Non-inclusion in the Kingdom of Heaven Part V

                                                Judges 17:1-13; 18:1-31

                                                      Revelation 7:5-8

                                                    December 15, 2024

 

For the last three weeks I have been teaching on Non-inclusion in the Kingdom

of Heaven.

 

Today is lesson four with the same title, but with an interlude,

As I have a subtitle:

 

Preparation for Inclusion in the Kingdom of Heaven

 

                                    or

 

Preparing for the Day for Which All Days Were Made

 

I do not ever remember, in preparation for a lesson, in all the years I have

been doing this, ever encountering as many scriptures in reference to the

theme today.  The truly have mushroomed, I trust that is the work of the

Holy Spirit.  Will you pray that God will sort them out and make a convicting

sense of them to each of us, whether we are saved or whether we are lost.

 

 

Last week I ended the lesson with a profound question that I had come across

during that week:

 

What do we live for, if it is not to prepare for a hereafter life, and

for the day for which all days were made?

 

In Romans 14:5 is a passage of Scripture that I would like for us to consider this morning:

 

            “One man esteemeth one day above another:  another esteemeth every

            day alike.  Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.”

 

Some time long ago, I ran into a saying:

 

There are three kinds of people in the world:

 

·         Those that make things happen.

·         Those that watch things happen.

·         Those that do not know anything is happening.

 

I guess of this scripture, that there are those:

 

·         who esteem one day different from another,

·         who esteem every day the same, and those

·         who do not esteem any day.

 

Esteem according to the dictionary means:  respect and admiration.

 

As used in Romans 14:5 κρινει - krinei - decide, assess/determine,

discriminate/separate, and so to judge.

 

“One man esteemeth one day above another:  another esteemeth every

day alike. (the word alike is in italics.  This addition is not needed in the

translation, the meaning being that every day is especially regarded as

sacred.  Vines.    

 

Are you curious, like myself, as to how many days there have been

in our lives thus far?  For me today, December 12, 2024, is number 29,684.

 

God has mercifully given me these days to prepare for the Judgment Day!

According to Acts 17:31, the will be one for “...He hath appointed a day

in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom

He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance to all men, in that

He hath raised Him from the dead.”

 

Also Peter says “.....the day of the Lord will come.”  (II Peter 3:10)

 

I am a blessed man for when I was a pre-teen, the old account was

settled, I could give you the number of the day, and within a couple

of hours of the time (because of the habits of country churches in those

days in revival), but I have not bothered to figure it out because I do not want to

put emphasis on it, as you may not know the day of your salvation.  I

bet, though, that you, like myself, could approximate the hour.  We are

required to be born again through trusting in Jesus who shed His precious

blood on the cross for us all.  We are not required to know all the statistics.

The only reason I could isolate the number of the day I was saved is because

I was saved on my  Dad’s birthday in 1955.  I have grossly failed in many

instances committing gross sins but, because of Christ’s atonement for

me, MY LIFE HAS NEVER BEEN THE SAME!

 

 

"Rue the day" is an idiom that means to feel deep regret or remorse

for an event or action: 

 

If you do not take advantage of the days the Lord has given you to

PREPARE FOR THE JUDGMENT DAY - yea, even take advantage of

THIS DAY that the Lord has given you to prepare, and keep putting it

off, no doubt in time, (it may be in eternally in Hell) you will perpetually rue

each day that you had to “prepare to meet thy God” (Amos 4:12) - such is

the design of the power of memory in your soul!  Unfortunately,

the ruing will be accompanied “...with weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

(Luke 13:28-29; Matthew 13:42,50)  This scenario in your life will be

complicated by witnessing people coming from the four corners of the

earth into the Kingdom of God, and you, yourself thrust out, thrust out

because you did not esteem the days of your opportunity to prepare for

that DAY OF ALL DAYS, THE JUDGMENT, because in your wasting

of your days you did not redeem the time, nor number your days to the

application of your heart to wisdom (Psalm 90:12)

 

 

 

I shall take the time to read Psalm 90, according to the title:

A Prayer of Moses the man of God.

 

 

1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

 

2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst

formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to

everlasting, thou art God.

3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of

men.  hou turnest man to destruction.

 

You turn man to dust, and say, 'Return, O children of man!'" signifies the fleeting

nature of human life, emphasizing that humans are created from dust and will

ultimately return to dust, highlighting God's power over life and death, and serving

as a reminder of our mortality compared to God's eternal nature; it essentially says

that God can bring humans back to nothingness as easily as He created them from dust. 

 

I appreciate the teaching set forth in Psalm 138:8 - “The Lord will perfect that

which concerneth me:  thy mercy O Lord, endureth for ever:  forsake not

the work of thine own hands.”

Or to death, as the Targum, which is the destruction of man; not an annihilation of body

or soul, but a dissolution of the union between them; the words may be rendered, "thou

turnest man until he is broken" F2; and crumbled into dust; thou turnest him about in

the world, and through a course of afflictions and diseases, and at last by old age, and

however by death, returns him to his original, from whence he came, the dust

of the earth, which he becomes again, ( Genesis 3:19 ) ( Ecclesiastes 12:7 )

the grave may be meant by destruction:

 

4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is

past, and as a watch in the night.

5Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the

morning they are like grass which groweth up.

6  In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is

cut down, and withereth.

 

Compare Psalm 103:1-19:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His

holy name.

2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:

3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with

lovingkindness and tender mercies;

5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is

renewed like the eagle’s.

6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are

oppressed.

7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of

Israel.

8The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous

in mercy.

9  He will not always chide: neither will He keep His anger for ever.

10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us

according to our iniquities.

11  For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy

toward them that fear Him.

12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our

transgressions from us.

13  Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that

fear Him.

14 For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.

15  As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he

flourisheth.

16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof

shall know it no more.

17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting

upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children’s

children;

18 To such as keep His covenant, and to those that remember His

commandments to do them.

19 The LORD hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His

kingdom ruleth over all.

 

7 For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we

troubled.

8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light

of thy countenance.

9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years

as a tale that is told.

10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason

of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and

sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.  (this verse emphasizes

the futility of life, its brevity, with its troubles and sorrows, and the need to

live each day to the fullest - AI Overview- Artificial Intelligence is even  in theology -

since this statement is biblical I have included it - CY 2024 - caveat emptor)

 

I recommend a perusal of What Does the Bible Say about Turning 80

on Facebook.  (I may want to do a lesson on this. God permitting!)

 

11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy

fear, so is thy wrath.

12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto

wisdom.

13 Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy

servants.

14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad

all our days.

15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us,

and the years wherein we have seen evil.

16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their

children.

17 And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish

thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands

establish thou it.

 

In light of what we have said so far, and that far from the the Book

of Judges - I want to bring to your attention the following people

and whether they ever used a day of their lives, which God had given,

to prepare for the Day of All Days?

 

·         Micah

·         Micah’s Mother

·         Micah’s son, who became his Dad’s priest, (ever salvaged)

·         the Levite (who turns out to be Moses’ grandson)

·         the dissatisfied Danites

·         the five Danites selected to look for another inheritance

·         the careless people of Laish

·         the six-hundred warriors with weapons of war, sent to

      conquer the city of Laish

·         you

·         me

 

 

 

 

 

[1]Tribal Allotments Of Israel | IBible Maps

 

 

5 And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that

we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.

6 And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD is

your way wherein ye go.

7 Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people

that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the

Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the

land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far

from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man.

8 And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their

brethren said unto them, What say ye?

9 And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have

seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not

slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.

10 When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large

land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is

no want of any thing that is in the earth.

11 And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of

Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with

weapons of war.

12 And they went up, and pitched in Kirjathjearim, in Judah:

wherefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this day:

behold, it is behind Kirjathjearim.

13 And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the

house of Micah.

14 Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of

Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in

these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a

molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do.

15 And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young

man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him.

16And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war,

which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the

gate.

17 And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came

in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the

teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the

entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed

with weapons of war.

 

A good report is brought back by the spies who suggest that the Danites

should possess Laish. So a party of six hundred warriors is formed, and they

take with them their families and possessions. On the way back to Laish,

they stop by Micah’s house and rob him of his idols and his priest. Then the

Danites capture Laish, burn it, rebuild it, and live in it. They rename the city Dan.[2]

 

18 And these went into Micah’s house, and fetched the carved image,

the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the

priest unto them, What do ye?

19 And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy

mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better

for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a

priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?

20 And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the

teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the

people.

21 So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle

and the carriage before them.

22 And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men

that were in the houses near to Micah’s house were gathered

together, and overtook the children of Dan.

23 And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their

faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with

such a company?

24 And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the

priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is

this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee?

25 And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard

among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life,

with the lives of thy household.

26 And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that

they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his

house.

27 And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest

which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at

quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword,

and burnt the city with fire.

28 And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and

they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that

lieth by Bethrehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein.

29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan

their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city

was Laish at the first.

30 And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the

son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests

to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

31 And they set them up Micah’s graven image, which he made, all

the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.*   (1466 B.C.)

 

* Shiloh was a city in Ephraim, about 24 miles north of Jerusalem.located in the

region of the West Bank. It was the capital of Israel and the first permanent

home of the tabernacle, which contained the ark of the covenant. The Ark of

the Covenant and the Tabernacle were installed in Shiloh after the Israelite

conquest of Canaan. According to Talmudic sources, the Ark of the Covenant

was in Shiloh for 369 years. The Ark was taken from Shiloh to a battle against

the Philistines, where it was captured.  (Google)

 

 

 

In Jeremiah 7:12-15

 

12 But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my

name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my

people Israel.

13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD,

and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard

not; and I called you, but ye answered not;

14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name,

wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to

your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.

15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your

brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.


 

                  Shiloh, or the God-Forsaken Shrine  

          (A Pulpit Commentary Homily on Jeremiah 7:12-14)

 

It is to many minds impossible to avoid a feeling of deep sadness when we

look upon the ruins, noble even in their desolation, of some former

beautiful and august sanctuary of God. There are many such scattered over

this and other lands: TinternFurnessMelrose, etc. Our imagination

pictures them when in the zenith of their glory, with their many stately

towers and tapering spires, their long-drawn aisles and lofty roofs, the

glorious vista of high-arched nave and choir and glittering sanctuaries

stretching away further still in the dim distance, the gleaming altars, the

magnificent service, the vast throng of kneeling worshippers, the soul

enchanting music, and the murmur of myriad prayers. The memories of

saintly men and women who have worshipped and are buried there crowd

upon the mind, and we wistfully wonder where and why that consecrated

genius has flown which had power to rear for God shrines so glorious as

those whose ruins we are beholding must once have been. It is sad to think

of such glory and beauty as these forsaken shrines once had gone forever.

The Jews who came back from the Captivity wept when they thought of

the glory of the ancient temple, which they never more might see. But if

the departure of material glory may cause sadness to the mind, how much

more the departure of that which is spiritual! If we mourn that we shall no

more have the presence of some fair temple of the Lord, how much more

when we lose the Lord of the temple! And it is such sadder loss that

Shiloh, the God-forsaken shrine, has to tell of. And we observe upon it that:

 

 

Samson - Judges 16:20-21

The wife of Phnehas - I Samuel 4:18-22

I. THERE ARE FEW MORE MOURNFUL HISTORIES THAN THAT

OF SHILOH. Shiloh was one of the earliest and most sacred of the

Hebrew sanctuaries. There for full three hundred years the ark of God

remained and the priests of the Lord ministered. As soon as the promised

land was mainly subdued, Joshua brought the ark of God from Gilgal, near

 the Jordan, to Shiloh. The place was probably chosen for its seclusion and

hence its safety, it being off the great highways of the land. Bethel, which

otherwise might have been chosen as especially sacred, was yet in the

hands of the Canaanites. Hence Shiloh, in the territory of the powerful tribe

of Ephraim, and of their great ancestor Joseph, a tribe which more and

more had been coming to the front amongst their brethren, was chosen for

the sanctuary of the ark of God. There, as afterwards at Jerusalem“the

tribes went up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give

thanks unto the Name of the Lord.” (Psalm 122:4)  What glad festivals;

what gracious deliverances; what Divine responses to their inquiring of

the Lord;  what holy memories of thronging worshippers, of accepted

sacrifices, of saintly priests and prophets who had dwelt there, were all

associated with that shrine at Shiloh! There Eli ministered, and Hannah

came to present her offerings, to pour out her prayers and to pay her vows.

There she brought Samuel, and there the Lord called him to his high service

as he ministered before Him. All their truest and noblest life drew its

inspiration from the God who had placed His Name there, and whom there

they went to worship. But at length, under the rule of Eli, that well-

meaning but weak-willed high priest, priesthood and people alike sank

down into a state of moral and religious degradation from which Eli

was powerless to deliver them. His own sons led the way in abominable

wickedness, and became sons of Belial even beyond others. So low had

they fallen, that they had come to regard the ark of God as a kind of

fetish, and hence they carried it down to battle against the Philistines,

thinking thereby to certainly win the day. But the ark of God was

taken, its besotted priests slain, and Eli, hearing the dreadful tidings

suddenly, died, a worn-out and broken-hearted old man. From that hour,

As Psalm 78 tells, “God forsook Shiloh, the tent which He placed among

men;… He refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of

Ephraim.” And it was all because, as the same psalm tells, Israel “tempted

and provoked the most high God, and kept not His testimonies: but

turned back, and dealt deceitfully like their fathers: they were turned

aside like a deceitful bow. For they provoked Him to anger with their

high places, and moved Him to jealousy with their graven images.” 

Wherefore “He was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel.” And now, ages

afterJeremiah bids the people of his day go to Shiloh, and see what

God did to it for the wickedness of the people. They might trace out,

perhaps, the foundations of her ancient walls, and discover the vestiges of

the former sanctuary; but now no altar bore the sacred fire, the smoke

of no sacrifice ascended, no priest ministered, no God gave answer,

no song of the Lord went up; the whole place was probably ravaged and

overthrown by the enemies of Israel, who had carried off their great

treasure, the ark of God. Well might the wife of Phinehas, in the hour

of her agony, call her new-born, but now fatherless, and soon to be

altogether her orphan, child, Ichabod, for indeed the glory had

departed, the ark of God was taken, and the Lord had forsaken 

Shiloh. (I Samuel 4:21-22) Oh, the sorrow, the shame, the unavailing

remorse which would overwhelm the faithless priesthood and the

godless people, when they beheld that God-abandoned shrine, 

and remembered wherefore this calamity had come upon them! 

Yes, this story is a sad one; but it is most salutary (beneficial) also,

and therefore we may well heed the word of the Lord which says to us,

go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my Name

at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people 

Israel.”

 

According to Talmudic sources, the Ark of the Covenant was in Shiloh for 

369 years. The Ark was taken from Shiloh to a battle against the Philistines,

where it was captured. 


Dan’s Invasion and Idolatry -He Reads Truth by Nick Batzig

 

 

Some years ago, my father-in-law was certified to do controlled burnings on his

farm. He had to go through extensive training so he could learn the procedures

required to burn brush on his property. He was literally licensed to play with fire.

Needless to say, my three sons thought this was the coolest thing ever. After all,

what little boy wouldn’t want to take a flamethrower and burn things! My

mother-in-law, however, was insistent that the boys shouldn’t be allowed to be

out with their grandfather while he did the burnings since there was an enormous

threat of getting burned or of a wildfire starting and consuming everything in its

path—including my sons.

 

Once individuals practice idolatry, there is the risk of it spreading like wildfire.

We see this throughout Israel’s history, and perhaps nowhere so clearly as in the

account of the Danites and Micah in Judges 17–18. No sooner had the members

of the tribe of Dan heard about the household gods and personal Levite that Micah

had taken for himself, than they wanted those things for themselves.

 

This was not pagan idolatry in the strictest sense of the term. This was synchronized

idolatry among the covenant people of God. That’s what made it so exceedingly

dangerous for them and so abominable to the Lord. Micah had done what many

have sought to do throughout human historyhe personalized his religion so

that it would suit his own desires. The Danites then envied the idolatrous

liberation that Micah had seemed to attain. Once they took the household

gods and the Levitical priest to themselves, the synchronized idolatry burned

among them like wildfire, and it burned for many generations (Judges 18:30).

 

There is a warning here for us today. While we may not be setting up carved idols

in our homes or among our friends and family members, we are constantly being

encouraged to synchronize the true worship of God based on Scripture with what

seems to fit with our own desires and the practices and values of our culture.

Idolatry is a wildfire of rebellion against the Most High God.

 

Jesus came into this world to be the Great High Priest of His people. He lived and

died and rose again in order to bring us into the presence of God and to make us a

people who worship Him in spirit and truth. Jesus dealt with the wildfire of our

idolatry by extinguishing the fire of God’s wrath as He hung on the cross for our

sin. When we keep our eyes fixed on Him, we take our gaze off the false gods

of this world and return our heart’s devotion to Him.   (Nick Batzig)

 

 

 

The Tribe of Dan played a significant role in the spread of idolatry in Israel

contributing to the spiritual decline of the nation:   The Danites established an

idolatrous worship center in Laish, where they set up a graven image and

appointed a Levite priest

 

In Judges 17-21 we are given two stories of apostasy in Israel. Both accounts center

on the tribes of Dan and Ephraim and on the city of Bethlehem, the birthplace of

David, God's choice for king over Israel. The writer of Judges emphasizes in these

chapters that these were the days before Israel had a king. 

 

Why is the Tribe of Dan Missing in Revelation 7? | Verse By Verse Ministry International   

(taken from Verse by Verse Ministry International)

 

In these chapters of Judges, Dan sinned by viewing the land God allotted to

them as unacceptable, so they abandoned it. (This is the origin of the last

twenty-four lessons entitled The Danger of Dissatisfaction with the Lot in

One’s Life .)  While passing through Ephraim, they stole idols from a home

and recruited a Levite to serve in a false temple in the new territory.

 

 

The Tribe of Dan moved north from their allotted territory in the Bible because 

they were unable to successfully defend their land against the Philistines, who

were located near their original inheritance, so they sought a new area to settle,

migrating north to capture the city of Laish (later called Dan) which was

considered a more defensible location and less populated by enemies; this

migration is detailed in the Book of Judges, Chapter 18.

 

Key points about the Tribe of Dan's migration:

  • Difficulty with enemies:

 

Their original land bordered the Philistines, making it challenging to defend against

their attacks. 

  • Search for a better location:

 

The Danites sent spies to explore new territory, finding Laish as a suitable place

to settle. 

  • Conquering Laish:

 

The Danites attacked and conquered Laish, renaming it Dan, and establishing

their new home there. 

  • Negative connotations:

 

This act is often viewed as a form of disobedience to God's allocation of land,

and the Danites became associated with idolatry due to the pagan practices

they adopted in their new territory

 

 

Dan and Ephraim are both left out of the list of Israelite witnesses in Revelation 7:4-8.

 

As a result, Dan became the first tribe in Israel to embrace idol worship in Israel.

Meanwhile, the tribe of Ephraim, the source of the idols, assumed control over

the land originally intended for Dan. They aided and abetted the Danites in

bringing idolatry into the land of Israel. These sins give just cause for God

to exclude them from the privilege of preparing Israel and the world for

the Messiah's return.   (Their absence in the list in Revelation 7:5-8 is conspicuous -

this is something to cry about, something to mourn over!  It is akin to  Christ’s

words in Luke 13:28-30:

 

28 “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see

Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the

kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the

north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of

God.”

 

In today's culture, "non-inclusive" means language or behavior that excludes or fails

to consider people from diverse backgrounds, identities, or abilities, often unintentionally

perpetuating bias or discrimination by not actively welcoming everyone and making them

feel included; essentially, it refers to practices that leave certain groups feeling left out or

not represented.  (Google)

 

 

28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see

Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the

kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the

north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of

God.

30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first

which shall be last.  (Luke 13:28-30)

 

These situations spawned the warnings of the last six months of talking to you about

the dangers of being dissatisfied with God’s ordinations! CY - 2024)

 

 

But there is a deeper message in their exclusion. The apostasy of Dan and Ephraim

represented the low point in Israel's history immediately prior to the Lord raising

up a king from Bethlehem to deliver Israel from its sin. Sound familiar?

This is exactly the pattern that will exist prior to the Lord's return to rule over

Israel at the end of Tribulation. By excluding these two tribes from the list in

Revelation 7, the Lord is pointing our attention back to the circumstances at the

end of Judges. The final chapters of Judges (17-21) and the story of Ruth which

follows Judges form a three-part story of the king's arrival to address the nation's

idolatry.  Parts 1 and 2 of the story are found in Judges 17-21 and chronicle

the growing apostasy of Israel under the influence of the Danites and Ephramites.

Part 3 of the story is found in Ruth, where the Messiah's arrival in Bethlehem

(pictured by the arrival of Naomi's son in Bethlehem) serves as the hope of Israel.

These events picture the greater arrival of Christ to rescue Israel from apostasy.

Therefore, Dan and Ephraim are missing in the list of Revelation 7 to draw our

attention to the time of Judges, to illustrate that Israel is once again guilty of

apostasy as it was in Judges under Dan and Ephraim. And once again the Lord

will bring Israel a king from Bethlehem to rescue Israel from its apostasy, that

is Jesus Christ. By excluding these two tribes, the Lord is emphasizing that the

third part of the story is right around the corner. 

 

Why is the Tribe of Dan Missing in Revelation 7? | Verse By Verse Ministry International   

(taken from Verse by Verse Ministry International)

 

 

 

 

In Genesis 17:8, God promises Abram, even before his name change, “...I will give unto

thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of

Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

 

In Genesis 15:13-16, God promises that Abraham's descendants will own the land of Canaan,

for at that time (400 years before) “....the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” 

 

In Deuteronomy 31:7-8, God tells Abraham that his descendants will conquer the land of Canaan

as a judgment on the inhabitants Canaan at the time.  Moses encourages Joshua and Israel

not to fear the Canaanites, and says that the same God who brought them out of Egypt will

take them into the Promised Land. “And the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee; He will

be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee:  fear not, neither be dismayed.”

 

The conquest of Canaan represents living the victorious Christian life,

and ENTERING INTO GOD’S REST!

 

 

Israel’s story took dark turn after dark turn as the people made bad choice after bad choice.

They had been redeemed out of slavery, with all their needs taken care of by the Lord, yet

they forgot their God and lost their way. Quickly they fell into sin and idolatry. We’re

talking idol worship and murder—absolute lawlessness. How could God’s chosen people fall

so far so fast?  From the outside looking in, the Israelites’ missteps are plain to see. But in

our own lives, it’s much easier to lose perspective. The Israelites thought they could run

their lives better than God could. For example, we saw in today’s reading that God

provided land for the tribe of the Danites, but they found a quiet town to conquer instead.

Veering from God’s provision, they left behind a wake of physical and spiritual destruction.

The Lord also asked the Israelites for their sole devotion, but the Danites opted for idol

worship (Judges 18:27–31).  The Danites, a tribe of Israel, thought they could make a better,

happier, more abundant future for themselves than the one the Lord had laid out for them.

Sometimes I wonder, “Am I guilty of this sort of arrogance too? Do I ever believe my

plan is superior to the Lord’s?” When I forget the goodness and wisdom of God, I’m

likely to fall into the same trap of disobedience, foolishly thinking I can create a brighter

future for myself than the one God has planned. We choose our own plans because we

don’t trust that God’s plan is actually good for us. Or maybe, like the Danites, we

forget that our God has the power to move mountains. Perhaps God calls us to give

our money or time or energy, but we hold back. Or maybe He lays it on our hearts to

repair a relationship, but we decide it’s better to sweep the issue under the rug. In the

short term, we think our plan is less painful and more effective. But if we look at what

happened with Israel when they forgot God’s instruction, it’s clear that a life of disobedience

only brings pain and suffering.  May the Danites’ story remind us that we are all utterly

lost without God’s guidance. We have access to God’s wisdom in Word and Spirit.

Our Father in heaven knows what is best for us and works for our good. Placing our

trust in the Lord and obeying Him will not always be easy, but we have a powerful

promise of true life, flourishing and full of purpose, when we look to Jesus and walk

in His ways.  Taken from:

 

Dan's Invasion and Idolatry - She Reads Truth -She Reads Truth

 

Ř      As an occasion for solemn lamentation over the miserable destiny of

Judas. The “woe” is not spoken so much as a denunciation, but rather in

commiseration. All the good of life is spoken of as forfeited — and more

than forfeited. “The apophthegm is rather remarkable when microscopically

examined, for, strictly speaking, nothing would be good to a man who

never existed. But our Savior’s meaning is not microscopic, but obvious,

and most solemn. A man’s existence is turned into a curse to him when he

inverts the grand moral purpose contemplated in its Divine origination”

(Morison). At the feast of love there is ever a sense of mingled reprobation

(disapproval) and sympathy with respect to sinners.

 

 

 

 

 



[1]McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary: History of Israel (Joshua/Judges). electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1991 (Thru the Bible Commentary 10), S. 213

[2]McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary: History of Israel (Joshua/Judges). electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1991 (Thru the Bible Commentary 10), S. 218