THE DESTRUCTION OF A NATION---PART 2
JUDGES 18
1) In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.
2) And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, man of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.
3) When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in tither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here?
4) And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest.
5) 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.
6) And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go.
7) Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man.
8) And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say ye?
9) And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.
10) When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth.
11) And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war.
12) And they went up, and pitched in Kirjathjearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this day: behold, it is behind Kirjathjearim.
13) And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah.
14) Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do.
15) And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him.
16) And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.
17) And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.
18) And these went into Micha's house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye?
19) And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: 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?
20) And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.
21) So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them.
22) And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.
23) And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?
24) And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee?
25) And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household.
26) And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.
27) And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.
28) And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Bethrehob. And they built a city and dwelt therein.
29) And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first.
30) And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.
31) And they set them up Micha's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh. King James Version (KJV) Public Domain
COMMENTARY
1) There was no king in Israel. There was law but no one cared to obey it. The LORD was King but He was being ignored and the people were doing whatever was right in their own eyes. So, the tribe of Dan had been allocated land by Jehovah but they did not go in and take it. Then, they decided they would scout around to find land that they wouldn't have to fight so hard to take. After all, the Philistines occupied their portion that was given them. They refused to believe on God and take what was theirs. So, they picked out a few men to scout around for other land which was not given to them by God. This is how you set yourself up for failure: do not obey God.
2-4) They lodged in Ephraim on their scouting journey, at the house of Micah. There they found a Levite whom they must have heard preaching at Shiloh, where he was stationed, but here he was! They asked him what he was doing there. He replied that he had accepted Micah's proposal to hire him and be his priest. He was not concerned for Micah's soul, but for his own ego and wallet. He had compromised preaching God's Word and was content to be a motivational speaker, as it were.
5,6) The scouts asked the hired preacher to ask God if their journey will be fruitful. Without consulting God, however, the Levite told them all would be good. Doesn't that sound eerily like the "name it and claim it" doctrine we often hear today from some "televangelists"? Or how about the ones who say, "send money to me and God will bless your plans for your life."? We are really supposed to consult God first and be living in His will, obeying His laws if we really want to succeed. Too many people are living under a curse and refuse to hear about it. They only want to hear the "prosperity doctrine".
9-11) The scouts went back with a glowing report. They asked the tribe what are they waiting for? Just go attack the peaceful people we have seen, who are living in security. Six hundred armed Danites went to war on a distant people without God's blessing instead of fighting for the land God promised them.
13-19) On their travels, they stop at Micah's house and take his idols and the priest for hire. Micah tried to stop them, but the idols did nothing about it. So the Danites took the idols and the Levite for themselves. I'm sure the idols and Levite would bring God's blessing to the Danites.......just as they did for Micah!
20) The Levite received a boost to his ego when he was invited to be a priest to a tribe rather than just a man. What are we in it for? Are we spreading The Gospel and leading others to Christ for purely selfish reasons...fame, acceptance, praise..etc.?
21-26) The Danites were too powerful and many for Micah to fight, so he was left with no idols or priest of his own. Which really is a shame, because Shiloh wasn't that far from him and he could enjoy a relationship with the One True God.
27-30) The Danites slew the inhabitants of Laish and renamed the place Dan. There they set up the idols of Micah. Johnathan, Manasseh's grandson, and also Jacob's great-grandson, was the false priest for them. This shows that no matter who your preacher is related to or how famous he is, you should test the Spirit and be sure he is called by God to minister to His people. Otherwise, you will be lead down the path to death as surely as these Danites were.
31) The house of the One True God was in Shiloh. Micah first, the the tribe of Dan set up a rival religion and rejected a relationship with God. This is the downfall of a nation: apostasy. We need to be on our knees daily praying for our country and those who represent us.
How about you? Do you even know God? Do you have a personal relationship with Him? Click here to learn how to become a son of The Living God: https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
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