‘ And they said to him, “Hold your peace. Put your hand on your mouth and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” '
Their reply to his question was that he should say nothing and come with them to act as spiritual father and priest to them. They pointed out how much more important and significant he would be as priest to a sub-tribe, that is ‘a clan' in Israel, than to just a family home, however large.
This reply is very significant. It firstly stresses that while they were a substantial clan (although not the whole tribe of Dan) they had no priest with them. Even in those days of apathy no priest had been willing to leave the land of promise and the central sanctuary to accompany them. For outside that land they would lose their priestly privileges. It confirms the centrality of worship even in days of laxness.
Secondly it brings out the low level of morality of the times. They seemed to have no thought of the fact that they were stealing the very things through which they aimed to worship God. It is clear that God's command ‘you shall not steal' meant little to them. Every time they came to the house of God they would see the religious objects they had stolen. What kind of worship could that be? It was a rejection of Yahweh.
Thirdly, they clearly expected the priest to feel the same, and to sell out his faith for promotion and privilege. And sadly they were right. His honour, his obedience to Yahweh and his loyalty to the man who had treated him as a son were all forgotten in the light of this wonderful offer. He may not have been able to prevent them from stealing the objects, but he did not need to go with them and acquiesce in what they were doing. But he coveted honour and prestige.