SERIES H --- THE JUDGES --- LESSON 19

MICAH AND THE DANITES

THE THEFT OF THE YHVHS

From Judges 18:14-31

When the band of Danites reached Micah’s home, their five spies spoke to them. ‘Do you realize that this household has an ephod, a carved idol, a moulded idol and teraphim?’ they said. ‘What do you think we should do about these things?’ The five spies went up to Micah’s house where the young Levite was living and asked him how he was. While the six hundred Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood guard at the gate, the five spies went into the shrine and took the idols, the ephod and the teraphim. When they carried these things out, the Levite, who had been standing with the six hundred men at the gate, shouted to them. ‘What are you doing?’ he demanded. ‘Keep your voice down!’ the spies ordered. ‘You’re coming with us. We want you to be our priest. Don’t you think it’s better for you to be priest for a whole tribe instead of one man?’ The young priest was pleased by their suggestion. Taking the ephod, the teraphim and the idols he left Micah’s home in the procession of the Danites, the children and cattle going first. They had gone some distance before Micah discovered his loss, called his neighbours to arms and went after the Danites. When the Danites heard Micah and his neighbours shouting at them, they turned around to face him. ‘What’s the matter with you?’ they demanded. ‘Why are you coming after us with such a crowd of men?’ ‘How can you ask such a question?’ Micah shouted back. ‘You have stolen my gods and my priest and run away with them. What do I have left? Then you ask what the matter with me is!’ ‘You’d better watch what you say!’ the Danites replied. ‘Some of our men may become angry and kill you and your friends!’ Then they turned away from Micah and went on their way. There was nothing that Micah could do; there were too many Danites to fight. He and his neighbours went back home. Meanwhile, the Danites went on to Laish and killed all those quiet, unsuspecting people, burning the city with fire. There was no one to help the people of Laish, for they were too far from their friends and relatives in Sidon and they did not have arrangements with their neighbouring cities. The city which the Danites took and then rebuilt was in the Valley of Beth-Rehob. When they rebuilt the city, they named it ‘Dan’ for their ancestor and continued to live there. They found a place for the idols they had stolen and named Jonathan, a descendant of Gershom, Moses’ son, to be their priest. Jonathan’s family were priests at Dan until the time of the captivity. Micah’s idols remained there as long as the tabernacle was at Shiloh.

COMMENTARY

MAKING MOLTEN IMAGES

The smiths in Canaan were kept busy with the endless demand for molten images of the many Canaanite deities. People carried the idols with them if they were small enough, believing the gods lived inside the statues or even that the metal figurines actually were the gods. Astarte, goddess of childbirth and fertility and Baal, the strongest deity of all, were the most popular. The Canaanites often used an animal, such as a snake or a calf, to represent a particular deity. Baal for example was presented as a bull. Metalworkers fashioned incense stands adorned with such creatures and made small animal figurines to place before temple altars. Larger animal statues were presented with offerings and worshiped as though they were the gods themselves. Although Israelite Law expressly forbade idol worship, many Israelites set up idols and shrines in their homes. House idols were called {teraphim} and there were usually several of them. Owning teraphim was considered evidence of leadership in a family and the head of a house who owned them; preferably in gold or silver; had proved himself worthy of his family’s respect. Teraphim were believed to protect the household and offer guidance. Many people thought the idols could predict the future and even mediums and wizards who claimed magical powers depended on them for direction. The wealthy acquired idols cast from gold or silver. Because these precious metals were so costly, statues made of them were usually hollow. Sometimes bronze was used and then plated with gold or silver. Favourite idols were often arrayed in chains and jewellery. For the less wealthy, images were cast in solid iron or moulded from clay. The poor used images made from woods like cedar or oak. The biblical expression {graven images} was given to the idols that were carved or engraved rather than cast from liquid; molten; metal. The judges and prophets pleaded with the Israelites for generations, warning them not to worship lifeless figures that could not move, speak or help anyone. They reminded the Israelites of YHVH’s Commandments against the worship of false images. Because molten images were made by men, the prophets angrily called them gods of wind and emptiness.

"As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear, so is a wicked ruler over the poor people."

Pr 28

The new moon was spotted in Israel! It is now the start of the 12th Biblical month. Happy Rosh Chodesh!

Some *possible* symbolism in the materials of the Tabernacle:

Gold and white linen = purity/righteousness
Silver = blood/atonement/redemption
Bronze = judgment/repentance
Wood = Living flesh, aka man

The Cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant are two witnesses and probably represent the Cherubim in God's throne room.

Rav Tachuma said the acacia trees for the wood were planted in Egypt by Jacob and harvested by Moses at the Exodus. Probably not literally true, but consider that Israel is also a Tabernacle planted by Jacob and harvested by Moses at the Exodus.

See more possible symbolism here...

https://soilfromstone.blogspot.....com/2017/03/materia

 

soilfromstone.blogspot.com

Soil from Stone: Materials of the Mishkan

If you're following the annual Torah readings, then you've been reading about the Tabernacle (aka Mishkan) for weeks. Here are some of my th...

Q79: In the parable of the Prodigal Son, who was the person who squandered his inheritance on wild living?

#quiz

PS: Discussions are very welcome, but please do not give the answer away in your discussions.





Luke 15:11-32

Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me.
#exodus 25:2

Anything given to God is holy. Don't change your mind or take it back. Remember Achan in Joshua 7. Remember Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. Our contributions to God's Kingdom are God's, not ours. We might benefit from the things that God has enabled us to bring, but that's not why we give. #trumah

https://www.americantorah.com/....2010/02/20/terumah-5

THE LAW OF LOVE, an excerpt

Gen 19:1-38, The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

So far we have seen the pattern in the Bible, that when punishment, curse, destruction, or judgment comes from the throne of the Lord, He is painting by it a picture of salvation by grace through faith. The history is prophesying and revealing to us what the gospel of the kingdom is. This holds true even in the history of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Unrepented sin leads to death, for judgment is coming on the cities because of their unrepented sin. However, in the midst of that judgment, just as in the midst of the judgment of Noah’s Flood, the righteous are given the warning to escape the wrath that is coming, and to flee to preserve their lives. The history of the judgment poured out is a prophetic picture painted of the gospel of the kingdom:

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 6:23 KJV

The gospel is proclaimed in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah: we earn death for ourselves because of sin, but if we will heed His warning, God will gift us with life.

https://nothingnewpress.com/store/the-law-of-love/

#homeschooling #whywehomeschool #nothingnewpress

SERIES H --- THE JUDGES --- LESSON 18

FAITH LOST

SILVER IDOLS AND A PERSONAL PRIEST

From Judges 17:1 -18:13

Once there was a man named Micah who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. ‘Do you remember the eleven hundred pieces of silver which you thought someone had stolen from you?’ he asked his mother one day. ‘You even spoke a curse and I heard it. Don’t worry about it anymore, for I was the one who took it.’ ‘May Adonai bless you,’ his mother said. ‘I’m so glad you told me.’ Then Micah gave the money to his mother. ‘I will dedicate this money to Adonai in your name,’ Micah’s mother told him. ‘We will use it to carve an idol and cover it with silver. In that way, I shall return the money to you’. When Micah gave the pieces of silver to his mother, she took two hundred of them to a silversmith, who made an idol for Micah’s house. Micah added this idol to the shrine in his house, where he also put an ephod and teraphim; and he installed one of his sons as priest. Israel had no king in those days; everyone did whatever he pleased. One day a young Levite, a priest, happened to come along that way from Bethlehem looking for a place where he could live. When he arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, he stopped at Micah’s house for a visit. ‘Where did you come from?’ asked Micah. ‘Bethlehem,’ the young Levite answered. ‘I have come from the land of Judah and would like to live here for a while.’ ‘You may live here,’ said Micah. ‘If you will be my priest, I will give you ten pieces of silver each year as well as your room, board and clothing.’ The young man accepted Micah’s offer and became his personal priest. Micah was pleased with the arrangement too. ‘I’m sure that Adonai will bless me now, for I have a priest who is a Levite.’ Although the tribe of Dan had been assigned a part of the land for their home, they had been unable to drive out the people who already lived there. They began to look for a territory where they could settle down and build their homes. Since Israel had no king, the Danites decided to take matters into their own hands. They sent five spies from Zorah and Eshtaol to explore the land. ‘Search the land to see what you can find,’ the spies were told. When they came to the hill country of Ephraim, the five spies happened to stay at Micah’s house, where they met the young Levite. When they noticed the young Levite’s accent, they took him aside to talk with him. ‘Who brought you to this place?’ they asked. ‘Why are you here?’ ‘Micah and I have an arrangement,’ he said. ‘I have become his personal priest.’ ‘Then ask YHVH if we will succeed on our trip,’ they said. ‘Don’t worry,’ the Levite said. ‘Your trip will succeed, for Adonai is watching over you.’ The five spies left Micah’s home and went to Laish where they explored the city. They found that the city would be easy to conquer, for the people had not planned for an attack because there were no other strong tribes in that area. These were wealthy people, living a Phoenician lifestyle, yet living too far from their friends and relatives in Sidon to receive much help in case of attack. The spies then made their way home to Zorah and Eshtaol. ‘What do you have to report?’ the people asked. ‘We found a land that is rich and broad and has everything we need!’ they said. ‘Let’s not hesitate to go up now to capture it. The people don’t suspect a thing and YHVH has already given it to us.’ Six hundred men from the tribe of Dan prepared for battle and set forth from Zorah and Eshtaol. They first camped west of Kiriath-jearim in a place called Mahaneh-dan, ‘The Camp of Dan,’ as it is still called at the time of this writing. From there they went on through the hill country of Ephraim, making their way to the house of Micah.

COMMENTARY

MIGRATION OF THE TRIBE OF DAN

The last chapters of the Book of judges tell of Israel’s lawlessness during those days. The accounts show how far Israel had drifted from YHVH. The story of Micah, who thought he would please YHVH by making idols and hiring a Levite as a priest, show how much of YHVH’s Law had been forgotten. On a map of early Israel, Dan was a tribal region in the south, not far from the city of Beersheba. After years of struggling, the Danites gave up their attempt to control this land. Fighting the Amorites and the Philistines proved too difficult, so the tribe sent spies across Canaan to search for an area easier to settle. The spies travelled a long distance to the north before they found a sparsely populated region. In a fertile valley on the edge of Phoenician land they discoverer the unguarded prosperous town, Laish. The soldiers of Dan attacked the city and captured it. The families of the tribe then journeyed from the old Dan in the south to their new home in the north. They rebuilt the city and gave it the tribal name, Dan. The distance from their old home to the new Dan almost covers the entire land of Israel.