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Tag: Judges

Dagon

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in 1 Chronicles, 1 Samuel, Judges, Old Testament Groups, What’s new?.

Who was Dagon in the Bible?

Dagon was the chief deity of the Philistines, and the worship of this pagan god dates back the third millennium BC. According to ancient mythology, Dagon was the father of Baal. He was the fish god (dag in Hebrew means “fish”), and he was represented as a half-man, half-fish creature. This image furthered an evolutionary belief that both men and fish had evolved together from the primal waters. Dagon may also have been the provider of grain. So Dagon was similar to many other idols in that he personified natural forces that had supposedly produced all things.

There are three places where Dagon is mentioned in the Bible. The first mention is Judges 16:23, where we are told that Dagon was the god of the Philistines. The Philistines offered “a great sacrifice” to Dagon, believing that their idol had delivered Samson into their hands. First Chronicles 10:10 mentions a temple of Dagon in which the head of King Saul was fastened. Then, in 1 Samuel 5, Dagon is brought to humiliation by the True God of the Israelites.

What an interesting story is found in 1 Samuel 5! The Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant, and they “carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of [the city of] Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon’s temple at Ashdod step on the threshold. The Lord’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors. When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, ‘The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god’” (verses 2-7). Who says God does not have a sense of humor? This has to be one of the more funny passages in the entire Bible. For further reading, see 1 Samuel 6 for the account of the Philistines’ attempt to solve their dilemma—with golden rats and golden tumors (or, as some translations put it, “golden hemorrhoids”)!

Dagon figures into the story of Jonah, as well, although the deity is not mentioned by name in Jonah’s book. The Assyrians in Nineveh, to whom Jonah was sent as a missionary, worshiped Dagon and his female counterpart, the fish goddess Nanshe. Jonah, of course, did not go straight to Nineveh but had to be brought there via miraculous means. The transportation God provided for Jonah—a great fish—would have been full of meaning for the Ninevites. When Jonah arrived in their city, he made quite a splash, so to speak. He was a man who had been inside a fish for three days and directly deposited by a fish on dry land. The Ninevites, who worshiped a fish god, were duly impressed; they gave Jonah their attention and repented of their sin.

The Levite and his concubine

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in Judges, What’s new?.

What can we learn from the story of the Levite and his concubine?

The concluding chapters of Judges highlight the fact that everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6; 21:25). One of the stories that demonstrate the chaos and lawlessness of the time is the account of the Levite and his concubine, which begins in Judges 19. The Levite had a concubine who had run away and been unfaithful to him. From the very start, there is the problem of a Levite (of the priestly tribe) having a concubine, and then there is the problem of the woman being involved in a sexual relationship with someone not her husband.

The Levite found his concubine back at her parents’ home. As the Levite was bringing the concubine back to his own home, he stopped for the night in Gibeah, a town of the Benjamites. An older man insisted, for safety, that the Levite and his concubine stay at his home instead of in the town square. That night, “some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, ‘Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him’” (Judges 19:22). The host tried to reason with them, but they would not listen. To spare himself, the Levite sent his concubine outside. The degenerate mob abused her all that night (verse 25). When the man opened the door in the morning, the mob had departed, and the concubine’s dead body lay “in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold” (verse 27).

The Levite picked up the concubine’s body and placed it on his donkey and traveled home. He then cut up her body into twelve pieces—one for each tribe of Israel—and sent the pieces throughout the land. The macabre packages provoked the intended response; everyone who learned of the crime began talking: “Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Just imagine! We must do something! So speak up!” (Judges 19:30).

The tribes of Israel (minus Benjamin) came together and decided to have the men who raped and murdered the Levite’s concubine put to death. But when they confronted the people of Benjamin, the Benjamites chose to protect the guilty parties and refused to turn them over for justice (Judges 20:12–14). A civil war erupted, and the tribe of Benjamin was eventually defeated. All but 600 men of Benjamin were killed (Judges 20:47–48).

Judges 21 records the aftermath of the war over the Levite and his concubine. After a period of mourning, the leaders of the other eleven tribes sought to find a way to keep the tribe of Benjamin alive. Their solution was to punish the city of Jabesh Gilead, who did not respond to the call to gather against the Benjamites. The punishment was that the 600 Benjamite men were allowed to steal young women from Jabesh Gilead to take as their wives. They were able to find 400 young women there, and the rest of the wives they stole from Shiloh.

This grotesque and alarming series of events concludes with the fitting words of Judges 21:25: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” Readers reeling from the immoral activities of these closing chapters of Judges can take some comfort in the fact that Scripture clearly condemns these activities. Crimes such as befell the Levite’s concubine are what happens when the law is spurned and everyone does as he sees fit.

This dark period of Israel’s history would soon lead to the demand for an Israelite king, an act that would help to some degree yet would also reveal the need for a perfect King and Messiah—Jesus Christ.

What was right in their own eyes

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in Judges, What’s new?.

What does it mean that in the days of the judges everyone did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6)?

Some Bible verses are incorporated like footnotes from the writer or narrator to help interpret or explain how certain events could occur. An example appears in Judges 17:6: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (NKJV). The same commentary recurs in the concluding verse of the book: “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25, NLT).

Everyone did what was right in his own eyes equates to saying that a state of anarchy existed in Israel. The phrase originates in the Pentateuch. Israel’s wilderness wandering period was an unsettled time when some of the sacrifices and tithes were not being offered. Moses described this time as “everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes” (Deuteronomy 12:8, ESV). The haphazard worship of those days would end in the Promised Land, which would allow for a more stable mode of community life (Deuteronomy 12:9–14).

The days of the judges were dark and troubling times for the nation of Israel. Moses had commanded the people to do what is right in God’s eyes (Exodus 15:26; Deuteronomy 6:18; 12:25, 28; 13:19; 21:9). But, after the death of Moses and then Joshua, the people quickly went astray. Judges 17 is the account of Micah and his family, provided as an example of the widespread corruption taking place among the people. Idolatry and moral confusion were rampant. Without a king over the people, everyone did what was right in his own eyes. There was no central governing authority to maintain discipline and order in Israel, and the result was lawlessness.

They did what was right in their own eyes is equivalent to today’s philosophy that “if it feels right, then do it” or “you be you.” Nowadays, we “do our own thing” and sing songs that boast, “I did it my way,” as though this is a good thing. But such moral subjectivism got Israel into trouble, leading the nation into the depths of depravity and moral decay. It will do the same for societies today.

God has an absolute right way spelled out for us in His Word. Proverbs 14:34 puts it like this: “Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (NLT). The same proverb warns, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12).

If everyone does whatever is right in his own eyes, spiritual confusion and compromise arise, and nations fall into disgrace. God calls His people to obedience and conformity to the standards of right living in His Word: “He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism” (Romans 2:7–11, NLT).

Thankfully, when we call on the name of Jesus, we are made right in God’s eyes through Jesus Christ’s work of redemption (1 Corinthians 6:9–11; Romans 8:3–4). God’s Spirit guides and empowers us to live righteous and holy lives so that we no longer do as we please but instead live to please Him (Romans 8:11–14; Galatians 5:19–24; Ephesians 4:22–24; Philippians 2:12–13; Hebrews 8:10).

What can we learn from the account of Micah and the idol in Judges?

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in What’s new?.

Judges 17 and 18 record the story of a man named Micah who built a shrine and worshiped human-made idols. (This man should not to be confused with the prophet Micah.) Obviously, what Micah did was wrong. The author of the Book of Judges includes the story in order to teach us some lessons.

First, it is clear that worshiping idols stands in opposition to God’s commands. The first of the Ten Commandments reads, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).

Second, external religious actions are not enough; faith in the true God is required. Micah was certainly zealous. He built a shrine, made an ephod to use in religious activities, and fashioned some household idols. He was excited to have hired his own, personal priest: “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest” (Judges 17:13). However, Micah’s actions were not based on the teachings of God’s Word. He sought to serve God the way he wanted, not the way God had commanded.

Third, false beliefs lead to wrong actions. When the people of Dan inquired concerning a place to settle, Micah’s priest told them what they wanted to hear: “Go in peace. Your journey has the LORD’s approval” (Judges 18:6). Yet the Danites’ journey was a violent one that resulted in the destruction of a peaceful town.

Fourth, sinful actions by one person can have a long-term impact. The closing verses of this account leave us with these words: “The Danites set up for themselves the idol, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the captivity of the land. They continued to use the idol Micah had made, all the time the house of God was in Shiloh” (Judges 18:30–31). Micah’s false gods led to false worship among an entire tribe of Israel for several generations. We may not think our sinful actions hurt others, yet they do. They can even leave a long-term negative impact on entire communities for years to come.

The Micah of Judges 17—18 offers an example of how not to worship God, and his story illustrates the consequences of practicing religion according to what we think is best rather than according to God’s teachings. God’s Word is given to guide and protect us, as well as to bring Him glory. As 2 Timothy 3:16–17 teaches, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”