How Laish Lost Its Status

And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire. And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Beth-rehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein.
Judges 18:27‭-‬28 KJV

It is accredited to Mother Teresa that, ”The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved.” Perhaps this condition describes the State of Laish before it lost its status as a lonely community living far from others. According to Eaton’s Bible Dictionary, Laish was ” A city of the Sidonians, in the extreme north of Palestine ( Judges 18:7 Judges 18:14 ); called also Leshem ( Joshua 19:47 )”, before it became Dan ( Judges 18:7 Judges 18:29 ; Jeremiah 8:16 ). They were so removed from other Sidonians that they couldn’t get help when they were attacked by the warlike Dan, looking for adventure to expand territory. In 1Kings19, the prophet Elijah experienced loneliness and wished to die. Someone says, ” For many of us, loneliness is a crippling experience, fraught with a toxic dose of shame and self-criticism. We’d rather keep it hidden than admit that we suffer from feelings of isolation, emptiness and anxiety”. Its difficult to determine whether the people of Laish felt that way, but they were removed from other available social help. It made their defeat by Dan easy. So Laish was cleaned. It became Dan. Do you feel as lonely as that? Heb.10:24-25 encourages us to meet together with others, not just to fellowship with God but also with one another. Laish lost it because it lost fellowship. A word is enough for the wise.