Reminding you of Jacob’s words before Moses has his say.
Jacob said, “Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horses heels so that its rider shall fall backward.” Then this dying man cried out, “I have waited for your salvation, O LORD!” Now the “viper” part remains a mystery, but Scripture is all to clear regarding Dan and Jacob’s future.
Moses has his turn, adds to Dan’s description and leaves us with a mystery. “And of Dan he said, ‘Dan is a lion’s whelp; He shall leap from Bashan” (Deuteronomy 33:22) When the Israelites entered the promise land they entered through Bashan, the kingdom of Og. (Numbers 21:33-35) This territory included the Golan Heights. Is Moses referring to the victory over the kingdom of Og? (Deuteronomy 3:1-7) The Golan Heights was captured by Israel in 1967 and remains a border of hostilities. Will Dan leap from the Golan Heights into Lebanon and Syria? Only time will tell.
We have seen Dan’s idolatry as part of the house of Israel. An idolatry that caused God to divorce the northern tribes scattering them to the ends of the earth. The descendants of Dan will return, as will the rest of the tribes. Thank God we have the prophets to tell us what will be. They were sent to be believed.
Ezekiel 37:18-28
“The word of the LORD came to me: ‘Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.’ Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.
“When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?’ say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph – which is in Ephraim’s hand – and the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.’ Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offences, for I will save them from their sinful backsliding and will cleanse them. They will be My people, and I will be their God.
“My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow My laws and be careful to keep My decrees. They will live in the land that I gave My servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live their forever, and David My servant will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people. Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when My sanctuary is among them forever.”
Lots of voices will tell you differently, but who will you believe? Men who have studied God (theologians)? Or men who knew him: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and all of God’s prophets. Dan will return to judge his people.
To be continued.
His Family Table 