Dan || Jacob Family Tree – Revisited #5

Welcome back to the “Jacob’s Family Tree – Revisited” series. This series takes another look at the blessings Jacob gave to his children and how those blessings are showcased in the rest of the biblical story. In the last part, we looked at the blessing of Zebulun and Issachar centered around the sacrificial nature of Christianity. In this blog, we will look at Dan’s blessing.

Genesis 49:16-18

16           Dan will govern his people, like any other tribe in Israel.

17           Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonus viper along the path that bites the horse’s hooves so its rider is thrown off.

18           I trust in you for salvation.

Dan will lead its people, but in a deceitful way that could throw off its people. Sounds ominous. Let’s talk about it.

Jacob emphasizes to Dan that he would be a strong leader if his tribe trusted in God and not in his own strength or ability. People who feel strong, attractive, or talented often find it easier to trust in themselves rather than the person who gave them their gifts, God. Pride will likely be the common theme of the blog today.

Judges 18:26-27

26           So the men of Dan continued on their way. When Micah saw that there were too many of them for him to attack, he turned around and went home.

27           Then, with Micah’s idols and his priest, the men of Dan came to the town of Laish, whose people were peaceful and secure. They attacked with swords and burned the town to the ground.

The idolatry that they used proved God wasn’t guiding them. They trusted the idols and priests more than God and allowed the motivations of said things to take over their minds. They used the idols of people who were peaceful and felt safe to attack them viciously and burn their homes to the ground. God wouldn’t have guided them to do that. Given the cultural context of that time, the only way it would’ve happened is if it was deemed as a just and righteous act after a lengthy time of patience. It might have been a different case if Micah was ready to battle them, but he fled. He went home, meaning this attack was unprovoked and came from a sense of pride and emotion rather than peace and justice.

How many of us today judge our success through our wrong actions? How many Christians do you see on social media who cause harm to their neighbors in the name of pursuing the Kingdom of God? They believe what they’re doing is booming, but what they’re doing is causing harm. Some people would focus on their wealth, popularity, or even their lack of suffering as an indicator of God’s blessing. While it could be connected, I believe God’s blessing is contentment. You could be content with your wealth, status, and position in life, but that doesn’t mean it is a blessing. Things aren’t real, but what the thing represents is more important.

Many stories within the Bible show that evil and earthly success go hand in hand, which could be a reason why we’re seeing a lot of negativity around the heavy capitalistic movement from the younger generations today. Success doesn’t mean we’ve earned God’s approval. The Bible teaches us that we can’t serve both God and money. Yes, God tells us what we should be doing. Yes, money can dictate what we do. What source, though, is more important? It’s God. God is eternal, meaning that he will never leave. Money comes and goes (often too quickly) and can cause emotional stress for us. Money, followers, subscribers, likes, and things like that don’t matter to God. God looks at our hearts above everything else. Our external success in life does not equate to how well we please God. How we act towards God through praise and prayers is what matters. How we love each other and treat each other is what matters.

Don’t pull a Dan and try to find God-like things. God is available to all of us through the sacrifice that Jesus made. The curtain is torn. We can go boldly and joyously to our heavenly Father. Let’s do that this week. In the next part, I’ll talk about a trifecta of brothers and their blessings, which are best shown through the profiles of their essential descendants. Until then, stay blessed!