Judges 18:1-13

Danites Seek Territory

18 In those days there was no king of Israel; and in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day [a]an inheritance had not [b]been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel. So the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, [c]valiant men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, “Go, search the land.” And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. When they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite; and they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?” He said to them, “Thus and so has Micah done to me, and he has hired me and I have become his priest.” They said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be prosperous.” The priest said to them, “Go in peace; your way in which you are going [d]has the Lord’s approval.”

Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were in it living in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no [e]ruler humiliating them for anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. When they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” They said, “Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you [f]sit still? Do not delay to go, to enter, to possess the land. 10 When you enter, you will come to a secure people with a spacious land; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.”

11 Then from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war set out. 12 They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place [g]Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is [h]west of Kiriath-jearim. 13 They passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.

The men of Dan had this going for them at least, when they weren’t sure what to do, they asked God for guidance. As they scouts were traveling, they found the Levite. Since they were traveling in unknown territory, they asked him to inquire of God for them.

As I write that, it occurs to me that we have a tremendous privilege in this day. The scouts dared not go to God directly, it was only for the priest to do so. Yet after Jesus came and conquered death, and then sent the Holy Spirit to believers, we see a different story.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that we can boldly approach the very throne of God. For now, Jesus himself is our intercessor, we need no man to ask of God for us. What an incredible privilege, that we can talk to God directly. It brings us one step closer to what God intended, for us to walk and talk with Him. Now we see in a glass darkly, but then we shall see face to face. And in the old days, one could make the analogy that they dared not even look in the glass. Don’t be shy, God wants to hear from His children. Talk to him, anytime, about anything, and don’t forget your Father is waiting for you.

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