‘And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had had, and came to Laish, to a people who were quiet and secure, and smote them with the edge of the sword. And they burned the city with fire. And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no dealings with any man.'
So the people of Dan reached Laish and found it unprepared and weakly defended, totally unsuspecting. The people of Laish had no one to turn to because they had no treaties, and their fellow-Zidonians were far away across the mountains. There is a strong hint here of the importance of the covenant relationship. This too was why Israel were having such problems, because they neglected the tribal confederacy. Let them learn a lesson from these people. Without allies they were vulnerable.
“They took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had had.” Notice the emphasis on this. The writer had nothing but contempt for the Sanctuary at Dan, and wants his readers to know it. Their religious objects were merely one man's creation, and the priest one man's priest, in contrast with the Yahweh given Ark, Tabernacle and priesthood. And they were also stolen objects which belonged rightly to Micah, stolen by men who had accepted hospitality, and by a priest who had betrayed his ‘father'. What kind of worship was this going to be? And yet it would last for over a hundred years.
“They burned the city with fire.” Presumably in the fierce battle that ensued, or as a warning for any neighbours to keep away. But as they were going to live there they would want to preserve it as far as possible. Perhaps the phrase is to emphasise the greatness of the victory.
‘And it was in the valley that lies by Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and dwelt in it'
In Numbers 13:21 we learn that Rehob was ‘at the entering in of Hamath' (or ‘near Lebo-hamath'), on the farthest northern borders of Canaan.
Then the Danites rebuilt the city, possibly enlarging it, and took up their dwelling there. They had found their new home. Their crime here was not so much the capturing of a peaceful city, they had seen that happen all their lives and had of necessity participated in it, but that they had opted out of the covenant and would set up their own Sanctuary.