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Judges 18 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
I recently heard of an episode that Dr. Phil did about a religious cult. What began as a typical 60’s communal-type gathering became a den of alleged sexual molestation, prostitution and extreme physical abuse that was all done in the name of God. The horrific story outlined how the sin of this organization escalated to extreme acts of perversion beyond comprehension. Infants and toddlers were subjected to abuse by the “congregation” behind the mask of being “in God’s name.” It is completely heart-wrenching and infuriating at the same time.
Judges 18 shows us how quickly things can go astray when we abandon the ways of God. Consider what started as a seemingly innocent individual act by Micah led to an entire tribe’s false worship. All of it was justified as “in God’s name,” even though it directly contradicted the process God established when he gave the land to Israel.
This brings up another interesting point.
The tribe of Dan struggled to secure their land from the very beginning. The sad part is that this tribe had all the resources to do what God desired. Like many tribes, they allowed fear, a lack of faith, and disobedience to stunt their calling.
Eventually, they decided to take matters into their own hands just like Micah. Remember the theme? In those days there was no king and everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Does it surprise you to learn that Samson came from the tribe of Dan? These were people who seemingly wanted to do their own thing without any accountability from God.
We face the same battle today. The mantra of “follow your heart” bombards us from every direction. People who do what’s right in their own eyes are applauded in our society – regardless of if that decision matches with God’s truth. Humanity has attempted to “progress” in society with new ideas stemming from following their heart. It never works.
When we choose more of ourselves and less of God, destruction is only a few steps away. The path to healing, purity, and righteousness always runs through God.