Neville Goddard on Judges 17:2-13 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Judges 17 in context

Scripture Focus

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.

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.

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.

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.

6In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

7And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.

8And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.

9And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.

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.

11And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.

12And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

13Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.

Judges 17:2-13

Biblical Context

Judges 17:2-13 narrates Micah's private shrine, the creation of idols, a Levite priest hired to bless the home, and a people with no king who do what seems right in their own eyes.

Neville's Inner Vision

Judges 17:2-13 is a parable of the mind's private temple. A shrine of silver and images, a Levite priest hired to bless the house, and no king to govern the heart—these are the inner devices by which consciousness tries to secure favor and meaning apart from the I AM. The mother’s vow to dedicate the wealth to the LORD yet fashion a graven image shows how images arise in thought while paying lip service to the divine. In that climate, Micah's house of gods becomes a symbol for the soul’s theater, where symbols and rituals seem to stand in for real relationship with the Source. The Levite's arrival—offering himself for payment—illustrates how the mind can substitute a priesthood for true alignment, until the sense of self rules by its own light rather than the I AM's. Yet the healing is simple: awaken to the truth that there is a single, supreme I AM within you; let that awareness displace every private image. When you consent to the I AM as your only king and priest, the private shrine loses power and you experience a life that is uninterrupted by it.

Practice This Now

Close your eyes and witness the inner shrine as a mental image. Then assume I AM as the sole priest and king, revise the scene, and feel it real in your chest until the image dissolves.