In yesterday's study we found five men from the tribe of Dan visiting the household of Micah, who is an Ephraimite. The Danites are scouting for land they can take as their own. Joshua 19 told us that the Danites failed to drive the Amorites out of the plains allotted to them. Because the Danites have grown so much in number, they need more room to spread out, but instead of driving the Amorites out of the plains they are in search of people easier to conquer. In today's passage we'll find them planning to attack a city where the people are at peace with everyone around them, plus they'll loot the household of Micah who was a gracious host to them on their first visit to his town.
After stopping off at Micah's house in yesterday's passage as they spied out the land, the five men move on. "So the five men left and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, at peace and secure. And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous. Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians and had no relationship with anyone else." (Judges 18:7) Who are the people living at Laish? It is not clear. They appear to be culturally diverse from anyone around them. This makes the Danites believe they have no allies in the region to come to their aid. Even if any other tribe or nation in the area would be willing to fight for them, they wouldn't be able to get there in time to help once the attack begins.
"When they returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their fellow Danites asked them, 'How did you find things?' They answered, 'Come, let's attack them! We have seen the land, and it is very good. Aren't you going to do something? Don't hesitate to go there and take it over. When you get there, you will find an unsuspecting people and a spacious land that God has put into your hands, a land that lacks nothing whatever.'" (Judges 18:8-10) The problem is, God has not authorized the Danites to take Laish. Laish is within the borders of Ephraim, not Dan. If the Danites had had the faith to drive the Amorites out of the land allotted to them, and if they had had the faith to push back against the Philistines who were continually invading Israelite territory, they would have had more than enough land in which to spread out and prosper.
The Danites believe that because they can do a thing, they should do it. (This is a mistake common to all human beings, although most human beings don't do the things these particular men will do.) They are plotting to kill every man, woman, and child of Laish. They intend to completely wipe out this peaceful and unsuspecting settlement instead of making war with those who are truly the enemies of Israel, such as the Amorites. The Lord specifically told the Israelites to wipe out the wicked and idolatrous Amorites, yet the Danites are too afraid of them to do so. They prefer to attack people with whom they have no quarrel---people who won't even see them coming until it's too late.
"Then six hundred men of the Danites, armed for battle, set out from Zoeah and Eshtaol. On their way they set up camp near Kiriath Jearim in Judah. This is why the place west of Kiriath Jearim is called Mahaneh Dan to this day. From there they went on to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah's house." (Judges 18:11-13) The area west of Kiriath Jearim became known as "the camp of Dan".
On the way to Laish the five spies tell their fellow Danites about the shrine at Micah's house and its expensive furnishings. "Then the five men who had spied out the land of Laish said to their fellow Danites, 'Do you know that one of these houses has an ephod, some household gods and an image overlaid with silver? Now you know what to do.' So they turned in there and went to the house of the young Levite at Micah's place and greeted him. The six hundred Danites, armed for battle, stood at the entrance of the gate. The five men who had spied out the land went inside and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods while the priest and the six hundred armed men stood at the entrance of the gate." (Judges 18:14-17)
What a shameful way to repay Micah's hospitality! While it's true that having a shrine and household gods and an image overlaid with silver violates the commandments of God, that doesn't make it okay for these men to come and rob the home of their former host. The objects in his home, though sinful, are his objects. It would be wrong for us to assume that the Danites seize these objects to punish him for dabbling in idolatry. They are not taking his goods in an attitude of righteous indignation, being overcome with zeal for the Lord. No, they are taking Micah's goods for their own use. Later in Chapter 18 we'll find them using these objects. Like Micah, they will set up their own center of worship rather than going up to the tabernacle which is the only location authorized by the Lord for their offerings and sacrifices.
Six hundred armed men are standing at the gate to Micah's town while the five spies steal his religious objects. While the men loot his household, the Levite he hired as a priest is standing at the gate with the armed men. The author of Judges backs up in the narrative for just a moment to let us know that when the five Danites appeared at Micah's house and began grabbing the furnishings of his shrine, the priest was taken by surprise and appears to have tried to challenge them. "When the five men went into Micah's house and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods, the priest said to them, 'What are you doing?'" (Judges 18:18) Naturally, this invasion and theft of religious objects is an unwelcome event in the priest's life. He's been hired to utilize and protect these objects of worship. He's alarmed and dismayed when the five Danites his employer previously hosted begin to grab the shrine's furnishings.
But his dismay soon turns to delight when the Danites offer him better terms of employment than that which he enjoyed in Micah's household. This is why we find him standing at the gate with the six hundred armed men. He's not trying to fend the men off and deny them entrance into the town. He's going with them. Earlier, when he asked the five Danites what they thought they were doing by grabbing the items in the shrine, they made him an offer he felt was too good to refuse. "They answered him, 'Be quiet! Don't say a word. Come with us, and be our father and priest. Isn't it better that you serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest rather than just one man's household?' The priest was very pleased. He took the ephod, the household gods and the idol and went along with the people." (Judges 18:19-20)
When the five men storm into the house and begin looting the shrine, I see the scene playing out as follows. I picture the priest holding his hands up and saying, "Now, just wait a minute! What do you think you're doing? You can't just come in here and start stealing stuff. It wasn't long ago that my employer graciously offered you a free night's lodging along with a good meal. Is this how you repay him, by stealing the objects you spotted in his house? This is wrong, fellow Israelites! You can't do such a thing!" And the Danites say, "If you know what's good for you, you won't raise the alarm. Besides, we'll need somebody to preside over these objects, won't we? Why hang around in this one-horse town making ten shekels of silver a year when you can go with us and have a lot more money and prestige? Wouldn't it be better to work for a whole tribe than for just one man?" The priest answers, "Well, why didn't you say so in the first place? Here, let me help you pack these things up!" And then I picture him grabbing a sack and throwing the ephod, the household gods, and the silver image into it and sneaking away from the house with the five men to join up with the six hundred men outside the gate.
The five Danites and the Levite have treated Micah horribly and have betrayed his kindness to them. He was at peace with all of them and never suspected any of them would return his goodness with such evil actions. King Solomon will later say in Proverbs 17:13, "Evil will never leave the house of one who pays back evil for good." We will find the Danites being successful in getting away with Micah's goods and we'll find them being successful in attacking the peaceful people of Laish. But that doesn't mean the Lord is turning a blind eye to their wickedness. That doesn't mean He's okay with the idolatrous center of worship they'll establish later in Chapter 18. The Danites have made themselves the enemies of people who are at peace with them but even more than that they've made themselves their own worst enemies. There is no greater harm a person can do to himself or to herself than to live in opposition to the Lord and to forsake Him in favor of some form of idolatry. It doesn't matter if a person's wicked ways make them materially successful in this world, for as the Lord Jesus asked, "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" (Mark 8:36) Forsaking a relationship with the Creator in favor of worldly wealth and honor leaves a person destitute in the soul.
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