WATCHMAN33
Micah and a young Levite stand in a dim household shrine crowded with a silver idol, ephod, and small carved images.
KING JAMES VERSION

JUDGES 17

Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.

CHAPTER VISUAL

Judges 17 — Micah builds a private shrine and hires a Levite, confident in worship shaped by what seems right to him.

About this illustration

The cramped shrine emphasizes confused, self-made worship rather than presenting the objects reverently. No divine approval is implied by the lighting or composition.

Scripture basis: Judges 17:1–13
  1. 1And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
  2. 2And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son.
  3. 3And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.
  4. 4Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.
  5. 5And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
  6. 6In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
  7. 7 And there was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
  8. 8And the man departed out of the city from Beth-lehem-judah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.
  9. 9And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Beth-lehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.
  10. 10And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.
  11. 11And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.
  12. 12And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
  13. 13Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.

King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom

EXPLORE THE MESSAGE

Related Watchman 33 Resources

Sermons

May 5, 2024Pastor Dean Odle

Leaving the House of Micah

In “Leaving the House of Micah,” Pastor Dean Odle develops a Scripture-centered message moving through prayer and the state of the church, micah’s self-made religion, silent watchmen and missing truth, money, celebrity, and ministry. The sermon follows the speaker’s argument chronologically, grounding its principal appeals in biblical passages and practical ministry examples.

Apostasy and DeceptionScripture AloneChrist AloneChristian LivingSpiritual Warfare
View sermon

Teachings

01

Come Out of Her

A biblical call to leave Mystery Babylon, religious mixture, counterfeit unity, and spiritually dead fellowship—and to belong wholly to Jesus Christ in truth, holiness, and living faith.

Read the study