Jubilee Life Coach: Daily Meditations

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Jubilee Life Coach: Daily Meditations

Judges 18:1-20

October 04, 2026 • Jubilee Christian Life Coach • Season 1

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Background

To understand today’s passage, we first need to look at chapter 17. A man named Micah lived in the hill country of Ephraim. He had secretly taken 1,100 pieces of silver from his mother. Only after he heard her utter a curse over the lost silver did he confess that he had taken it and give it back. His mother blessed her son and said she was dedicating the silver to the Lord. But what she actually did was give 200 pieces of it to a silversmith, who made a carved image and a metal image. In effect, idols were made in the name of the Lord. Micah had a shrine in his house. He made an ephod and household gods, and he ordained one of his sons as his priest. The book of Judges sums up that age this way.

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Judges 17:6

Around that time a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah set out to find a place to live. Passing through the hill country of Ephraim, he came to Micah’s house. Micah offered him ten pieces of silver a year, a suit of clothes, and his living, and hired him as his priest. Under the law, priests were to come from the sons of Aaron (Numbers 3:10). Yet Micah ordained this young Levite as priest on his own. Then he said this.

Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.”
Judges 17:13

Keep a Levite close, and the blessing will follow. That was his thinking. It is a faith that tries to secure God’s blessing rather than to serve God. And this young Levite is the very man who goes with the tribe of Dan in today’s passage. Judges 18:30 names the priest of the Danites as “Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses,” and he appears to be this same young Levite. A descendant of Moses, hired for ten pieces of silver, became a priest to idols. Now he follows a bigger position all the way to Laish. Micah goes home without the gods that were taken from him (18:26). After taking Laish, the people of Dan set up Micah’s carved image there (18:30-31).

Summary

Today’s passage tells how the tribe of Dan sent out five spies to find land where they could settle. The land Dan first received by lot lay along the coast in west-central Canaan. Judah was to the south, Benjamin to the east, and Ephraim to the north. It was very good land, geographically speaking (Joshua 19:40-46). But the Amorites who held that land pushed the people of Dan back into the hill country and would not let them come down to the plain (Judges 1:34). In the end, Dan could not fully take its land. With too little room to live, part of the tribe decided to move north. That place was Laish, a peaceful land (Joshua 19:47-48). Here is the problem. Leaving the land given to them through the covenant was itself disobedience.

The spies lodged at Micah’s house. There they met a young Levite. They learned that the house held a carved image, an ephod, and household gods, and that the young man served as its priest. The spies reported that Laish was the right land. Later they led six hundred armed men back to Micah’s house. They seized the carved image, the ephod, and the household gods, and they took the young Levite, the priest, along with them.

Meditation Points

We, too, sometimes cannot bear the hardship of the very place where God has called us. Not every hard situation must simply be endured. But if we believe God has called us there, we should hold that place, however hard it may be. I hope we can choose the way of the cross rather than the road that looks easier. Very often the path of obedience is a rough and hard road.

The spies ask the Levite, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.” The Levite answers, “Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.” But this is a scene where the name of the Lord is dropped to dress up a human plan as the will of God. Are we, too, praying prayers that only want the answer we have already settled on? To trust God is to lay down our own desires before His will. It is to follow His leading honestly and humbly.

And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.”
Judges 18:6

The tribe of Dan never took the inheritance actually given to them. Yet they march all the way to distant Laish and take that city without much trouble. They seize Micah’s idols and offer the Levite a bigger position. The Levite is glad. He takes the ephod and the idols and goes along with them. Dan takes gods by force. The Levite bargains for better terms and walks the road that profits him most. In all of this, the name of God is mentioned on the surface. But God does not seem to be at the center of their hearts. Choosing worse terms for ourselves looks foolish. Yet we must not forget that the word of the cross also looks like folly to those who are perishing. So we should not make the choice that profits us most. Even when it is hard, we should make the choice that obeys the Word, brings glory to God, and does good to our neighbors, and in the end becomes a blessing to us as well. How can we walk this road of faith well?

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:18

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome to another episode from Jubilee Life Coaches. This is Coach Brian. I am a Christian life coach with training in reformed theology and Christian counseling. I try to bring a balanced worldview based on my theology and my pastoral ministry. I hope you find my daily meditations helpful to your Christian walk. Today we are meditating on Judges chapter 18 verses 1 to 20. Before we read today's passage, we need a little background from chapter 17. There was a man named Micah in the hill country of Ephraim. He had secretly taken one thousand one hundred pieces of silver from his mother. When he heard her curse over the missing silver, he confessed and gave it back. His mother blessed him. She said she was dedicating the silver to the Lord. And then what did she do? She gave two hundred pieces to a silversmith who made a carved image and a metal image. Idols made in the name of the Lord. Micah set up a shrine in his house, he made an ephod and household gods, and he made one of his sons his priest. Judges seventeen six sums it up. In those days there was no king in Israel, everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Then a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah came wandering by, looking for a place to live. Micah offered him ten pieces of silver a year, a suit of clothes, and his food, and he hired him as his priest. Now, under the law, priests were to come from the sons of Aaron, but Micah made this Levite his priest anyway, and listen to what he said in verse thirteen. Now I know that the Lord will prosper me because I have a Levite as priest. Keep a Levite close, and the blessing will follow. That was his thinking. It is a faith that tries to secure God's blessing rather than to serve God. And here is the twist. This young Levite is the same man we meet in chapter 18. Judges 1830 names the priest of the Danites as Jonathan the son of Gershem, son of Moses. He appears to be this very Levite, a descendant of Moses hired for ten pieces of silver, serving as a priest to idols. Listen to verse one. In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in. Now the tribe of Dan had already received land. By lot God gave them good land along the coast, in the middle of Canaan. Judah was to the south, Benjamin was to the east, Ephraim was to the north. It was good land. But the Amorites lived there. They pushed the people of Dan up into the hill country. They would not let them come down to the plain. You can read that in Judges chapter one thirty four. Dan never fully took what God had given them. They felt crowded, and part of the tribe decided to move north to a quiet, peaceful place called Laish. Here is the problem. The land they were leaving was the land God gave them by covenant. Walking away from it was disobedience. On the way the five spies stay at Micah's house, and there they recognize the voice of that young Levite. The spies go on and they report that Laish is the place. Later they come back with six hundred armed men, they take the idols, and they take the priest too. Micah chases after them, but they are too strong for him, and he goes home empty handed. What does this mean for us? Sometimes we cannot bear the hardship of the very place where God has called us. Not every hard situation is one we must simply endure. But if God has called you there, stay, even when it is hard. I hope we can choose the way of the cross, not the road that only looks easier. Very often the road of obedience is a rough road. Listen to verses five and six. The spies say, Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed. And the priest answers, Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord. It sounds so spiritual, doesn't it? But the name of the Lord is being used to dress up a plan that was already made. Let's be honest. Do we ever pray like that? Do we come to God with the answer already decided and just want him to sign off on it? To trust God is to lay down my own desires before his will. It is to follow where he leads, honestly and humbly. Now look at the irony. Dan never took the land God gave them, but they march all the way to faraway Laish and take it with little trouble. They steal Micah's idols, and they offer the Levite a bigger job. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel? Verse twenty says, And the priest's heart was glad. Dan takes gods by force. The Levite bargains for a better deal. The name of God is all over this story, but God does not seem to be at the center of anyone's heart. Choosing the harder path looks foolish, I know. But remember what Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 18. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. And here is the good news. What looks like folly to the world is the very power of God for us. Let us not simply pick what profits us most. Even when it is hard, let us choose to obey the word, to bring glory to God, and to do good to our neighbors. That choice becomes a blessing to us as well. How can we walk that road of faith well? Let me pray for us. Lord God, many times we could not bear the hardship of the place where you called us, and we looked for the easier road. Forgive us for coming to you with our answers already settled and calling our will your will. Be at the center of our hearts, not just on our lips. Help us lay down our own desires and follow you honestly and humbly. Even when it is hard, help us choose the way of obedience, the way that brings you glory and does good to our neighbors. We trust Jesus Christ, who walked the way of the cross to the very end for us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening. Grace and peace to you.