Judges 18

Judges 18:1

IDOLATRY IN DANThe Danites had been assigned territory that was occupied by the mighty Philistines. They felt that they needed more room in which to live. There was no king in Israel. It was a time of utter confusion. There was no leadership. You will recall in the Book of Joshua that none of the tribes took possession of all the land that was coming to them. That certainly was true of the tribe of Dan way in the north. The Danites had a real problem. In fact, it was so bad they took to the hills.

Judges 18:2

These men went out to see what territory the tribe of Dan could take in order to extend and expand the borders of their tribe. During their travels they came to the house of Micah.

Judges 18:3

This man is nothing but a hired preacher. (God have mercy on the church that has a hired preacher who chooses to be a messenger boy for a little group rather than to preach and teach the Word of God, without fear, without favoritism, and without compromise.) This Levite has compromised. This is a period of compromise, corruption, and confusion, which are the marks of apostasy at any time. We are in a state of apostasy today. The church has compromised. It is in a state of corruption and confusion. Our problem is that it is not returning to its authority, which is the Word of God, and the Lord Jesus Christ who is revealed in the Word of God.

Judges 18:5

This is the sweet talk of a hired preacher who says what people want to hear. The five men left and thought what the Levite told them was great.

Judges 18:9

A good report is brought back by the spies who suggest that the Danites should possess Laish. So a party of six hundred warriors is formed, and they take with them their families and possessions. On the way back to Laish, they stop by Micah’s house and rob him of his idols and his priest. Then the Danites capture Laish, burn it, rebuild it, and live in it. They rename the city Dan.

Judges 18:30

Here is a picture of real apostasy, friend. Who is Jonathan? He happens to be the grandson of Moses! These people had gone a long way from God. Remember that Moses had said, speaking for the Lord, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Exo_20:3-4). And here is Moses’ grandson, a priest with an idol! This is tragic. When I was a young man studying for the ministry, I was shocked to learn some of the things that were going on within the organized church. Because I had not been brought up in the church, it was a new world and a new life for me. I was deeply impressed with the life and ministry of Dwight L. Moody and considered him a real saint of Godwhich he was, by the way. Then a man who knew him and knew his family told me, “One of his sons holds an office in the most liberal organization in this country.” During those early days nothing hurt me as that did. I just couldn’t understand how a son of a man like Moody could depart from the gospel of Jesus Christ and from the integrity and inerrancy of the Word of God! My friend, apostasy is an awful thing. And a nation’s problems begin with religious apostasy. This is what happened to the nation of Israel. Here we see Moses’ grandson serving as priest with Micah’s graven image!