Judges 18:11-17: in context

As the tribe of Dan migrates in search of land, six hundred armed men come to the house of Micah, who had made himself a shrine with carved and molten images and a household priest. The Danites simply take what they want: they go in and carry off Micah's carved image, his ephod, his household gods, and his molten image, while the priest stands by. The gods that Micah had made and trusted were carried off by the Danites, unable to prevent their own removal. A god that can be stolen and carried away is exposed as no god at all.

There is a quiet irony in this scene. Micah had made himself gods, images he trusted and consulted, from which he expected help and blessing. And these gods were simply picked up and carried off by the Danites, powerless to prevent their own theft. The idols Micah trusted could not even protect themselves, let alone protect or help him. A god that can be stolen, carried away by thieves, unable to resist its own removal, is exposed as utterly powerless, no god at all. Micah's trust had been in things that could not help themselves. This exposes the folly of trusting in idols, the powerlessness of false gods. Whatever we trust as our god, if it is a false god, an idol, is ultimately powerless, unable to help or save us, unable even to protect itself. Scripture mocks the powerlessness of idols: they must be carried, Jeremiah says, because they cannot walk; do not be afraid of them, for they can do no harm, nor is it in them to do good. The idols that people trust are burdens to be carried, not powers that help; they cannot save the burden, Isaiah says, but go into captivity themselves. A god that can be carried off, that must be carried, that cannot help itself, is powerless and worthless as an object of trust. This searches what we trust as our god. Our idols may not be carved images, but whatever we give our ultimate trust to, if it is not the true God, is ultimately as powerless as Micah's stolen gods, unable to help or save us in our deepest need. The wealth, status, security, or self we might trust cannot finally protect or save us; like Micah's idols, they can be carried off, lost, taken away, powerless in the end. Only the true God, who cannot be carried off or overcome, is a sure object of trust. This calls us to trust the living God rather than the powerless idols that cannot help themselves. Micah's gods were carried off by thieves, exposed as powerless; and the idols we might trust, whatever they are, are equally powerless to help or save us in the end. Let us not trust in false gods that can be carried off and cannot help themselves, but in the living God, who cannot be overcome, who is not carried but carries us, and who alone is able to help and save. The idols that must be carried cannot save; but the God who carries us is a sure and unfailing refuge, worthy of the trust that idols can never justify.

What do I trust as my god, and is it, like Micah's stolen idols, ultimately powerless, unable to help or save me in my deepest need, whether wealth, status, security, or self, and can the gods that the Danites simply carried off, unable to protect even themselves, expose the folly of trusting in idols and move me to trust instead the living God, who cannot be carried off or overcome, who is not carried but carries us, and who alone is able to help and save?