The
six hundred armed Danites took the idols, the ephod and even the priest that
belonged to Micah and they then left for Laish. When they had gone a distance,
Micah who realized what they had done went after them with some men that he had
assembled. When they had overtaken them, they shouted at the Danites, who
turned around and had the audacity to ask, “What is the matter with
you, that you have assembled together?” It’s a situation where the
offender turned unreasonably aggressive.
All
that had happened just go to show how blind both Micah and the Danites were.
They had deteriorated to a point of senselessness. God had been misrepresented.
Both of them had denigrated God and broken the first commandment. Imagine them
fighting over a graven image which was in the first place forbidden by the
first commandment. So foolish were they that they failed to see that an idol
that could be carted around cannot be a god. This passage shows us the stupidity
of idolatry. Yet they could fight over something so foolish. It affirms what
Paul describes in Roman 1:21-22. He shows us that fallen men somehow display a
foolish darkened heart. Thinking that they are wise such people would act
foolishly. Romans 1:23 says that in their foolishness, they “…exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an
image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals
and crawling creatures.”
The
aggressive Danites told Micah to keep the complains he has to himself. They were in no
mood to listen to the complains of Micah, even though they were obviously in
the wrong. They seemed to think that when you have might, then you are
right. Realizing that he and his small band of men could never fight the well-equipped
Danites, Micah backed down and returned home. What he did by stealing from his
mother had come back to haunt him. The religious artefacts that he had revered
had been stolen and taken from him permanently.
Think
of Micah. Think of how much he treasured those relics that were stolen from his
house. Why did he even care to go after the Danites? Did he know that a god
that can be stolen cannot be the true God? If a god that cannot protect itself,
why care to worship such a god? This is a clear indication of the foolishness
of a darkened heart. These verses teach us to be careful concerning what
we set our heart upon. Whatever or whoever they are, when they become the
obsession of our life, they have taken the place of God in our life. Since we
are affected by any object we show extreme devotion to, let us never allow them
to replace our devotion for God. We must take care not to allow any of
those objects to drive us from our love for God. “Guard your heart!” So says God!
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