to save his own skin. The Levite went to sleep and did nothing the whole night. What the wicked men did to the concubine I need not repeat here, I just want to say that she was so inhumanely abused that she was already dead when her husband found her at the door.]
29 When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel. 30 Everyone who saw it said, "Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Think about it! Consider it! Tell us what to do!" [These verses just, very crudely, said the Levite took a knife and cut up his concubine in full view of the public, much like one cuts up a dead animal. In those days, being unfaithful deserved death, even by stoning, and so, some commentators tended to say she got what she deserved, death, even if her husband had forgiven her!

But the humiliation she suffered before death, to me, did not point to a punishment by God for her sin. Furthermore, in the Gospel, John 20:23 is capable of being interpreted as Jesus was saying if you forgave someone who had sinned against you, God would also forgive that person. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be too quick to say bad things that happened to people are due to God. Every action of God is justified, even if it appeared “bad” to us, there is no wickedness in God. And many bad things are part of the workings of a fallen world, not the doing of God. I do not think that in this case, it is a doing of God. In fact, I doubt whether the Levite had really forgiven his concubine.

After cutting up the body into 12 parts, the Levite had them sent to the tribes of Israel, all over the land! When the people saw the parts, they were shocked, and wondered what to do.]

What can be learnt here: - a shocking story!
Here is the recap –

In this story, a Levite in the Ephraim hill country took a concubine from Bethlehem, Judah. The concubine was unfaithful, and afterward, had left home and gone back to her father’s house in Bethlehem. The Levite went to fetch her back, and on the way back, when it was late, they decided to spend the night in Gibeah, a city, controlled by the Benjamin tribe. An old man, probably a fellow Israelite, extended hospitality to the couple. In the night, while everyone was inside the house, some wicked men of the city came to the door, demanding the Levite be given over to them to have sex, sodomy! The old man said that, that would be a vile and disgraceful thing to do, and countered, offering to give his own virgin daughter and the Levite’s concubine to the men, but the men refused. The Levite took his concubine and gave her to the men outside. The men raped and abused the Levite’s concubine until next morning, and she died. Both the old man, and the Levite did nothing until the next morning! The Levite took the body and went back to his own home. On arrival, he cut up the body into 12 parts, and had them sent to the tribes of Israel, all over the place. When the people saw the parts, they were shocked, and wondered what to do.

The story did not end there, it continued into the next 2 chapters, Judges 20 & 21; and we will look at them in subsequent articles.

What were the lessons here? Apart from the indirect issues I have raised in the body of my exposition of the chapter, I will add no more, but to defer them until the exposition of the next chapter; but you can attempt the question (of what lessons) yourself, first!



Anthony Chia – Perhaps, Lord, what you are trying to say here was that if we, the people of God, do not “guard” our city properly, wickedness will take over, disorder, corruption and vileness can become the order of the day, and it will be a sad state of affair, and a sad day or time. May you awaken your people from slumber, in the land of Singapore to guard this Antioch. Amen.

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Judges series - Judges 17 (Micah, his mother & Levite)

The way to read this article is that the orange underlined texts are the verses of the Bible (NIV, unless otherwise stated). The black texts following the Bible verses (and enclosed by square brackets) are my commentaries. At the end of these Bible texts and commentaries, I have inserted a section on "Points to take note/What we have learnt/can learn".
{For full listing of all articles in this series, click here}

Judges 17

[Preamble: This and the other narratives that follow in subsequent articles(Judges 18-21) form a miscellaneous collection, or appendix to the Book of Judges. It belongs to a period when the Hebrew nation was in a greatly disordered and corrupt state. This story here (Judges 17) speaks not of any judge, but only serves to illustrate the great disorder, even disorder in the matter of proper administration of priestly matters or acts of worship or devotions unto the Lord.

Those who had gone into the Book of Ezekiel, would know that even a few hundred years later, when the judges period was over, many kings had passed on, and the Hebrews were exiled, the northern kingdom people, to territories of the Assyrians, and the southern kingdom (Judah) people, to Babylon, God still spoke to prophet Ezekiel about His displeasure at the Levites, saying that only the Zadokites (of the Levites) were faithful to the ways of God.]

1 Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim 2 said to his mother, "The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have that silver with me; I took it."
Then his mother said, "The LORD bless you, my son!" [Here, a man by the name of Micah, and living in the Ephraim country, told his mother that he had taken her 13 kg of silver, after hearing his mother uttered a curse on discovering the loss of her silver.

The verses speak of the readiness of people at that time to curse others. No one is to curse another unless the curse is instituted according to the Word of God. Curses instituted according to the Word of God are curses sanctioned by God. Any others are not, and cannot be given. Curses are a grave matter; that was why the Word of God had it recorded for us that one of the specific powers of the Cross of Jesus Christ, is the power to nullify curses. Jesus became the curse that we might be released from any curses made on our lives. Before God sent Abraham out to the Canaan land to populate the earth, he said this to Abraham:

I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you." (Gen 12:3)

Just on the account of this, we can see that people of God cannot curse another. We who are believers are children of Abraham by faith (Gal 3:7). Because we are created in the image of God, our words have powers. Curses have powers in them. Bless people, do not curse. It is wicked to curse another, and wickedness is detestable to God.

If the account of Abraham was a little too far off, consider the account of the Balaam and the talking donkey. This account probably happened towards the end of the 40 years of wandering in desert. The Israelites had again come near the Jordan, and they had already defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan. The Moabites (descendants from one of the sons of Lot, Abraham’s nephew) who also lived in the plains of Jordan got frightened. The Moab prince, Balak, went to consult Balaam, a prophet who had gone astray, who was believed to be an Ammonite (Ammonites, were also in the plains, they were the descendants from the other son of Lot).

Some said Balaam was a wicked man and a non-Israelite. The latter was true, he was not a Israelite since he descended from Lot, who though came from the same bloodline as Abraham, both were the descendants of Shem, one of the 3 sons of Noah; was separated from Abraham after the destruction of Sodom (and Gomorrah). An Israelite is a descendant of Israel (aka Jacob), son of Issac, son of Abraham. Since Lot was not directly descended from Abraham, Lot’s descendants were not Israelites.

The account of Balaam and the talking donkey revealed that Balaam knew the LORD and the LORD knew him, which was not surprising because he was an Ammonite, descendant of Lot. The LORD, on pleading by Abraham (Gen 19), spared Lot and his two daughters (Lot’s wife turned back and was turned into a pillar of salt). Many years after that, when the Israelites came out of Egypt and first came to plains of Jordan again, God told the Israelites to only pass through, and not to take, the lands of the Moabites and Ammonites because He said those lands were given to Lot and his descendants. The favor of God was evidently on the bloodline of Shem, one of the 3 sons of Noah; and in those early days, extended down to Lot.

So much for the little background on Balaam, but what did he has to do with curses? You see, Balak, the Moab prince, because of his fear of the Israelites, sent for Balaam to curse the Israelites. Balaam, on his way to Balak, on his donkey, had his donkey refusing to obey him, and turned 3 times. After the 3rd time, the donkey spoke to Balaam, the donkey was mad that her master had beaten her when what she did, was to avoid the angel of the LORD who had stood in front of the donkey with a drawn sword, for those 3 times. Finally, the angel of the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam to see him, the angel of the LORD, and the latter told him that, had the donkey not turned, Balaam would have been killed by him. To cut the story short, Balaam gave a number of oracles on the occasions he was supposed to curse the Israelites; oracles according to the words of the angel of the LORD (instead of curses). In his first oracle, he included,

How can I curse
those whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce
those whom the LORD has not denounced? (Num 23:8)

In his second oracle, obviously referencing Gen 12:3 (given above) he included,

God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill? (Num 23:19)

In the third oracle, he included,

Like a lion they crouch and lie down,
like a lioness—who dares to rouse them?
"May those who bless you be blessed
and those who curse you be cursed!" (Num 24:9)

So, don’t curse, only bless.]
3 When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, "I solemnly consecrate my silver to the LORD for my son to make a carved image and a cast idol. I will give it back to you."
4 So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into the image and the idol. And they were put in Micah's house. [In those days, people just did what they thought was the “proper” thing to do without regard to the commandments of God. Of course, one of the 10 Commandments of God said that people were not to set up carved images or cast idols. Furthermore, Moses instituted a number of curses, called the Curses of Mount Ebal, recited over the Israelites by the Levites from Mount Ebal, just before the Israelites crossed the Jordan River to the Promised Land. Moses, because he was not crossing over with the Israelites, because God had not permitted him to enter the Promised Land (Those who want to know why God did not allow Moses to enter, see my article, “Do you know why Moses did not enter the Promised Land?”), specifically instructed the Israelites not to forget the commandments of God after they crossed over, and instituted the curses mentioned. They can be read from Deu 27:14-26. The relevant curse is quoted below:

"Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol—a thing detestable to the LORD, the work of the craftsman's hands—and sets it up in secret." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" (Deu 27:15)

The mother of Micah thought she did the proper thing, getting the silversmith to make an idol out of the silver, and had it put in Micah’s house. She thought it was an act of thankfulness for the recovery of the silver, and the honesty of his son, but what she did was detestable to the LORD. We should not make such mistakes, and we can only avoid these mistakes if we are bothered with the things of the LORD, what the Word says, and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit which the Word of God says would reveal to us nothing but the truth.]
5 Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some idols and installed one of his sons as his priest. 6 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit. [With the silver idol from his mother, Micah effectively had a shrine in the home. Micah got hold of some more idols, made an ephod (special piece of clothing worn for performing priestly function), and made one of his sons as his priest. Indeed, people just did what they saw fit.

If we read about God’s specific instructions given in the Book of Numbers (particularly Numbers 3) to the Tribe of Levi (Levites) concerning the proper handling of the Tabernacle, you will realize the Israelites then had become so complacent about the things of the LORD that no wonder the LORD was greatly displeased, that He sometimes lifted his hands of protection off the Israelites, as a chastisement to the people.]
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 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." [I thank the LORD for allowing me, very quickly and easily, to understand much of the surrounding circumstances to events in the Old Testament; and I believe this will continue.

A little background information is good here: In the Exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land, God moved with the Israelites in a portable tent called The Tabernacle. Of the tribes of the Israelites, the LORD had chosen the Levi tribe as his own (Numbers 3:44 & 45). The role of the Levites is singular – do the work of the Tabernacle. That was to say that a Levite’s life was to work at the house of the LORD, and nothing. In those days, the LORD’s instructions to the Israelites were very specific – the Levites were the LORD’s directly, they were not even counted together with the other tribes in census. Because they were the LORD’s, the LORD was their inheritance, and as such, they, as a tribe, would not be entitled to any territorial land allocations which all the other tribes were entitled to, and the Israelites were to take care of them, and not to neglect them, as they were the LORD:

"Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands around the towns (Num 35:2).Be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land (Deu 12:19). And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own (Deu 14:27). If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the LORD will choose, 7 he may minister in the name of the LORD his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the LORD. 8 He is to share equally in their benefits, even though he has received money from the sale of family possessions (Deu 18:6-8).

So, now we read of this young Levite; he was not staying in The Levitical City of Shiloh, or any levitical city. He had been living amidst the tribe of Judah, in Bethlethem, which was not a levitical city, for it was only about 10km south of Jerusalem. He was going to find another place where he could do what he was supposed to do in a house of the LORD. On his way, he met Micah.]
10 Then Micah said to him, "Live with me and be my father and priest, and I'll give you ten shekels of silver a year, your clothes and your food." 11 So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man was to him like one of his sons. 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." [Micah asked that the Levite live with him and be his priest, to take care of the shrine in his house.

I believe this passage showed 2 things, not one, as is commonly written in commentaries. The one that was written in commentaries was about Micah, that he mistakenly thought that by doing this thing, having a Levite as a priest, the LORD would be pleased. The commentators were right: how could the LORD be pleased, when things were not done according to his specific instructions, and idols were found to be worshipped together with the LORD in his house? Do not be mistaken, I am not saying that there could not be other houses of the LORD apart from the Tabernacle at the Levitical city of Shiloh; that was not the case, if you look at Deu 18:6-8, already quoted above.

The other issue, which was not talked about, was the complacency of the Levi tribe. Theirs was a special tribe with a special specific lifetime calling for every man in the tribe. The privileges were instituted by God Himself, but the calling was also by God. They must not fail to pass on the responsibilities of their calling to their descendants. This young Levite here clearly was not properly guided, ended up being a stumbling block to others, who were looking to him for guidance for spiritual matters. On the subject of whether a Levite could at all be installed as a priest, based on strict Biblical records that I know of, the answer was no (Exo 29:1-9, Num 3:9-10), only the descendants of Aaron (Kohanim) could be priests. All Kohanim were Levites but not all Levites were Kohanim.]

What we could learn here:

At the opening of my exposition of this chapter, I have already said that this chapter, and the subsequent ones, in the Book of Judges, did not address particular judges, rather it served to paint the background of the time – disorder and corruptness. Nonetheless, from this, we can still learn some important things, for this chapter had touched on curses, idolatry, spiritual adultery, complacency, and presumptuousness.

1. We must not curse people, rather we should bless.

2. All forms of idolatry are unacceptable, and are detestable to God

3. Spiritual adultery, even the slightest, is not acceptable to God. We are to have the LORD as the only God, He and He alone shall we worship and turn to. We cannot have another god, beside Him.

4. We are not to be complacent with the things of the LORD, and this includes His ways, His Words, which include His instructions, laws, commands, and precepts, and sensitivity to His Holy Spirit.

5. We are also to be careful that we do not act presumptuously. Here, Micah’s mother was presumptuous; Micah himself was, also.

6. To avoid the pitfalls of ignorance, complacency, presumptuousness, we must make an effort to be diligent in the things of the LORD.

7. It is our responsibility to ensure our spiritual heritage be passed down to the generations. The Levite above was ignorant of the requirements of the LORD, had he not be taught by his father? Also, ignorance was prevalent in the general population of the people of God, then.


Anthony Chia – Even as I thank you for the ease with which I have understanding of your Word; by your grace and revelation, I look forward to more of the same, from you. Lord, may I be faithful to hold fast to what you have revealed through your Word, and your Spirit, and remember, always, that when much is given, much is expected, also, by you. Amen.

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