The Problem with Idolatry
Judges 17 turns the page on righteous although flawed judges raised up by God to deliver His people from bondage. Now the narrative will describe through tragic stories the corruption of Israel's heart as a result of them turning from God over the previous century. Note the first of four phrases to be repeated until the end of Judges six verses in: Judges 17:6 (ESV) In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. The story begins with a man who stole money from his mother and then confesses upon hearing her curse over it. Judges 17:2 (ESV) And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD.” The mother then proceeds to hire a silversmith with part of the money to fashion an idol and put it in a makeshift shrine in the house. This she does, claiming...