The Lord's People & Leaders	Leader: Not specifically mentioned, but Jonathan son of Gershon, son of Manasseh and Sons were Priests Danites : 5 spies of Eshtaol and Zorah, and 600 men of war
The Enemy's People & Leaders	While not directly 'leaders' [scripture mentions there were no Magistrates], Micah and his hired Levite play centrally. People of the City of Laish
Object of the Battle	to obtain the land Dan inherited among the tribes but was not alloted to them to take the City of Laish while it was unarmed and at peace
Strategies of the Battle	Five spies from Dan spy out Laish and note it is at ease without a Magistrate The spies return ot Eshtaol and zorah and tell of the land "a place where there is no want of anything that is on the earth"...vs.18:9 600 Men of War go out from Dan Jg 18:7 Encamp at Kirjathjearim and take the House of Micah and his idols Call the hired Levite in the house of Micah to repentance And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: [is it] better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel? Jg 18:19 The hired Levite takes out the ephod and teraphim from Micah's house. Men from the houses near Micah go out and encouter the Danites, and make a plea. [v 24-26] Danites come to Laish [vs 27] with the idols from the house, take the gate and come among the people. The Danites smite Laish with the sword, and burn the city with fire.
Place of the Battle	Mt Ephraim: the house of Micah is where the spies lodge Kirjathjearim, and behind it, a place called Mahanedan, named by the 600 Danites. After a return to Eshtaol and Zorah, they pass to Mt. Ephraim and Micah's house, & Battle at Laish in the valley of Bethrehob.
Intelligence	Five men of Dan from Zorah and Eshtaol They seek cousel of the hired Levite in vs 5,6---who prophesies their way successful The spies leave and go to spy out Laish, returning to Eshtaol with information [see Strategies, above Jg 18:9]
Results of the Battle	Laish utterly destroyed and burnt vs27 New City built over/near site of Laish, called Dan Idols of Micah taken Hired Levite restored to Israel's service Name of city changed to Dan. Children of Dan set up the graven image in the rebuilt city "And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh. "Jdg 18:30-31
Reward	Idols of Micah: the ephod and teraphim City of Laish rebuilt as Dan Restoration of the inheritance of Dan among the tribes Jg 18:1, 29 "In those days [there was] no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day [all their] inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel. Jg 18:1 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city [was] Laish at the first."Jg 18:29
Spiritual Implications	Dan has a right to the land it is about to take, even though the city is attacked unprovoked, it was the area promised to Dan among the tribes. "[And] the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families. And the coast of their inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol, and Irshemesh, And Shaalabbin, and Ajalon, and Jethlah, And Elon, and Thimnathah, and Ekron, And Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, and Baalath, And Jehud, and Beneberak, and Gathrimmon, And Mejarkon, and Rakkon, with the border before Japho. And the coast of the children of Dan went out [too little] for them: therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father. This [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages Josh 19:40-48 " -While the tribe of Dan uses clandestine maneuvers, they do two things profitable: 1) they restore a Levite who had been hired by an idol worshipper to the service of Israel, and 2) they remove the idols from Micah's house. The devilish thing they do though, mentioned several times later in scripture, is to set up the idols in the new city of Dan. -The complete destruction of Laish is typical of the wars of the day, wherein Israel had an order from God to completely erase the brutal idol-worshipping people from the land promised to Israel. If they had not, the people or their children would have risen up against Israel to torment and destroy it, ruining and thwarting the plan of God. In a few cases, Israel did not obey, such as when the Gibeonites falsely make a covenant acting as weary strangers, and in Dan where though the inhabitants are killed and the city burned, their idols re-emerge. In such cases, the curses of the mixture become a thorn in Israel's side.
Implications for Faith	One of the greatest critiques that secular people without much of an acquaintance with scripture make about the Bible is that Ancient Israel was brutal and constantly warring and took the land by force. What they fail to realize, is that the Land was the covenant with Israel since the beginning and God was giving it to His chosen people so that His plan could be worked out in the World: Israel has never fought an unnecessary war: Except for the wars to enter and take Canaan which God commanded, the wars Israel has fought since have been almost entirely wars of defense. They have still today a strong and intelligent army, but they are not the aggressor. The wars of Israel have been primarily commanded by God, or defensive, and they are always with a purpose. The wars of Israel reflect the Meta-War, the spiritual battle that goes on in the heavenlies. This war of Dan against Laish who is at peace may seem unwaranted, but the land had already been given to Dan and was on the border of Benjamin: the idol worshippers there actually were there illegally. The implication is that God assigns ownership: one must not always look in terms of the world. What God has given to a particular one in church, will only cause division and problems when others claim it worldly claims. The ridding of idols here is a constant theme throughout the history of the wars, but here it is contradictory: the men from Dan remove the Idols from Micah's house and restore a Levite, but instead of destroying the idols, they set them up in the new city of Dan. Once we get rid of enslaving idols in our lives, their re-establishment in our lives later can create havoc. Prophesy for hire is always a sin: the Levite hired to attend idols was in sin.
Cross-references & Other Critical Facts	1Eshtaol: "entreaty" [BLB] Josh 15:33,19:40-8 A City of Dan in Judah; Zorah:"hornet" [BLB] Birthplace of Samson, home of Manoah his father. The cities of Eshtaol and Zorah were on the Border of Benjamin and appear to have been located their originally. [Jg 2 Chr 11:10] Kirjathjearim: "City of Forests" the Ark rested their for 20 years: they turned from Ashtoreth worship to service only to God. Mahanedan--means "tents of judgment" [BLB]; Dan means 'he that judges' coming from Jacob's blessing/prophesy that the tribe of Dan would judge his people. The tribe of Dan is the last to establish and take their territory: Laish, also called Leshem is taken from the Sidonians, and Dan establishes the northern most border of Israel: for the rest of scripture, the breadth of Israel is described as extending from "dan to Beersheba". For further notes on Dan, see BLB: Notes on Tribe of Dan

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Benjamin vs the Other 11 Tribes of Israel
Wars Index
Wars of Israel-Main

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The Lord's People & Leaders	People:Israelites:11 tribes Leader: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Enemy's People & Leaders	Tribe of Benjamin after the Brutal incident
Object of the Battle	Vengeance/punishment of Tribe of Benjamin.
Strategies of the Battle	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Location of the Battle	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Results of the Battle	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Spiritual Implications	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Implications for Faith	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cross-references & Other Critical Facts	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Israel's Defeat by Philistines
Wars Index
Wars of Israel-Main

The Lord's People & Leaders
The Enemy's People & Leaders	City of Laish
Object of the Battle	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Strategies of the Battle	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Place of the Battle	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Intelligence	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Results of the Battle	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Reward	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Spiritual Implications	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Implications for Faith	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cross-references & Other Critical Facts	1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Israel Defeats Philistines
Wars Index
Wars of Israel-Main

The Lord's People & Leaders
The Enemy's People & Leaders	City of Laish
Object of the Battle	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Strategies of the Battle	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Place of the Battle	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Intelligence	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Results of the Battle	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Reward	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Spiritual Implications	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Implications for Faith	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cross-references & Other Critical Facts	1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx