Judges 18:1-13 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Judges 18:1-13. Let’s go!
Judges 18:1 (NIV)
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.
On verse 1: Although the Danites were allotted land as their inheritance (Joshua 19:40-48), the Danites had not taken over that land. They were slow to take over the inheritance that God had allotted to them, so they end up searching for other land instead. Likewise, when we are slow to take possession of all that God has for us, we will end up looking for and settling for something else.
Judges 18:2-6 (NIV)
2 So the Danites sent five warriors from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it. These men represented all their clans. They told them, “Go, explore the land.” The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.
3 When they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they turned in there and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”
4 He told them what Micah had done for him, and said, “He has hired me and I am his priest.”
5 Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to learn whether our journey will be successful.”
6 The priest answered them, “Go in peace. Your journey has the LORD’s approval.”
On verses 2-6: The spies that Dan sent spend the night at Micah’s house. There they ask Micah’s in-house priest to inquire of the LORD for them to see if their journey will be successful. The quick, immediate reply from the priest suggests that the priest didn’t bother to inquire of God and simply presumed that the men’s journey had the LORD’s approval. How dangerous it is when we presume to know what God thinks about a particular plan without seeking His face.
Judges 18:7-13 (NIV)
7 So the five men left and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, unsuspecting and secure. And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous. Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians and had no relationship with anyone else.
8 When they returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, “How did you find things?”
9 They answered, “Come on, let’s attack them! We have seen that the land is very good. Aren’t you going to do something? Don’t hesitate to go there and take it over.
10 When you get there, you will find an unsuspecting people and a spacious land that God has put into your hands, a land that lacks nothing whatever.”
11 Then six hundred men from the clan of the Danites, armed for battle, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol.
12 On their way they set up camp near Kiriath Jearim in Judah. This is why the place west of Kiriath Jearim is called Mahaneh Dan to this day.
13 From there they went on to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.
On verses 7-13: Instead of going after the land that God had allotted to them, the tribe of Dan preys upon other land occupied by a group of unsuspecting Sidonians. When we don’t pray and ask God for strength and guidance, we can end up preying upon things we were never intended to get involved with, doing much harm in the process.
Father, I pray that I would go after everything You have allotted for me and not settle for anything else or anything less. Thank You that You will give me strength to do so when I look to You. May I be a person who prays to You rather than a person who preys on others. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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