The prophecy
concerning the apostasy with Dan
indicates Jacob’s concern about
the setting up
of a divisive center of worship:
Dan fought as a young lion
to gain more land (signifying Christ),
but after being successful and victorious,
he became a serpent
—proud, individualistic, and independent;
he acted in his pride
to set up
an idol and a divisive center of worship
and to ordain a hired priest
in the city of Dan
during the time
that the house of God
was in Shiloh.
As a serpent,
Dan bit the horse’s heels
so that its rider fell backward
(Gen. 49:17),
signifying that the apostasy
brought in by Dan
became a great stumbling block
to the nation of Israel;
throughout the history of the church
many spiritual people
have followed Dan’s example,
thereby frustrating God’s people
from going on in His ordained way;
a further fulfillment
of Jacob’s prophecy concerning Dan
is seen in 1 Kings 12:26-31.
The source of Dan’s apostasy
was in not caring for his brothers;
not caring for the other parts of the Body
is the source of apostasy,
resulting in competition.
Division is not only denominationalism
but can also involve localism and regionalism;
even in our personal experience
we can be distracted from
the right way in following God
and actually be working
for our self-interest:
The best way
to be safeguarded from
falling into apostasy
is by taking care of others
to care for
the entire Body
and the Lord’s unique testimony
in the Lord’s one work;
if Dan had consulted the other tribes,
he would have been kept from apostasy.
We can be healed from our apostasy
and enjoy the Lord’s boundless love
by returning to the Lord,
acknowledging our offense to Him
to be forgiven of all our iniquity,
seeking His face,
and pursuing to know Him
so that we may live
in His presence, in resurrection.
The prophecy concerning the recovery with Gad
indicates not only his victory
but also that he
would not enjoy his victory by himself:
Gad’s victory,
corresponding to his victory in Deuteronomy 33:20,
signifies the recovery of the victory of Christ
lost by Dan because of his apostasy.
Gad provided
the first part of the good land
(the land east of the Jordan)
for himself,
but before enjoying his portion,
he fought with his brothers
to gain their portion of the land
west of the Jordan,
thus executing
Jehovah’s righteousness and His judgments in Israel.
Dan’s failure
was because he
was individualistic
and cared only for himself,
whereas Gad’s success
was because he
was corporate
and took care of
the need of his brothers.
In New Testament terms,
to follow Gad’s example
we need to take care of the Body corporately;
today
this is
to be filled with
the corporate sense of the Body
and to care for the members of the Body
for the accomplishing of God’s will,
which is to have the Body life.
The prophecy
concerning the sufficiency of Asher
typifies the enjoyment of Christ
as the rich provision of life
for fighting and building:
Jacob’s prophecy in Genesis 49:20
and Moses’ blessing in Deuteronomy 33:24-25
show the sufficiency of Asher,
coming after the recovery with Gad;
Asher was blessed with rich food,
with the rich provision of life.
Just as Asher was the one
“dipping his foot in oil,”
we can “walk in oil”
by enjoying the bountiful supply
of the Spirit of Jesus Christ
for our daily walk.
When we enjoy the Lord daily
as our rich provision of life
(“as your days are,
so shall your strength be”
—Deut. 33:25b),
He becomes
our secret of sufficiency
for us to be content
in any situation
(Phil. 4:11-13; Psa. 23:1).
The issue of such a rich provision
is the enjoyment
of absolute rest
with peace, strength, security, and sufficiency.
The prophecy
concerning the consummation with Naphtali
typifies that when we
experience Christ in resurrection,
we become those
who will take the earth
by preaching Christ
as the gospel of the kingdom
to the whole inhabited earth:
“Naphtali is
a hind
let loose;
/ He gives
beautiful words”
(Gen. 49:21):
The hind
typifies the resurrected Christ;
“the hind of the dawn”
signifies Christ in His resurrection,
which took place
at early dawn
(Luke 24:1).
A hind
is a deer
known for its leaping and jumping;
Christ in resurrection
is the leaping One
(S.S. 2:8-9).
Beautiful words,
rich and pleasant words,
words of joy and life,
come out of
the experience of the resurrected Christ.
“O Naphtali,
satisfied with favor,
/ And full of the blessing of Jehovah:
/ Possess the sea and the south”
(Deut. 33:23):
Naphtali is satisfied with favor
(the Old Testament equivalent
of New Testament grace)
and is full of the blessing of Jehovah;
the blessing
does not refer to
material blessing
but to
the blessing in the spirit,
the blessing in life,
the blessing in the heavenlies
(Eph. 1:3).
Naphtali will possess
the sea (the Gentile world)
and the south (the land of Israel),
signifying that those
who experience the resurrected Christ
will possess the whole earth
through their proclaiming of Christ.
The prophecy
concerning the universal blessing
of the Triune God being with Joseph
was due to his being separate
from his brothers
in the principle of a Nazarite:
Joseph as a fruitful bough by a fountain
with branches running over the wall
typifies Christ as the branch (Isa. 11:1)
for the branching out of God
through His believers as His branches,
with God as the source of their fruitfulness,
to spread Christ
over every restriction and limitation,
magnifying Him in all circumstances.
As the one
universally blessed by his father,
Joseph typifies
Christ, the appointed Heir of all things,
and Christ’s believers, His partners,
who participate in His inheritance
and who are blessed by the Father
with every spiritual blessing:
The blessings
bestowed on Joseph
encompass all time,
from ancient times to eternity,
and all space,
from heaven to earth,
including the deep under the earth;
time plus space
equals the universe.
The universal blessing on Joseph
will consummate in
the new heaven and new earth,
in which everything will be new
as a blessing to Christ and His believers:
Only God is new;
anything that is kept away from God
is old,
but anything that comes back to God
is new (2 Cor. 5:17).
2 Cor. 5:17
So then
if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation.
The old things
have passed away;
behold,
they have become new.
To be renewed
means to come back to God
and have something of God put into us
so that we
are mingled with God
and one with God;
the secret of receiving God
as our blessing of newness
is to bring everything to God
and let Him get into everything (4:16).
2 Cor. 4:16
Therefore we do not lose heart;
but though our outer man
is decaying,
yet our inner man
is being renewed
day by day.
The universal blessing on Joseph
means that blessing is everywhere;
our praises
turn everything of the curse of the fall
into a blessing (cf. Eph. 5:20).
Eph. 5:20
Giving thanks
at all times for all things
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
to our God and Father,
Joseph overcame in his sufferings
because he was strengthened by
God,
the Mighty One of Jacob
and the All-sufficient One,
and because he saw
that everything was arranged by God
to be a blessing to him.
Joseph was blessed with “the favor of Him
who dwelt in the thornbush” (Deut. 33:16a);
the highest blessing
is to enter into God’s dwelling place
and stay in His presence.
The prophecy
concerning the dwelling place
of the Triune God
being with Benjamin
will ultimately consummate in
the New Jerusalem
as the mutual dwelling
of God and His redeemed
for eternity;
this is the greatest blessing
to God’s people:
As a tearing wolf,
Benjamin is
a type of Christ,
who destroys the enemy
by tearing him to pieces.
Moses’ blessing of Benjamin
says that he
will dwell securely beside Jehovah
and that Jehovah
will dwell between Benjamin’s shoulders;
Jerusalem
with God’s temple, God’s dwelling place,
was located in
the territory of Benjamin.
All the blessings
issue in God’s dwelling place;
this is
God’s good pleasure,
the desire of His heart.
Genesis 49:1-28
is an abstract
of the entire Bible
and a summary
of the history of God’s people,
as seen in
the twelve sons of Jacob,
the nation of Israel,
and the church;
it is also a portrait
of the personal history
of every believer:
Jacob’s first four sons
—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah—
were sinners,
indicating that the history of God’s people
begins with sinners;
however,
two of these sinners, Levi and Judah,
were transformed
to become priests and kings.
Out of the kingship with Judah
a kingly salvation was produced,
which was preached as the gospel
in the Gentile world
by Zebulun
and which issued in
the church life
with Issachar;
but the apostasy came in through Dan,
followed by the recovery with Gad,
which issued in
the sufficiency of the riches of Christ
with Asher
and in the resurrection
with Naphtali.
Finally,
the history of God’s people
concludes with Joseph and Benjamin,
who typify Christ as the One
who is
altogether victorious and perfect,
without defect;
according to
Jacob’s prophecy and Moses’ word,
Joseph brought in
God’s boundless, universal blessing,
and Benjamin,
God’s eternal dwelling place.
Thus, the conclusion of Genesis 49
corresponds with
the conclusion of the entire Bible
—the universal blessing
in the new heaven and the new earth,
in which is
God’s eternal dwelling, the New Jerusalem,
as the issue and goal of
God’s universal blessing.
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7 replies on “Jacob’s Prophesying with Blessing (2)”
Prophecy note, 14 December 2014
We can be healed
from our apostasy
and enjoy
the Lord’s boundless love
by returning to the Lord,
acknowledging our offense to Him
to be forgiven
of all our iniquity,
seeking His face,
and pursuing to know Him
so that we may live
in His presence,
in resurrection.
The prophecy
concerning the universal blessing
of the Triune God
being with Joseph
was due to his being separate
from his brothers
in the principle of a Nazarite:
The universal blessing on Joseph
will consummate in
the new heaven and new earth,
in which everything
will be new
as a blessing to
Christ and His believers:
Only God is new;
anything that is kept away from God
is old,
but anything that comes back to God
is new.
2 Cor. 5:17 says,
So then
if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation.
The old things
have passed away;
behold,
they have become new.
Hos. 6:1a says,
Come
and let us return to Jehovah;
2 Cor. 4:16 says,
Therefore we do not lose heart;
but
though our outer man
is decaying,
yet
our inner man
is being renewed
day by day.
To be renewed
means to come back to God
and have something of God put into us
so that we
are mingled with God
and one with God;
the secret of receiving God
as our blessing of newness
is to bring everything to God
and let Him get into everything.
Day 6
In Hebrew
the word translated “ravenous” in Genesis 49:27
means “to tear into pieces.”
For years
I was troubled by
the word wolf in this verse.
Although a lion or a tiger seems positive,
a wolf is not positive.
However,
Christ is not only the overcoming lion,
but also the tearing wolf.
Benjamin, a tearing wolf,
is also a type of Christ.
Therefore,
the reference to a wolf here
is positive, not negative.
In the morning
he will devour the prey,
and in the evening
he will divide the spoil,
that is, prepare the spoil
for the next morning’s meal.
This means that Christ
is not only the overcoming One,
but also the tearing One,
the One who eats His enemy.
In Deuteronomy 33:12
the words beside Him
indicate that Benjamin
will be the Lord’s neighbor.
He will dwell next door to the Lord.
Because he will dwell next door to the Lord,
he will dwell in safety.
This verse also says
that the Lord
will cover, overshadow, Benjamin all day long
and even dwell between his shoulders.
Jerusalem was not located
in the territory of Judah,
but in the territory of Benjamin (Judg. 1:21).
If you consult a map,
you will see
that the territory of Benjamin
lies with two shoulders toward the south
and that between these two shoulders of Benjamin
was Jerusalem,
where the temple, the Lord’s dwelling,
was located.
Among the twelve sons of Jacob,
the first was a sinner,
and the last became the dwelling of God.
In Genesis 3
we all were sinners,
but at the end of the Bible,
in Revelation 21 and 22,
we all become Benjamin, the dwelling of God.
With Joseph
we see
that Christ receives
the all-inclusive blessing of the universe,
and with Benjamin
we see
that God is dwelling among His chosen people.
This is
the New Jerusalem
and the new heaven and new earth.
The new heaven and new earth
are the sphere
in which every blessing
is bestowed upon Christ.
Moses’ blessing in Deuteronomy 33:12
says that Benjamin
will dwell securely beside Jehovah
and that Jehovah
will dwell between Benjamin’s shoulders.
Thus, the blessing of Jacob’s twelve sons
ends with God’s dwelling place,
which ultimately consummates in the New Jerusalem
as the mutual dwelling
of God and His redeemed
for eternity.
Genesis 49:1-28
is an abstract of the entire Bible
and a summary of the history of God’s people,
as seen in
the twelve sons of Jacob,
the nation of Israel,
and the church.
It is also a portrait
of the personal history of every believer.
Jacob’s first four sons
—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah—
were sinners,
indicating that the history of God’s people
begins with sinners.
However, two of these sinners, Levi and Judah,
were transformed
to become priests and kings.
Out of the kingship with Judah
a kingly salvation was produced,
which was preached as the gospel
in the Gentile world
by Zebulun
and which issued in
the church life with Issachar.
But the apostasy came in through Dan,
followed by the recovery with Gad,
which issued in
the sufficiency
of the riches of Christ with Asher
and in the resurrection with Naphtali.
Finally,
the history of God’s people
concludes with Joseph and Benjamin,
who typify Christ
as the One who is
altogether victorious and perfect,
without defect.
According to Jacob’s prophecy and Moses’ word,
Joseph brought in
God’s boundless, universal blessing,
and Benjamin, God’s eternal dwelling place.
Thus, the conclusion of Genesis 49
corresponds with the conclusion of the entire Bible
—the universal blessing
in the new heaven and the new earth,
in which is
God’s eternal dwelling, the New Jerusalem,
as the issue and goal
of God’s universal blessing.
Day 5
Joseph as a fruitful bough
typifies Christ as the branch
for the branching out of God
through His believers as His branches.
In Genesis 49:22
the fountain
signifies God, the source of fruitfulness,
and the branches’ running over the wall
signifies that Christ’s believers
as His branches
spread Christ
over every restriction,
magnifying Him in all circumstances.
The blessings bestowed on Joseph,
as seen in
Genesis 49:25-26 and Deuteronomy 33:13-16,
encompass all time,
from ancient times to eternity,
and all space,
from heaven to earth,
including the deep under the earth.
Time plus space
equals the universe.
As the one
universally blessed by his father,
Joseph typifies
Christ, the appointed Heir of all things,
and His believers, Christ’s partners
who participate in His inheritance.
The universal blessing on Joseph
will consummate in
the new heaven and new earth,
in which everything
will be a blessing
to Christ and His believers.
When we combine the blessings
mentioned in Genesis 49:25-26
with those in Deuteronomy 33:13-16,
we see that the blessings
bestowed upon Joseph
were of ten aspects.
First,
he was blessed with
the precious things of heaven.
Certainly
some of the blessings
of the precious things of heaven
should include rain and snow.
Second,
he was blessed with the dew.
Third,
he was blessed with
the blessing of the deep
that lies beneath.
This refers to
the springs, fountains, and waters
underneath the earth.
Fourth,
he was blessed by
the precious fruits
brought forth by the sun.
After that,
as the fifth blessing,
he had
the blessing of the precious things
put forth by the moon.
We need both the sun,
which typifies Christ,
and the moon,
which typifies the church.
Some fruits
are brought forth by Christ,
and some precious things
are put forth by the church.
The sixth blessing
Joseph received
was the blessing of
the best things
of the ancient mountains,
and the seventh
was the precious things
of the eternal hills.
From ancient times to eternity,
all of time is included,
and from heaven to earth,
including the deep under the earth,
all of space is included.
This indicates
that all the good things in the universe
have become blessings to Joseph.
The eighth blessing
includes the precious things of the earth
and its fullness.
Certainly
this must include minerals
such as gold and silver.
The ninth blessing
is the blessings of the womb.
for begetting,
and the blessings of the breasts
for nourishing [Gen. 49:25].
These refer to
the producing of life.
This is the only blessing
that is of life.
The tenth blessing
is “the favor of Him
who dwelt in the thornbush” (Deut. 33:16).
The One who dwelt in the bush (Exo. 3:4)
will dwell
in the temple, in the church,
and then in the New Jerusalem.
All the bushes
will be transformed into precious stones.
Formerly,
God dwelt
among the bushes,
but eventually He will dwell
among the precious stones
in the New Jerusalem.
The Hebrew word rendered “separate”
in Genesis 49:26
is also the word for Nazarite.
Joseph was
the first Nazarite in the Bible,
separate from his brothers,
and Christ
became the real Nazarite,
separate from all the people
to live wholly for God.
This separated One
has received the blessing
of the whole universe.
The universal blessing
is bestowed upon the crown
of the head of such a Nazarite.
Day 4
A hind is
a lovely animal,
so living and active.
Although a hind
is not proud or especially large,
it is quite strong,
able to skip upon the mountaintops.
According to the Hebrew text,
the title of Psalm 22
speaks of the hind of the dawn,
which signifies
the resurrected Christ.
Psalm 22
firstly speaks of
Christ’s death on the cross.
Then,
beginning with verse 22,
it proceeds to
His resurrection.
Psalm 22:22 says,
“I will declare Your name to my brothers;
/ In the midst of the assembly
I will praise You.”
This indicates
that in His resurrection
Christ declared
the name of the Father
to His brothers
and praised Him
in the midst of
the assembly, the church.
Thus,
this psalm eventually issues in
the resurrection of Christ
as the hind of the dawn.
Rich words, pleasant words,
beautiful words, words of joy and life
—all these
come out of
the experience of the resurrected Christ.
The more we experience Christ
as the resurrected One,
the more we have something to say.
We could never be silent.
Everyone who experiences Christ
as the resurrected One
will be bubbling over
with beautiful words.
Christ is
the word of God,
the word of life,
and the word that is spirit.
The principle here
is that we always utter
what is filling us within.
The word we speak
comes out of
the abundance of our inner being.
When our inner being
is filled with Christ,
we must speak
lest we burst.
Now we can understand
why Naphtali, a hind let loose,
gives beautiful words.
Because he has experienced Christ,
he is filled with
beautiful words.
In Deuteronomy 33:23
we see
that Naphtali is satisfied with favor.
Favor in the Old Testament
is the equivalent of
grace in the New Testament.
Thus,
Naphtali is satisfied with grace.
When we are in resurrection
speaking beautiful words,
we also are satisfied with grace.
This verse also says
that Naphtali is filled with
the blessing of the Lord.
He is
satisfied with grace
and full of blessing.
This is
the victorious and matured life in resurrection.
As we speak for Christ
to nourish others,
we ourselves
are satisfied with grace
and filled with blessing.
The favor and blessing here
link Naphtali with Asher,
who is more blessed than the sons
and favored among his brothers.
In the Lord’s recovery
we are daily satisfied with rich grace
and full of God’s blessing.
This blessing
does not refer to
the material blessing,
but to
the blessing in the spirit,
the blessing in life,
the blessing in the heavenlies.
What grace we have tasted
and what blessing we have enjoyed
since coming into the church life!
Naphtali will possess
the west, the sea, the Gentile world,
and the south, the land, the nation of Israel.
This means
that Naphtali will take the earth.
It is
the resurrected Christ
experienced by us
who will take the earth.
At the end of Psalm 22
we see
that the resurrected Christ
will gain the nations.
Psalm 22:27 says,
“All the ends of the earth
/ Will remember and return to Jehovah,
/ And all families of the nations
/ Will worship before You.”
All the nations
will submit to Him,
obey Him,
and worship Him.
When we
truly experience Christ in resurrection,
we become those
who will take the earth
by preaching Christ.
In order to take the earth,
we must begin from Reuben
and continue through
Simeon, Levi,
Judah, Zebulun, Issachar,
Dan, Gad, and Asher
until we come to Naphtali.
When we have become Naphtali
it is easy
to take the earth
because we are in resurrection
speaking beautiful words,
and we are satisfied with favor
and full of blessing.
Day 3
When we have the victory of Christ
and help our brothers gain their portion
before we enjoy our own,
we have rich food.
This rich food
even becomes royal dainties, the royal food.
It is not food for the common people,
but food for kings, for the royal family.
We are not only a lion family
but also a royal family.
We are a kingly family,
and our dining is royal.
Whatever we feed on
in these life-study messages
is royal dainties.
After the recovery with Gad,
we have the sufficiency of Asher.
The account of Asher
begins with
the exceeding blessing
and the surpassing grace.
In Deuteronomy 33:24
Asher received
the exceeding blessing
and the foremost grace.
Many of us
are able to understand
this language.
In Dan’s apostasy
we lost
all the blessing and the grace,
but in Gad’s victory
the blessing was recovered
and the grace was returned.
Now in Asher
we are enjoying
the exceeding blessing
and the surpassing grace.
In Asher
we also see
the rich provision of life.
Firstly,
Asher has the rich provision
for living and growing.
Genesis 49:20 says,
“Asher’s food will be rich,
and he will yield royal dainties.”
Deuteronomy 33:25 indicates
that Asher also
has the rich provision of life
for fighting and building.
The first part of this verse says,
“Your doorbolts
shall be iron and copper.”
The rich food and royal dainties
are for Asher’s living and growing,
and the iron and copper
are minerals for fighting and building.
Asher certainly received
the richest provision.
Asher also has
the bountiful supply of the Spirit
for his daily walk (Gal. 5:25).
Deuteronomy 33:24 says,
“The one dipping his foot in oil.”
This certainly is figurative speech.
The spiritual significance
of dipping the foot in oil
is being full of the Spirit.
In typology
oil refers to the Spirit of God.
Asher does not have
a mere trickle of oil
but enough to dip his feet in.
This means
that in Asher
we have
the rich, bountiful supply
of the Spirit (Phil. 1:19).
Oh, we can walk in oil!
A number of times
in the Lord’s recovery
I have had the sense
that we are walking in oil.
I worship, thank, and praise the Lord,
saying, “Lord,
this is too rich!
The supply of the Spirit here
is too rich!
Our oil
is so bountiful!”
Do you have oil
in which to dip your feet?
We do.
We have
the rich food, the royal dainties,
and the rich, bountiful oil
in which to dip our feet.
Deuteronomy 33:25
says of Asher,
“As your days are,
so shall your strength be.”
When we have
the exceeding blessing
and surpassing grace,
the rich provision of life,
and the bountiful supply of the Spirit,
we have
absolute rest
with peace, strength,
security, and sufficiency.
This was
the experience of the apostle Paul
in Philippians 4:11-13.
He was content in any situation.
I can testify
that this week
I have had the deep sense
that I am walking in oil
and that I have
satisfaction, peace, and rest.
I have also been full of strength.
Thus,
I have
security and sufficiency.
The Lord
is my Shepherd,
and I have
no want, shortage, or lack (Psa. 23:1).
Instead of want,
I am full of sufficiency.
I have
rich food, royal dainties, deep oil,
and doorbolts of iron and copper.
Everywhere
there is provision.
Hence,
I am safe and secure,
and I have rest and strength.
Do you have the boldness to say
that you have
this security and sufficiency?
Or would you say
that this morning
your wife gave you a difficult time
and that you barely endured it?
You need to be able to say,
“This morning
my wife gave me a difficult time.
But praise the Lord
that I walked in deep oil!
Now I have
rest, peace, security,
strength, and sufficiency.
My strength
is as lasting as my days.
As my days,
so shall
my rest, my security, and my sufficiency be.”
This is
the experience of Asher.
Day 2
With Gad
we see recovery.
After the apostasy of Dan,
Gad came in
to recover the lost victory (Gen. 49:19).
The victory of Judah, the lion,
had been lost by Dan’s apostasy,
but Gad regained it
and even enlarged it.
Gad is not a young lion
but a lioness
producing cubs.
He is the continuation
of the victorious Judah and Dan.
God was so happy about
Gad’s recovery of the victory
that He enlarged him [Deut. 33:20].
Gad was enlarged
not only by God,
but also for God.
He was enlarged
for the executing of
God’s righteousness among God’s people.
The best aspect of Gad
is not merely
that he
crushed the enemy’s head
but that he
would not enjoy his victory by himself.
Although he gained land
on the east of the Jordan,
he would not enjoy it
until the other tribes
had won their portion of the land.
Gad went with the other tribes
to fight the battle
to gain more land
so that all the tribes
might be able to have their share.
The New Testament interpretation
of this Old Testament figure
is that we
must always take care of
the brothers, the members of the Body.
For many years
I could not understand
Moses’ word in Deuteronomy 33:21.
This verse says,
“And he provided the first part for himself,
/ For there the portion of a lawgiver
is reserved;
/ And he came with the heads of the people;
/ He executed the righteousness of Jehovah
/ And His judgments with Israel.”
Although I studied this verse again and again,
especially the last part
about the heads of the people,
I simply could not understand it.
But today
I understand this verse.
The first part
refers to the land east of the Jordan.
Gad provided that part for himself;
yet he would not remain there
to enjoy it.
Instead,
he came with the heads of the people,
the princes of the other tribes,
to fight the battle
for the rest of the land.
Here we see
the action, the move, of the Body.
Dan took care of himself individualistically,
but Gad took care of the Body corporately.
In the church today
we would say
that Gad was filled with
the sense of the Body.
The reason for Gad’s success
was that he
let go of his own enjoyment
in order to take care of the Body.
This is righteousness
in the eyes of God.
It is the executing
of the righteousness of Jehovah.
In New Testament terms,
it is
the accomplishment of God’s will.
When the children of Israel
entered the good land,
it was
God’s will in His righteousness
that His people be settled.
God did not want only Gad;
He wanted all the twelve tribes
to be settled
to become His kingdom
that His judgments
may be observed.
This is
to accomplish the will of God.
Romans 12:1 and 2 say
that if we
present our bodies a living sacrifice,
we shall be able to prove
what the will of God is.
According to Romans 12,
the will of God
is simply to have the Body life.
Thus,
to have the Body life,
to take care of the needs of others,
is to execute God’s righteousness
for observing His judgments.
Nothing is so right
as caring for the members of the Body.
No judgments can be observed
without the execution of God’s righteousness.
God’s New Testament judgments
can only be observed
in the Body of Christ,
which is built up
by the mutual care of its members
in righteousness.
Dan’s failure
was that he was individualistic.
Gad’s success
was that he was corporate,
moving with the brothers.
Dan was for himself,
but Gad was for all the tribes.
Whenever you
are concerned only for
your own spiritual interests,
you are a Dan.
But when you
forget your own spiritual interests
and care for all the other brothers,
that is,
care for the Body,
you are a Gad.
We must care for the Body
and move with the Body.
Are you
a Dan or a Gad?
Are you taking care
only of your locality
or of the whole Body?
As long as we
do not care for the Body,
we are today’s Dan,
and we have fallen
into a form of apostasy.
Day 1
Dan was the continuation of Judah,
for Judah was a lion
and Dan was a young lion.
As the continuation of Judah,
Dan was successful
in gaining more Christ
by his victorious life.
Because Dan was successful and victorious,
he became
proud, individualistic, and independent.
He cared only for himself,
not for others.
Dan’s apostasy
was the setting up
of a divisive center of worship.
Nothing was more sinful or more damaging
to God’s people
than Dan’s act
of setting up a divisive center of worship.
In Deuteronomy 12, 14, 15, and 16
the Lord through Moses
charged the children of Israel
at least fifteen times
not to offer their burnt offerings
in the place of their choice.
They were commanded
to go to the unique place
the Lord had chosen
for His name and for His habitation
to keep God’s people in oneness.
After the children of Israel
entered the good land,
the tabernacle, the house of God,
was in Shiloh (Judg. 18:31).
As long as the tabernacle was in Shiloh,
Shiloh was the unique center
for the worship of God.
As the unique center,
it should have maintained
the unity of God’s people.
However,
Dan set up another center in the north,
which caused the first division
among the children of Israel.
Judges 18:30 says,
“The children of Dan
set up for themselves the graven image”.
Here we see
that the Danites
did something for themselves.
They did not care for the other tribes.
Thus, the source of their apostasy
was not caring for their brothers.
Not caring for the other parts of the Body
is the source of apostasy.
This apostasy
crept in under the guise of the worship of God.
The principle is the same today.
Many Christians set up other centers,
not for gambling or dancing,
but for worshipping God.
Although this seems so positive,
it is actually done
by the self and for the self.
Every divisive center
is established for someone’s self-interest.
Such a practice
causes not only division
but also competition.
Dan did not care for the other tribes;
he cared only for his own tribe.
After he won the victory
and gained the expansion, the enlargement,
he did something for himself.
This was
the source of his apostasy.
According to the Old Testament,
the Lord never forgot Dan’s apostasy.
In the eyes of God
it was the worst sin in His economy.
Nothing is more destructive
than division among God’s people.
Divisive worship centers
are often related to idols.
Because the devil lurks behind idols,
by setting up an idol
Dan became a serpent.
Whenever you become divisive,
no matter how good
your reason may be,
there will be something behind you
—the serpent, the subtle one.
Whenever you do not care for others,
but only for your interests,
doing something merely for yourself,
the serpent is at hand.
The best way to be safeguarded from
falling into apostasy
is taking care of others.
If Dan had consulted the other tribes,
he would have been kept from apostasy.
Dan not only set up a divisive center,
but also ordained the hired “priests”.
To hire the common people to be priests
was profane
because it destroyed
God’s holy ordination.
In the downfall of the church,
many unsaved ones
have been hired
to do the service of God.
This is apostasy.
In God’s New Testament economy,
all true believers
are made priests of God.
But degraded Christianity
has built up a system
to ordain some of the believers
to do the service of God,
making them a clerical hierarchy
and leaving the rest of the believers
as laymen.
This also
is a form of apostasy.