The man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
God commanded the Israelites not to multiply sanctuaries in Canaan (Deuteronomy 12:1-14), but Micah built one in or near his house (Judges 17:5). He did not need to do this because he lived close to Shiloh, where the tabernacle stood (cf. Judges 17:1; Judges 18:31). In his convenient shrine Micah kept an ephod that he had made, probably for divination (cf. Gideon’s ephod, Judges 8:27). This was evidently an imitation of the high priest’s ephod (cf. Judges 8:27). He also kept household gods that probably had some connection with ancestor veneration and divination (cf. Genesis 31:19). [Note: Davis and Whitcomb, p. 144.] He also disregarded the Aaronic priesthood by ordaining his son as the family priest.