June 7 & 8, 2025
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Reading along with us in Judges, Proverbs, and Psalms? Here’s today’s reading:
Judges 18 (NIV)
The Danites Settle in Laish
1 In those days Israel had no king.
And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle, because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 2 So the Danites sent five of their leading men from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it.…..Continue Reading
It doesn’t indicate anything good about the Danites that they have not secured an inheritance. And although God intended for the Jews to drive the native people from the land, it is not a good model to take advantage of people that are vulnerable. And they do the same to Micah. They take advantage of the information they have about what Micah has because of his hospitality to them. But they take advantage of him in all the wrong ways as well. They take the wrong elements of worship that Micah has and take it for themselves. So this act is not good on either end. But it is the nature of the times of the judges, where people are a law to themselves. How sad though that they didn’t remember even the rudimentary aspects of the law to not worship idols. How far they have fallen, but I guess that assumes they were solidly in the right understanding of truth in the first place. May we have enough truth in our hearts to guard against the things that contradict that truth…
Judges 18
The Danites take Micah’s priest, idol, and ephod to worship in their conquered land.
It is bizarre that they fail to even retain the first commandment, and the second.
”“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.“
Exodus 20:2-6 NKJV
Judges 17 and 18
Proverbs 11-12; Judges 10-18; Psalms 56-57
Judges 17:6. In those days, Israel had no king. Everyone did as he saw a fit. Sounds exactly like the way a lot of people are living today.
Judges 18
Judges 16-18
So the Danites found their inheritance too hard to conquer and took it upon themselves to find an easier one. To prey on a weaker people for their own benefit and do it with such misguided plans. Asking a “hired priest” if they will see victory and then ultimately taking that same priest as their own hired help. This is just classic pride and self indulgent behavior that doesn’t care about who gets hurt along the way but with the same crazy twist Micah tried using priests, ephods, and idols to make it look like they are following God, when clearly they are so far from His plans for them!
Judges 18