A Tribe Takes What It Wants

Dan has not taken the land God gave them, so they send five spies north. The spies find Micah's Levite and ask him for a message from God. He quickly tells them their trip will succeed. They return with six hundred armed men, steal Micah's idols, and offer the priest a larger position. He gladly leaves with them. Then they destroy the peaceful city of Laish. At the end, verse 30 tells us that this Levite is Jonathan, a grandson of Moses.

• Dan moves away because they failed to take the land God gave them in chapter 1. Instead of turning back and obeying, they look for an easier place.
• The priest gives a blessing he has no authority to give. Men will always find a minister who will bless the plan.
• The Danites offer the priest a bigger position. He trades his honesty for a promotion.
• The Levite's heart 'was glad' (v. 20). He does not even hesitate.
• Laish was 'quiet and secure' — the victims are innocent. Compromise always eventually costs someone who had nothing to do with it.
• The idolatry set up here 'all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh' (v. 31) and lasted until the captivity. One man's household shrine became a national institution.

1. 01Dan relocated instead of fighting for the land God gave. Where are you seeking a new situation instead of winning the one you're in?
2. 02The Levite left for a bigger platform without a second's hesitation. What offer would tempt you most — money, title, size, city? Answer honestly.
3. 03Who in your life will bless whatever you've already decided? Are you cultivating those voices or avoiding them?
4. 04Micah lost his gods and cried, 'What have I more?' What would you say if what you lost were taken tomorrow?
5. 05Laish paid for Dan's sin. Who is affected by your decisions and has no vote in them?
6. 06This idolatry lasted centuries. What are you setting up that could outlive you in the wrong direction?
7. 07Where have you used spiritual language — 'God opened a door,' 'peace about it' — to make right a decision you'd already made?

• Judges 1:34

  The Amorites forced Dan into the mountain. Chapter 18 is the consequence of chapter 1's failure.

• Jeremiah 23:16-17

  Prophets who speak a vision of their own heart and say, 'Ye shall have peace.' Micah's Levite exactly.

• 2 Timothy 4:3-4

  They shall heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. Dan hired the oracle it wanted.

• 1 Kings 12:28-30

  Jeroboam later puts a golden calf in Dan. The tribe's idolatry becomes the northern kingdom's.

• Revelation 7:5-8

  Dan is missing from the list of sealed tribes. Read it and sit with it.

A man preparing to be a pastor can mistake ambition for God's call. Ask God to search your heart. Let the other two men tell you what they see without defending yourself.

One day you will get an offer that is bigger, better paid, and easier. The Levite took it in a single verse. Decide your standards now, in writing, while nothing is on the table.

Confess any desire to be important or well known. Ask God to help you be content with the work He has given you. Pray for the people affected by your choices.