Worship Him in Shiloh

Then the Danites took the idols that Micah had made and his priest and went up against the peaceful inhabitants of Laish. They attacked the people and burned down their city. There was no one to rescue them because they lived a long way from Sidon and had no relationship with anyone else. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites rebuilt the city and settled there. They renamed the city Dan after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel. There 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: 27-31 NIV). It had all started with Micah stealing his mother’s money and getting away with it. It ended with an entire tribe becoming idol worshippers and setting up a centre of worship conveniently close to home. Meanwhile, the true centre of worship, the temple of God, was in Shiloh. What is so sad about this story is that the Danites worshipped the idol in full knowledge that they knew it to have no power. The small army, which had raided Micah’s home, was too strong for the idol. Micah was unable to defend it and the idol certainly did not defend itself. Do you have a god that needs your protection? Have you tried to establish yourself, by creating your own idols: your job, house, money, career, partner, children or anything else you choose? Have you tried stealing someone else’s idol? Do you not see that those false gods were of no use to the previous owner? As you set yourself up in life, doing things your way, do you remember that the House of God is in Shiloh and not where you decide it should be? God has said that His people should have no other gods before Him and He demands obedience. It does not matter how elaborate your temple is and how often you attend there; true worship is always on God’s terms. You can choose to worship your idols or you can obey God and worship Him in Shiloh.