Judges 18 tells the story of the people of Laish and their isolation from other people. It is a city in the upper Jordan valley, apparently colonized by the Sidonians, which was captured by the Danites. Names, names, names, you probably have no idea who they are so let’s move on and get to know the people of Laish.
The people of Laish were described in Judges 18:7-9 as these:
- People there lived in security.
- They lived after the manner of the Sidonians(affluent, wealthy living).
- They are quiet and unsuspecting.
- The lack in nothing that is in earth.
- They possess wealth.
- They are far from the Sidonians.
- They had no dealings with anyone.
They were struck with the edge of the sword by the people of Dan who were looking for a place to settle. They found the city as a great place to settle and burned the city with fire.
There was no deliverer because:
1. It was far from Sidon. (the city)
2. They had no dealings with anyone.
The Dangers of Isolation
Isolation happens when a person cuts off any external environment from affecting it.
To be alone.
Is it wrong? Not at all.
Even Jesus had moments where he had to be alone, but that was for the purpose of regaining strength so he could face the crowd again. He was talking and asking God for instructions. He was praying and focusing his will to be aligned to God’s will so that when he finally goes back to the crowd, he does the will of God.
Isolation for a long period of time without the mindset of tuning in to God so that everything in you will desire to follow God can be dangerous. Why?
Isolation and Temptation to walk away from God
Isolation is the best time to be tempted. The devil will always wait for an opportunity to catch us in either after our victories or our times of being and feeling alone. Jesus was tempted when he was alone.
The people of Laish represents us when we walk so far away from God. We don’t want anything to do with God and his people. When disaster comes, we feel so alone not knowing that God is just waiting for us to come back and allow him once again to take over our lives letting God, be God.
Isolation and Temptation of Pride
The people of Laish reminded me of times when we live securely and wouldn’t want any dealings with anyone. When disaster comes, we have no one to help us because we have isolated ourselves from people.
Isolation for a long time is thinking we can do it on our own. For the first part, yes, that is what we will experience, but in the long run, that spirit that has experienced God will be so hungry for his word and his ways. The Spirit of God living in those who believes in him desires to always follow God. You’ll have to feed the Spirit with God’s word you will become weak to resist temptation. You will be weak to hear God’s voice. You will be weak to stand up for righteousness once the flesh is always fed more than the Spirit. This is done by consistent intimacy with God by reading his word and communicating with him through prayer.
Reminder To Self
Faith is not about emotions. It isn’t about what I feel or I don’t feel right now. It is about believing the truth of God even when I can’t see things happening the way they should.
Faith is beyond what I feel.
If I feel alone, God says he is with me. When I feel down, He reminds me that he has given me the spirit of vibrance, of power, of hope.
Faith pushes beyond what is felt.
I keep believing what the word of God says until I see in time what I have long believed.
I should always draw near to God. Stay as close to people who can help me with my walk with God. I shouldn’t close my doors to people who care about me deeply and those who consider me as part of their family. I should be careful to determine who my real friends are. Those who are there to help me be back on track, those who don’t tolerate my foolishness and remind me what is right. I shouldn’t close my doors to them. I should allow them to help me grow in my relationship and knowledge with God.
Has life treated you very well lately? So well that you have finally felt that you don’t even need other people you used to hang out with? Have you reached that point of ‘security’ that made relating to other people useless at this point?
This story of Laish is a great reminder to us of how dangerous it can be to isolate ourselves from people for a very long time.
I pray that you will again open your doors to God’s family, to your friends, to your co-workers, to your relatives. You may think you don’t need them, and you are partly right especially if your dependence is on God.
If you think you are better than the rest, or far more abundant and excellent than most of the people around you. Then, maybe it is time to share. Maybe it’s about time to share those wisdom, abundance, and excellence. Maybe the people around you need your guidance and help this time. Maybe it is about time to let the blessings in your life, the wisdom you’ve received, flow to other people as well.
It’s time to go back to God. His arms are wide open, ready for his child to finally run back to him.
Sidon is the Greek name (meaning ‘fishery’) for the ancient Phoenician port city of Sidonia (also known as Saida) in what is, today, Lebannon (located about 25 miles south of Beirut). Along with the city of Tyre, Sidon was the most powerful city-state of ancient Phoenicia and first manufactured the purple dye which made Tyre famous and was so rare and expensive that the color purple became synonymous with royalty. https://www.ancient.eu/sidon/