The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night. When they were near Micah's house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they turned in there and asked him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?"
He told them what Micah had done for him, and said, "He has hired me and I am his priest."
Then they said to him, "Please inquire of God to learn whether our journey will be successful."
The priest answered them, "Go in peace. Your journey has the LORD's approval."
So the five men left and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, unsuspecting and secure. And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous. Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians and had no relationship with anyone else.
When they returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, "How did you find things?"
They answered, "Come on, let's attack them! We have seen that the land is very good. Aren't you going to do something? Don't hesitate to go there and take it over. When you get there, you will find an unsuspecting people and a spacious land that God has put into your hands, a land that lacks nothing whatever."
...
Then they took what Micah had made, and his priest, and went on to Laish, against a peaceful and
unsuspecting people. They attacked them with the sword and burned down their city.
| 1-2 | Micah reveals to his mother that he has stolen silver from her. |
| 3-4 | Micah's mother gives the silver back to Micah, telling him to make an image and an idol out of it, which he does, in violation of God's command (Ex 20:3-4) |
| 5 | Micah installs one of his sons as priest, in violation of God's command that only Levites could be priests (Num 3:10) |
| 7-13 | Knowing that priests should be Levites, Micah convinces a young Levite to live with him and be his priest, serving in his household shrine |
Thus Micah and the Levite, though they claimed to be following God, were in fact worshipping false gods. Chapter 18 shows that the Danites were doing no better:
| 11-17 | The five spies return to Micah's house with 600 armed men and steal Micah's gods and idols |
| 18-21 | The priest protests the theft, but consents to go with the men and serve them instead |
| 22-26 | Micah confronts the Danites, who threaten to kill him and his family |
| 27-28 | The Danites destroy Laish, a "peaceful and unsuspecting people" that is isolated and thus unable to receive aid |
| 30-31 | The Danites set up the stolen idols as their gods and worship them |
Since the Danites and the Levite priest were all following false gods, they would not have been in close relationship with Jehovah, the same God who had threatened to destroy all of the Israelites for idolatry (Ex 32:8-10). Thus their statements that they had God's approval were false.