Text: Judges 18 Theme: Tribe of Dan
Introduction:
The Book of Judges has a two-part introduction (1:1—2:5; 2:6—3:41). The main section (3:5—16:31) deals with the life and times of some of the judges who ruled during this period of time. The final section of Judges has a two-part conclusion. The first part is (17:1—18:31) and the second part is found in chapters 19-21. This story shows how the sins of one leader can corrupt first a priest, then an entire tribe, and eventually an entire kingdom. First of all, we have already been given the reason why the Danites did not fully possess the inheritance that was allotted to them by Joshua. The second important piece of background information is the stories of the sending of the spies to spy out the land of Canaan. Third, the land the Danites possess in our text was not part of the territory allotted to them by Joshua.
The Danite Idolatry:
The Danites seek an inheritance (Judges 18:1-12), Their robbery (Judges 18:13-26), Laish taken, and idolatry consummated (Judges 18:27-31). The Danites decide to find a new place to live. They send five scouts/spies. The spies came to the land of the tribe of Ephraim and the house of Micah, stopped for the night at Micah's estate. There they recognized the accent of Levite and understood that he was from the southern part of Judea. “These Danites on a sinful mission met with a sinful Levite and wanted to know from a righteous God if their mission would be successful” (Enduring word). Further after the inquiry with Levite, the Danite travelled to the far north of the Promised Land. They found a town called Laish, 160 kilo meters, from their current placement and beyond the northern end of the Sea of Galilee. Micah disappeared during the course of the invasion. The Levite was Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh. Later King Jeroboam I made Dan a center for idolatrous calf worship to keep the northern 10 tribes from wanting to go back to Jerusalem to worship Jehovah (1 Kings 12:29-30).
Land of Dan:
The tribe of Dan was a group of people who descended from the fifth son of Jacob, Dan. The Israelites came into the land of Canaan, by lot certain areas of territory were assigned to each tribe. We read in Joshua 19:40, “The seventh lot fell to the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families.” The Danite allotment was at the west end of the strip of land between Judah and Ephraim. The tribe of Dan was given a tract of land that was fertile and also had a boundary along the Mediterranean Sea where there was fishing and commerce available to them.
Amorites forced the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley. Thus, they failed to possess their original allotment (Joshua 19:41-46). They never fully conquered this area as a result of a lack of faith in God. “In those days there was no king of Israel; and in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day an inheritance had not been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel.” (Judges 18:1). Now they conquered the Laish and called it a city of Dan. It became the most prominent northern city in Israel. The phrase “from Dan to Beersheba” (Judges 20:1, 1 Samuel 3:20) meant, “from the north to the south of Israel” indicating all of Israel.
But Joshua 19:47 says, “The territory of the sons of Dan proceeded beyond them; for the sons of Dan went up and fought with Leshem and captured it. Then they struck it with the edge of the sword and possessed it and settled in it, and they called Leshem Dan after the name of Dan their father.”
Judges 17 and 18 are interconnected. These chapters explain the problems of the idolatry spread from the family of Micah to the Tribe of Dan. Spiritual corruption in the home will eventually spread to society and to a whole tribe. The tribe of Dan established a center of false worship with a focus on Micah's carved image. He and his sons serve as the first false priests in a pattern lasting until Dan's invasion by the Assyrians centuries later (Judges 18:27–31).
Missing Tribe of Dan in Revelation 7:
The twelve tribes of Israel came from the twelve sons of Israel (Genesis 32:28). Jacob’s twelve sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin (Genesis 35:23–26; Exodus 1:1–4; 1 Chronicles 2:1–2). Commentators through the centuries have proposed the following reasons why the tribe of Dan is not included in the list: Dan’s historical embrace of idolatry and immorality leads to a disqualification for service during the end times. The Antichrist will come from the tribe of Dan (Genesis 49:17; Deuteronomy 33:22; and Jeremiah 8:16). By the time of Solomon, the tribe of Dan had assimilated with the neighbouring Phoenicians (2 Chronicles 2:14) and so lost their national identity. The tribe of Dan, by Ezra’s time, had been totally wiped out. So, Dan is not listed among the tribes in 1 Chronicles 4—7 or in Revelation 7.
Discussion: What key lessons you learned through this chapter?
(Ref: Austin Precept; bible ref; bible.org; Enduring Word Commentary; inspired Scripture; Bible Hub).
