The Danites worshiped the carved image. Jonathan, descendant of Gershom, son of Moses, and his descendants served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the exile. They worshiped Micah’s carved image the whole time God’s authorized shrine was in Shiloh.
Judges 18:30-31 NET
Judges 17-18 tells a story about Micah. Micah made a carved image and hired a Levite to be his priest. The tribe of Dan later stole Micah’s carved image and priest. And they worshipped this carven image until the time of the exile hundreds of years later.
Apart from this being an interesting historical sidenote in the history of Israel, what purpose does this story serve? Why is it included in the Bible?
The key would seem to be in the expression: “In those days Israel had no king.” This is used twice in this story (Jud. 17:6; 18:1) and twice in the following story (Jud. 19:1; 21:25), but nowhere else in Judges. And once for each story, that expression is followed by “Each man did what he considered to be right.” When there was no central authority to guide them, and each person did what they thought was right, the result was not always pretty.
The story of Micah’s carven image should serve as a cautionary tale about worshipping and serving God in isolation (with no king). There are no perfect churches today, just as there were no perfect kings in Israel. But to abandon the church because of its flaws, real or perceived, and worship God in the way that seems best to you is spiritually dangerous.
This is not to say you should never walk away from a local church. Not all churches provide a healthy environment for growth and service as a believer. And it is not to say that every believer who is not involved in a local church will turn to idolatry. But your best chance of living a healthy spiritual life as a believer is when you are a part of a healthy and growing community of believers.
