Chapter 18. The Sanctuary of Dan.
This chapter describes how the Danites, being unsuccessful in their allotted inheritance, sent out spies to search the land, and discover if they could find a better place to settle and expand. These spies returned and reported that Laish was such, and encouraged the Danites to go with them and possess it. For that purpose they sent six hundred men to capture it, who on their way called at the house of Micah, and stole his priests and his gods. Having captured Laish, they set up Micah's graven image there.
‘ In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought for themselves an inheritance to settle in, for up to that day their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.'
The reference to the king is of special importance here. It refers to the fact that Dan ignored the Kingship of Yahweh and His official allotment of territory to the tribe of Dan, and without consulting Him went to seek something new. It was an act of unquestioned disobedience. Here the king must be Yahweh unless the statement is a platitude.
Dan had had a hard time in trying to settle their allotted inheritance. The Amorites had combined to keep them out of the best parts of the territory (Judges 1:34-36) and then the Philistines had infiltrated among them and were seeking to seize power over them. Had Israel been united, and concerned for every member of the tribal confederacy, things might have been different, but as it was they were languishing. Thus a large part of the tribe of Dan opted on their own cognisance to find somewhere else to settle.