Judges - 12
Micah and the Danites
Up to now in our journey of discovery through the Old Testament book of Judges we have seen in the history of Israel that there were many ups and downs in the spiritual life of the nation. After a period of disobedience and decline God would mercifully raise up a deliverer to save them. Now, towards the end of Judges, it is no longer a case of going astray and then coming back to God again. The people seem to go into a moral and spiritual free-fall, like a sky-diver who has just jumped from an aircraft.
It seems as though all restraints are removed. There is nothing to hold them back. There is no merciful intervention from God. Indeed, no one seems to be seeking God or calling on Him. Does the Bible give any indication of what was going wrong? It certainly does, making it quite clear in chapter seventeen verse six where we read: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.”
In other words everyone was self-centred. Their point of reference was self and self only. They were saying, “does it seem right to me? If so, then I’ll do it!” No reference was bring made to God or to His Word. It all sounds strangely familiar, doesn’t it? For many there are no absolute standards of truth or morality. No God-given principles by which to live. These days it all comes down to how you feel about something. It simply depends on what most people are comfortable with. Many today measure their actions and attitudes by how something appears to them and if they themselves are happy with it. But just look at the moral and social chaos and upheaval this is causing. God has been relegated almost into oblivion in most people’s thinking, and they acknowledge no spiritual guidelines.
This was the situation in Israel with a downward spiral into spiritual confusion and moral degeneracy that threatened their survival as a people who could serve God. In chapters seventeen and eighteen of Judges we are introduced to a man called Micah. He lived in the central hilly region of Ephraim. Now it would not be fair to say that the spiritual decline all started with this man, but he was no doubt typical of many at that time. He is set before us as an example and warning of how things can quickly go wrong when God’s Word is ignored or forgotten. We are given a picture of the catastrophic consequences that can flow from a bad spiritual beginning.
We read that Micah stole some silver from his mother. However, he returned it and we are astonished to read that his mother had dedicated it to the Lord for her son to make images to worship in his house. What kind of confusion is this? It seems to be borrowing practices from the people around, yet associating the name of the Lord with it. And that is not all. Micah made these idols and then appointed his son as a priest for his private religion. And to make matters worse he also appointed a young man of the tribe of Levi to be his personal priest and offered him a fine salary, clothing and upkeep. Had he never read the Scriptures or heard them read? Did he not know that the Tabernacle of the Lord was at Shiloh, not very far away, with properly appointed priests from the family of Aaron? The Levites were helpers in the Tabernacle, but never priests.
Micah’s ignorance or wilful disobedience of God’s Word is revealed in his words after he had made his arrangements: “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest.” Here he is, trampling over all that God had established and ignoring the second commandment which forbade the worship of other gods. He was overturning all that God had ordained, and then more or less congratulating himself for it. It was either gross ignorance or extreme folly. Whatever the case, it was an affront to God and no good could come of it. Chapter eighteen of Judges records what happened.
Before we come to that, let’s consider the warnings that these events present us with. Even today we find people who get an idea, a religious inspiration that seems to them to be good and spiritual. Like Micah they feel sure that the Lord will bless their enterprise. Others fall in with the idea, it grows and develops and attracts support financially and in other ways. Sadly, even when everything seems to be solid and influence and authority grow, then suddenly some problem, some shock, some scandal comes to light. Why is this? Because the Lord was not in the enterprise at all.
The principles of God’s Word were not followed either through ignorance, or personal pride, or even wilful disregard. God has many ways of dealing with such things and often people are left to wonder how they were taken-in so easily. So test everything closely by the Word of God to avoid repeating Micah’s error. If what is being done is contrary to God’s revealed will and law then it is to be avoided at all costs.
Micah was probably typical of many among the people of Israel in his day. It is likely that in many other homes there were idols being worshipped alongside the worship of the Living God. That was a recipe for spiritual disaster that would eventually call down the judgement of God upon the nation. The Lord had told His people centuries before: “you shall have no other gods beside me”, but they had fallen away and been corrupted by following the ways of the people around them. Let this be a warning to us in our day.
Chapter eighteen of Judges describes how the folly of Micah ultimately brings about his downfall. About thirty miles south-west of Micah’s home there were the people of the tribe of Dan looking for a place to settle. The Philistines were too strong for them to gain the area of land allotted to them, so they were on the lookout for a more peaceful region. Five spies were sent out to explore the land and they came to Micah’s house where they spent the night. While there they met the young Levite appointed by Micah to be his personal priest and they asked him, “What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?” He told them about Micah’s arrangement and so they said to him, “Please enquire of God to learn whether our journey will be successful.” We read that the false priest answered them: “Go in peace. Your journey has the Lord’s approval.” Isn’t it strange how easily people invoke the name of God. Here was a Levite in breach of God’s appointed ways, calmly sending these Danites on their way supposedly with God’s blessing. It is a reminder to us that not all those who use God’s name to validate their actions, or in blessing others, truly belong to Him or are walking according to the truth.
Sometime later, after the spies had reported their findings, six hundred men of the Danites set out to take the new territory and on the way they too stopped at Micah’s house. While there they helped themselves to his household gods, and when the Levite objected they bribed him with an even more inviting offer than that of Micah: “Why be priest over a single household when you can be priest to a whole tribe?”
It is sad how people can fall prey to flattery and generous offers. Yes, people can be bought. It is said that everyone has his price. It is as true now as it was then. That young Levite had already abandoned his principles when he accepted Micah’s offer. It was an easy thing to go along with the Danites. Such attitudes and actions should not be found among God’s people today.
How ironic when we read of Micah desperately trying to recover his stolen images. He had been outbidden. One kind of corruption gave way to another. The thief had himself been robbed. The one who had corrupted the Levite found that others could corrupt his personal priest even more successfully. The one who had abandoned the standards of God’s law was himself harshly treated by those who had no regard for it themselves
The Danites moved on and took the territory that had been found by their spies. There they set up the image they had stolen and established their own order of priests. Like the other tribes of Israel they were living and worshipping in a fashion hardly different from the godless people around them.
Where does it all end? Where will we end up if we start doing that which is right in our own eyes? It may be only in seemingly small things, but we have to be so careful. Our views of God, of the Lord Jesus Christ, of the Holy Spirit and our worship and behaviour, all have to be according to what is right in God’s eyes, not ours. If you have been going wrong, like Micah and that young Levite, is it not time to repent and come back to the Lord in humility?