How would you like to live in a land without laws? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a nation with no government, ethical codes, or moral standards? Can you imagine living in a society where everyone does whatever they want?
The double conclusion of the Book of Judges (ch.17-21) addresses these questions for us. Throughout the book we have seen a repeated pattern: the Israelites become spiritually lazy and fall away from God, God sends a foreign nation to humble them through oppression, they cry out to God to rescue them, God sends them a judge to deliverer them, and then the land experiences peace and prosperity for a time before they lapse again. But with each reoccurring cycle, the judges are progressively worse and the periods of peace become shorter and shorter. Samson’s reign was the straw that broke the camel’s back. After his renegade rule, and now with no judge or king to lead, Israelite society finally decayed to the point of needing a cultural root canal.
When there is no spiritual leadership, no regard for God’s laws, and everyone doing what is right in their own eyes, a society will eventually degenerate into total debauchery. We catch a glimpse of this in Judges 18 which I have titled “Danite Decadence.”
The Spies’ Surprise (1-6)
When the Israelites first settled the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership, the tribe of Dan failed to dislodge the Amorites and never possessed the land that God had originally allotted to them. They dwelled in a few cities like Zorah and Eshtaol, but they did not have a region for themselves. After living for many years as refugees, they became determined to find a piece of land that they could call their own. So, they selected five able men to serve as spies and sent them on a special mission to find a suitable territory for their tribe.
The five spies ventured north and happened upon Micah’s home in the hill country of Ephraim. Micah was the man in Judges 17 who had stolen a large sum of money from his mother and used some of it to purchase the ingredients for a big batch of old-fashioned homemade religion. He set his home up like a temple—he fashioned a shrine, an ephod, household idols, and even paid a Levite to live there be his own personal priest. (On a side note, I want to let you know that if there is anyone wants to offer me a full salary position to be your personal minister, I’m not for sale!!)
When the Danite spies spent the night at Micah’s home, they were surprised to see this makeshift temple and priest serving in the hill country. They recognized the Levite’s Judean drawl and wondered what he was doing there. When they heard the story of the Micah’s idols and Levite becoming his personal priest, they should have been appalled by this despicable display of spiritual decadence, but instead, they were complicit in the apostasy and asked the priest to inquire of God and let them know if their mission would succeed.
The phony priest either used the ephod in an act of pagan divination or he simply played the part of a con-artist fortuneteller, but he told the Danites exactly what they wanted to hear: “Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.” Either way, the priest waded into treacherous water by pronouncing God’s favor on their immoral mission.
It is ironic that the Danites never bothered to consult God before they sent the spies to scour the land, but afterwards they wanted to know if God will give their mission success. This is like praying, “God, by the way, I just wanted to let you know my plan and how I am going to accomplish it. Now will you tell me if it will be successful?”
This scene shows some serious symptoms spiritual decay. The Danites displayed a deliberate disregard for God. They did not seek God’s will for their future, but took matters into their own hands. They even sought divine approval for their apostasy.
Unfortunately, our modern society exhibits some of these same symptoms of spiritual decay. There are many people in our country who try to manipulate God into what they want him to be rather than worship him for who he is! They go through the outward religious motions, but their inward motives are impure. They may even attend church regularly, but their hearts are far from the Lord.
And how many people today seek the Lord’s approval for their wicked acts? We constantly hear the masses clamoring for the church to change its positions on moral issues that God has clearly spoken? They want the church to look more like the world than God. People cry out for God to bless their immoral practices and ungodly behaviors! How about you? Do you try to conform to God’s ideals or do you try to conform God to your ideals?
An Immoral Mission (7-20)
With the priest’s blasphemous blessing upon them, the Danite spies continued north to the land of Laish, where they discovered its lush meadows and fertile fields. They observed the inhabitants there as a quiet, peaceful, and prosperous people. Since they were mostly farmers, they didn’t have an army, weapons, or even a city wall to protect them. Like the sheep they raised, the people of Laish were docile and unsuspecting.
When the spies saw that this land was perfect and easy pickings, they immediately reported back to their tribal leaders. Together, they plotted to pillage the land. Even though they had never sought divine guidance for this immoral mission, they had the audacity to say “for God has given it [the land] into your hands.” (v.10) So, the Danites mustered up an army of 600 mercenaries, took up their weapons of war, and set out to slaughter the innocent lambs of Laish.
The spies led the army along their previous path, and they came upon Micah’s house once again. As they showed thee army the peculiar place, an evil idea entered their minds. Like a scene out of a mobster movie, the spies lined up the muscle at the gate of the house while they confiscated all of the cultic idols for themselves. And when the priest protested the theft, the spies said, “Put your hand on your mouth! Don’t say a word! We’ve got a little deal for you. Let us make you an offer you can’t refuse—how about you come and work for us and be our father and our priest; after all, wouldn’t it be better for you to be the priest of a whole tribe rather than just one man?”
Even though the spies blackmail didn’t give the priest much of a choice, he was delighted by their offer. He knew that this was a chance for him to climb the corporate ladder and earn more money and gain greater prestige. He saw an opportunity for personal advancement and took it without any hesitation.
Do you see how everyone in this story is motivated by pragmatic materialism? The Danites desired a piece of land for themselves and they were willing to do whatever it took to get it. The spies wanted to get their hands on Micah’s idols and were willing to steal and blackmail to get it. Even the priest was willing to sell out his employer for an opportunity to gain wealth and prestige. Where were their morals? Where were their ethics? Where was their sense of right and wrong?
When people reject God’s Word, materialism sets in! People try to substitute all sorts of things in God’s place: money, pleasure, possessions, prestige, advancement, human wisdom, personal happiness, and so on. Happiness can never be achieved by pursuing it, since the pursuit of it involves the absurdity of self-deification. So, all these things that our current society seeks as God-substitutes—its idols—are allusions and materialistic props that are ultimately nothing but absurdities. (Younger 345)
What about you? What drives you? What is your purpose and motivation in life—to achieve wealth, power, popularity, education, amusement, etc? What are you willing to do to get them? Would you compromise your morals or break God’s laws? Is your goal to please yourself or to please God?
The Disintegration of a Society (21-31)
After plundering Micah’s home, the Danites broke camp and headed for Laish, but verse 21 reveals the depth of their devilry—not only did they steal his idols and priest, but they took his whole family, his livestock, and all of the goods from his house. The spies strategically placed Micah’s treasured belongings at the front of the parade so that the infuriated Micah would have to content with the armed soldiers first, should he try to reclaim his stolen property.
Sure enough, Micah wasn’t going to let the vandals get away without a confrontation. When the Danites saw Micah and some of his people coming, they turned around and said, “What is the matter with you? Do you really think you are going to stop us?” Micah knew that he didn’t stand a chance in a fight, so he made a dramatic plea for justice saying, “How can you take away everything I own?” This plea is really ironic coming from a guy who stole everything from his own mother.
At first, the Danites were amused by Micah’s passionate appeal but they quickly became weary of his words and strongly advised him to shut his mouth and go home, lest some angry fellow would cause him or one of his loved ones to lose his life. So, Micah put his tail between his legs and returned to his home.
From there, the Danites continued their quest of corruption by sweeping through the valley of Laish and striking the unsuspecting people with the edge of the sword and burning their city with fire—thus mercilessly annihilating all of the defenseless inhabitants.
After this, the Danites plundered whatever was left and they rebuilt the city for themselves. They named it Dan, after their ancestor, the son of Israel. And if all of this wasn’t bad enough, they established their city a pagan cultic center by setting up the idols that Micah had manufactured and installing Micah’s priest and his sons as their own priests.
The author ends this story with a shocking detail. He finally reveals the identity of the Levite who became Micah’s priest; it was Jonathan, the son or Gershom, the son of Moses! What? This pagan priest was the grandson of Moses, whom God used to deliver the Israelites from 400 years of slavery in Egypt and establish God’s law in the land. In just two short generations, we see how a godly family was completely overcome by idolatry. These were supposed to be the people of God, but they acted more like the Canaanites. This whole story shows us how fast a society can disintegrate into complete decadence.
At the beginning of this sermon I asked you what it would be like to live in a land with no laws, government, moral standards, or ethical codes. Well, this is what it would be like! People would covet, steal, and murder at will. There would be no justice; the weak and defenseless would fall prey to the strong and powerful. Without laws and leadership, a society cannot survive. It will always succumb to sinful human nature and disintegrate into decadence and debauchery.
Furthermore, when a family, church, or society turns its back of God and his laws, it becomes subject to spiritual and moral decay. It happens slowly and subtly at first, but over time it snowballs into a powerful force. Materialism replaces morality! Pragmatism replaces principle! Pleasure replaces propriety! And God is replaced by worthless idols!
As far as our commitment to the Lord and his laws, where do you think we are as a nation today? Where is your family? Where are you?