Judges 18:1-31

Life Without Law

Judges

Philip Smith

Chapter 18

v1 At that time, *Israel’s people had no king. Dan’s *tribe were looking for a place where they might live. They had not yet received any area that was their own among *Israel’s *tribes. v2 So Dan’s *tribe sent out 5 fighting men from Zorah and Eshtaol. They were trying to get secret information about the country. They wanted to discover what it was like. These men acted for all their families. The families had told them to discover what the land was like. The men came to the hilly country where Ephraim’s *tribe lived. And they spent the night at Micah’s house. v3 While they were near Micah’s house, they recognised someone’s voice. It was the voice of the young man from Levi’s *tribe. They went over to him. They asked him, ‘Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?’ v4 He told them what Micah had done for him. He said, ‘He pays me to be his priest.’ v5 Then they asked him, ‘Please ask God whether our journey will be successful.’ v6 He answered, ‘Go in peace. God will take care of you on your journey.’

Dan’s *tribe could not live in the land that Joshua had reserved for them. This was because the *Amorites and the *Philistines opposed them. Look at Judges 1:34-35. They sent 5 people to get secret information. They sent them because they wanted to find a better place to live. The 5 people spent the night at Micah’s house. And they recognised the voice of the man from Levi’s *tribe. This may mean that they knew him already. He came from Bethlehem-Judah. This town was near where they lived. He probably had a southern accent. So maybe because of this they knew where he came from. They asked him to tell them whether they would be successful. He gave to them the answer that they wanted. He was careful to do that. His answer included a reference to God.

v7 The 5 men left and they came to Laish. The people were living in safety, like the people in Sidon. They were not expecting any attack and they felt safe. They were wealthy. Their land had everything that they needed. They lived a long way away from the people that were in Sidon. They did no business with anyone else. v8 When the *spies returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their relatives asked them a question. ‘What were things like?’ v9 They answered, ‘Let us attack them. The land is very good. You must do something. Do not delay. Go and *capture it. v10 When you get there, you will find two things. There is a group of people. And they do not think that anyone will attack them. And there is a large country that God has given into your hands. That country has everything that you need.’

v11 Then 600 men from Dan’s *tribe got ready for battle. They started their journey from Zorah and Eshtaol. v12 On the way, they camped near Kiriath Jearim. This was in the area where Judah’s *tribe lived. That is why they still call the place ‘The Camp of Dan’. It is west from Kiriath Jearim. v13 They continued from there to the hilly country where Ephraim’s *tribe lived. And they came to Micah’s house.

The 5 men from Dan’s *tribe started from Zorah. Then they travelled 100 miles to Laish. There, streams flowed into the Jordan river. The streams supplied it with plenty of water. Mount Hermon separated this area from Syria. The Lebanon range separated it from Phoenicia. The people were separate from other people and they had not prepared for an attack. Some men went to discover what the country was like. They said that it was very good. As a result, 600 men from Dan’s *tribe took their wives and families. And they started to travel to the north.

v14 Five men had visited that area called Laish. They had wanted to discover what it was like. That is why they visited it. Now they spoke to their family. ‘One house here has an ephod (priest’s special coat). It also has other gods that belong to the family. It has a *carved image and a *cast *idol. Now you know what we should do.’ v15 So they went in a different direction. They went to the house where the young man from Levi’s *tribe lived. It was at Micah’s place. They greeted the young man. v16 The 600 men from Dan’s *tribe stood at the entrance. They stood at the entrance to the gate. They were ready to fight. v17 The 5 *spies went inside. They took the *carved image and the ephod (priest’s coat). They also took the family’s other gods and the *cast *idol. The priest stood with the 600 men at the entrance. The men were ready to fight. v18 So the 5 spies had gone into Micah’s house and they had taken the *carved image. They had also taken the ephod (priest’s coat), the family’s other gods and the *cast *idol. Then the priest said to them, ‘What are you doing?’ v19 They answered him, ‘Be quiet. Do not say anything. Come with us and be our father and our priest. You can serve a *tribe and family in *Israel as their priest. Surely that is better than to serve only one person’s family!’ v20 Then the priest was glad. He took the ephod (priest’s coat), the family’s other gods and the *carved image. Then he went along with the people. v21 They put their little children, their animals and their possessions in front of them. Then they turned away and left.

On the way, the *spies suggested that people should go to Micah’s house. The 600 men stood at the entrance of the house. They were there to warn people about any trouble. The *spies took all the *religious objects. Then they persuaded the man from Levi’s *tribe to go with them. They said that he would be a *tribe’s priest rather than just a family’s priest. The people sent their children and possessions to go in front of them. In this way, they were protecting them so that nobody could attack them from behind.

v22 They went some distance from Micah’s house. Then the men that lived near Micah came after them. They passed them. v23 As they shouted at them, the people from Dan’s *tribe turned. They spoke to Micah. ‘Why have you called out your men to fight?’ v24 He replied, ‘You took my gods and you took my priest. Then you went away. I have not got much else. You cannot ask, “What is the matter with you?” ’ v25 The people from Dan’s *tribe answered, ‘Do not argue with us. If you do argue, some unpleasant men will attack you. They will kill you and they will kill your family.’ v26 So the people from Dan’s *tribe continued their journey. Micah saw that they were very strong. They were so strong that he could not oppose them. As a result, he turned round and he went home.

Micah went after the people to get his gods. He went together with some men that lived near him. He arrived where the people from Dan’s *tribe were. Then these people said that some men from their group might become unpleasant. If Micah opposed them, they intended to do something bad to him. So Micah went home. The gods that he had made could not help him. The incident shows what state the country was in. Someone with authority could have made sure that people did right actions. But there was no such authority.

v27 Then they took what Micah had made. And they took his priest. They continued their journey and they arrived at Laish. They attacked its peaceful people, who did not expect an attack. They killed those people and they burned down their town. v28 Nobody rescued those people, because they were a long way from Sidon. They did no business with anyone else. The town was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The people from Dan’s *tribe built the town again and they lived there. v29 They named it Dan. The man that started their family was called Dan. That was why they named the place Dan. Dan was a son of Israel (Jacob). Before that, the town was called Laish. v30 There the people from Dan’s *tribe set up the idols (false gods) for themselves. Jonathan was Gershom’s son and Gershom was Moses’ son. Jonathan and his sons were priests for Dan’s *tribe. They did this until enemies *captured the country. v31 They continued to use Micah’s idols (false gods). They did this all the time while God’s tent was in Shiloh.

The people from Dan’s *tribe soon destroyed Laish. And they soon destroyed its peaceful inhabitants. These were very separate from other people. So they could not get anybody to help them. They had trusted in the fact that they were far away from anyone else. This meant also that they could not get any help. The people from Dan’s *tribe named the town Dan. They made their own place where they could praise God together with Jonathan the priest. Because of this, the town had an important position. Later, for that reason, king Jeroboam the First made it one place where people praised God in the northern *kingdom. People made a male cow for him from gold. It may have been a copy of Micah’s image. In verse 30, Dan’s *tribe used that place ‘until enemies *captured the country’. This may not mean the time when enemies finally *destroyed the northern *kingdom. It may mean the time when the *Philistines controlled many areas in that country. And these included the area where Dan’s *tribe lived. This may have been after the battle at Aphek. We may be able to understand it better if we look at verse 31. The *Israelites praised God in the big tent at Shiloh. But the *Philistines destroyed Shiloh at the time when they fought the battle at Aphek. This was during the time when Eli was the chief priest. (However, the writer may be referring here to a later event after King Saul’s death.)

Israel ~ the nation that consisted of Jacob’s descendants; the country where they lived; another name for Jacob.

descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
tribe ~ a large group of people that are all relatives of each other.
Amorites ~ a group of people that lived in Canaan.

Canaan ~ the country that later was called Israel.
Philistines ~ a group of people that came from Egypt. They came to live on the coast between Egypt and Gaza. They lived in the plain that was there.
spies ~ people that try to get secret information about another person or country.
capture ~ take someone as a prisoner; take control of a place in war; or take an object in war.
carve ~ cut away material from wood or stone to make something.
cast ~ put soft material into a box with a particular shape. In the box, the material becomes hard and so it becomes an object with that shape.
idol ~ a thing that people make out of wood, stone or metal. It looks like a man or a god. People worship it and pray to it instead of God.

worship ~ to show honour and respect to God or to a false god. To praise and serve God or a false god.
religious ~ when someone or something has a connection with religion.

religion ~ belief that God exists; and belief that we should obey his rules.
kingdom ~ country or state that a king rules.
destroy ~ kill people; or damage something so badly that it does not exist any more.
Israelites ~ the people that belonged to the nation called Israel. God had chosen them as his own special people.

Israel ~ the nation that consisted of Jacob’s descendants; the country where they lived; another name for Jacob.
descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.