Do you know the story of Micah in Judges 17-18? As I read the story of Micah this morning, I started listing all that is wrong with that son, that mother, that family, that Levite and that tribe (of Dan). It is a story that could be titled "What is wrong with this picture".
As a bible teacher and pastor, I know that these kinds of accounts can be very confusing if not disturbing. I have faced my share of questions regarding bible accounts such as these. People wondered: What is the point of this story? Why isn't there a summary of some kind, a comment on how wrong this all is? Why isn't God bursting on the scene and striking these awful people down with lightning? Doesn't this just encourage others to do wrong? What if people think that this all OK with God?
The point is that the bible is a story about real people. The bible is not about out-of-this-world goodness and religion, it does very little moralizing. It honestly depicts humanity as we are. The point of this story is to see what the world was like 3,000 years ago - it was bad. Everyone did what they thought was right, not what God said was right. The point is that the world is just the same, if not worse, today. All our technological progress, hygiene and education has not made us into better people. Sons still steal from mothers. Mothers still worship idols. Religious leaders are still out for hire to the highest bidder and there are still bully nations in our world, pushing around the small and peaceful guy.
When you get to a bible passage like this - ask God to show you the point. Ask God whether he approved of these actions. Ask him whether you and your family are in any way like these people. Then figure out what those people in Micah's time could have done to turn things around. Try it - it is quite easy to give advice to others.
Now - apply the same advice to you. What should they have done? Scrap the idol, worship in Shiloh, the way that God commanded. Not take what isn't theirs, be happy with the possessions that God gave them etc. etc.
That's the point of the story. There is way out, a way to make things better, it is God's way. But the people in the story are blind to it. You, the reader, are shaking your head, you can see the way and you cannot believe that they insist on heading down that awful path.
The point of the story is to make your own path obvious to you. Can you see your own path? Can you see the inevitable consequences? Can you see the right way out; God's way to turn things around? It isn't running away, it is doing the right thing.
So, enjoy those gruesome, confusing, unpleasant accounts in the bible - they are a mirror. You can either do something about what it shows you, or ignore it and carry. The choice is yours.
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