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Judges 18:1 In those days there was no king of Israel;
and in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for
themselves to live in, for until that day an inheritance had not been
allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel.
no king (KJV): The word {melek - H4428} which generally means a king, is
sometimes taken for a supreme ruler, governor, or judge (see Ge 36:31. Dt
33:5;) and it is probable it should be so understood here, and in the
parallel passages. Jdg 17:6 19:1 21:25
the tribe (KJV): Jos 19:40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48
for unto (KJV): Jdg 1:34
A C Gaebelein's Summary of Judges
18...
The Danite Idolatry
1. The Danites seek an inheritance (Jdg
18:1-12)
2. Their robbery (Jdg 18:13-26)
3. Laish taken and idolatry consummated (Jdg 18:27-31)
The history of this chapter is closely
linked with the preceding. The tribe of Dan had failed to take the God-given
inheritance (Josh. 19:40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46). "The Amorites forced the
children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come
down to the valley" (Judges 1:34). Then in self-will, entirely disregarding
the will of God, they sent out spies to seek another inheritance. They meet
Micah's priest, the hireling. Micah's idolatrous outfit including the hired
priest are taken by the invaders. The hireling sees an advantage for
himself, his "usefulness" is enlarged for filthy lucre's sake. Then they
killed the people of Laish and set their city on fire. The whole tribe of
Dan becomes idolatrous. We have in all a picture of complete apostasy. (Commentary
on Judges - by A C Gaebelein) |
|
IN THOSE DAYS THERE
WAS NO KING OF ISRAEL:
There was no king in
Israel. It was a time of utter confusion. There was no spiritual leadership
by the true King, God Himself.
Donald Campbell makes
this interesting association between Jdg17,18:
It seems apparent there is
a direct relationship between the story of Micah & the story of the
migration of the tribe of
Dan (notes). The record of Micah's
idolatry is graphically explained in order to show how the tribe of Dan
became an idolatrous tribe.
Warren Wiersbe...
Corruption in the home will eventually
spread to society; in this case, it spread to a whole tribe. False doctrine
is like yeast: it grows quietly in secret and affects everything it touches
(Gal. 5:7, 8, 9).
(Wiersbe,
W: With the Word: Chapter-by-Chapter Bible Handbook. Nelson)
AND IN THOSE DAYS:
Apologetics Study
Bible...
The first 16 chapters of the book of
Judges generally follow a chronological order. Chapters 17-21, however,
present events that occurred during the early part of the time of the
judges. These concluding chapters appear to have been intentionally placed
out of chronological sequence to reveal the extent of Israel's degradation
and to emphasize the justification for a monarchy to rule God's people (Jdg
17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). Thus, 18:1 does not contradict Jdg 2:6 in
declaring that the Danites had not been allotted an inheritance among the
tribes of Israel.
The plight of the tribe of
Dan (notes) was first mentioned
in Judges 1:34,35 which records that the godless...
Amorites forced the sons of Dan into the
hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley; yet
the Amorites persisted in living in Mount Heres, in Aijalon and in Shaalbim;
but when the power of the house of Joseph grew strong, they became forced
labor. Amorites prevented the Danites from taking
possession of their rightful inheritance. Is there some "Amorite" in your
life that is preventing you from taking hold of your blessings in Christ,
Paul reminding us that our heavenly Father has
"blessed us with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3)
The
Danite (notes)
allotment was at the west end of
the strip of land between Judah and Ephraim (Joshua 19:41-46), but caught in a
squeeze between the Amorites (Judges1:34) and the Philistines to the west and
the territory of Judah to the south, the Danites refused to lay hold of
their inheritance by faith, letting their sight (of the Amorites) force them
to seek out a new homeland.
They clearly felt that the boundary lines had not fallen for them "in
pleasant places" (Psalms 16:6). In short, the Danite's desire to move
was a testimony to their lack of faith in the promises of the Covenant
Keeping Lord who had allotted them their original territory. As detailed in
this chapter the Danites instead end up in
[Jdg18:30,31] capturing Laish, renaming it Dan and setting up idolatrous
images for worship. The had sowed the wind, but Israel would reap a
whirlwind from this faithless Danite detour, for years later, the wicked
king Jeroboam I made Dan a center for idolatrous calf
worship to keep the northern 10 tribes from wanting to go back to Jerusalem
to worship Jehovah. God has a sure law of reaping what one sows and so you
cannot help but wonder if this "Danite detour" has anything to do with the
failure to find the tribe of Dan to be mentioned in the 144,000 in Revelation
7:4ff? This thought comes close to home. We sin and we think nothing of it.
No consequence is obvious. Just a twinge of guilt on our conscious. But how
frightening it should be to think about how far reaching the consequences of
our sin can extend and how many people are eventually affected. It behooves
us to pay careful attention to Solomon's warning...
"Because the sentence against an evil
deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among
them are given fully to do evil." (Ecclesiastes 8:11)
The wicked man lulls himself to sleep spiritually being deceived by his own
heart which...
says to himself, "I shall not be moved.
Throughout all generations I shall not be in adversity." Psalm 10:6
THE TRIBE OF THE DANITES WAS SEEKING AN INHERITANCE FOR THEMSELVES TO
LIVE IN:
See
Dan (notes) Most of the other tribes were able to conquer the enemy,
dispossessed them, and claim their land, but the Danites coveted somebody
else’s land instead and took it in a violent manner.
As mentioned above, the Danites failure to defeat and dispossess the Amorites was not a matter of
not enough strength of numbers (Numbers 26:43 says that the tribe of Dan had
64,000 men) but of not enough faith in an omnipotent,
covenant keeping God. The Danites had two choices: they could have taken the
humble road and yet the high road of repentance and laying hold of God's
promises by faith that He would go before them and drive out their enemies.
God's sovereign promises always demand man's responsible choice to obey &
move out in faith. The second choice the Danites had was to reject
God's promises and seek their own land, looking for a new territory where
the occupants would be unprepared and vulnerable to attack. God let them
have their latter choice but this "success" does not signify He blessed
their efforts. In fact subsequent history of the abominations set up at Dan
suggest that He cursed them rather than blessing them! Mark it down
beloved...
Success does not always signify God's blessing!
Recall too that Samson
was from the tribe of Dan. Samson, the strongest man, came from Dan, the
weakest tribe that by sheer numbers should have been one of the strongest
tribes!
FOR UNTIL THAT DAY AN INHERITANCE HAD NOT BEEN ALLOTTED TO THEM AS A
POSSESSION AMONG THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL:
Does this curious
statement mean that God had simply forgotten about the tribe of Dan? That
they would have to go it on their own? Clearly that is not
the implication -- The Lord had assigned the tribal allotments under the
direction of Joshua, with the help of Eleazar the high priest and the elders
from the tribes at Shiloh (Joshua 19:41, 51). As He did with the nations
(Ac17:26 God "determined...the boundaries of the habitation" of every nation
on the face of the earth), so He did with the tribes: God put each tribe just where He
wanted it. For the tribe of Dan to reject God’s assigned territory and covet
another place was to oppose His divine will.
Isn’t it this "Danite Defiant" attitude that causes most of the trouble in
our society today? Instead of submitting to God’s will, people want somebody
else's "greener grass" and they are willing to do almost anything to get it
(see the caustic comment by James 4:1-3). Peter labels this universal malady
"the corruption that is in the world by lust." (2 Peter 1:4). |
Keil and Delitzsch Commentary...
Judg. 18. The Image-Worship Removed to
Laish-Dan.—Jdg 18:1-10. Spies sent out by the tribe of Dan, to seek for
a place suitable for a settlement, and their success.
Judg. 18:1. This took place at a time when Israel had no king, and
the tribe of the Danites sought an inheritance for themselves to dwell in,
because until that day no such portion had fallen to them among the tribes
as an inheritance. To the expression לֹא נָפְלָה (had not fallen) we must
supply נַחֲלָה as the subject from the previous clause; and בְּנַחֲלָה
signifies in the character of a nachalah, i.e., of a possession that could
be transmitted as hereditary property from father to son. נָפַל, to fall, is
used with reference to the falling of the lot (vid., Num. 34:2, Josh. 13:6,
etc.). The general statement, that as yet no inheritance had fallen to the
tribe of Dan by lot, has its limitation in the context. As the Danites,
according to v. 2, sent out five men from Zorea and Eshtaol, and, according
to v. 11, six hundred men equipped for fight went out to Laish, which the
spies had discovered to be a place well fitted for a settlement, and had
settled there, it is very evident from this that the Danites were not
absolutely without an inheritance, but that hitherto they had not received
one sufficient for their wants. The emigrants themselves were already
settled in Zorea and Eshtaol, two of the towns that had fallen to the tribe
of Dan by lot (Josh. 19:41). Moreover, the six hundred equipped Danites, who
went out of these towns, were only a very small part of the tribe of
Danites, which numbered 64,400 males of twenty years old and upwards at the
last census (Num. 26:43). For a tribe of this size the land assigned by
Joshua to the tribe of Dan, with all the towns that it contained, was amply
sufficient. But from Judg. 1:34 we learn that the Amorites forced the
Danites into the mountains, and would not allow them to come down into the
plain. Consequently they were confined to a few towns situated upon the
sides or tops of the mountains, which did not supply all the room they
required. Feeling themselves too weak to force back the Canaanites and
exterminate them, one portion of the Danites preferred to seek an
inheritance for themselves somewhere else in the land. This enterprise and
emigration are described in vv. 2ff. The time cannot be determined with
perfect certainty, as all that can be clearly inferred from v. 12, as
compared with Judg. 13:25, is, that it took place some time before the days
of Samson. Many expositors have therefore assigned it to the period
immediately following the defeat of Jabin by Barak (Judg. 4:24), because it
was not till after the overthrow of this powerful king of the Canaanites
that conquests were possible in the north of Canaan, and the tribe of Dan at
that time still remained in ships (Judg. 5:17), so that it had not yet left
the territory assigned it by the sea-shore (Josh. 19). But these arguments
have neither of them any force; for there is nothing surprising in the fact
that Danites should still be found by the sea-shore in the time of Deborah,
even if Danite families from Zorea and Eshtaol had settled in Laish long
before, seeing that these emigrants formed but a small fraction of the whole
tribe, and the rest remained in the possessions assigned them by Joshua.
Moreover, the strengthening of the force of the Canaanites, and the
extension of their dominion in the north, did not take place till 150 years
after Joshua, in the days of Jabin; so that long before Jabin the town of
Laish may have been conquered by the Danites, and taken possession of by
them. In all probability this took place shortly after the death of Joshua,
as we may infer from v. 30 (see the exposition of this verse). (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 18 - p432
) |
Judges 18:2 So the sons of Dan sent from their family
five men out of their whole number, valiant men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to
spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, "Go, search the
land." And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah,
and lodged there.
men (KJV): Heb. sons
Zorah (KJV): Jdg 18:8,11 13:2,25 16:31 Ge 42:9 Jos 19:41
to spy (KJV): Nu 13:17 Jos 2:1 Pr 20:18 Lk 14:31
mount (KJV): Jdg 17:1 19:1,18 Jos 17:15-18 |
|
TO SPY OUT THE LAND AND TO SEARCH IT:
This Hebrew word for spy is related to the word for foot, the idea being
that spies went quietly on foot, scouting what they could see. Such
reconnoitering was contrived to help the conquest of enemy territory.
AND THEY SAID TO THEM, "GO, SEARCH THE LAND (See Jos19:47): Five
spies were sent from the same area where Samson grew up,
Zorah and
Eshtaol
(Jdg13:2) and were assigned to search for a new location to the north,
much like the twelve men commissioned by Moses (Numbers 13:2).
Like all other tribes, Dan had a
territory given them, but they failed to claim the power of God to conquer
that territory (Jdg 1:34-note).
This is a lesson for all believers who have everything necessary for life
and godliness (2Pe 1:3-note)
and yet fail to "conquer" and lay hold of "every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly places in Christ" (Eph 1:3-note)
Later they capitulated even more by accepting defeat and migrating to
another territory in the N, becoming idolatrous (Jdg18). One wonders if
Dan's blatant rebellion in failing to lay hold of what God promised them has
anything to do with their not be mentioned in the list of tribes in
[Rev7:4ff]?
WHERE IS DAN
IN
REVELATION 7?
Tony Garland (see
Notes on Revelation 7:4) has this
explanation of why Dan is not mentioned in the list of tribes in
Revelation 7...
As to why Dan and Ephraim
are omitted from the list, there seems to be a ready explanation. God
promises that any person or tribe which practices idolatry will be
set apart for adversity:
So that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose
heart turns away today from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of
these nations [e.g., idolatry], and that there may not be among you a root
bearing bitterness or wormwood; and so it may not happen, when he hears the
words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall
have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart’ -as though the
drunkard could be included with the sober. The LORD would not spare him; for
then the anger of the LORD and His jealousy would burn against that man, and
every curse that is written in this book would settle on him, and the
LORD would blot out his name from under heaven. And the LORD would separate
him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity, according to all the
curses of the covenant that are written in this Book of the Law. (Dt 29:18,
19, 20, 21) [emphasis added]
When the tribe of Dan migrated north from
their original location, they persuaded a renegade Levite in Ephraim to join
them, along with his graven image. After overthrowing Laish and
renaming the town Dan, they set up the carved image and a priesthood
attended it (Jdg. 18:19-30). Thereafter, the town of Dan became a center
for worship of one of the golden calves which
Jeroboam promoted as an alternative to
worship at Jerusalem during the divided kingdom (1Ki 12:28, 29, 30; 2Ki
10:29).
The Lord’s estimation of Dan and his idolatry can be seen in the decreasing
role of the tribe in scriptural history. In the twenty different listings of
the tribes, Dan is generally far down and often is the last in the list.
Consider, for example, the order of march in the wilderness: “And the
standard of the camp of the children of Dan set forward, which was over the
rear guard of all the camps throughout their hosts; and over its host was
Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai” (Nu 10:25). [See
Camp of Israel
.] Dan was the last tribe to receive its inheritance in the Promised Land (Jos
19:47, 48, 49). Most striking is the total omission of Dan from the
extensive tribal genealogies of 1Chr 2:10! These scriptural facts should be
remembered when facing the often-asked question of why Dan is omitted in the
144,000 Jews sealed in the Tribulation period (Rev. 7:4, 5, 6, 7, 8).
Evidently this is due to the problem of idolatry which plagued this tribe
throughout its history. (Quote from Varner,
Jacob’s Dozen: A Prophetic Look at the Tribes of
Israel, 60)
Also, when
Deborah and
Barak led Israel to war in the time of
the judges (see
Judges 4
and
Judges 5),
the tribes sent men to fight, but not Dan. Dan’s failure to participate is
remarked upon in Scripture: “Why did Dan remain on ships?” (Judges
5:17).
Ephraim also was involved with idolatry:
Interestingly, Jeroboam’s idols were placed in the tribes of Dan and Ephraim
(i.e., Bethel, 1K. 12:29). Thus, in the Revelation 7 listing, Dan was
replaced by Levi (Rev. 7:7-note) and Ephraim was replaced by his father Joseph
(Rev 7:8-note), while his brother Manasseh was included to complete the twelve
(Rev 7:6-note).
The tribes of Dan and Ephraim are omitted from the list which follows, being
replaced by Levi and Joseph. The reason for Ephraim’s omission is suggested
by Hos 4:17. For possible reasons for Dan’s omission see the related texts
. . . (Lev. 24:10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. Dt 29:18, 19, 20, 21. Jdg. 18:2-31. 1Ki 12:26,
27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33). Dan and
Ephraim are included in Ezekiel’s prophecy of their inheritance in the
eternal earthly kingdom of Christ (Eze. 48:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 32), demonstrating God’s
faithfulness to his covenant and promise (Lv 26:44. Mal 3:6. Ro 11:29-note.
Ro 15:8-note).
Although Dan is omitted here (Rev 7 passages), this should not be
taken as an indication that the tribe of Dan will perish due to lack of
protection during the Tribulation.
“In the end grace triumphs and Dan is
named first in the future distribution of land amongst the tribes (Eze.
48:2), but while being first mentioned, it is the furthest removed from the
temple, being situated in the extreme north.”
Some understand the omission of Dan as an indication that the
Antichrist
will arise from Dan:
He who shall come claiming the kingdom for himself, and shall terrify those
men of whom we have been speaking, having a name containing the aforesaid
number [666], is truly the abomination of desolation. This, too, the apostle
affirms: “When they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction
shall come upon them.” And Jeremiah does not merely point out his sudden
coming, but he even indicates the tribe from which he shall come, where he
says, “We shall hear the voice of his swift horses from Dan; the whole earth
shall be moved by the voice of the neighing of his galloping horses: he
shall also come and devour the earth, and the fulness thereof, the city
also, and they that dwell therein.” [Jer. 8:16] This, too, is the reason
that this tribe is not reckoned in the Apocalypse along with those which are
saved.—Irenaeus, Against Heresies, v.xxx.ii
Yet, in our discussion of
The Beast
we identify reasons which indicate a Gentile origin for the
Antichrist.
See the discussion of whether the Beast will be
Jewish or Gentile? |
Keil and Delitzsch Commentary...
Judg. 18:2. To spy out and explore the
land for the object mentioned, the Danites sent out five brave men “out
of their (the Danites’) ends,” i.e., from their whole body (vid., 1 Kings
12:31; 13:33, and the commentary on Gen. 19:4). They came up to the
mountains of Ephraim, and as far as Micah’s house, where they passed the
night (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 18 - p432
) |
Judges 18:3 When they were near the house of Micah, they
recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite; and they turned aside
there, and said to him, "Who brought you here? And what are you doing in
this place? And what do you have here?"
they knew (KJV): They knew by his dialect or mode of pronunciation, that
he was not an Ephraimite: see the parallel texts. Jdg 12:6 Ge 27:22 Mt 26:73
and what hast (KJV): Isa 22:16 |
|
WHEN THEY WERE NEAR
THE HOUSE OF MICAH, THEY RECOGNIZED THE VOICE OF THE YOUNG MAN, THE LEVITE:
How so? We cannot be absolutely certain but perhaps they recognized him by his dialect or accent (cf. Jdg12:6
where Ephraimites were detected because "[the Gileadites] would say to [the
Ephraimites who were crossing the fords of the Jordan], "Say now,
'Shibboleth.'" But he said, "Sibboleth," for he could not pronounce it
correctly.")..
Jonathan’s dialect may have attracted the attention of the five spies,
because he didn’t speak quite like a man from Ephraim.
AND THEY TURNED ASIDE THERE, AND SAID TO HIM, "WHO BROUGHT YOU HERE? AND
WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THIS PLACE? AND WHAT DO YOU HAVE HERE:
The rapid fire,
repetitive questions reveal their surprise at finding a Levite in that
locale but the fact that he had become a hireling did not seem to bother
them at all. Compromise, Complacency, & Confusion all make for a spiritually
deadly combination.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THIS PLACE?
A good question (if he is actually
a Levite priest), which he answered truthfully (truthfulness is difficult to
find in these last chapters), saying in the next verse that he was hired to
do the job! Since somebody else was paying the bill, the spies thought it
was permissible to get “spiritual counsel” from Jonathan, and he told them
what they wanted to hear. The fact that Jonathan’s words came true doesn’t
absolve either him or the spies from being involved in activities outside
the will of God. Jonathan’s "prophecy" came true because the Danites were
strong and the people of Laish were weak and unprotected.
If the tribe of Dan
had really wanted God’s counsel, they could have consulted with the high
priest who was also in Ephraim at Shiloh (Jdg 18:31). But they were already
outside of God's will by refusing to remain in the land He had assigned to
them. Therefore, it wasn’t likely God would have revealed anything to them.
This spiritual principle that knowing spiritual truth is related to
obeying spiritual truth is seen in Jesus' declaration in John...
"If any man is willing to do
His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or
whether I speak from Myself."
(John 7:17).
Spurgeon on "What hast thou here?
(KJV)"
This is generally the worldling’s
question—“What hast thou here?” And in this case it was well suited for a
hireling priest. (The Interpreter: Spurgeon's Devotional Bible). |
Keil and Delitzsch Commentary...
Judg. 18:3–6. When they were at
Micah’s house and recognised the voice of the young Levite, i.e., heard
his voice, and perceived form his dialect that he was not a native of these
mountains, they turned aside there, sc., from the road into the house, near
to which they rested, and asked him, “Who brought thee hither, and what
doest thou at this place? what hast thou to do here?” When he told them his
history (“thus and thus,” lit. according to this and that; cf. 2 Sam. 11:25,
1 Kings 14:5), they said to him, “Ask God, we pray thee, that we may learn
whether our way will be prosperous.” שָׁאַל בֵּאלֹהִים, used for asking the
will of God, as in Judg. 1:1, except that here the inquiry was made through
the medium of the imitation of the ephod and the worship of an image. And he
said to them, sc., after making inquiry of the divine oracle, “Go in peace;
straight before Jehovah is your way,” i.e., it is known and well-pleasing to
Him (vid., Prov. 5:21, Jer. 17:16). (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 18 - p432
) |
Judges 18:4 And he said to them, "Thus and so has Micah
done to me, and he has hired me, and I have become his priest."
hired me (KJV): Jdg 17:10 Pr 28:21 Isa 56:11 Eze 13:19 Ho 4:8,9 Mal 1:10 Joh 10:12,13 Ac 8:18-21 20:33 1Ti 3:3 Tit 1:11 2Pe 2:3,14,15 |
|
HE HAS HIRED ME:
GOD NEVER
HIRES HIS SERVANTS; they work for him freely out of love and
thanksgiving and He rewards them for faithfulness out of His grace.
AND I HAVE BECOME HIS PRIEST:
Even though he was not
of Aaron's line (as far as we can tell from the text) and had no Biblical
basis for assuming the role of a priest. He was deceived thinking that what
was wrong in God's eyes was really "right" because that's what he believed
to be right. This is the ultimate in willful deception and no man is immune
to this spiritual trap when he begins to wander from the highway of holiness
and soon right is wrong and dark is light (cp Isa 5:13,20,21-notes).
J. Vernon McGee
writes:
"This is a period of compromise, corruption, and confusion, which are the
marks of apostasy at any time. We are in a state of apostasy today. The
church has compromised. It is in a state of corruption and confusion. Our
problem is that it is not returning to its authority, which is the Word of
God, and the Lord Jesus Christ who is revealed in the Word of God."
This is why it is so
critical in what are quite likely the very "last" of the last days to hold
fast to the faithful word so that we "may be able both to exhort in sound
doctrine and to refute those who contradict" (Titus1:9-note). |
Judges 18:5 And they said to him, "Inquire of God,
please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be
prosperous."
Ask counsel (KJV): 1Ki 22:5 2Ki 16:15 Isa 30:1 Eze 21:21 Ho 4:12 Ac 8:10
of God (KJV): Jdg 18:14 17:5,13 |
|
AND THEY SAID TO
HIM, INQUIRE OF GOD, PLEASE:
God had already
revealed his will by the allotments given to the various tribes
(Jos19:40,41). They were searching for an oracle that would guarantee the
success of their journey. Isn't this the tendency of each of our desperately
sick hearts to seek opinions until we hear what we want to hear?
Spurgeon...
Little did they care whether he was a
true servant of God or not. They were like many in our day, who think one
religion as good as another. They saw before them a god, an ephod, and a
priest, and that was enough for them. One would think that if they cared for
religion at all, they would have been anxious to have the right one; but no,
the very men who are careful in their eating, their clothing, their
medicine, will take their faith second-hand from others, without
examination. (The Interpreter: Spurgeon's Devotional Bible).
THAT WE MAY KNOW WHETHER OUR WAY ON WHICH WE ARE GOING WILL BE PROSPEROUS:
Unable to possess their allotment of land, because they failed to drive
out the enemy, the Danites sought God's blessing on their search for other
territory. Jonathan, the pseudo-priest, told them what they wanted to hear
(a "priest for hire" spouting pious platitudes to pander, please and
placate). |
Judges 18:6 And the priest said to them, "Go in peace;
your way in which you are going has the LORD'S approval."
Go in peace (KJV): 1Ki 22:6,12,15 Jer 23:21,22,32
before (KJV): Dt 11:12 Ps 33:18 1Th 3:11
the Lord (KJV): As the Levite uses the word Jehovah, and as the Danites
succeeded according to the oracle delivered by him, some learned men are of
opinion, that the worship established by Micah was not of an idolatrous
kind. |
|
AND THE PRIEST SAID
TO THEM, "GO IN PEACE:
The pseudo-priest gave
them the message they wanted to hear. He was even careful to use the name of
Jehovah to give the message credibility and authority. This is the sweet
talk of a hired preacher who says what people want to hear, reminding us of
Paul's warning that...
"the time will come when they will not
endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will
accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires and
will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths." (2Ti 4:3-4)
Jeremiah also recorded this
lamentable state writing that Jerusalem's...
"prophets have seen for you false and
foolish visions; and they have not exposed your iniquity so as to restore
you from captivity, but they have seen for you false and misleading
oracles." (Lamentations 2:14)
YOUR WAY IN WHICH YOU ARE GOING HAS THE LORD'S APPROVAL:
Literally "your way is before the LORD."
He would view their actions with favor, which was the opposite of the truth.
The Levite sent them on their way with a blessing, claiming their journey
was "before/in front of the Lord." Though he uses the Lord's name in
formulating his blessing, the text makes no mention of his inquiring of the
Lord. His oracle is actually ambiguous. The phrase "before/in front of the
Lord" does not necessarily convey a positive idea. In its only other use in
the Hebrew Bible (Pr 5:21) it simply means that one's actions are in full
view of Yahweh, who examines their ethical quality
Spurgeon...
False priests abound in soft words.
These spies fulfilled their commission,
and returned to the Danites with their report; whereupon the men of war
marched upon Laish, and on the road stopped at or near Micah’s house for the
night, as the spies had done previously. They were ungrateful enough to
repay his former hospitality by robbing him. (The Interpreter: Spurgeon's
Devotional Bible). |
Judges 18:7 Then the five men departed and came to Laish
and saw the people who were in it living in security, after the manner of
the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no ruler humiliating them for
anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no
dealings with anyone.
Laish (KJV): Jos 19:47, called
Leshem
how they (KJV): Jdg 18:27,28 Rev 18:7
magistrate (KJV): Heb. possessor, or, heir of restraint, 1Sa 3:13 1Ki 1:6 Ro
13:3 1Pe 2:14
See C H Spurgeon's sermon:
Judges 18:7, 27, 28 The
Danger of Carnal Security |
|
AND SAW THE PEOPLE WHO WERE IN IT LIVING IN SECURITY:
The five spies
had traveled 100 miles north from their encampment at
Zorah to
Laish (“Leshem”
in Jos19:47), a town inhabited by the Sidonians, about 30 mi East of the Med Sea.
Laish is located at the foot of Mt
Hermon in the extreme northern portion
of Israelite territory, the city was about one hundred miles from Dan's
assigned territory. Laish was conquered by the Danites and renamed Dan.
These were a peaceful people who minded their own business and had no
treaties with anybody. They were “unsuspecting and secure” and “prosperous”
(NIV), an isolated people, who were a perfect target for the warlike tribe
of Dan. Their town was also isolated from the Sidonians by the Lebanon range
of mountains, and from Syria by Mt Hermon and the Anti-Lebanon range, so
that they were without close military allies.
AFTER THE MANNER OF THE SIDONIANS, QUIET (“rest” as in
Jdg 3:11) AND SECURE: These folks were "quiet and secure"
but in the days of the judges it was a false sense of security.
Arthur Lewis comments on the beauty of the area around the modern day
tourist site of Tell Dan which includes a replica of pagan altar:
"Travelers
who have visited the Huleh Valley and the vicinity of Dan expound on the
natural resources and the fertility of the area. Water comes from every rock
and hill, pouring down from the nearby mountains of Lebanon. Like Scotland,
this part of Galilee is green and overgrown with all forms of vegetation.
The tribe of Dan had seized upon a veritable paradise on earth!"
FOR THERE WAS NO RULER HUMILIATING THEM FOR ANYTHING IN THE LAND, AND
THEY WERE FAR FROM THE SIDONIANS AND HAD NO DEALINGS WITH ANYONE:
There,
at the foot of beautiful snow capped Mt Hermon, they discovered a highly
desirable location, a long distance from potential enemies and furnished
with an excellent supply of water--springs that formed one of the sources of
the Jordan River. The Lebanon range protected it from interference from
either Syria or Phoenicia. The residents of Laish enjoyed their secure
position and had not built any defenses against invaders. It was an ideal
situation for the land-hungry Danites |
Keil and Delitzsch Commentary...
Judg. 18:7. Thus the five men
proceeded to Laish, which is called Leshem in Josh. 19:47, and was named
Dan after the conquest by the Danites,—a place on the central source of the
Jordan, the present Tell el Kadi (see at Josh. 19:47),—and saw the people of
the town dwelling securely after the manner of the Sidonians, who lived by
trade and commerce, and did not go out to war. יֹושֶׁבֶת is the predicate to
אֶת־הָעָם, and the feminine is to be explained from the fact that the writer
had the population before his mind (see Ewald, § 174, b.); and the use of
the masculine in the following words שֹׁקֵט וּבֹטֵחַ, which are in
apposition, is not at variance with this. The connection of יֹושֶׁבֶת with
בְּקִרְבָּהּ, which Bertheau revives from the earlier commentators, is
opposed to the genius of the Hebrew language. שֹׁקֵט וּבֹטֵחַ, “living
quietly and safely there.” וְאֵין־מַכְלִים וגו׳, “and no one who seized the
government to himself did any harm to them in the land.” הִכְלִים, to shame,
then to do an injury (1 Sam. 25:7). מַכְלִים דָּבָר, shaming with regard to
a thing, i.e., doing any kind of injury. עֶצֶר, dominion, namely tyrannical
rule, from עָצַר, imperio coercere. The rendering “riches” (θησαυρός, LXX),
which some give to this word, is founded simply upon a confounding of עֶצֶר
with אֹוצָר. יָרַשׁ does not mean “to possess,” but “to take possession of,”
and that by force (as in 1 Kings 21:18). “And they were far from the
Sidonians,” so that in the event of a hostile invasion they could not obtain
any assistance from this powerful city. Grotius draws the very probable
conclusion from these words, that Laish may have been a colony of the
Sidonians. “And they had nothing to do with (other) men,” i.e., they did not
live in any close association with the inhabitants of other towns, so as to
be able to obtain assistance from any other quarter. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 18 - p432
) |
Judges 18:8 When they came back to their brothers at
Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, "What do you report?"
Zorah and
Eshtaol (KJV): Jdg 18:2,11 13:2 16:31 |
|
The spies bring the
report. |
Keil and Delitzsch Commentary...
Judg. 18:8, 9. On their return, the
spies said to their fellow-citizens, in reply to the question מָה אַתֶּם,
“What have you accomplished?” “Up, let us go up against them (the
inhabitants of Laish), for the land is very good, and ye are silent,” i.e.,
standing inactive (1 Kings 22:3; 2 Kings 7:9). “Be not slothful to go (to
proceed thither), to come and take possession of the land!”. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 18 - p432
) |
Judges 18:9 And they said, "Arise, and let us go up
against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And
will you sit still? Do not delay to go, to enter, to possess the land.
Arise (KJV): Nu 13:30 14:7-9 Jos 2:23,24
are ye still (KJV): 1Ki 22:23
be not (KJV): Jos 18:3 1Sa 4:9 2Sa 10:12 Joh 6:27 Heb 6:11,12 2Pe 1:10,11 |
|
Their positive and
unanimous report, recommending an immediate attack, contrasted sharply with
the pessimistic majority opinion of the spies sent by Moses to explore the
entire land (cf. Nu 13:25-33). The claim of divine approval (v10), however,
based on the consultation of [v6], was hardly justifiable. |
Judges 18:10 "When you enter, you shall come to a secure
people with a spacious land; for God has given it into your hand, a place
where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth."
secure (KJV): Jdg 18:7,27
God hath (KJV): Dt 2:29 4:1 Jos 6:16
where there (KJV): Ex 3:8 Dt 8:7-9 11:11,12 Eze 20:6 1Ti 6:17 |
|
A SPACIOUS LAND:
"Spacious" is
literally "broad of hands"; hence the land stretched "wide to right and
left" This expression was used by the leaders of Shechem in an attempt to
convince the people that there was room for the family of Jacob to live
among them (Ge34:21).
FOR GOD HAS GIVEN IT INTO YOUR HAND:
It is easy and convenient to
rationalize selfish desires by saying that the opportunity to fulfill them
is God’s guidance to do so. The Danites claimed divine support, but their
confidence was based on an oracle that was sought almost as an afterthought
and was acquired from a rogue priest at an idolatrous shrine. This is a good
example of a character's point of view not necessarily reflecting that of
God/the narrator. |
Keil and Delitzsch Commentary...
Judg. 18:10. “When ye arrive, ye will
come to a secure people (i.e., a people living in careless security, and
therefore very easy to overcome); and the land is broad on both sides (i.e.,
furnishes space to dwell in, and also to extend: vid., Gen. 34:21, 1 Chron.
4:40); for God has given it into your hand.” They infer this from the
oracular reply they had received from the Levite (v. 6). “A place where
there is no want of anything that is in the land (of Canaan).”. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 18 - p432
) |
Judges 18:11 Then from the family of the Danites, from
Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war set out.
appointed (KJV): Heb. girded, Jdg 18:11 |
|
SIX HUNDRED MEN ARMED WITH WEAPONS OF WAR SET OUT:
Compare this
figure with the 62,700 Danite soldiers in Numbers 1:38, 39 and the 64,400 in
Numbers 26:42, 43.
Responding to the challenge of the spies, the Danites quickly set out for
this new "promised land." Yet one wonders why only six hundred are mentioned. Were they only part of a larger migrating group, or does this low
number reflect the toll taken by their wars with the Philistines and
Amorites? Compare the 600 men who constituted the remnant of the tribe of
Benjamin (Judges 20:47)] |
Keil and Delitzsch Commentary...
Judg. 18:11–29. Removal of Six Hundred
Danites to Laish—Robbery of Micah’s Images—Conquest of Laish, and
Settlement There.—Vv. 11, 12. In consequence of the favourable account of
the spies who returned, certain Danites departed from Zorea and Eshtaol, to
the number of 600 men, accoutred with weapons of war, with their families
and their possessions in cattle and goods (see v. 21), and encamped by the
way at Kirjath-jearim (i.e., Kuriyet Enab; see Josh. 9:17), in the tribe
territory of Judah, at a place which received the permanent name of Mahaneh
Dan (camp of Dan) from that circumstance, and was situated behind, i.e., to
the west of, Kirjath-jearim (see at Judg. 13:25). The fact that this
locality received a standing name from the circumstance described, compels
us to assume that the Danites had encamped there for a considerable time,
for reasons which we cannot determine from our want of other information.
The emigrants may possibly have first of all assembled here, and prepared
and equipped themselves for their further march. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 18 - p432
) |
Judges 18:12 And they went up and camped at
Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan to
this day; behold, it is west of Kiriath-jearim.
Kirjathjearim (KJV): A city of Judah, on the confines of Benjamin;
distant nine miles from Alia or Jerusalem, in going towards Diospolis or
Lydda, according to Eusebius. Jos 15:60 1Sa 7:1 1Ch 13:5,6 2Ch 1:4
Mahanehdan (KJV): Jdg 13:25 *marg: |
|
|
Judges 18:13 And they passed from there to the hill
country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.
mount Ephraim (KJV): Jdg 18:2,3 17:1 19:1 Jos 24:30,33 |
Judges 18:14 Then the five men who went to spy out the
country of Laish answered and said to their kinsmen, "Do you know that there
are in these houses an ephod and household idols and a graven image and a
molten image? Now therefore, consider what you should do."
Then (KJV): 1Sa 14:28
in these (KJV): Jdg 18:3,4 17:5
now therefore (KJV): Pr 19:27 Isa 8:19,20 |
|
The casualness of this decision to steal Micah’s gods stands out.
None of the religious restraints God's 10 Commandments deter the Danites.
Even worse, there is no feeling that a god who can be stolen is, for that
reason, undesirable.
Spurgeon...
This was a hint that perhaps the gods
would be worth the stealing (The Interpreter: Spurgeon's Devotional Bible). |
Keil and Delitzsch Commentary...
Judg. 18:14. Then the five men who had
explored the land, viz., Laish (Laish is in apposition to הָאָרֶץ, the
land), said to their brethren (tribe-mates), “Know ye that in these houses
(the village or place where Micah dwelt) there are an ephod and teraphim,
and image and molten work (see at Judg. 17:4, 5)? and now know what ye will
do.” The meaning of these last words is very easily explained: do not lose
this opportunity of obtaining a worship of our own for our new settlement. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 18 - p432
) |
Judges 18:15 And they turned aside there and came to the
house of the young man, the Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked him of
his welfare.
saluted him (KJV): Heb. asked him of peace, Ge 37:14 43:27 1Sa 17:22 *marg:
2Ki 4:26 Mt 10:12,13 Lk 10:4-6 Joh 14:27 |
Keil and Delitzsch Commentary...
Judg. 18:15. Then they turned from the
road thither, and went to the house of the young Levite, the house of
Micah, and asked him (the Levite) concerning his health, i.e., saluted him
in a friendly manner (see Gen. 43:27, Ex. 18:7, etc.). (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 18 - p432
) |
Judges 18:16 And the six hundred men armed with their
weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, stood by the entrance of the
gate.
six hundred (KJV): Jdg 18:11 |
Judges 18:17 Now the five men who went to spy out the
land went up and entered there, and took the graven image and the ephod and
household idols and the molten image, while the priest stood by the entrance
of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war.
five men (KJV): Jdg 18:2,14
the graven (KJV): Jdg 6:31 17:4,5 Ex 32:20 1Sa 4:11 6:2-9 2Ki 19:18,19 Isa
46:1,2,7 |
|
Spurgeon...
They kept the priest in conversation
while they stole the wretched gods which could not protect themselves. Does
it not read like a caricature? How insane a thing, that men should steal
what they had worshipped, and afterwards worship what they stole. (The
Interpreter: Spurgeon's Devotional Bible). |
Keil and Delitzsch Commentary...
Judg. 18:17. Then the five spies went
up, sc., into Micah’s house of God, which must therefore have been in an
upper room of the building (see 2 Kings 23:12, Jer. 19:13), and took the
image, ephod, etc., whilst the priest stood before the door with the 600
armed men. With the words בָּאוּ וגו׳ the narrative passes from the aorist
or historical tense וַיַּעֲלוּ into the perfect. “The perfects do not denote
the coming and taking on the part of the five men as a continuation of the
previous account, but place the coming and taking in the same sphere of time
as that to which the following clause, ‘and the priest stood,’ etc.,
belongs” (Bertheau). But in order to explain what appears very surprising,
viz., that the priest should have stood before the gate whilst his house of
God was being robbed, the course which the affair took is explained more
clearly afterwards in vv. 18, 19, in the form of a circumstantial clause.
Consequently the verbs in these verses ought to be rendered as pluperfects,
and the different clauses comprised in one period, v. 18 forming the
protasis, and v. 19 the apodosis. “Namely, when those (five) men had come
into Micah’s house, and had taken the image of the ephod, etc., and the
priest had said to them, What are ye doing? they had said to him, Be silent,
lay thy hand upon thy mouth and go with us, and become a father and priest
to us (see Judg. 17:10). Is it better to be a priest to the house of a
single man, or to a tribe and family in Israel?” The combination פֶּסֶל
הָאֵפֹוד (the ephod-pesel), i.e., the image belonging to the ephod, may be
explained on the ground, that the use of the ephod as a means of
ascertaining the will of God presupposes the existence of an image of
Jehovah, and does not prove that the ephod served as a covering for the
Pesel. The priest put on the ephod when he was about to inquire of God. The
אֹו in the second question is different from אִם, and signifies “or rather”
(see Gen. 24:55), indicating an improvement upon the first question (see
Ewald, § 352, a.). Consequently it is not a sign of a later usage of speech,
as Bertheau supposes. The word וּלְמִשְׁפָּחָה (unto a family) serves as a
more minute definition or limitation of לְשֵׁבֶט (to a tribe). (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 18 - p432
) |
|
Judges 18:18 And when these went into Micah's house and
took the graven image, the ephod and household idols and the molten image,
the priest said to them, "What are you doing?" |
|
While the armed men stood at the
gate of the city, the five spies, who knew Jonathan, invaded the shrine and
stole the gods.
When the five men, with their religious loot, arrived back at the city gate,
Jonathan the "priest" was shocked to see what they had done. But the Danites
silenced him by hiring him; and since he was a hireling, Jonathan was ready
for a better offer. In short, the Danites not only broke into Micah's shrine and stole
his gods, but they also stole his chaplain. They did what was right in their
eyes but evil in God's eyes! |
Judges 18:19 And they said to him, "Be silent, put your
hand over your mouth and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest.
Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or to be priest
to a tribe and a family in Israel?"
lay thine (KJV): This was the token of silence. These men were evidently
very ignorant; and absurdly concluded that they should, by taking Micah's
gods, secure the presence and favour of the God of Israel, in their
expedition and settlement. They perhaps supposed the piety of their motives,
and the goodness of their end, would justify the means. But it was a base
robbery of Micah, aggravated by the Levite's ingratitude, and their menaces.
Job 21:5 29:9 40:4,5 Pr 30:32 Mic 7:16
a father (KJV): Jdg 17:10 2Ki 6:21 8:8,9 13:14 Mt 23:9 |
|
Only one clan from the tribe of Dan is ever mentioned--Shuham (Nu 26:42;
called Hushim in Ge 46:23). The Danites appealed to the Levite's vanity and
materialism. It should be noted that a man who would be willing to hire his
services out in the first place would always be willing to accept a better
offer from someone else. He was a religious mercenary, a preacher for hire
to the highest bidder!
Spurgeon...
They knew the most powerful arguments to
silence this gentleman, and asked him whether it would not be more
profitable to be the priest of a settlement than the private chaplain of a
single man. The man who had already sold himself was easily bought. (The
Interpreter: Spurgeon's Devotional Bible). |
Judges 18:20 And the priest's heart was glad, and he
took the ephod and household idols and the graven image, and went among the
people.
heart (KJV): Jdg 17:10 Pr 30:15 Isa 56:11 Eze 13:19 Ho 4:3 Ac 20:33 Php
3:19 2Pe 2:3,15,16
went (KJV): He was glad of his preferment among the Danites; and went into
the crowd, that he might not be discovered by Micah or his family. |
|
AND THE PRIEST'S
HEART WAS GLAD: His love for money cheered his spirit when he heard the Danites' proposal.
It should have been the precepts of the LORD which brought joy to his heart,
but not in the days of the Judges.
Spurgeon...
Bishop Hall says, “He that was won with
ten shekels, may be lost with eleven. The Levite had too many gods to make
conscience of pleasing one. There is nothing more inconstant than a Levite
who seeks nothing but himself.” (The Interpreter: Spurgeon's Devotional
Bible). With the prospect of a
higher salary and increased influence, he quickly forgot his loyalty to
Micah and agreed to their terms. Instead of losing his religious equipment
and perhaps his life, he gained a new position. No wonder he "cheered up" so
quickly. His fickle and mercenary attitude reflects the state of the
priesthood during this period. Equally deplorable is the fact that one tribe
would steal from another with apparent impunity. The treacherous behavior of
the tribe of Dan in dealing with Micah and the city of Laish illustrates the
"serpent" nature predicted by Jacob in Ge 49:17 prophesying
that...
"Dan shall be a serpent in the way, A
horned snake in the path, That bites the horse's heels, So that his rider
falls backward." |
Keil and Delitzsch Commentary...
Judg. 18:20. Then was the priest’s
heart glad (merry; cf. Judg. 19:6, 9, Ruth 3:7), and he took the ephod,
etc., and came amongst the people (the Danites). The first clause of this
verse is attached to the supplementary statement in vv. 18, 19, for the
purpose of linking on the further progress of the affair, which is given in
the second clause; for, according to v. 17, the priest could only receive
the ephod, etc., into his charge from the hands of the Danites, since they
had taken them out of Micah’s God’s house. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 18 - p432
) |
Judges 18:21 Then they turned and departed, and put the
little ones and the livestock and the valuables in front of them.
and put (KJV): These men were so confident of success, that they removed
their whole families, household goods, cattle, and all.
the carriage (KJV): {Kevoodah,} from {kavad,} to be heavy, denotes the
luggage or baggage. Jdg 18:21 |
|
THE VALUABLES ["heavy
goods" cognate kabod ("glory") = "wealth" in Ge31:1]: Anticipating that
Micah might pursue them, the Danites sent their families and possessions on
ahead of them and formed a rear guard. The Danites put the women and children in the front
since that was the safest place, because any attacks would come from the
rear. So this was for protection in case of attack; (see Ge 33:2-3).
|
Keil and Delitzsch Commentary...
Judg. 18:21. The 600 anites then set
out upon their road again and went away; and they put the children, the
cattle, and the valuable possessions in front, because they were afraid of
being attacked by Micah and his people from behind. הַטַּף, “the little
ones,” includes both women and children, as the members of the family who
were in need of protection (see at Ex. 12:37). כְּבוּדָה is literally an
adjective, signifying splendid; but here it is a neuter substantive: the
valuables, not the heavy baggage. The 600 men had emigrated with their
families and possessions. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 18 - p432
) |
|
Judges 18:22 When they had gone some distance from the
house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah's house assembled
and overtook the sons of Dan. |
|
The Danites were
forced to travel at a moderate pace because of the children and the
livestock; so they were easily overtaken by Micah and his men. |
Keil and Delitzsch Commentary...
Judg. 18:22, 23. The two clauses of v.
22 are circumstantial clauses: “When they (the 600) had got to some
distance from Micah’s house, and the men who were in the houses by Micah’s
house were called together, and had overtaken the Danites, they (i.e., Micah
and his people, whom he had called together from the neighbourhood to pursue
the emigrants) called to the Danites; and they turned their faces, and said
to Micah, What is to thee (what is the matter), that thou hast gathered
together?” (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 18 - p432
) |
Judges 18:23 And they cried to the sons of Dan, who
turned around and said to Micah, "What is the matter with you, that you have
assembled together?"
What aileth (KJV): Ge 21:17 1Sa 11:5 2Sa 14:5 2Ki 6:28 Ps 114:5 Isa 22:1
comest (KJV): Heb. art gathered together |
|
The Danites pretended to be
innocent of the charge hurled by Micah; but, unlike Jacob in Ge31:31-32,
they did not invite a search. |
Judges 18:24 And he said, "You have taken away my gods
which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what do I have
besides? So how can you say to me, 'What is the matter with you?'"
what have (KJV): Jdg 17:13 Ps 115:8 Isa 44:18-20 Jer 50:38 51:17 Eze
23:5 Hab 2:18,19 Ac 19:26 Rev 17:2 |
|
YOU
HAVE TAKEN AWAY MY GODS WHICH I MADE: Can you see the irony? Micah was
concerned about the loss of gods that could not even protect themselves.
Spurgeon...
What a mass of superstition and
absurdity! Ye have stolen my gods which are my all. They are my own gods,
for I made them myself, and very precious are they to my heart, so that
nothing can console me for their loss. He was foolish to trust in gods which
could not take care of themselves, yet while he did trust in them he showed
his sincerity by grieving for their loss. In very deed, if we lose the smile
of the living God, we may well say, “What have I more?” To lose the presence
of God is to lose all. (The Interpreter: Spurgeon's Devotional Bible).
WHAT DO I HAVE BESIDES: The agonizing cry of one whose faith is
centered in helpless gods, reflecting the emptiness of
idolatry -- the folly and the tragedy of religion without the true and
living God. Idolaters worship gods they can carry, but Christians worship a
God who carries them! Isaiah describes this spiritual dichotomy recording
that...
1 Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;
Their images are consigned to the beasts and the cattle. The things that
you carry are burdensome, A load for the weary beast. 2 They stooped
over, they have bowed down together; They could not rescue the burden,
But have themselves gone into captivity. 3 "Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,
And all the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have been borne by Me
from birth, And have been carried from the womb; 4 Even to your old age, I
shall be the same, And even to your graying years I shall bear you! I have
done it, and I shall carry you; And I shall bear you, and I shall deliver
you. 5 "To whom would you liken Me, And make Me equal and compare Me,
That we should be alike? 6 "Those who lavish gold from the purse And weigh
silver on the scale Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; They bow
down, indeed they worship it. 7 "They lift it upon the shoulder and carry
it; They set it in its place and it stands there. It does not move from
its place. Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer; It cannot deliver him
from his distress." (Isaiah 46:1-7). |
|
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily
Judges 18:24
Ye have taken away my gods, and the
priest.
Whatever can be taken
from us has the mark and signature of man upon it. Since the Jewish priests
were not permitted to continue, by reason of death, it was evident that they
were men at the best; and nothing that man makes is adequate to supply the
immortal cravings of the soul which, having come from God, craves for God.
Change cannot take
away our High Priest. — All around us is in a state of flux. No two days in
the most brilliant summer are quite the same. The hues are deepening towards
autumnal decay. But He continueth ever, and hath an unchangeable priesthood.
All that He was years ago, He is still, and will be. What to our
forefathers, that to us — “the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.”
The concerns of other
souls cannot take Him away. — It is not difficult to conceive of the
attention of a human priest being diverted from those who once claimed all
his help, to fresh interests and younger generations. But, however many they
be who flock as doves to the windows of Christ’s mercy, they will never be
able to divert an atom of his love and sympathy from us.
Sins and failure
cannot rob us of Him. — Indeed, they make Him nearer, dearer, more
absolutely necessary. The bands of Danites left Micah wailing when he wanted
the comfort of his priest most, lo, he was gone; but neither principalities,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature, can separate us from Him who ever liveth to make
intercession. “Having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near
with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” |
Keil and Delitzsch Commentary...
Judg. 18:24, 25. And when he replied,
“Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have departed;
what is there still to me (what have I left)? and how can ye say to me, What
is to thee?” they ordered him to be silent, lest he should forfeit his life:
“Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest men of savage disposition (מָרֵי
נֶפֶשׁ as in 2 Sam. 17:8) should fall upon thee (vid., Judg. 15:12; 8:21,
etc.), and thou shouldst not save thy life and that of thy household,” i.e.,
shouldst bring death upon thyself and thy family. וְאָסַפְתָּה is also
dependent upon פֶּן. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 18 - p432
) |
Judges 18:25 And the sons of Dan said to him, "Do not
let your voice be heard among us, lest fierce men fall upon you and you lose
your life, with the lives of your household."
angry (KJV): Heb. bitter of soul, 1Sa 30:6 2Sa 17:8 Job 3:5 27:2 *marg: |
|
LEST FIERCE MEN:
"Fierce" = lit "bitter of soul." Used to describe those on the verge of
perishing. This expression (lit., "bitter of soul") is also used in 2 Sam.
17:8 of David and his warriors, who are compared there to a bear robbed of
her cubs. When combined with nepesh, "soul," the term mar, "bitter,"
suggests strong emotions.
LOSE YOUR LIFE: To "lose your lives" is actually to "gather up your
soul." This same idiom is often used of one who is "gathered to his people" in death (Nu20:24). If Micah
wanted to die a natural death, retreat was the best policy.
The response of the Danites amounts
to blatant extortion, the obtaining of something of value from a person by
force, intimidation, or undue or illegal power & suggests a wringing or
wresting from one who resists strongly. Once again, moral principle is
irrelevant; the Danites possess the power to enforce their theft if
necessary and make no attempt to be subtle in their threat to use this
force. Covenant disobedience, religious syncretism, and social anarchy go
hand in hand.
Spurgeon...
Those who have power on their side can
generally find something to say, and they scarcely care to conceal the
lion’s claw beneath the lion’s pad. (The Interpreter: Spurgeon's Devotional
Bible). |
|
Judges 18:26 So the sons of Dan went on their way; and
when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to
his house. |
|
Spurgeon (The Interpreter:
Spurgeon's Devotional Bible)...
And if he became a wiser man he was a
great gainer by his loss. If Ritualists and others could be cured of their
folly by the breaking in pieces of all their altars and the pulling down of
every cathedral in the land it would be a cheap remedy. O that the Lord
would visit this land, and with his great besom sweep out the priests and
their idols. May he also cleanse the temples of our hearts. For this let us
pray.
God is King among all nations,
God above all gods is he;
In his hand are earth’s foundations,
The strong hills and rolling sea:
He created land and ocean,
He with beauty clothes the sod;
Let us kneel in deep devotion,
Bless our Maker and our God.
From vile idolatry
Preserve my worship clean;
I am the God who set thee free
From slavery and sin.
No symbol shalt thou make,
Or graven image frame;
I am the Lord, Invisible,
Eternal is my name.
Though steeped in midnight dire as death,
The heathen scorn thy name,
And rage with bold blaspheming breath;
Dear Lord, remember them!
Darkly they roam, enslaved by lust,
Devoid of fear and shame;
Before their gods they crouch in dust;
But, oh! remember them!
Why is thy church so much defaced?
Why hast thou laid her fences waste?
Strangers and foes against her join,
And every beast devours thy vine.
Return, Almighty God, return;
Nor let thy bleeding vineyard mourn;
Turn us to thee, thy love restore,
We shall be saved, and sigh no more. |
Judges 18:27 Then they took what Micah had made and the
priest who had belonged to him, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and
secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burned the city
with fire.
Laish (KJV): Jdg 18:7,10
they smote (KJV): Dt 33:22 Jos 19:47
burnt (KJV): Jos 11:11
See C H Spurgeon's sermon:
Judges 18:7, 27, 28 The
Danger of Carnal Security |
|
STRUCK THEM WITH THE EDGE OF THE SWORD AND THEY BURNED THE CITY WITH
FIRE: These peaceful people minding their own business and with no
treaties with anyone were "unsuspecting and secure" and "prosperous",
isolated and in short, were were a perfect target for the warlike tribe of
Dan. With 600 armed men, plus their women and children they
marched north and captured Laish, killing all the inhabitants and burning
the city.
Someone has said that there are only three philosophies of life in today’s
world:
(1) “What’s mine is mine, I’ll keep it”; (2) “What’s yours is mine,
I’ll take it”; and (3) “What’s mine is yours, I’ll share it.” The Danites
followed the second philosophy, and so do too many other grasping people.
One of the current booming industries in the US is the installing of
security systems in private homes. The number of shooting sprees in shopping
malls, schools & fast-food restaurants prompted Time magazine Aug 23, 1993
to nickname our country as “America the Violent.”
Ralph Davis concludes that ...
our writer describes the tragedy of
false religion (Jdg 18:27, 28, 29, 30, 31). The Danites reenact
Micah’s folly. It grows from an idea in Micah’s mother’s perverted brain
(Jdg 17:3, 4) to a reality in Micah’s used–god lot and spreads, like
cancer, to a tribal group. Sadly, the lie can make progress even without
evangelists. Indeed, the Danite sanctuary may not be the end of the tragedy,
for, whatever the historical and critical questions involved, the existence
of the Danites’ cult may have provided some of the stimulus for Jeroboam I
to inject his own lethal infection into Israel’s life (1Kings 12 esp 1Ki
12:29). If so, the tragedy continues into 2Kings 17 and damns a nation.
We would do well, however, not to laugh too heartily at Micah and the
Danites. Even we who worship the Image of the Invisible God (Col 1:15)
have our own struggles in worshiping him in wholeheartedness and fidelity.
(Ralph Davis, D. Focus on the Bible: Judges) |
Keil and Delitzsch Commentary...
Judg. 18:27, 28. And they (the
Danites) had taken what Micah had made, i.e., his idols and his priest, and
they fell upon Laish (בֹּוא עַל, to come over a person, to fall upon
him, as in Gen. 34:25), a people living quietly and free from care (vid., v.
7), smote them with the edge of the sword (see at Gen. 34:26), and burned
down the city (cf. Josh. 6:24), as it had no deliverer in its isolated
condition (v. 28a; cf. v. 7). It was situated “in the valley which stretches
to Beth-rehob.” This valley is the upper part of the Huleh lowland, through
which the central source of the Jordan (Leddan) flows, and by which Laish-Dan,
the present Tell el Kadi, stood (see at Josh. 19:47). Beth-rehob is most
probably the same place as the Rehob mentioned in Num. 13:21, and the Beth-rehob
of 2 Sam. 10:6, which is there used to designate a part of Syria, and for
which Rehob only is also used in v. 8. Robinson (Bibl. Res. pp. 371ff.)
supposes it to be the castle of Hunin or Honin, on the south-west of Tell el
Kadi; but this is hardly correct (see the remarks on Num. 13:21, Pent. p.
709). The city, which lay in ashes, was afterwards rebuilt by the Danites,
and called Dan, from the name of the founder of their tribe; and the ruins
are still to be seen, as already affirmed, on the southern slope of the Tell
el Kadi (see Rob. Bibl. Res. pp. 391–2, and the comm. on Josh. 19:47). (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 18 - p432
) |
Judges 18:28 And there was no one to deliver them,
because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone, and it
was in the valley which is near Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and
lived in it.
And there (KJV): 2Sa 14:6 *marg: Ps 7:2 50:22 Da 3:15-17
far from (KJV): Probably the people of Laish were originally a colony of the
Zidonians; who being an opulent people, and in possession of a strong city,
lived in a state of security, not being afraid of their neighbours. In this
the Leshemites imitated them, though they appear not to have had the same
reason for their confidence; and though they might naturally expect help
from their countrymen, yet as they lived at a considerable distance from
Sidon, the Danites saw they could strike the blow before the news of the
invasion could reach that city. Jdg 18:1,7 Jos 11:8 Isa 23:4,12
Bethrehob (KJV): Nu 13:21, Rehob, 2Sa 10:6
See C H Spurgeon's sermon:
Judges 18:7, 27, 28 The
Danger of Carnal Security |
|
|
Judges 18:29 And they called the name of the city Dan,
after the name of Dan their father who was born in Israel; however, the name
of the city formerly was Laish.
Dan (KJV): Jdg 20:1 Ge 14:14 Jos 19:47 2Sa 17:11 1Ki 12:29,30 15:20
who was (KJV): Ge 30:6 32:28 Laish, or Dan, was situated at the northern
extremity of the land of Canaan, in a beautiful and fertile plain, at the
foot of mount Lebanon, on the springs of Jordan, and, according to Eusebius,
four miles from Cesarea Philippi, or Paneas, now Banias, (with which some
have confounded it,) towards Tyre. Burckhardt says, that the source of the
river El Dhan, or Jordan, is at an hour's distance from Banias, which agrees
with Eusebius. |
|
Then they rebuilt it
and proudly called it Dan, after the name of the founder of their
tribe.
Click to
read about the city of
Dan situated at the northern extremity of the land of Canaan,
in a beautiful and fertile plain, at the foot of mount Hermon, on the
springs of Jordan, and, according to Eusebius, four miles from Cesarea
Philippi, or Paneas towards
Tyre. Dan was Israel's northernmost settlement which gave rise to the expression
"from Dan to Beersheba" to describe the extent of the land (cf. Jdg20:1;
1Sa3:20; 2Sa3:10). |
Judges 18:30 And the sons of Dan set up for themselves
the graven image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he
and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the
captivity of the land.
set up (KJV): Ex 20:4 Lev 26:1 Dt 17:2-7 27:15 31:16,29 Jos 19:40-48 Ps
78:58-61 God had graciously performed his promise, in putting these Danites
in possession of that which fell to their lot, obliging them thereby to be
faithful to him who had been so to them; they inherited the labour of the
people, that they might observe his statues. Ps 105:44, 45. But the first
thing they do after they are settled is to break his laws, by setting up the
graven image, attributing their success to that idol, which, if God had not
been infinitely patient, would have been their ruin. Thus a prosperous
idolater goes on to offend, imputing this his power unto his God. Instead of
Manasseh, some would read Moses; as it is found in some MSS., in the Vulgate
and in the concessions of the most intelligent Jews.
until (KJV): Jdg 13:1 1Sa 4:2,3,10,11 Ps 78:60-62
the land (KJV): Houbigant contends, that, instead of {haaretz,} "the land,"
we should read {haaron,} "the ark;" for the [Vav,] {wav,} and [Nuwn, {noon
final,} might easily be mistaken for [Tsadey,] {tzadday final;} which is the
only difference between the two words. This conjecture is the more likely,
as the next verse tells us, that Micah's graven image continued at Dan "all
the time that the house of God was at Shiloh;" which was till the ark was
taken by the Philistines. |
|
The tribe of Dan was
the first tribe in Israel to officially adopt an idolatrous system of
religion. Even though there was a house of God in Shiloh, they preferred
their images and idols. Years later, when the kingdom divided, Jeroboam I of
Israel would set up golden calves in Dan and Beersheba and encourage the
whole nation to turn away from the true and living God (1Ki12:25-33).
The willful spiritual deception which produced the complacent syncretism of
Micah’s household spread throughout an entire tribe and raised the
corruption of the nation to a new level.
AND JONATHAN, THE SON OF GERSHOM THE SON OF MANASSEH:
Jonathan is here identified as the son of Gershom, who is well
known as the son of Moses, rather than of Manasseh (Ex2:22). Text critics
generally conjecture that the veneration of Moses caused later scribes to
substitute the name "Manasseh" for the original "Moses," which still appears
in the some versions of the LXX and Vulgate. Virtually all
authoritative sources agree that the original Hebrew reference was to Moses,
but that the ancient scribes added the supralinear "n" (nun) thus causing
the reading to be "Manasseh" rather than Moses (Hebrew has no
vowels). Further support is that several of the popular Bibles including
NIV, RSV, 1901 ASV translate it as "son of Moses". One version of the
Septuagint translates it "Mouses" (Moses) rather than as "Manaseh". Finally,
the Latin Vulgate translates it as "Moses" rather than "Manasseh".
In any case, Moses was
not responsible for the idolatry in which Jonathan participated. Comment
from Expositors:
"Gershom was a son of Moses (Ex2:21,22), but the Masoretes inserted the
letter "nun" in his name so that "Manasseh" was read instead...In the
consonantal text the difference between Moses-- mosheh (mosheh)--and
"Manasseh"-- menasheh (menashsheh)--is only the one letter. The nun (n ) was
raised above the line to show that it was a later editorial
insertion....Their intention was doubtless to remove any taint of idolatry
from Moses' revered name, but one only has to read about the golden calf of
his brother Aaron to realize the family's potential for idolatry!"
UNTIL THE DAY OF
THE CAPTIVITY OF THE LAND:Either a reference to the
deportation by Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria in 733-732 (2Ki15:29) or to
the time of the exile of the ark from Shiloh in the eleventh century B.C.
(1Sa 4:11).
Expositors
comment:
"If the reference [to the captivity] is to the deportation by
Tiglath-pileser III in 733-732 B.C., the verse may be a later editorial
addition. Archer favors the view that this was a local captivity in the area
around Dan after a border defeat during the latter period of the judges.
Cundall (p192) prefers to relate this captivity to the widespread Philistine
control of Israel after the death of Saul (2Sa2:8-11)"
John MacArthur:
"This idolatrous priestly service continued until the captivity. This is
most likely 1) the captivity of Israel by Assyria in 722 b.c. (2 Ki15:29;
17:1-6), or possibly 2) the Philistine captivity of the ark from Shiloh (see
Judg. 18:31) in 1 Sa4:11"
BKC:
"Many scholars refer this to either the Assyrian captivity of Israel in 722
b.c. (2 Ki 17:6) or the captivity of the Galilean population under
Tiglath-Pileser III in 733-732 b.c. (2 Ki15:29)."
KJV commentary:
"Throughout its history, Dan was known as a center of idolatry and became a
symbol of the apostate tribe of Israel. Thus, it is not named in Revelation
7 as one of the twelve tribes of the future kingdom. In the list that
appears in the Apocalypse, the tribe of Levi appears in the inheritance in
the place of Dan, and the tribe of Ephraim is referred to as the tribe of
Joseph. Thus, in the irony of history, the tribe of Dan, which stole the
Levite and the image from an Ephraimite, is replaced in the list of God’s
people by those very tribes. It is not improper to suggest that the tribe of
Dan is a type of Judas Iscariot, the apostate disciple. It is certainly
interesting to note that while we also normally speak of twelve apostles, in
reality there were thirteen. Judas, the apostate disciple, corresponds to
Dan, the apostate tribe, both of whom lose their true inheritance in the
kingdom of God. |
Keil and Delitzsch Commentary...
Judg. 18:30, 31. Establishment of the
Image-worship in Dan.—After the rebuilding of Laish under the name of
Dan, the Danites set up the pesel or image of Jehovah, which they had taken
with them out of Micah’s house of God. “And Jehonathan, the son of Gershom,
the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites
till the day of the captivity of the land.” As the Danites had taken the
Levite whom Micah had engaged for his private worship with them to Dan, and
had promised him the priesthood (vv. 19 and 27), Jehonathan can hardly be
any other than this Levite. He was a son of Gershom, the son of Moses (Ex.
2:22; 18:3; 1 Chron. 23:14, 15). Instead of בֶּן־מֹשֶׁה, our Masoretic text
has בֶּן־מְנַשֶּׁה with a hanging ן. With regard to this reading, the Talmud
(Baba bathr.f. 109b) observes: “Was he a son of Gershom, or was he not
rather a son of Moses? as it is written, the sons of Moses were Gershom and
Eliezer (1 Chron. 23:14), but because he did the deeds of Manasseh (the
idolatrous son of Hezekiah, 2 Kings 21) the Scripture assigns him to the
family of Manasseh.” On this Rabbabar bar Channa observes, that “the prophet
(i.e., the author of our book) studiously avoided calling Gershom the son of
Moses, because it would have been ignominious to Moses to have had an
ungodly son; but he calls him the son of Manasseh, raising the ן, however,
above the line, to show that it might either be inserted or omitted, and
that he was the son of either מְנַשֶּׁה (Manasseh) or מֹשֶׁה (Moses),—of
Manasseh through imitating his impiety, of Moses by descent” (cf. Buxtorfi
Tiber. p. 171). Later Rabbins say just the same. R. Tanchum calls the
writing Menasseh, with a hanging nun, a תִקּוּן סֹופְרִים, and speaks of ben
Mosheh as Kethibh, and ben Menasseh as Keri. Ben Mosheh is therefore
unquestionably the original reading, although the other reading ben Menasseh
is also very old, as it is to be found in the Targums and the Syriac and
Sept. versions, although some Codd. of the LXX have the reading υἱοῦ Μωὺσῆ (vid.,
Kennic. dissert. gener. in V. T. § 21). Jerome also has filii Moysi. At
the same time, it does not follow with certainty from the reading ben
Gershom that Jehonathan was actually a son of Gershom, as ben frequently
denotes a grandson in such genealogical accounts, unknown fathers being
passed over in the genealogies. There is very little probability of his
having been a son, for the simple reason, that if Jehonathan was the same
person as Micah’s high priest—and there is no ground for doubting this—he is
described as נַעַר in Judg. 17:7; 18:3, 15, and therefore was at any rate a
young man, whereas the son of Gershom and grandson of Moses would certainly
have passed the age of youth by a few years after the death of Joshua. This
Jehonathan and his sons performed the duties of the priesthood at Dan
עַד־יֹום גְּלֹות הָאָרֶץ. This statement is obscure. גְּלֹות הָאָרֶץ can
hardly mean anything else than the carrying away of the people of the land
into exile, that is to say, of the inhabitants of Dan and the neighbourhood
at least, since גָּלָה is the standing expression for this. Most of the
commentators suppose the allusion to be to the Assyrian captivity, or
primarily to the carrying away by Tiglath-Pileser of the northern tribes of
Israel, viz., the population of Gilead, Galilee, and the tribe of Naphtali,
in the midst of which Laish-Dan was situated (2 Kings 15:29). But the
statement in v. 31, “And they set them up Micah’s graven image, which he
made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh,” is by no means
reconcilable with such a conclusion. We find the house of God, i.e., the
Mosaic tabernacle, which the congregation had erected at Shiloh in the days
of Joshua (Josh. 18:1), still standing there in the time of Eli and Samuel
(1 Sam. 1:3ff., 3:21; 4:3); but in the time of Saul it was at Nob (1 Sam.
21), and during the reign of David at Gibeon (1 Chron. 16:39; 21:29).
Consequently “the house of God” only stood in Shiloh till the reign of Saul,
and was never taken there again. If therefore Micah’s image, which the
Danites set up in Dan, remained there as long as the house of God was at
Shiloh, Jonathan’s sons can only have been there till Saul’s time at the
longest, and certainly cannot have been priests at this sanctuary in Dan
till the time of the Assyrian captivity.
There are also other historical facts to be considered, which render the
continuance of this Danite image-worship until the Assyrian captivity
extremely improbable, or rather preclude it altogether. Even if we should
not lay any stress upon the fact that the Israelites under Samuel put away
the Baalim and Astartes in consequence of his appeal to them to turn to the
Lord (1 Sam. 7:4), it is hardly credible that in the time of David the
image-worship should have continued at Dan by the side of the lawful worship
of Jehovah which he restored and organized, and should not have been
observed and suppressed by this king, who carried on repeated wars in the
northern part of his kingdom. Still more incredible would the continuance of
this image-worship appear after the erection of Solomon’s temple, when all
the men of Israel, and all the elders and heads of tribes, came to
Jerusalem, at the summons of Solomon, to celebrate the consecration of this
splendid national sanctuary (1 Kings 5–7). Lastly, the supposition that the
image-worship established by the Danites at Dan still continued to exist, is
thoroughly irreconcilable with the fact, that when Jeroboam established the
kingdom of the ten tribes he had two golden calves made as images of Jehovah
for the subjects of his kingdom, and set up one of them at Dan, and
appointed priests out of the whole nation who were not of the sons of Levi.
If an image-worship of Jehovah had been still in existence in Dan, and
conducted by Levitical priests. Jeroboam would certainly not have
established a second worship of the same kind under priests who were not
Levitical. All these difficulties preclude our explaining the expression,
“the day of the captivity of the land,” as referring to either the Assyrian
or Babylonian captivity. It can only refer to some event which took place in
the last years of Samuel, or the first part of the reign of Saul. David
Kimchi and many others have interpreted the expression as relating to the
carrying away of the ark by the Philistines, for which the words גָּלָה
כָבֹוד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל are used in 1 Sam. 4:21, 22 (e.g., Hengstenberg, Beitr.
vol. ii. pp. 153ff.; Hävernick, Einl. ii. 1, p. 109; O. v. Gerlach, and
others). With the carrying away of the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle
lost its significance as a sanctuary of Jehovah. We learn from Ps. 78:59–64
how the godly in Israel regarded that event. They not only looked upon it as
a casting away of the dwelling-lace of God at Shiloh; but in the fact that
Jehovah gave up His might and glory (i.e., the ark) into captivity, they
discerned a surrender of the nation into the full power of its foes which
resembled a carrying away into captivity. For, apart altogether form the
description in Ps. 78:62–64, we may infer with certainty from the account of
the tyranny which these foes still exercised over the Israelites in the time
of Saul (1 Sam. 13:19–23), that, after this victory, the Philistines may
have completely subjugated the Israelites, and treated them as their
prisoners. We may therefore affirm with Hengstenberg, that “the author
looked upon the whole land as carried away into captivity in its sanctuary,
which formed as it were its kernel and essence.” If, however, this
figurative explanation of גְּלֹות הָאָרֶץ should not be accepted, there is
no valid objection to our concluding that the words refer to some event with
which we have no further acquaintance, in which the city of Dan was
conquered by the neighbouring Syrians, and the inhabitants carried away into
captivity. For it is evident enough from the fact of the kings of Zoba being
mentioned, in 1 Sam. 14:47, among the different enemies of Israel against
whom Saul carried on war, that the Syrians also invaded Israel in the tie of
the Philistine supremacy, and carried Israelites away out of the conquered
towns and districts. The Danite image-worship, however, was probably
suppressed and abolished when Samuel purified the land and people from
idolatry, after the ark had been brought back by the Philistines (1Sa 2ff.).
(Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 18 - p432
) |
Judges 18:31 So they set up for themselves Micah's
graven image which he had made, all the time that the house of God was at
Shiloh.
all the time (KJV): Jdg 19:18 21:21 Jos 18:1 1Sa 1:3 4:4 Jer 7:12 |
What a way to find a new home! The Danites kidnapped the hireling priest of
the false religion and stole the idols. Then they killed innocent people who
were living in ignorant isolation, a dangerous thing in that day. The climax
came when they set up their own center of idolatrous worship, in open
disobedience to the Word of God.
They were living in a
place where there was “no lack of anything that is on the earth” (v10);
yet they lacked everything that God wanted to give them from heaven! Their
false prosperity gave them false security that could not last.
The account of Micah, Jonathan, and the Danites is more than a story from
ancient history. It's a revelation of the wickedness of the human heart and
the hopelessness of human society without God. Our modern world has
substituted idols for the true and living God and has devised its own
humanistic religion, complete with "priests"-the experts who tell us that
the Bible is wrong but their way is right. But neither their idols nor their
priests have any power against the violence of the human heart.
This chapter is like a preview of coming attractions for America. The home,
the ministry, and society are disintegrating before our eyes, and people
don't want to hear the truth! But whether they want it or not, the world
must be told that Jesus Christ died for lost sinners, and that the power of
Christ can transform hearts, homes, churches, and society if people will
only trust Him.
English preacher John Donne wrote
"Christ beats His drum, but He does not press men. Christ is served with voluntaries." Are you available?
SHILOH:
Click
for discussion of
Shiloh.
Shiloh was a small village about 20 miles north of
Jerusalem and was important because it served as the religious center for
Israel during the period of the judges before the kingdom was
united under the leadership of David. Numerous references are made to Shiloh
during this period as the city where the “house of God” was located
(Jdg18:31). These references are probably to the tabernacle with its ark of
the Testimony—or perhaps a permanent building that housed the
tabernacle—because the temple was not constructed until about 960 b.c.
during Solomon’s time. Hannah prayed for a son at Shiloh. God granted this
request by sending Samuel. During his boyhood, Samuel worked with the high
priest Eli at Shiloh. One of the most beautiful stories of the Old Testament
is about Samuel’s response to the voice of the Lord. Thinking his master Eli
was calling him, he awakened the high priest to find out what the high
priest wanted (see illustration). Finally, it dawned on both that God was
calling Samuel in a unique revelation of His will for the boy. Samuel’s
response to God’s next call was, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears” (1
Sa3:1–10). Samuel eventually succeeded Eli. The
tabernacle was located in
Shiloh during Samuel’s early years as priest (1 Sam. 1:9; 4:3, 4). However,
during a battle with the Philistines, the ark of the Testimony was captured
by Israel’s enemies because God had forsaken Shiloh as the center of worship
(Ps78:60). When the ark was returned to Israel by the Philistines, it was
not placed at Shiloh (2 Sa 6:2–17). It was lodged instead at Kirjath
Jearim
(1 Chr. 13:3–14).After the ark was moved to another city, Shiloh gradually
lost its importance. This loss was made complete when Jerusalem was
established as capital of the kingdom in David’s time. In the days of the
prophet Jeremiah, Shiloh was in ruin (Jer 7:12, 14). It became an inhabited
town again in the days of the Greeks and Romans several centuries later. |
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G Campbell
Morgan
Judges 18.31
So they set them up Micah's graven image which he made, all the time that
the house of God was in Shiloh. Judges 18.31.
Whether intentionally on the part of the writer or no, there is a touch of
satire in this declaration. There, at Shiloh, was the true centre of the
national life, the house of God. In connection with its worship, all the
resources of national strength were to be found. Nevertheless, at Dan they
gathered about the false, and rendered a worship which was destructive. The
terrible decadence of the religious idea is very startlingly revealed in
this whole story. The consciousness of the importance of religion was deeply
embedded in the mind of the people. Micah must worship, and the Danites felt
the necessity of maintaining some kind of relationship with God. Then why
did .they turn from the true, to a perversion which was utterly false? The
answer is found in the revelation of motive. In each case there was a
prostitution of religion to purposes of personal prosperity. Micah hoped by
the maintenance of some form of worship, and the presence of a priest, that
Jehovah would do him good, by which he evidently meant that material
prosperity would come to him. The Danites, going forth on the enterprise of
providing more territory for themselves, were anxious for the maintenance
of religion. Whenever religion is acknowledged and adopted merely in order
to ensure material prosperity, it suffers degradation. Thus do men try to
serve God and Mammon. It cannot be done. The attempt always fails. All
history proves the folly of leaving the true God for the false, in the ruin
which results to those who do so. God is not mocked. (Morgan, G. C. Life
Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible)
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Dan and the Levite of Judah
(Judges 18)
by Henri Rossi
This chapter shows us
the connection of one of the tribes with the religious system which we have
seen set up in Judges 17. Dan had proved himself to be the weakest of the
tribes of Israel. Forced into the mountains by the Amorites (Judges 1:34),
and lacking the faith to take possession of his inheritance, he sent out
five men to reconnoiter, in order to search the portion he still lacked.
Laish, a quiet and prosperous town, was situated at the northern extremity
of Canaan, far from the Zidonians to whom it belonged, and did no business
with any one. This city afforded Dan an opportunity for an inglorious
conquest, but presented besides everything that the natural heart could
desire. "A place," said the messengers, "where there is no want of anything
that is in the earth" (Jdg 18:10). Apart from its wickedness, Laish, like Sodom
before its destruction, was like a garden of the Lord; a conquest worthy of
a Lot but not of an Abraham, but which was a temptation to the tribe of Dan
in their enfeebled and lax state. Dan had a battle to fight, a victory to
gain in his own boundaries, over the Amorites of the valley; but this combat
would have cost him too much; he preferred a conquest without danger, won at
the extremity of the land far from the eyes of Jehovah's witnesses and from
the place where his real enemy was, who was left without a word in
possession of Dan's true inheritance.
On their way, these five men met the Levite in the house of Micah and asked
him: "Who brought thee hither? and what makest (doest) thou in this place?
and what hast thou here?" (Jdg 18:3). These questions ought to have opened the
eyes of the Levite, if anything could have done so. What answer, in fact,
could he give? His own will had brought him there, for he sought to
establish himself; he did what Micah told him to do; he had money, a salary
- just so many characteristics of all ministry of human appointment, which
can go on entirely without God, being dependent upon men, and working for a
salary.
"And they said unto him. Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know
whether our way which we go shall be prosperous" (Jdg 18:5). Of such an one do
the men seek direction as to their course, and they get the answer that they
desired: "Go in peace; before Jehovah is your way wherein ye go" (v. 6).
Under penalty of not being considered a properly appointed minister, it was
necessary to mix up the Lord's name to this false pretension of being the
oracle of the people.
Later on, when the tribe of Dan were again passing by armed, the first thing
they did was to carry off Micah's gods and take absolute possession of his
priest. They set before the latter in the most dazzling way the promotion
that he would obtain: "Is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house
of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe, and a family in Israel?"
(Jdg 18:19). He got a call to a more influential and lucrative position. As to
the will of God in the matter, that never entered the mind of the priest.
His "heart was glad" at being called away to a new post, and taking "the
ephod, and the seraphim, and the graven images, he went in the midst of the
people" (Jdg 18:20). He took away his idols with him, and it is with this one
whom the men called "their priest" that idolatry assumed an official
character in Dan.
Micah ran after these spoilers and said: "Ye have taken away my gods which I
made, and the priest, and ye are gone away; and what have I more?" (Jdg
18:24).
What language! They had taken away his religion and the minister that he had
appointed and he had nothing left! A man of faith would not have felt the
loss of these things; God Himself, His word, His priesthood and His house at
Shiloh would have still remained.
The children of Dan went their way, smote Laish, seized upon the city and
"called the name of it Dan, after the name of Dan their father" (Jdg
18:29). The
name of Dan had more importance for them than that of Jehovah. Such was, in
a few words, the dark picture of the religious history of Israel. |
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L M Grant...
JUDGES 18
SPIES SENT FROM DAN
TO SEEK PROPERTY
(JUDGES 18:1-10)
At that time, though
the tribe of Dan had been allotted territory west of Benjamin, bordering the
Mediterranean Sea (Josh. 19:40-48), yet this was largely occupied by
Philistines whom Dan did not have energy to expel. Thus verse 1 says that
their inheritance had not fallen to them. Therefore they sent five men to
look for what they considered a more suitable country (Jdg 18:2). Going
northward they came to the mountains of Ephraim and found Micah's home a
convenient place to lodge.
There they heard and recognized the voice of the consecrated Levite and
asked him what brought him there. He told them Micah had hired him be be his
priest (Jdg 18:4), and they were impressed enough to think him qualified as
an intermediary on whom the could depend to inquire of God for them (Jdg
18:5) as to whether their way would be prosperous. The Levite did not need
to inquire from God. He knew these men wanted a prosperous journey, so he
gave them just the message they wanted, to go in peace, and that God's
presence would be with them (Jdg 18:6). This poor man had no idea of the
truth that Paul insists upon in Galatians 1:10, "If I still pleased men, I
should not be a bondservant of Christ."
Proceeding much farther north, these five spies came to Laish beyond the
borders of Naphtali, and found people living there in peace, having no near
neighbors and no necessity for armaments or walled towns, with no king and
no affiliation with any other people. This was just what they spies had been
looking for, though it was a most unusual situation, much different than
what Israel's 12 spies found when they went to spy out Canaan
(Num.13:28-29).
When reporting back to their brethren in Zorah and Eshtaol, they urged them
to take advantage of this opportunity of possessing a very good land without
any significant opposition (Jdg 18:8, 9, 10). They tell them God has given
this land into their hand, though nothing is said of their inquiring of God
or of God's directing them.
Six hundred men were considered sufficient for the expedition. They camped
one night in Kirjath Jearim in Judah, and the next day came to the mountains
of Ephraim, to where Micahlived.
Instead of avoiding the place they knew to be a house of idol worship, the
five men told their company that in that house there were an ephod,
household idols, a carved image and a molded image, -- in other words all
they needed to have a well rounded-out religion! (Jdg 18:14). So it was not
only Micah who had succumbed to the idolatry of the Canaanite nations, but
in this case all the 600 men of Dan, who were willing to boldly rob Micah so
that they themselves could be religious! What a condition was this so soon
after Israel's entering into the land as recorded in the Book of Joshua!
While the 600 men waited at Micah's gate the five men went in and took all
the things they had spoken of (vv.16-17). The consecrated Levite asked them
what they were doing and was told to keep quiet, and go with the 600 men.
For they asked him if it was not better for him to be a priest to a tribe of
Israel than only of one man (Jdg 18:18, 19). When he heard this the
pseudo-priest was glad. It meant nothing to him to steal the property of the
man who had consecrated him and to leave his employment for a more lucrative
job! (Jdg 18:20). But mere religion can make one a robber without
conscience!
When Micah became aware of what happened, he gathered some of his neighbors
and pursued the 600 men, calling out the them. They answered him by asking
what ailed him that he would come after them with such a company (Jdg
18:23). Micah answered, "You have taken away my gods which I made, and the
priest, and you have gone away. What more do I have? How can you say to me,
"What ails you?" (Jdg 18:24) Micah did not realize that he was far better
off without these things. He had said before he knew the Lord would be good
to him because he had a Levite as priest (tie. 17:13). But now the Lord was
being good to him in depriving him of the priest and his idols.
The Danites abruptly told him to silence his voice, with the threat that
angry men might attack and kill him and the members of his household (Jdg
18:25). Such was the cruelty of Israelites toward Israelites that early in
their history in the promised land. What could Micah's small company do
against 600armed men? They could only retreat to their own homes and leave
their unprofitable idols to the detriment of the Danites (Jdg 18:26).
THE DANITES SETTLE
IN THE NORTH
(Judges 18:27-31)
The 600 men likely
felt that now they had some good spiritual guidance with the Levite as
priest and idols and ephod, and they continued their journey north to Laish.
The city had no defense and no other nearby cities to help them, so that
they easily killed the people, burning the city. They probably did not like
the buildings in the city so burned it so as to rebuild as they desired (Jdg
18:27, 28). They renamed it Dan (Jdg 18:29). The women and others no doubt
followed them soon after.
Dan, having settled in the north of the land of Israel, became guilty of the
great spiritual evil of public idolatry. Using the idols that had belonged
to one disobedient man, they adopted a worship totally opposed to the law of
the God of Israel. Together with this they had the Levite, Jonathan the son
of Gershom, and his sons, established as priests (Jdg 18:30). This type of
spiritual corruption has been sadly repeated in the professing Church today.
Men who have some ability as servants of God, able to preach, have been
given the place of spiritual intermediaries between the people and God, and
even called "priests" in some denominations -- that is, priests in contrast
to the common people. But whether called "priest" or "reverend" or given any
other distinctive title, this is contrary to the truth of Christianity,
having in it the element of idolatry, for it really usurps God's place in
the thoughts of people.
Jdg 18:31 adds significantly "all the time that the house of God was at
Shiloh." God did have a center in Israel, though not yet in Jerusalem, but
the Danites could assume they did not need that center since they had a
worship of their own! As well as being against God, their false worship
divided them from their brethren. |
F B Meyer...
JUDGES 18
A DISTANT COLONY
We learn from Joshua 19:47 that the "coast of the children of Dan went out
too little for them;' i.e., was too straitened. Probably they had not
developed to the full extent the resources of their possession. Joppa -- at
that time the only port in the land -- was in their territory, but the
business of the sea does not seem to have afforded sufficient scope for the
energies of the people, and an emigration scheme was decided upon. An
embassy of five were sent out to search the land, and they came to the
extreme north to the country between the tribes of Asher and Naphtali, the
companions of Dan in the desert march.
Judges 18:1-10 The Danite scouts. -- There is in all hearts a longing
desire to have a consciousness of God's good speed. The Italian bandit seeks
a blessing on some proposed crime. And so it was with these five men.
We must not suppose, because there is no obstacle to our possession of that
which we covet, but that our course is clear, that therefore God hath given
it into our hand. Many a time have souls been allured to their doom because
they have pursued an apparently open course. But we need also the assurance
of God's counsel, seeking it, not at the hand of a man-made priest, but in
communion with God Himself.
Judges 18:11-26 Micah's spoliation. -- What folly on the part of the
Danites to suppose that they could be helped by gods, who could not keep
themselves from being stolen, or protect the house of their proprietor (Ps.
115:8). The priest had come to Micah for wealth and left him at the first
opportunity of preferment. It is a test of the true priest that he does not
seek promotion, or a larger income, but is content to minister, though to
the house of one man, if that be the will of God. It is of the essence of
priestcraft to catch at worldly advantages and emoluments. God's Priest
alone never forsakes, and "ever lives to make intercession"
Judges 18:27-31 The capture of Laish. -- There was no harm in seeking
an enlarged territory, but we can only turn with a sense of horror from
these acts of wholesale extermination. The conscience which is trained in
the school of Christ becomes very tender and sensitive, and rightly so. But
the considerations which weigh with us could not have been appreciated in
those rude times.
The "captivity of the land" (Judges 18:30) was the Philistine invasion (1
Sam. 4). These people were the first among the tribes to establish idolatry.
To their lasting discredit this took place while the house of God was in
Shiloh (Judges 18:31). How easy it was for Jeroboam to establish in their
city one of his golden calves ( Kings 12:29), and how necessary is it that
our emigrants and colonists should take true religion with them to their
distant homes. (F. B. Meyer. CHOICE NOTES ON JOSHUA THROUGH 2 KINGS) |
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