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Today’s reading from Judges 16–18 reminded me why I’ve always felt uneasy about Samson as a hero. Consider how chapter 16 begins:

“Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her.”

Growing up, I don’t recall this being mentioned in Sunday school stories. A valuable lesson from Samson's life is that our sovereign God is never surprised by our failures, and His plans are never derailed by our sinfulness. Despite Samson’s arrogance and reliance on his own strength, God used his vengeful and prideful life to defeat Israel’s enemies.

It’s interesting to note that Samson “reign” wasn’t accompanied by a season of revival. After the judge’s death, we weren’t given the expected commentary that Israel backslid fromt he revival by, “again doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” In this instance, there was silence.

We immediately transition into the next troubling story of Micah from Ephraim. Micah’s greed led him to steal 1,100 pieces of silver from his mother. When she pronounced a curse upon the thief, Micah returned the silver. Strangely grateful, his mother had some of the silver fashioned into a household idol.

Only then do we encounter the commentary we were expecting, although not quite the same as those previously given,

“Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6).

Israel no longer consciously rebelled against God—they simply stopped thinking about Him altogether. They acted according to their personal definitions of right and wrong, ignoring God's clear commands. They had drifted so far that God was hardly an afterthought.

Emphasizing Israel's spiral we’re introduced to a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah who left his home seeking something “better.” He ended up in Micah’s household, where he comfortably served as a personal priest alongside Micah’s idols. Micah believed his religious actions would guarantee God's favor, saying:

“Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.” (Judges 17:13).

Micah and the Levite both believed their best determined practices would bring God’s blessing. Yet God’s instruction had always been simple and clear: remove the idols and the inhabitants worshiping false gods so that you may prosper in the land.

Chapter 18 further illustrates this downward spiral. The tribe of Dan, dissatisfied in their allotted location—where they failed to drive out the Philistines and Amorites—went searching for new territory rather than obeying God’s command. During their journey, they encountered Micah's priest. Seeing an opportunity, they took both the priest and Micah’s household idols with them, establishing false worship in their new territory.

These chapters clearly illustrate how far Israel had drifted from God’s plan.

Takeaway: When we ignore God’s clear commands and define right and wrong by our own standards, spiritual decay will follow. True blessing and favor don’t come from our own definitions of religion but from fully trusting and obeying God, keeping Him first priority number one.