Opting Out of God's Blessing

Scripture: The Danites set up the carved image for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the Danite tribe until the time of the exile from the land. So they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image that he had made, and it was there as long as the house of God was in Shiloh. Judges 18:30-31

Observation: In the time of the judges, Israel is hitting its 'low point'. There are two stories. The second is the rape of a concubine of a Levite by the tribe of Benjamin, which will result in major retribution against that tribe as the rest of Israel punishes them for the act. However, the first is this sorted adventure of the entire tribe of Dan, that is looking to secure their tribe's promised lot of land. That actually isn't true ... they have their land, but they don't want to do the work to secure it as it borders are still held by the Philistines. Therefore, to summarize, here is what Dan does in this chapter:

1) They reject the promised blessing of the Lord.

2) They go to war to take land that is outside of the Lord's promise to them.

3) They not only set up tribe-wide idol worship but steal idols to do so.

4) They install a unique lineage as their priests, outside of Aaron's line.

5) They do all this while, in fact, the Lord has provided for them not only the land, but also the method and model of proper worship with the Tabernacle still erected and available for them in (what should have been nearby) Shiloh.

Application: Reading the Bible all these years, it was only recently that I learned the tribe of Dan is excluded from the list of tribes in Revelation 7. Common theology is that is because the Lord has rejected the tribe of Dan due to the actions described in this chapter. In other words, Dan fully and complete rejected the Lord, so the Lord ultimately rejected them.

All the tribes over time - and in different periods of history - performed idol worship. Today, many of us 'worship' things that are not of God as well. This is a terrible act, but it is also forgivable, and often many of us (myself included) seek forgiveness for this sin.

However, fully rejecting God is different.  Rejecting the Lord's actual blessing, declaring that you don't want something the Lord has freely given to you just because there was some work involved, and instead making your own earthly decisions and actions to secure worldly 'stuff' that is even worse ... and also rejecting the Lord as God and casting aside all interaction with ... this may just be the unforgivable sin. Make no mistake, the new land was worse, right next to what would become Assyria and thus the people that destroyed Israel, and their allotted land was much closer to the Lord's chosen place of worship. Effectively, Dan "opted out" of Yahweh's love and blessings and teachings and laws, making a choice to reject him, and establishing that choice not as a one-time or short-term event, but as a permanent and irrevocable status. The Lord allowed that choice, and responded accordingly.

It is interesting for me to think about how to receive the Lord's blessings on the day after I have been laid off at work. I am interestingly at peace this time around. The Lord's blessings have been so wonderful, and my life is indeed filled with a full measure, pressed down, and overflowing. I have trust in the Lord to provide, and trust in his blessing. I only wish to seek whatever is next that will fit with his plan for provision and goodness for my family.

There is no way I'm opting out of God!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your love and peace today. As I see all that is around, I find I am confident in whatever might lie before me. Today, I am confident I am on your path, holding your hand. May that remain the case in the days and weeks to come, as you lead me where you would have me be. Amen.