Once again I have learned something new. I thought that the conquest of Canaan was over by the period of the Judges. I was wrong. Write that down somewhere….
I noticed a phrase about the people of the tribe of Dan scouting out a town called Laish. That sounded familiar so I looked it up. I discovered that this same story is in Joshua 19:47. What does that tell me? Well, it means that the period of the Judges must have started at the time they entered the land. Joshua has been dead for years when this part of the story happened, so the author of the book of Joshua must have written his account many years after the actual events occurred, otherwise he couldn’t have mentioned this account.
Musing about that for a second, I considered that the Israelites had been in the Promised Land for many years without capturing all of it.
That thought led me to the conclusion that their return to idol worship must have been a gradual descent over many years.
Why would a Levite (who of all people, should know better) agree to use an idol and other false items of worship? How is it that Micah wasn’t killed by the tribe of Dan when they saw him with an idol? But you see, this is written so that the reader may understand what is happening within the community of Israel. The author records this particular event instead of the hundreds of other things that happened because this one marks a turning point in their history. The tribe of Dan first rejected their allotment of land, remember that? They didn’t have enough faith to trust God and fight to rid the land of the wicked people who lived there. Instead, they left their inheritance and wandered up to Laish, where they murdered an unsuspecting and innocent village. God never told Dan to move into this area, and He never authorized them to worship a false idol, and He never permitted the priests to perform their functions outside of the temple area.
The tribe of Dan has drifted over the last 300 years. They have gone from conquerors to alley cats. Their honor is gone, they can no longer claim any moral or spiritual “high ground”. They have become just like all the other people around them.
In fact, as you read today’s passage, you might find that what happened to Samson is a metaphor for what happened to the tribe of Dan…and perhaps to the whole nation. Samson completely violated his nazarite vow, and lived a defeated life until in one final burst of repentance and devotion he brought the house down on top of himself. Clearly this wasn’t the way that God wanted Samson to rule, but He honored his last request by filling him with the power of the Holy Spirit a final time.
We can rejoice that God is patient and forgiving, and filled with mercy as we read this passage, because we know that even when the person, or the nation fails to be obedient God still loves, and will restore us. At the same time, we should recognize that small bad decisions have large bad consequences. I’m thinking back to the failure to remain in their own territory (Dan) and as for Samson, there was the honey from a dead lion, the jawbone of a donkey and the cutting of his hair.
Let’s covenant together to remain obedient in the small things….and the larger obstacles will melt away in front of us.
Faithfully,
PR