What does Judges 18:25 mean?
Micah (Judges 17:1–5, 13) has brought neighbors to help confront the migrating people of Dan (Judges 18:1, 11–13). The convoy of six hundred warriors and their families have stolen his household idols and other sacred objects, along with his hired priest (Judges 18:14–20). Micah's group has chased the Danites down and made their complaint. The Danite warriors first pretended—probably in sarcasm—not to know why Micah was so upset. Here, they simply point out that they don't care.In essence, they just tell Micah to go away. His group of neighbors are obviously no match for their six-hundred-man army. Their command to him is like a modern person saying, "shut up and leave if you know what's good for you." They make a point of threatening not just Micah, and those he's brought with him, but his entire family back home. There's nothing Micah can do to stop them, and they know this.
Realizing this, Micah will turn back without any of his stolen goods (Judges 18:26). The caravan from the tribe of Dan will continue to Laish (Judges 18:7–10), where they will encounter another group of people unprepared for war. This is deliberate, and the men from Dan will annihilate the peaceful Sidonians there, taking their land (Judges 18:27–28).
Judges 18:14–31 describes how the migrating people of the tribe of Dan steal from Micah (Judges 18:1–5). They take his collection of expensive idols and religious totems. His hired Levite priest accepts the Danites' invitation to come along with the raiders. Micah and his neighbors desperately chase, but the Danite forces are too large to risk attacking. The Danites arrive at Laish, in the north, and slaughter its peaceful, unprepared Sidonian occupants. They take possession of the town, rename it Dan, and establish a nexus of false worship.
The people of the tribe of Dan want to relocate because they failed to take their allotted territory in the Promised Land. They send five scouts to find land. The men stop at Micah's home (Judges 17:1–5, 13) and meet his priest before continuing north. They find Laish and realize it's a soft, vulnerable, peaceful town. A six hundred-man army and their families stop at Micah's home to steal his house gods and hired priest. When they arrive at Laish, the Danites slaughter the Sidonians living there, burn the city, rebuild it, and move in. Dan becomes a center of false worship.
