Micah’s mother had previously called down a curse upon the head of the thief who had robbed her. Now, in response to Micah’s confession of guilt, she has a change of heart and utters a blessing upon him. She does so in an attempt to cancel out her earlier curse. Now, the fact that she commends Micah to the Lord rather than to Baal or some other Canaanite god shows that she is a worshipper of the covenant God.1 But her words are a big problem. She has a wrong view of blessing and cursing. Yesterday I cursed you, today I bless you, so now everything is better.
Does this not sound manipulative? Is she possibly using God’s name as magic? Regardless, she is taking his name in vain. There is little respect here for the law of the Lord. For one, you cannot rescind a curse, for a curse once uttered is a curse.2
2 And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD.”