Judges 18:27-31 – Murder and Idolatry
After stealing Micah’s idols and enticing Jonathan the Levite to come with them, the Danites travel to Laish. Finding the people “quiet and unsuspecting,” without allies and far from anyone who might help them, the Danites fall upon them, slaughtering them and burning their city. They then rebuild the city and name it Dan, after their ancestor, the son of Jacob. With the excuse that the LORD’s sanctuary is far away at Shiloh, they set up Micah’s idols to worship and make Jonathan the Levite their priest. This false religion lasts until the “captivity of the land” – either until the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines (I Samuel 4:11) or until the northern Israelite tribes were deported by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. Many Bible scholars believe this long-lasting idolatry is the reason the tribe of Dan is left out of the list of Israelite tribes in Revelation 7:4-8.
Last week we considered the Regulative Principle of Worship which states “If God has not commanded a practice as an element of worship, He has forbidden it.” By setting up their own idols and making someone not of the line of Aaron their priest, first Micah and now the Danites have violated this principle, clearly taught in Deuteronomy 12:28-32. They may claim to be worshiping the true God – it was of God that the spies inquired in Judges 18:5, and it was in the LORD’s name that Jonathan and the spies presumed to speak – but they are not worshipping Him rightly as He has commanded. It is important not only that we worship the true God, but that we worship Him truly, according to His commandments.
Questions
- What crime do the Danites commit against the people of Laish?
- What sin do they then commit against God?
- What was wrong with their form of worship? Was anything wrong with having Jonathan as their priest?
Prayer Points
- Pray for the preaching and hearing of God’s Word tomorrow.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters