20. Staying on Higher Ground: Spiritual Anarchy (2)

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Hymns: RHC 255 Thy Word Have I Hid In My Heart 256 The Bible Stands 258 Lord, Thy Word Abideth

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, men 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 thither, 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. 13And 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 Micah’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. 21So 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 Micah’s graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh. (Jdg. 18:1-31 KJV)

Spiritual Anarchy (2)

OUTLINE

  • From a Family to a Tribe (v1-26)
  • From the Tribe to the Nation (v27-31)

INTRODUCTION

When God’s laws are spurned, taken for granted, taken to oblivion, there is spiritual anarchy. God’s laws are to learned, practised and taught as it was when God raised the man Ezra to teach the returnees from Babylonian captivity to build the spiritual life of God’s people as the Temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt. The key to Ezra’s character is the statement, “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments” (Ezra 7:10).

He was a ready scribe in the law of his God (Ezra 7:4) and thereby qualified to be the instructor of the people in the statutes of the LORD.

Ezra 7:6 (KJV) This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him. 

Notice the Levite here in the time of the Judges (chapters 17-18) was a hirleing. Instead of leading the people of God, he is led by them to fill his belly, as a full-time job.

There were strict laws governing the life of the priest in Israel that God gave. Here we see they were spurned.

Leviticus 10:8-11 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying, 9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: 10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; 11 And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.

Malachi 2:4-7 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. 5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. 6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. 7 For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

He became a priest by birth and consecration; but he only became “a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given,” by personal study of the Word. Inherited office therefore, even with the Jews, could not bestow the qualifications for its exercise – these could only come from individual converse with God in the Scriptures; for while by virtue of consecration the priest was entitled by grace to minister before God, he could only minister acceptably when all was done in obedience to the Word, and it was impossible that he could teach unless he himself were acquainted with the mind of God. It was neglect of this second part of their office that led to the failure and corruption of the priesthood; for so completely was the word of God forgotten as in the days of Josiah, that the finding of a copy of the law in the temple became an epoch in his reign.[1]

He was a man God prepared for it was recorded how the hand of the God was upon him (v6, 9, 28). God’s favour was upon him because he was a clean vessel fit for the Master’s use.

10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

How did Ezra prepare for service? He first prepared his heart. 

Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Our Lord admonished the scribes in His time:

Luke 6:45-47 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. 46And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

Luke 6:43-44 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.

E. Dennett said well, “Preparation of heart (and this also cometh from the Lord) is everything, whether for the study of the Word, for prayer, or for worship.”

Hebrews 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

1 John 3:20-22 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. 22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

With a heart inclined toward God will come obedience and good success. Others who see will realize the enduement of God upon such a one.

1 Timothy 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Ezra’s exemplary life was not just amongst his own people but his godliness was appreciated by the king himself, he had a good testimony as it were “outside the church” –1 Timothy 3:7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

The name Ezra means “help or assistance”. He was indeed a labourer with God. Faithfulness brings God’s blessings. God gives us faithful men. What do we mean by faithfulness? Well, we mean integrity. We mean loyalty. We mean steadfastness. We mean dependability, fidelity, all of these things – faithfulness. When our Lord comes, said in the words of Matthew 25:21, his Lord said unto him, “Well done thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

I want to ask you a question, “Are you faithful?” “Can you be counted on?” Ezra was one who could and God worked through him. He would not be bent to do his own will but only the will of his Lord.

The Proverb says Proverbs 25:19 Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.

Today, there is serious lack of genuine integrity and faithfulness among men. Men’s words seem to mean little today, whether it’s a marriage contract or business contract or treaty between nations. Ezra was a man who was given over to do the will of God.

As we read the events ensuing in the Book of Ezra, we see the hand of God upon everything. Ezra was fully consecrated to the Lord’s service and God’s power was able to flow through His surrendered vessel.

This is a great contrast to the time of the Judges when Micah’s priest was so weak, that he embraced the people’s idolatry and worship the gods concocted by the imagination of the people. 

Two thoughts for our meditation:

  • From a Family to a Tribe (v1-26)
  • From the Tribe to the Nation (v27-31)
  • From a Famly to a Tribe (v1-26)

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. 

This is a prelude to the transition when God’s people will reject God’s rule and demand a king over them instead of God. Israel will soon transition from a theocracy (God rules) to a monarchy. Samuel will be the last Judge of Israel. 

We are brought to focus on the tribe of Dan who has not gotten their inheritance after all these years – Judges 1:34 (KJV) And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley:

In their weakness and desperation, when God was not with them, they fend for themselves, such a life is indeed a miserable life as we shall observe.

2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men 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.

The link to the narrative was that the spies from the tribe of Dan came to the house of Micah while searching for a place of conquest and settlement. Notice, there was no seeking of the Lord, no prayer, no communion and fellowship with the God of Israel who brought them out of the land of Egypt!

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. 6And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go. 

Well, they understood that the priest is supposedly still a man of God and so they asked for counsel from him. The counsel comes from a house priest to the spies of an entire tribe. 

Matthew Henry observed well, “They seem to have had a greater opinion of Micah’s teraphim than of God’s urim; for they had passed by Shiloh, and, for aught that appears, had not enquired there of God’s high priest, but Micah’s shabby Levite shall be an oracle to them.” 

31 And they set them up Micah’s graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

Instead of going to Shiloh where is God’s high priest, they stooped to enquire of Micah’s unqualified priest – Psalm 32:8 (KJV) I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

Matthew Henry further observed, “He betakes himself to his usual method of consulting his teraphim; and, whether he himself believed it or no, he humoured the thing so well that he made them believe he had an answer from God encouraging them to go on, and assuring them of good success (v6): “Go in peace, you shall be safe, and may be easy, for before the Lord is your way,” that is, “he approves it” (as the Lord is said to know the way of the righteous with acceptation), “and therefore he will make it prosperous, his eye will be upon you for good, he will direct your way, and preserve your going out and coming in.”

Our great care should be that our way is such as God approves, and, if it is so, we may go in peace. If God cares for us, on him let us cast our care, and be satisfied that we cannot miss our way if he go before us.”

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.

They saw that perhaps they could overcome the weak city of Laish.

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.

600 warriors were sent out to capture the city of Laish.

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 Micah’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?

The irony of the narrative is here. When they came to the house of Micah, they robbed Micah of his idols and they also hired his priest. Micah’s priest was hired for a higher pay and a larger congregation.

Christopher Ash commented well here, “Employment as “a father and a priest” is what Micah had offered the Levite back in 17:10.

Judges 17:10 (KJV) And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.

Now the spies use the same phrase to outbid him by offering the Levite far more—not just father and priest to one man’s household but to an entire tribe! The Danites have played their cards well. They present the Levite with a fait accompli; there is simply no more shrine for him to serve at in Micah’s house, and the deal they offer him is one that a man of this Levite’s character cannot refuse. 

He shows his acceptance by taking the idols from the five men who have just stolen them and goes along with the Danites (literally, “moves into the midst” of them), committing himself totally to their service and trusting them to protect him from whatever consequences may follow for his act of betrayal. In reality, though, he has nothing to fear, for there is nothing that Micah can do.”

Notice there was no reference to God’s will and God’s law but these men did what was right in their own sight.

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.

Might be right, not the truth of God. Violence was the way to get their way, the way of the jungle, after the fall of man. Micah was no match for the might of the Danite army. He saw his priest and idols leave him.

When Micah finally discovers what has happened, he hastily gathers a small force and goes in pursuit of the Danites (v22). When they catch up Micah succeeds in getting their attention by shout[ing] to them (v23). But from then on, he has no success at all. The Danites have been expecting him, and from the moment they turn to respond it’s clear that Micah is powerless. Micah and his men are outnumbered, and the Danites are in no mood to make any concessions. Their opening question, “What is the matter with you?” (v. 23) is effectively a taunt rather than a genuine query, calculated to enrage Micah rather than draw him into any meaningful engagement with them. They doubtless listen to his response with amused satisfaction, for there is nothing dignified about it. Literally Micah protests, “My gods that I made for myself—you have taken! And the priest! And you have gone away! What do I have left? How can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” (v24). [Christopher Ash]

  • From the Tribe to the Nation (v27-31)

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 Micah’s graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

This revelation of the ancestry of Micah’s Levite comes as a complete surprise and has almost certainly been withheld until now precisely to achieve this effect. The Levite’s bad character has been too clearly established by this point for the revelation that he is a descendant of Moses to redeem him. Indeed, it does exactly the opposite. Here is the crowning scandal of the Danites’ idolatrous shrine, it brought great dishonour.

The second and final damning reflection on Micah’s legacy is in the last verse of the chapter: So [the Danites] set up Micah’s carved image that he made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh (v31). Shiloh, like Micah’s house, lay in the central hill country of Ephraim. It was there that the tabernacle was first erected after Israel’s arrival in Canaan and there that the land was divided up among the various tribes (Joshua 18:1, 8–10; 19:51). The ark of the covenant was there, reminding Israel of their obligation to keep God’s Law (Exodus 25:16; Deuteronomy 10:1–5). 

But at the same time, Micah created for himself an idol-shrine in his own house, and later the Danites used the contents of that shrine to establish their own idolatrous shrine in Laish/Dan and continued to worship there “as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.” In other words, Micah’s house of “gods” (17:5) was the complete antithesis of Shiloh’s house of “God.” It epitomized Israel’s flagrant disregard of its covenant obligations and was the perfect symbol of the religious chaos that characterized the judges’ period and continued to plague northern Israel throughout its history. 

Micah may have lost out, but for the Levites, idolatry does seem to have paid off. At what cost, however? The shrine the Danites created in Laish/Dan in the time of the judges turned out to be the precursor to the infamous sanctuary that Jeroboam later established there when the northern tribes broke away and formed a separate kingdom after the time of David and Solomon (1 Kings 12, esp.v25–30). Micah’s idol was replaced by a golden calf that Jeroboam made, and “this thing became a sin” because the Israelites went there to prostrate themselves to it (1 Kings 12:30) and continued to do so despite the warnings of the prophets until the northern kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians and its population taken into captivity. So, Micah’s legacy was an idolatry that infected the whole nation and eventually led to its destruction. It produced, in the end, no winners at all, only losers. [Christopher Ash]

[1] http://www.biblecentre.org/commentaries/ed_15_ezra_7to10.htm