Remain with Us, O Lord


Judges 18:27-31
27 But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 28 And there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29 And they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but the name of the city was Laish at the first. 30 And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up Micah’s carved image that he made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.

The defection of the tribe of Dan from the ranks of the faithful is complete. They have taken a land they were not given by God in a cowardly and brutal fashion. And they have set up the worship of an idol that is served by a false priest and his sons. This tribe stands as unique among the 12 Tribes for their apostasy.

The rest of Scripture tells us of God’s view of the Tribe of Dan. In verse 30 we see “the captivity of the land” and one might think this refers to the dispersion of these people by the Assyrians. The word for “captivity” does not lead us to that assumption but instead in a different direction. The only other place we find this particular word for "captivity" is in Psalm 78.

Psalm 78:60–62
60He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among mankind, 61and delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the hand of the foe. 62He gave his people over to the sword and vented his wrath on his heritage.

Different Hebrew words are used for “captivity” in Psalm 78 and here in Judges, but the words are synonyms. The capture of the ark is described in 1 Samuel chapter 4. There the word for “captivity” in Psalm 78 is used in connection with the departure of God’s glory from the camp of Israel. That Jonathan’s sons served until the catastrophe at Shiloh makes sense on historical grounds. King David would not have tolerated unauthorized Levite priests in Dan. We can be sure that they were eradicated by him, if not by Saul before him. We also know that Jeroboam I selected Dan as the site for one of his golden calves. In that connection we are told that Jeroboam authorized a new line of priests (1 Kings 12:31). Before leaving the chapter of Judges that deals with the apostasy of the tribe of Dan, another curiosity bears mentioning. The last book of the Bible lists the 12 tribes of Israel in its symbolic representation of the 144,000 sealed for eternity (Revelation 7:5–8). In that list Dan is absent. One plausible explanation for John’s omission of Dan may lie in the events related in Judges chapter 18.
Lawrenz, J. C. (1997). Judges, Ruth (p. 188). Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Pub. House.

God has withdrawn His hand of presence and blessing from a people who clearly have no regard for Him whatsoever. I find this to be the most telling aspect of the story and the point that stand in sharp focus for us today. Should we decide to set up false gods and remove God from our sight, He will oblige and leave us to ourselves. In Romans 1, we find that God is willing to turn us over to our sin for the purposes of regaining our attention. But the process is painful indeed. As followers of Christ we live as His light into a dark world. May His name be ever on our lips and forever in our hearts as we live our lives filled with actions that declare His love. May the sins of the Tribe of Dan be removed from our midst.

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