No Leadership

 

    A leader cannot be a leader if they are not present.  The people need to see them.  Leadership comes from more than giving orders.  It is about hands on direction.  It is about letting people see that they are people that they make mistakes too, but deal with the mistakes instead of brushing them under the rug.

    The Israelite nation did not have a king and they wanted one, so that they could be more like other nations.  It is sad when God makes a person or nation special and all they want to be is normal.  He had given them judges to lead by example, not a king to dictate over them.  It seems like the more the world became populated the more people stopped seeking God.  Maybe we are the distraction more than things.  We would probably be content with life if we were not constantly comparing ourselves to others.

    At this point in history the Danites still did not have their promised land.  It had been about 300-400 years since Joshua had led the people.  It was way past time that they got their land.  They gathered 600 warriors to take "their territory" and wanted Micah's Levite to ensure victory.  

    When the Danites showed up Micah did not resist when they took his idols.  Micah was the current judge, but he clearly had no idea on how to serve God.  It was a dark day when the Israelite people began to hurt one another (stealing).  The Danites took Micah's idols, things, and his trophy Levite as their own.  When he tried to get some of it back they threatened his life.

    From the human perspective I wonder if the people would have been better off with no judge than a judge like Micah.  The people did not know God, but he seemed to be driving them further away than ever.  The Danites butchered the people of Laish and took their land as their own renaming it Dan.  The Levites set up Micah's idols as good luck charms.

Judges 18