Thinking on Scripture with Dr. Steven R. Cook

The Mosaic Law refers to “the statutes and ordinances and laws which the LORD established between Himself and the sons of Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai” (Lev 26:46). The Mosaic Law revealed the holy character of God (Lev 11:45; cf. Rom 7:12), was given specifically to Israel circa 1445 BC (Lev 26:46), was regarded as a unit of laws (613 total), and had to be taken as a whole (Gal 3:10; 5:3; Jam 2:10), and existed for nearly 1500 years before being rendered inoperative (Heb 7:18; 8:13; cf. Rom 7:1-4).

The main point of this pericope is that Moses called the second generation of Israelites to hear the statutes and ordinances that were part of the bilateral covenant agreement between them and Yahweh, their God. The Israelites were camped east of the Jordan River and poised to enter the land of Canaan.

In the first part of this pericope, Moses legislates three cities east of Jordan to be reserved as places of refuge, to which a manslayer could flee for safety (Deut 4:41-43). In the second part of this pericope (Deut 4:44-49), it is revealed that Moses is the one who gave Israel the law (תּוֹרָה torah), which law was given at the time when Israel was poised to enter the land of Canaan, just east of the Jordan River.

The Central Idea of the Text is that Israel grieved over the depleted condition of Benjamin, but then acted with a human solution that harmed innocent persons.

The Central Idea of the Text is that eleven tribes of Israel go to war against the tribe of Benjamin in order to exact justice for the Levite’s concubine who was raped and murdered in Gibeah.

In this pericope it is revealed that Yahweh is unique in all history, having been motivated by love, He chose to deliver His enslaved people from Egyptian bondage and bring them to the Promised Land, and Israel was to take it to heart and obey His commands so it would go well with them. The pericope is presented as a history lesson (Deut 4:32-34), followed by a theological lesson (Deut 4:35), then another history lesson (Deut 4:36-38), a second theological lesson (Deut 4:39), concluding with a practical lesson (Deut 4:40).

In this pericope Moses warns Israel they will experience exile-punishment if they turn away from the Lord and pursue idols (Deut 4:25-28), but also restoration and blessing if they humble themselves afterward and return to the Lord in obedience (Deut 4:29-31).

The Central Idea of the Text is that a Levite—in order to save himself—sacrificed his concubine to worthless men who gang raped and killed her.

The Central Idea of the Text is that a Levite—in order to save himself—sacrificed his concubine to worthless men who gang raped and killed her.

The Central Idea of the Text is that the tribe of Dan desired land beyond what God had allotted to them, and by force stole Micah’s idols and priest, and violently attacked the people of Laish and renamed their city Dan. 

     The tribe of Dan sent five spies to search for new territory (Judg. 18:1-2) beyond the choice land allotted to them (Josh. 19:40-48) because they had failed to drive out the Amorites who lived there (Judg. 1:34).  The spies encountered Micah’s Levite-priest and asked for divine guidance and received a false blessing (Judg. 18:3-6).  The five men came to the peaceful town of Laish and saw they were ungoverned and unprotected (Judg. 8:7).  After returning home they informed their brethren about their findings and counseled them to attack the city and take possession of the land (Judg. 18:8-12).  Six hundred Danites marched toward Laish, stopping at Micah’s house along the way and stealing his idols (Judg. 18:13-18), and convincing his priest to serve the tribe of Dan (Judg. 18:19-21).  Micah pursued them in protest, but abandoned his efforts when they threatened his life (Judg. 18:22-26).  The six hundred Danite warriors killed the people of Laish and renamed the city Dan (Judg. 18:27-29).  The Danites then set up Micah’s idol and appointed Jonathan as their priest; and so the Danites continued in idolatry until the time of their captivity (Judg. 18:30-31).

     Moses had led Israel into a covenant relationship with God which included promised blessing for obedience.  However, Moses’ grandson—Jonathan—led many away from God and into empty idolatry.  Idolatry is the sin of substitution in which we devote ourselves to something or someone in place of God.  Biblically, there is only one God, and He demands that His people worship Him (Ex. 20:3-4).  The exclusive worship of God is for His glory and our benefit.  A physical idol is merely the work of a craftsman (see Isa. 44:9-20).  There is no life in it (Ps. 115:1-8; Jer. 51:17; Hab. 2:18-20), nor can it deliver in times of trouble (Isa. 46:5-7).  From the human perspective, ancient people did not necessarily see the idol as the god itself, but rather as a representation of the god who might reside in, or become attached to the idol.  Micah’s gods were vulnerable to attack and could not protect him (Judg. 18:17-26); later, those same gods would fail the Danites (Judg. 18:30).  From the divine perspective, the worship of idols is the worship of demons (Deut. 32:17), and Israelites who led others into idolatry were to be stoned because they promoted spiritual rebellion among God’s people (Deut. 13:6-11).  “The Danites were the first tribe to establish idolatry publicly in Israel. Perhaps this is why their tribe does not appear in the list of 12 tribes that will each produce 12,000 godly Israelite witnesses during the tribulation period (Rev. 7:5–8).”[1]

 

[1] Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Jdg 18:27.