This verse illustrates the Danites’ desire for God’s approval of their plans, highlighting how human ambition can coexist with the quest for divine guidance.
They said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be prosperous.” (v.5) In this verse, a group of men from the tribe of Dan ask a Levite to seek God’s guidance regarding their journey. The Danites are historically known for their fierce and determined nature, originally dwelling in the southern region near the Philistine coast but eventually moving north to settle elsewhere. Their migration is reflected in passages like Judges 18:27-29, where they conquer the city of Laish, and their aggressive manner is noted in Moses’ blessing in Deuteronomy 33:22, which compares Dan to a young lion that leaps forth from Bashan.
When these Danites request the Levite to “Inquire of God,” they are pausing to seek divine sanction, hoping for confirmation that their expedition will succeed. This scene takes place during the period of the judges (approximately 1370-1050 BC), a turbulent era where Israel functioned without a central monarchy. Instead, God raised judges as deliverers and leaders when various tribes fell into oppression. In Judges 18, the tribe of Dan is restless in their allotted southern territory, prompting them to send scouts to explore new land and eventually consult the Levite to discover whether the Lord endorses their quest. Their approach shows a mixture of reverence toward God’s authority and their own ambition, revealing how people in that time vacillated between seeking the Lord’s will and pursuing their personal desires.
Even though the men exhibit a willingness to hear from God, the broader story of Judges reveals a pattern of partial obedience and mixed motives, where outward piety can hide deeper moral compromise. Their request for divine guidance, therefore, underscores how essential it is for believers to genuinely rely on God’s direction rather than use it to simply sanction their own plans. In the subsequent narrative, the Danite conquest—though partially successful—also brings idolatry and further spiritual decline, demonstrating that authentic reliance on the Lord requires obedience, not just an inquiry or a ritual blessing.
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Judges 18:5 meaning
They said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be prosperous.” (v.5) In this verse, a group of men from the tribe of Dan ask a Levite to seek God’s guidance regarding their journey. The Danites are historically known for their fierce and determined nature, originally dwelling in the southern region near the Philistine coast but eventually moving north to settle elsewhere. Their migration is reflected in passages like Judges 18:27-29, where they conquer the city of Laish, and their aggressive manner is noted in Moses’ blessing in Deuteronomy 33:22, which compares Dan to a young lion that leaps forth from Bashan.
When these Danites request the Levite to “Inquire of God,” they are pausing to seek divine sanction, hoping for confirmation that their expedition will succeed. This scene takes place during the period of the judges (approximately 1370-1050 BC), a turbulent era where Israel functioned without a central monarchy. Instead, God raised judges as deliverers and leaders when various tribes fell into oppression. In Judges 18, the tribe of Dan is restless in their allotted southern territory, prompting them to send scouts to explore new land and eventually consult the Levite to discover whether the Lord endorses their quest. Their approach shows a mixture of reverence toward God’s authority and their own ambition, revealing how people in that time vacillated between seeking the Lord’s will and pursuing their personal desires.
Even though the men exhibit a willingness to hear from God, the broader story of Judges reveals a pattern of partial obedience and mixed motives, where outward piety can hide deeper moral compromise. Their request for divine guidance, therefore, underscores how essential it is for believers to genuinely rely on God’s direction rather than use it to simply sanction their own plans. In the subsequent narrative, the Danite conquest—though partially successful—also brings idolatry and further spiritual decline, demonstrating that authentic reliance on the Lord requires obedience, not just an inquiry or a ritual blessing.