Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from Judges chapter
17 through 19. Chapter 17 Now there was a man
from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was
Micah. And he said to his mother, The eleven
hundred shekels of silver that were taken from
you and on which he put a curse, even saying
it in my ears, Here is the silver with me, I
took it. And his mother said, May you be blessed
by the Lord my son. So when he had returned eleven
hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his
mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver
from my hand to the Lord for my son, to make
a carved image and a molded image. Now therefore
I will return it to you. Thus he returned the
silver to his mother. Then his mother took two
hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the
silversmith, and he made it into a carved image
and a molded image, and they were in the house
of Micah. The man Micah had a shrine, and made
an ephod and household idols, and he consecrated
one of his sons, who became his priest. In those
days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did
what was right in his own eyes. Now there was
a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family
of Judah. He was a Levite, and was staying there.
The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in
Judah to stay wherever he could find a place.
Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to
the house of Micah, as he journeyed. And Micah
said to him, Where do you come from? So he said
to him, I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,
and I am on my way to find a place to stay. Micah
said to him, Dwell with me, and be a father and
a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels
of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your
sustenance. So the Levite went in. Then the Levite
was content to dwell with the man, and the young
man became like one of his sons to him. So Micah
consecrated the Levite, and the young man became
his priest and lived in the house of Micah. Then
Micah said, Now I know that the Lord will be
good to me, since I have a Levite as priest.
Chapter 18 In those days there was no king in
Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites
was seeking an inheritance for itself to dwell
in. For until that day their inheritance among
the tribes of Israel had not fallen to them.
So the children of Dan sent five men of their
family from their territory, men of valor from
Zorah and Ishtowel, to spy out the land and search
it. They said to them, Go, search the land. So
they went to the mountains of Ephraim, to the
house of Micah, and lodged there. While they
were at the house of Micah, they recognized the
voice of the young Levite. They turned aside
and said to him, Who brought you here? What are
you doing in this place? What do you have here?
He said to them, Thus and so Micah did for me.
He has hired me, and I became his priest. So
they said to him, Please inquire of God that
we may know whether the journey on which we will
go will be prosperous. And the priest said to
them, Go in peace. The presence of the Lord be
with you on your way. So the five men departed
and went to Laish. They saw the people who were
there, how they dwelt safely in the manner of
the Sidonians, quiet and secure. There were no
rulers in the land who might put them to shame
for anything. They were far from the Sidonians,
and they had no ties with anyone. Then the spies
came back to their brethren at Zorah and Ishtawel,
and their brethren said to them, What is your
report? So they said, Arise, let us go up against
them, for we have seen the land, and indeed it
is very good. Would you do nothing? Do not hesitate
to go and enter to possess the land. When you
go, you will come to a secure people and a large
land, for God has given it into your hands, a
place where there is no lack of anything that
is on the earth. And six hundred men of the family
of the Danites went from there. from Zorah and
Ishtol, armed with weapons of war. Then they
went up and encamped at Kirjas, Jerim, in Judah.
Therefore they call that place Mahani Dan to
this day. There it is, west of Kirjas, Jerim.
And they passed from there to the mountains of
Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah. Then
the five men who had gone to spy out the country
of Laish answered and said to their brethren,
Do you know that there are in these houses an
ephod, household idols, a carved image, and a
molded image? Now therefore consider what you
should do. So they turned aside there, and came
to the house of the young Levite man, to the
house of Micah, and greeted him. The six hundred
men, armed with their weapons of war, who were
of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance
of the gate. Then the five men who had gone to
spy out the land went up. Entering there, they
took the carved image, the ephod, the household
idols, and the molded image. The priests stood
at the entrance of the gate, with the six hundred
men, who were armed with weapons of war. When
these went into Micah's house and took the carved
image, the ephod, the household idols, and the
molded image, the priest said to them, What are
you doing? And they said to him, Be quiet, put
your hand over your mouth, and come with us.
Be a father and a priest to us. Is it better
for you to be a priest to the household of one
man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a
family in Israel? So the priest's heart was glad,
and he took the ephod, the household idols, and
the carved image, and took his place among the
people. Then they turned and departed, and put
the little ones, the livestock, and the goods
in front of them. When they were a good way from
the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses
near Micah's house gathered together and overtook
the children of Dan. And they called out to the
children of Dan. So they turned around and said
to Micah, What ails you, that you have gathered
such a company? So he said, You have taken away
my gods, which I made, and the priest, and you
have gone away. Now what more do I have? How
can you say to me, What ails you? And the children
of Dan said to him, Do not let your voice be
heard among us, lest angry men fall upon you,
and you lose your life with the lives of your
household. Then the children of Dan went their
way, and when Micah saw that they were too strong
for him, he turned and went back to his house.
So they took the things Micah had made, and the
priest who had belonged to him, and went to Laish,
to a people quiet and secure. And they struck
them with the edge of the sword, and burned the
city with fire. There was no deliverer, because
it was far from Sidon. and they had no ties with
anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to
Beit Rehob. So they rebuilt the city and dwelt
there. And they called the name of the city Dan,
after the name of Dan their father, who was born
to Israel. However, the name of the city formerly
was Laish. Then the children of Dan set up for
themselves the carved image, and Jonathan the
son of Gershom the son of Manasseh, and his sons
were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day
of the captivity of the land. So they set up
for themselves Micah's carved image, which he
made. all the time that the house of God was
in Shiloh. Chapter 19 And it came to pass in
those days, when there was no king in Israel,
that there was a certain Levite staying in the
remote mountains of Ephraim. He took for himself
a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. But his
concubine played the harlot against him and went
away from him to her father's house at Bethlehem
in Judah, and was there for a whole month. Then
her husband arose and went after her to speak
kindly to her and bring her back, having his
servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So
they brought him into her father's house, and
when the father of the young woman saw him, he
was glad to meet him. Now his father -in -law,
the young woman's father, detained him and he
stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank
and lodged there. Then it came to pass on the
fourth day that they arose early in the morning
and he stood to depart. But the young woman's
father said to his son -in -law, Refresh your
heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go
your way. So they sat down, and the two of them
ate and drank together. Then the young woman's
father said to the man, Please be content to
stay all night, and let your heart be merry.
And when the man stood to depart, his father
-in -law urged him, so he lodged there again.
Then he arose early in the morning on the fifth
day to depart, but the young woman's father said,
Please refresh your heart. So they delayed until
afternoon, and both of them ate. And when the
man stood to depart, he and his concubine and
his servant, his father -in -law, the young woman's
father, said to him, Look, the day is now drawing
toward evening. Please spend the night. See,
the day is coming to an end. Lodge here, that
your heart may be merry. Tomorrow go your way
early, so that you may get home. However, the
man was not willing to spend that night, so he
rose and departed and came opposite Jebus, that
is, Jerusalem. With him were the two saddled
donkeys, his concubine was also with him. They
were near Jebus, and the day was far spent, and
the servant said to his master, Come, please,
and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites
and lodge in it. But his master said to him,
We will not turn aside here into a city of foreigners
who are not of the children of Israel. We will
go on to Gibeah. So he said to his servant, Come,
let us draw near to one of these places and spend
the night in Gibeah or in Ramah. And they passed
by and went their way. And the sun went down
on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.
They turned aside there to go in to lodge in
Gibeah. And when he went in, he sat down in the
open square of the city, for no one would take
them into his house to spend the night. Just
then an old man came in from his work in the
field that evening, who was also from the mountains
of Ephraim. He was staying in Gibeah, whereas
the men of the place were Benjamites. And when
he raised his eyes, he saw the traveler in the
open square of the city, and the old man said,
Where are you going, and where do you come from?
So he said to him, We are passing from Bethlehem
in Judah toward the remote mountains of Ephraim.
I am from there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah,
now I am going to the house of the Lord. But
there is no one who will take me into his house,
although we have both straw and fodder for our
donkeys, and bread and wine for myself, for your
female servant. And for the young man who is
with your servant, there is no lack of anything.
And the old man said, Peace be with you. However,
let all your needs be my responsibility. Only
do not spend the night in the open square. So
he brought him into his house and gave fodder
to the donkeys, and they washed their feet and
ate and drank. As they were enjoying themselves,
suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men,
surrounded the house and beat on the door. They
spoke to the master of the house, the old man
saying, Bring out the man who came to your house
that we may know him carnally. But the man, the
master of the house, went out to them and said
to them, No, my brethren, I beg you, do not act
so wickedly. Seeing this man has come into my
house, do not commit this outrage. Look, here
is my virgin daughter and the man's concubine.
Let me bring them out now, humble them, and do
with them as you please. But to this man do not
do such a vile thing. But the man would not heed
him. So the man took his concubine and brought
her out to them. And they knew her and abused
her all night until morning, and when the day
began to break, they let her go. Then the woman
came as the day was dawning, and fell down at
the door of the man's house, where her master
was, till it was light. When her master arose
in the morning, and opened the doors of the house,
and went out to go his way, there was his concubine
fallen at the door of the house, with her hands
on a threshold. And he said to her, Get up, and
let us be going. But there was no answer. So
the man lifted her unto the donkey, and the man
got up and went to his place. When he entered
his house, he took a knife, laid hold of his
concubine, and divided her into twelve pieces,
limb by limb, and sent her throughout all the
territory of Israel. And so it was that all who
saw it said, No such deed has been done or seen
from the day that the children of Israel came
up from the land of Egypt until this day. Consider
it, confer, and speak up. I hope you enjoyed
today's reading as much as I did. and I look
forward to seeing you again tomorrow to continue
on our journey. God bless you and have a great
day.