Still Weird

Judges 18:11–31

¹¹ So 600 men of the tribe of Dan, armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol, ¹² and went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. On this account that place is called Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is west of Kiriath-jearim. ¹³ And they passed on from there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah. ¹⁴ Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish said to their brothers, “Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now therefore consider what you will do.” ¹⁵ And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and asked him about his welfare. ¹⁶ Now the 600 men of the Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate. ¹⁷ And the five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. ¹⁸ And when these went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” ¹⁹ And they said to him, “Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?” ²⁰ And the priest’s heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people. ²¹ So they turned and departed, putting the little ones and the livestock and the goods in front of them. ²² When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan. ²³ And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?” ²⁴ And he said, “You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” ²⁵ And the people of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household.” ²⁶ Then the people of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.

The story of the Danites deepens. They now take Micah’s idols, ephod, and priest as their own. Because there are 600 of them against one man’s family, Micah is helpless to stop them. The interesting person in all of this is Jonathan, the priest.

Here we find the story of a man who is clearly an opportunist at best. He is offered a position in the home of Micah as their personal priest. A better deal comes along to be the priest for an entire tribe and he takes it. For this man, it’s all about the money. People who serve God with their lives around the world shake their head in sorrow over an attitude like this one. Spreading the Gospel can never be about the external rewards. Yes, a person who shares the Gospel deserves a living wage. But going to where the grass is greener is not on God’s list of ideal character traits for the people who serve Him in the office of spiritual leaders. And Jonathan's willingness to steal from Micah, albeit a worthless idol, also shows us his complete lack of spiritual maturity or depth. He’s a charlatan, plain and simple.

There really isn’t anything positive I can say about these events. We are watching what happens to a people when God is not a part of the equation. They are adrift on a road of their own sinful desires and those desires are leading them astray. We all understand it because we see it every day. A world without the Lord at the center of each life is a world without hope.