BIBLE STUDY LESSON 19
MICAH AND THE DANITES
THE THEFT OF THE GODS
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. So 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. So 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 God’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.
TEST YOURSELF
1.) How many Danites came to capture Micah’s idols?
A) One hundred
B) Two hundred
C) Five hundred
D) Six hundred
2.) What happened to the people of Laish?
A) They were slaughtered mercilessly
B) They were driven out of their homes and into the old residence of the Danites
C) They were made slaves to the Danites
D) They merged with the Danites, intermarrying
3.) What is a “teraphim”?
A) A smiling space monkey
B) A small goat
C) A short angel
D) A house idol
4.) How does a “graven image” differ from other idols?
A) It is less than three feet tall
B) It is used for day to day sacrifice, instead of special occasions
C) It is green rather than yellow
D) It is carved, rather than cast from molten metal |
