Word of Encouragement (05/11/2022)
“Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backward. 18 I wait for your salvation, O LORD.” (Gen. 49:16-18)
“Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.” Thus begins Jacob’s prayer for Dan. Why the effort to affirm Dan’s equality and right as one of the tribes of Israel? There are two reasons. The first is the meaning of the name, Dan, which is taken from a Hebrew word that means “to judge”. So, his name inspires Jacob to talk about his right to judge his people.
The second involves the circumstances of his birth: Dan is the first to be mentioned among the sons of Jacob’s concubines. Leah gave birth to four sons in a row when Rachel could not bear a child. So, Rachel gave Jacob her maid, Bilhah, and Dan is the child Bilhah bore. Rachel named him Dan, saying, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son” (Gen. 30:6). According to many commentators, this is the reason that Jacob affirms Dan’s equality and right as one of the tribes of Israel: even though he and three others were born of concubines, they would be granted equality as Jacob’s sons.
Jacob goes on to describe Dan as a serpent, a viper: “Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backward.” Being likened to a serpent is not very flattering, given the fact that Satan disguised as a serpent and the curse God pronounced on the serpent (Gen. 3:15). But a serpent was not viewed only in negative terms. Jesus said, as He sent out His disciples, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16). Jacob’s description of Dan here may point out his humble condition, moving on its belly and eating dust (Gen. 3:14)—“a serpent in the way, a viper by the path....” But it also points to Dan’s ability to fight back. It was a good thing because Dan’s portion of the land fell along the coast where Philistia was located, and we know of the long conflict between Israel and Philistia.
Many commentators point out that this prayer came true, especially in the last, and the most famous, judge of Israel—Samson, who was from the tribe of Dan (Judg. 13:2). That God called Samson from the tribe of Dan makes sense when we consider the prolonged conflict between Israel and Philistia and Dan’s location adjacent to Philistia. They also see the fulfillment of Dan as a viper biting the horse’s heels and causing the rider to fall back in Samson’s last act of catching the Philistines off guard and killing all the Philistines who gathered at the house of Dagon to humiliate him by pushing the pillars of the house.
Could it also be that Jacob’s prayer for Dan pointed to the equal status that the Gentile believers would share with the Jewish believers as God’s children and as the citizens of God’s kingdom? “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God...” (Eph. 2:19). This was made possible because Jesus broke down the wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles and made us one through His death and resurrection (Eph. 2:14-16). And Paul said to the Corinthian church (which was made up mainly of Gentiles), “Do you not know that we are to judge angels” (1 Cor. 6:3)?
If we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ, we are all God’s beloved children with the full rights and privileges of sonship to God. There are no second-class citizens in the kingdom of God. Will you accept this truth and start conducting yourself as such, especially in your participation in the life and ministry of your church as full members of the body of Christ?