The Beginnings of a Legacy


Judges 18:1-10
1In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them. 2 So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, “Go and explore the land.” And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3 When they were by the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. And they turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” 4 And he said to them, “This is how Micah dealt with me: he has hired me, and I have become his priest.” 5 And they said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.” 6 And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.” 7 Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting, lacking nothing that is in the earth and possessing wealth, and how they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. 8 And when they came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” 9 They said, “Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go, to enter in and possess the land. 10 As soon as you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people. The land is spacious, for God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”

[Side note – Since Samson was a Danite, we might be able to assume that the events of this story happened before the birth of Samson, for the events of his life take place in northern Israel. To hear a story be told out of sequence would not be unusual or unexpected for the Hebrew listener.]

As the stories in Judges progress we find the people on a downward spiral. The voice of God is completely absent and the decisions of the people are increasingly violent. At this point, the Children of Israel have inhabited The Promised Land for almost 400 years. But the tribe of Dan, which was originally given land in the southern regions of Israel (see Joshua 19:40-48), has decided to relocate to the north. They were pressed into the hill country of the land they were originally given in the lottery Joshua by the Amorites and so were now dissatisfied with their allotment. Now, they have reconsidered their location, inspired by what appears to be easy pickings.

In no portion of this reading do we find the presence of God. While the Danite spies did ask Micah’s false priest, Jonathan, if they would succeed this most certainly is not an inquiry of the Living God. Jonathan is a fake and their questions reveal that they are on a mission of their own devising. The Danites are pleased to have found a city so ill prepared to defend herself. The rest of the story will unfold in an unseemly manner.


Absorbed in the pursuit of trade after the manner of the Sidonians—the great merchantmen of the day—the unsuspecting people of Laish had made no military preparations to ward off invaders. At the same time they were isolated far from the Sidonians to the west by the Lebanon mountains. Furthermore, to the east they had no dealings with any one, being shut off by Mt. Hermon and the Antilebanon range from such people as the Syrians.
Roehrs, W. H., & Franzmann, M. H. (1998). Concordia self-study comentary (Vol. 1, p. 176). St. Louis, MO: CPH.


I am struck by the fact that these men have no idea they are operating without God’s sanction, nor do they care. Honestly, I think we do that all the time. Our apathy about God’s concern for us will always lead in a difficult direction. The Danites will become famous for apostasy. What a terrible legacy.

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