The Tribe of Dan Finds an Inheritance
18:1 In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the Danite tribe was looking for a place to settle, because at that time they did not yet have a place to call their own among the tribes of Israel.
There was no king in Israel to raise an army and secure land. Samson was from the tribe of Dan. As Israel’s Judge, he was unable to secure any Danite territory from the Philistines.
18:2 The Danites sent out from their whole tribe five representatives, capable men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. They said to them, “Go, explore the land.” They came to the Ephraimite hill country and spent the night at Micah’s house.
The Danites sent out spies into Ephraim. The spies spent the night at Micah’s house.
18:3 As they approached Micah’s house, they recognized the accent of the young Levite. So they stopped there and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?”
The Danites recognized the voice and accent of the Levite.
18:4 He told them what Micah had done for him, saying, “He hired me and I became his priest.”
The Levite införmed the Danites of his history of employment. Micah hired a preacher who told him what he wanted to hear.
18:5 They said to him, “Seek a divine oracle for us, so we can know if we will be successful on our mission.”
Instead of gaining information from the Urim and Thummin at the Tabernacle in Shiloh, the Danites decided to receive information from the ephod in Micah’s house. This was a violation of the Mosaic Law. This gave demons the opportunity to disguise themselves as gods and mislead Israel.
18:6 The priest said to them, “Go with confidence. The Lord will be with you on your mission.”
The Levite never said that the trip would be successful. He just stated that Jehovah would be with them. The Levite protected himself from false prophecy. Many fortune tellers today make vague and tricky prophecies in order to protect themselves from false prophecies. Charismatics do the same. Their prophecies are very vague and very deceitful.
18:7 So the five men journeyed on and arrived in Laish. They noticed that the people there were living securely, like the Sidonians do, undisturbed and unsuspecting. No conqueror was troubling them in any way. They lived far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone.
The five Danite spies journeyed to Laish. According to Joshua 19:47, Laish was a town north of Israel and under the ruling umbrella of Sidon. Tyre and Sidon were very wealthy and powerful sister Phoenician seaport cities on the Mediterranean Sea. Laish was far in distance from the Sidonians. They were separated from each other by the Lebanese mountains. Tyre and Sidon were so preoccupied with their shipping industry, that they had no time or interest in exerting political control over Laish. Laish also existed in isolation from the Aramaean king, because they were separated by the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. In conclusion, Laish had no internal government and was isolated from other tribes.
18:8 When the Danites returned to their tribe in Zorah and Eshtaol, their kinsmen asked them, “How did it go?”
The Danites asked for the spies’ report.
18:9 They said, “Come on, let’s attack them, for we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, but don’t hesitate to invade and conquer the land.
The spies suggested attack.
18:10 When you invade, you will encounter unsuspecting people. The land is wide! God is handing it over to you – a place that lacks nothing on earth!”
The Danites made a theological error. They believed that the Levite’s blessing was legitimate. Since they found good land, they assumed Jehovah was with the Levite. They also believed that this prosperity in finding the land would result in their conquest of the land as well. They should have gone to the tabernacle in Shiloh and contacted Jehovah through the Urim and Thummin. If Israel would have trusted God and utilized and obeyed the Urim and Thummin on every national decision, then Israel would not have made any political mistakes. Israel had 100% divine information at their fingertips, but they failed to utilize the resources which God had given them.
18:11 So six hundred Danites, fully armed, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol.
These six hundred Danites were only the strike force. The rest of the army would follow later.
18:12 They went up and camped in Kiriath Jearim in Judah. (To this day that place is called Camp of Dan. It is west of Kiriath Jearim.)
The Danites camped their first night in Judah.
18:13 From there they traveled through the Ephraimite hill country and arrived at Micah’s house.
The Danite army traveled to Micah’s house.
18:14 The five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their kinsmen, “Do you realize that inside these houses are an ephod, some personal idols, a carved image, and a metal image? Decide now what you want to do.”
The spies pointed out to the Danite commander that Micah’s houses contained an ephod, some terraphim (for divination), some wooden idols, and some metal idols.
18:15 They stopped there, went inside the young Levite’s house (which belonged to Micah), and asked him how he was doing.
The Danites spoke nicely to the Levite, hoping to gain his favor and trust.
18:16 Meanwhile the six hundred Danites, fully armed, stood at the entrance to the gate.
The Danites stood their army outside of the gate in order to intimidate Micah.
18:17 The five men who had gone to spy out the land broke in and stole the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance to the gate with the six hundred fully armed men.
The five spies kidnapped Micah’s “gods."
18:18 When these men broke into Micah’s house and stole the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”
The Levite mildly protested.
18:19 They said to him, “Shut up! Put your hand over your mouth and come with us! You can be our adviser and priest. Wouldn’t it be better to be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for just one man’s family?”
The Hebrew word for “adviser” is אָב (ab), meaning father. The Danites invited the Levite to become their religious father and priest.
18:20 The priest was happy. He took the ephod, the personal idols, and the carved image and joined the group.
The Levite was happy. He not only left his employer, but he also stole from him, which was a violation of the Mosaic Law.
18:21 They turned and went on their way, but they walked behind the children, the cattle, and their possessions.
The Danites brought their families with them, meaning that they were very confident of conquest.
18:22 After they had gone a good distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors gathered together and caught up with the Danites.
Micah formed a posse and chased after the Danites. Many of his neighbors must have benefited from the Levites as well, because they joined the chase.
18:23 When they called out to the Danites, the Danites turned around and said to Micah, “Why have you gathered together?”
The Danites could not travel as fast as Micah’s posse, because of their children.
18:24 He said, “You stole my gods that I made, as well as this priest, and then went away. What do I have left? How can you have the audacity to say to me, ‘What do you want?’”
If gods allow themselves to be stolen, then what good are these kinds of gods to Micah? This question shows the foolishness of idolatry.
18:25 The Danites said to him, “Don’t say another word to us, or some very angry men will attack you, and you and your family will die.”
The Danites threatened Micah with his life.
18:26 The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized they were too strong to resist, he turned around and went home.
It is interesting to note five spiritual insights about this historical incident. First, Micah was a thief, but then he was the victim of theft. Second, Micah stole silver from his mother, and then the Danites stole the silver idols from Micah. Third, the idols were created by a silversmith and they could not save themselves, so how could they save Micah or the Danites? Fourth, the Levite was a hired preacher and went with the biggest contract. Fifth, the preacher was hired to say what people wanted to hear. This is very much like the modern pastors of many modern churches today.
18:27 Now the Danites took what Micah had made, as well as his priest, and came to Laish, where the people were undisturbed and unsuspecting. They struck them down with the sword and burned the city.
The people of Laish were completely surprised and not militarily ready for an invasion. They were defeated by the Danites very easily. The Danites were thinking that this Levite priest and his gods brought them good luck and prosperity.
18:28 No one came to the rescue because the city was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites rebuilt the city and occupied it.
Tyre and Sidon were too far away and not interested enough in delivering Laish from the Danites. There were no treaties between Laish and Sidon, so the Danite conquest was ignored.
18:29 They named it Dan after their ancestor, who was one of Israel’s sons. But the city’s name used to be Laish.
The name of the city of Laish was changed to Dan.
18:30 The Danites worshiped the carved image. Jonathan, descendant of Gershom, son of Moses, and his descendants served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the exile.
Instead of worshiping Jehovah, Dan began to worship Micah’s wooden image. This was a violation of the Mosaic Law.
They also set up a Danite priesthood, which was different from the Aaronic priesthood. This was also a violation of the Mosaic Law.
The name of the Levite priest was finally given by the author. The Levite priest was Jonathan, a descendant of Gershon, the son of Moses. Gershon was the son of Moses. Jonathan was the grandson of Moses. Even the line of Moses had been Canaanized. Since Israel refused to commit the genocide of the Canaanites, then they became just like them.
Some scribe added an inverted “nun” after the name of Moses, to make it seem as though Jonathan came from the tribe of Manasseh rather than the tribe of Moses. The “nun” is the Hebrew equivalent of the English letter “n." Moses was a hero to the scribes. It was hard for scribes to see a descendant of Moses becoming an idol worshiper. Therefore, some scribe added the “nun” in order to save Moses' heroic status. The rabbi later picked up on this and attempted to explain the nun away. Rabbinic literature protects the heroic status of Moses and his descendants, even though the Book of Judges clearly shows that Jonathan was involved in idolatry.
The Danite priesthood lasted most likely until the time of the captivity of the Tabernacle at Shiloh, but it may refer to the Assyrian Captivity. The next verse would seem to give evidence to the Shiloh captivity.
18:31 They worshiped Micah’s carved image the whole time God’s authorized shrine was in Shiloh.
This was the first mention of Shiloh in the Book of Judges. Shiloh was totally ignored by priests and Levites. This verse also shows that the Book of Judges was written after Shiloh was destroyed by the Philistines.