Judges 18:1 – 12 “In those days there was no king in Israel, and the tribe of the Danites was looking for territory to occupy. For up to that time they had not come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them. The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night. And while they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?” “Micah has done this and that for me,” he replied, “and he has hired me to be his priest.”
Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to determine whether we will have a successful journey.” And the priest told them, “Go in peace. The LORD is watching over your journey.” So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, tranquil and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. And they were far away from the Sidonians and had no alliance with anyone.
When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, “What did you find?” They answered, “Come on, let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why would you fail to act? Do not hesitate to go there and take possession of the land! When you enter, you will come to an unsuspecting people and a spacious land, for God has given it into your hands. It is a place where nothing on earth is lacking.”
So six hundred Danites departed from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war. They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. That is why the place west of Kiriath-jearim is called Mahaneh-dana to this day. And from there they traveled to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.”
APPLICATION: Why was the tribe of Dan wandering around several generations after Joshua had given them their inheritance? (Joshua 19) The territory the tribe of Dan selected was west of Jerusalem and extended to the Mediterranean Sea. It extended north of the territory assigned to Judah and south of the territory given to Ephraim. But the tribe of Dan never occupied their inheritance. Judges 1:34-35 “The Amorites confined the Danites to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain. And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres, Aijalon and Shaalbim..” The Philistines also opposed the Danites and ruled over them.
What was the problem of the Danites? The Danites failed to trust God or worship Him and they also wanted their inheritance to be handed to them. While 85 year old Caleb was down in Hebron conquering the local giants, the Danites were whining because they didn’t really want to fight as hard as they should have. The result was that the Danites were squeezed into a small area in the hill country. This passage describes the hunt of the Danites for the new territory that they eventually found in the northeast corner of Israel. The ruins of the ancient city of Dan are so close to the borders of Syria and Lebanon that if one looks north, one sees Lebanon and if one looks east, one sees Syria. And while the spies who returned to Dan might have brought an encouraging report, the plain fact is that Dan still wound up with a fraction of the land they would have possessed had they conquered the territory originally allotted to them. (Source material from: https://www.neverthirsty.org/bible-qa/qa-archives/question/did-tribe-dan-move-does-judges18-1-contradict-joshua19-48/)
The tragedy of the tribe of Dan was two – fold: they lacked the will for prolonged struggle against the Amorites and the Philistines and they failed to trust and worship the One True Living God who had brought them into the land and who had promised to give it to them. Had the Danites trusted God and worshiped Him, they would have succeeded in conquering their enemies. God wanted the Danites to succeed; however, God could not bless their efforts when they refused to trust Him.
Perhaps today you are facing enemies that seem invincible. You heartily wish that God would let you go somewhere else where things are easier. But if God has called you to hard places, then God will guide you and give you the strength and courage to go through whatever it takes to succeed. And remember, worship is just as much a form of spiritual warfare as is prayer. The more we worship God, the more we apprehend the magnitude of His power and the more encouraged we will be in our faith.
PRAYER: Father God, help us to never look back but to look forward to You as You lead us and guide us. Help us to realize that when we face giant problems, we do not face them alone but that You are always with us. Help us to worship You in spirit and in truth. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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