Judges 18
-In those days there was no king in the land of Israel, and
the Danites began seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in. Their possession
really had been allotted (Joshua 19:40-48), but they had not taken hold of it
like they should have. They sent five of their men out of the whole tribe to spy
out the land and to search it for a place to have. Early on in their quest they
came to the area where Micah lived in the hill country of Ephraim. They actually
lodged in this area and coincidently recognized the voice of the young Levite
who was living with Micah (see notes on Judges 17). This made them turn aside
to try and figure out what was going on. They asked, “What are you doing here?
And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?” They would
have asked these things because they assumedly knew the protocol for worship of
Yahweh in the land and perceived something out of order here. When the young
priest told them of his hiring by Micah, they used him for their own benefit
and asked for his blessings, which he gave. The five spies then came up to
Laish in the far north of the Promised Land, and spied out this land where the
inhabitants were living securely and quietly like the Sidonians. The biblical commentary
says that “there was no ruler humiliating them for anything in the land.” They
were secluded away from conflicts and dealings with anyone. So it became a
prime area for the Danites to take over in their way of thinking. They came
back south and reported these things to their tribe at Zorah and Eshtaol with a
recommendation to go and attack this good land without delay. They felt like
they had the blessing of the LORD, or at least His appointed priest, so this
should be a success (Judges 18:1-9).
-With an ulterior motive, 600 armed men for war then went to
camp at Mahaneh-dan (the camp of Dan) in Judah just west of Kiriath-jearim.
They passed from there and came back to the house of Micah where the 5 spies
had observed their priest, ephod, household idols, graven image, and molten
image. The men asked them to consider what they should do, and they decided to
go into the house of Micah and ask of his welfare. With the 600 men standing at
the gate armed and ready for action, the 5 men went in and took the graven
image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten image. The priest was
uniquely situated at the gate under the protection of the armed men of Dan.
They covered his mouth and had him come with them. They then petitioned him to
come with them saying that it would be better to be a priest over an entire
tribe of Israel than a simple house of one man. This actually made the priest’s
prideful heart glad, and he took the ephod, the household idols, and the graven
image going among the people with a new loyalty. The tribe of Dan then turned
and departed with their stolen goods as their little ones and livestock and
valuables led the way. When they had gotten some distance from Micah’s house,
the men of Micah assembled themselves together and overtook the tribe of Dan.
They rightly wanted to know what was going on with them. They rightly accused
them of taking their stuff. But before all that the men of Dan put off their
discontentment with words of their own wanting to know what was the matter with
them by asking them why they had assembled in this manner. There was real
conflict here. The sons of Dan then threatened them, “Do not let your voice be
heard among us, or else fierce men will fall upon you and you will lose your
life, with the lives of your household.” This made the men of Micah frightened
because they realized that Dan was too strong for them. Dan went their way
uncontested up north to Laish, and the men of Micah simply returned to their
house empty handed but safe. The people who had been secure and quiet in Laish
soon were attacked with the edge of the sword. Their city was then burned to
the ground with fire. There was no one to deliver them because they were a long
way from their allies in Sidon. Their isolation proved detrimental indeed. They
were in the valley which is near Beth-rehob. After these things, Dan rebuilt
the city and proceeded to live in it. The city was named Dan, and still exists
today as a relic of antiquity known as Tel-Dan in the upper part of Israel. Dan
was their father, but they digressed greatly from the ways of the LORD their
God setting up for themselves the graven image. The priest is now named as
Jonathan, of the clan of Gershom and son of Moses (Exodus 2:21-22; 18:1-3). He and
his sons were heretical priests to the tribe of the Dan up until the time of
their captivity by the Assyrians in 722 BC. “So they set up for themselves
Micah’s graven image which he had made, all the time that the house of God
(Tabernacle) was at Shiloh (Judges 18:10-31).
-*Application* I have been reflecting here the last couple
of days on some things that Tony Evans was teaching about Divine revelation
verses human determination. The men of Micah and the tribe of Dan give vivid description
of doing things by their own human determination (understanding) rather than
following the Word of God. Yahweh had clearly laid out His constraints in the
Law of Moses, but they willingly choose to gravitate to their preferences
according to their own thinking. This proved disastrous in the end. These
tribes, of what became the Northern Kingdom, would be exiled and totally lost
in the salvation plan of God as a nation. There is only freedom when we have
certain restrictions under the Almighty. His ways are higher than our ways, and
they will benefit us much better if we simply follow His prescriptions with a
whole heart. We just cannot do what seems right in our own eyes. God has been
around much longer and has much greater wisdom. We are secure and quiet at rest
when we submit to the Deliverer and Savior of our souls without fighting for our
own personal system. We are showing our foolishness when we rely on human
determination. Our scientific segment claims “God is dead,” but the truth has
been and will be revealed. God is NOT dead, and He will accomplish His transcendent
will.
Verses to Memorize:
Judges 18:30-31
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