Micah, The Levite, and the Tribe of Dan - The Book of Judges

In this Bible Story, the tribe of Dan steals idols from the house of Micah, and siege an innocent village. The tribe of Dan found a home at the expense of others, and Israel continued to sin before God. This story is inspired by Judges 17-18. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Judges 18:6 from the King James Version.

Episode 70: Israel was descending into madness, right and wrong went out the door and everyone did what they wanted. From the hill country of Ephraim an Israelite named Micah stole silver from his mother. But when he returned it his mother made him an idol out of it and it became one of his household gods. One day, a Levite, who was not content serving in the tabernacle, decided to look for work elsewhere and Micah, seeing him wandering, appointed him to be the priest of his house thinking that God would bless him for this. But God will not bless foolishness just because we place his name on it. Micah ended up losing the Levite and his idols. And their sin became the sin of an entire tribe.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray, and the priest said, unto them, go
in peace before the Lord is your way, wherein ye go,
Judge is eighteen six, Heavenly Father. As I observe my life,
I will make sure that small compromises won't erode my
sense of what's right and wrong. I will not take

(00:23):
what does not belong to me, no matter how appealing
it may be for my life. Help me to discern
what is for me and what needs to exit my life.
I denounce the shackles of faithlessness that the enemy tries
to tether around me. I will fortify my faith by

(00:43):
making sure I keep my heart and my eyes fixed
on you, Lord, my rock and my fortress. I declare
that any false idols that I have set up in
my life, either knowing or unknowing, are being demolished and
torn for my life. Today, Holy Spirit, show me where

(01:04):
I am spiritually settling instead of boldly seizing the promise
and personal growth You've destined for me to have. Through
Micah's life, I can see how compromise destroys the very
thing you are trying to keep when you misalign yourself
with wrong thinking and unfruitful relationships. However, today that will

(01:28):
not be my story, that is not a chapter in
my book of becoming. I declare that I am idle free.
I declare that my heart is more focused than ever before,
and I declare that your face is all I will pursue.
It is not the time to shrink or settle. It's

(01:50):
time for me to take ground in Jesus name. Amen.
Thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.
To learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story,
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Speaker 2 (02:18):
Micah, the Levite and the Tribe of Dan. In our
last story, we learned about Samson's weakness for Delilah, leading
him to reveal the secret to taking away his strength.
Samson was bound and captured by the Philistines, and they
gouged out his eyes. Samson, with one final push, with

(02:39):
the strength of God, toppled the Philistine temple and killed
three thousand. In this story, we learn about the dark
ages of Israel, where everybody did what was right in
their own eyes. We follow the life of Micah, a
man struggling to find peace in the tribe of Dan,

(02:59):
a tribes struggling to find home. Inspired by the Book
of Judges.

Speaker 3 (03:07):
Hello, I'm Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in
the Dallas area. With today's episode of The Bible in
a Year. In yesterday's episode, we heard the tragic but
redemptive conclusion of Samson's life story. His failure wasn't final,
and God gave him another chance to finish well in victory.
His sin and his pride got the better of him.

(03:29):
He was captured and tortured and mocked. But in the end,
Samson made things right with God and gave himself in
a sacrifice to destroy three thousand Philistine idol worshipers in
their pagan temple. Today we'll hear is Israel once again
descends into darkness, given over to their own desires and
moral relativism, where each person did whatever was right in

(03:52):
their own eyes. We'll hear the story of Micah and
his moral and spiritual confusion, and we'll learn about the
tribe of Dan searched for a home, and how one
man's actions led to a whole community of idolators. It
is a story about how something small can grow into
a fire that consumes and destroys everything in its path,

(04:13):
and it is once again a story of God's patience
and undying love for his children. So let's listen now
to today's reading.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
The state of Israel was descending into madness. All tradition, devotion,
and prayer was deluded by the worship of false gods.
All sense of right and wrong was eroded by years
of small compromise, and the Israelites found themselves in an
apathetic days. It was truly a different form of captivity.

(04:45):
Instead of being chained by an opposing nation, they were
shackled by their own faithlessness. During that time, there was
a man who lived in the hill country of Ephriam
named Micah. Micah was a confused but honest man. One day,
he stole one thousand, one hundred pieces of silver from

(05:05):
his mother. When his mother cursed the silver because it
was stolen, Micah quickly returned it. When Micah returned the
silver to his mother, she melted it down and made
a carved image. I dedicate this to the Lord and
to my son, she said. So Micah erected a shrine
for his carved image and placed it there with other

(05:27):
household gods. There on the hills of Israel. Micah began
to build his own little temple for false gods to
mingle with the God of Israel. Micah, impressed with his exploits,
appointed his son as priest over his household. Micah's debased
practice revealed a sickness that plagued the hearts of Israel.

(05:48):
Micah paid no attention to God's law to not create
any false gods. Instead, he nodded in approval at the
wonderful work he had done. Little did he know he
was creating attempt of straw waiting to be blown away
by the wind. A young man was passing through the
hill country near Micah. He was a Levite from the

(06:09):
family of Judah. Levites had a home for themselves, serving
God and the people of God. But this man wanted
to forge his own way and do what was right
in his own eyes. Micah spotted the young man from
Afar and brought him near. Where do you come from,
Micah asked, I am a Levite of Bethlehem. I have

(06:30):
come from far to find my own place and forge
my own path. The young man responded, come in and
stay with me. Awhile, Micah said, I am in need
of a priest over my shrine. I will pay you
ten pieces of silver a year, and provide you with
a home and food. The Levite agreed, and the two
of them worshiped their idols as well as the God

(06:53):
of Israel. Micah was convinced that having a Levite in
his home would bring him blessings from God, for in
his mind, title was all that mattered. He would be
terribly mistaken. There was no king and no judge to
rule over Israel. Each man and woman wrote their own
laws and lived by their own desires. The tribe of Dan,

(07:16):
instead of bravely seizing the land God had intended for them,
shrunk away and lived without a home. So they wandered
in search of an inheritance. One day, the tribe of
Dan sent out spies to scour the country and search
for land to conquer. On their travels, they stumbled upon
the house of Micah. When they saw that there was

(07:37):
a Levite among them. The men were curious, who brought
you here? They asked, what is your business here? Micah
has hired me as his priest, so I dwell here,
he said. The Danites perked up with curiosity. Levites were
rare and the chosen priests of God. The people of
Israel craved any sort of favor from God they could get,

(08:00):
for their interaction with him was few and far between.
Please ask God if we will succeed in finding land
for ourselves. The Danites requested, go in peace. The Levites said,
the Lord will watch over you. So the Danites left
with confidence. The men traveled far and came to the
land of Layish that was inhabited by the Sidonians. The

(08:23):
Sidonians were quiet people. They kept to themselves, intended to
the fields around them. Children played in the grass while
their mothers and fathers farmed and tended to their herds.
The Danites saw that the land was rich and the
Sidonian people were weak. Like a wolf licking its chops
at a helpless lamb, the Danites planned their attack. Six

(08:45):
hundred men from the tribe of Dan rose against the
Sidonians with weapons of war and hatred. They marched towards
the hill country and passed by the home of Micah
once again. The five men that spoke to the Levite
approached the home with their weapons. While Michael was gone,
they burst through the door and took Micah's shrine, his
carved image, and his household. Gods then they turned to

(09:09):
the Levite. He cowered in the corner, afraid of what
they might do to him. The five men approached him
with their swords in hand. Slowly, one of them brought
his sword to the Levite's chest and said, tell me
what is better. A sly grin arose from his face,
to be a priest to one man or to a
whole tribe. It took a moment for the Levite to

(09:31):
understand what the man was saying, but when he did,
his frown was replaced by a smile. The men embraced
and laughed. The levite packed his things and left with
the six hundred men, leaving Micah's home ransacked and emptied
of all its gods. Micah discovered that his possessions had
been taken, so he gathered surrounding men to ambush the

(09:53):
tribe of Dan. They ran towards the six hundred men,
sending the children out in front of them so Dan
not attack first, using children as a human shield. Micah
spoke with a booming voice filled with anger, how dare
you take what is mine? What is wrong with you
that you would take my gods and my priest? He
shouted the men of Dan turned around and stared at

(10:16):
Micah in his small army of children and villagers. They
posed no threat to them. Shut up, they yelled, turn around,
or you will lose your life along with the lives
of your household. The people of Dan turned their backs
to him and walked away. Micah, now cooling down from
his rage, realized that he was no match for them.

(10:37):
Ashamed and stripped of his false sense of holiness, Micah
wandered back to his broken home alone. The sun was
setting and the people of Dan looked upon the land
of leysh The city was quiet.

Speaker 1 (10:51):
A subtle whistle.

Speaker 2 (10:52):
Of the wind blew through the valley. The tribe of
Dan descended down the hills into the valley. They passed
each home quickly and struck down each member of the
city with the edge of the sword. Not a scream
could be heard, for their swords swung swiftly and in
total surprise. After the men had struck down every soul

(11:12):
with their blades, they set the city on fire for
good measure. The flames illuminated the skies. Dan rebuilt the
city and inhabited it. They named the city Dan, and
their families thrived in their new home. They set up
the carved images they stole from Micah and set them
in the house of God. What began as small idolatry

(11:35):
for Micah turned into the idolatry of an entire tribe
of Israel. The entirety of Dan knelt down to the
silver image that was formed by Micah's mother, and their
descent into more madness continued. God looked upon them, still
loving and still patient. He remained waiting for a moment

(11:56):
to deliver his people once again.

Speaker 3 (12:01):
We begin today's reading with Micah, a young man in
Ephraim and right out of the gate our protagonist and
mitched a theft. He seems to be convicted by his
own conscience when he hears his mother curse the silver
that was stolen, so he tells his mother that he
had stolen it and gives it back to her. Micah's
mother then melts some of the silver and has it

(12:23):
turned into a graven image, an idol, which she dedicates
to God and her son. Micah in turn, places the
image in a shrine in his house, filled with other
religious symbols and household gods. Clearly, the culture of Israel
has gone off the rails. Micah and his Mother, give
us a picture of this syncretism, a blending of different religions,

(12:46):
the dedication of things to God that do not worship
him and him alone. It is a picture of the
culture all around them. And we then hear these words
in Judges seventeen six. In those days there was no
king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his
own eyes. There perhaps no more dangerous words for a

(13:09):
society than that last sentence. Everyone did what was right
in his own eyes. That is a recipe for a disaster.
This is a recipe for judgment. That is where Israel
finds itself, looking not to God for governance and guidance
or morality, but to whatever seemed right to every person.

(13:31):
It was moral relativism. With his newly erected shrine, Micah
searches for a way to legitimize his worship, and a
traveling levite seems to be just the answer. Micah assumes
that this man of a priestly lineage has the right
title to bring him the blessings of God. Together, Micah
and his priests engage in idolatry, clearly violating God's law.

(13:55):
But as we've already seen, established Israel wasn't looking up
for guidance or governors. They were looking around and looking
to themselves. We then meet the tribe of Dead, a
tribe living without a home because they lacked the courage
to seize the land God had given them. They wandered
around looking for land to take as their inheritance, and
when they came upon Micah's household, they met the Levite

(14:18):
priests and sought the lord's favor from him. The priest
told them to go in peace, that God would watch
over them. This filled them with boldness, and they left
in search of land. They traveled far away and found
the land that they could easily take. And as they
marched out toward the conquest, they passed by Micah's home,
entered it, and stole the carved image of Silver and

(14:40):
the other gods. And then they called the Levite priest
to join them. He gladly left for what he thought
was greener pastures. When Micah discovered the theft, he assembled
an army to take back what was his, but his
efforts were futile. He was no match for the Danites,
who marched on into the land they wanted, killed its
inhabitants and burned the city they rebuilt the city built

(15:02):
the House of God, but filled it with other gods,
including Micah's silver idol. How crazy does this seem that
these people were fighting over false gods and carved images.
It's a tragedy. God's people have sinned and strayed so
far from him that he was considered just another among
all these false gods. Let's pray together. Lord. We know

(15:26):
the dangers of moral relativism and any faith that looks
to anyone else but you. We know that we are
to guard our hearts, O God, and not build idols
in our hearts or worship anything or anyone but you. Lord.
We thank you for your son, Jesus Christ, who is
the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And we know

(15:49):
according to John fourteen six, that no one comes to you,
Oh God the Father, except through Jesus, and we pray
in his name. Amen. Thank you really listening today to
the Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas,
pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church. Download Theprey dot com app
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(16:12):
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