“The Spiritual Significance of Directions”

North, South, East and West

[Study Originally Aired January 7, 2025
Revised and re-recorded January 28, 2025]

Introduction: Understanding Direction in Scripture

In our pursuit of spiritual understanding, we must begin with Jesus’s foundational teaching that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20). This truth transforms our study of directional references in Scripture from mere geographical indicators to profound spiritual realities. When God established physical directions in creation, He provided patterns that would reveal spiritual truth, for “the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made” (Romans 1:20).

God deliberately established directional patterns from the beginning of creation. This pattern became physically visible when “God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night” (Genesis 1:16). By setting the sun to rise in the east and set in the west each day, God created an enduring natural cycle that would teach spiritual truth. The prophet Malachi captured this teaching purpose: ”For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles” (Malachi 1:11). Through this daily journey of light, we learn how divine revelation progresses to completion in our lives.

To understand these spiritual patterns, we must rely not on natural reasoning but on divine wisdom. Paul emphasizes this necessity: “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). As Jesus taught, “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Therefore, we must approach directional references in Scripture seeking their spiritual significance.

The Divine Pattern: Israel’s Tribal Arrangement

God’s arrangement of Israel’s tribes around the tabernacle provides our first complete picture of how directions reveal spiritual truth. This wasn’t random positioning but deliberate placement teaching eternal principles. Each tribe’s location carried specific spiritual meaning that would illuminate God’s working in our lives.

On the east side, God positioned Judah: “On the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies” (Numbers 2:3). Through Judah would come Christ, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5). This eastern placement established that direction’s connection with divine revelation, just as natural light first appears in the east.

The south side belonged to Reuben: “On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben” (Numbers 2:10). As Jacob’s firstborn who lost his birthright through sin, Reuben’s position revealed how the south represents progressive testing and judgment in our lives. His story shows how God uses circumstances to reveal and deal with what lies within us.

Continuing with the tribal arrangement, God placed Ephraim on the west side: “On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim” (Numbers 2:18). Ephraim had received a blessing of multiplication from Jacob: “his seed shall become a multitude of nations” (Genesis 48:19). This western position reveals how God brings His work to completion and fullness, just as the sun completes its daily journey in the west.

Finally, the tribe of Dan occupied the north: “The camp of Dan shall be on the north side” (Numbers 2:25). The name Dan means “judge,” establishing the north’s connection with God’s judgment and authority. This positioning teaches us how God’s authority works in our lives through judgment to accomplish His purpose.

The Language of Direction: Hebrew and Greek Insights

The original Hebrew and Greek words for directions provide deeper insight into their spiritual significance. Each directional term carries meaning that illuminates how God uses these patterns to accomplish His purpose in our lives.

The Hebrew word for north, tsaphon (צָפוֹן), derives from a root meaning ”to hide or treasure up. ” God reveals this connection through Solomon’s instruction to ”lay up (tsaphan) my commandments with thee” (Proverbs 7:1). Just as precious things are carefully stored until the right moment, so God’s judgments from the north are released according to His perfect timing. The Greek equivalent, borrhas (βορρᾶς), relates to strength and hardness, reinforcing the north’s connection to God’s unmovable authority and judgment.

The south’s Hebrew designation, negeb (נֶגֶב), literally means ”to be parched” or ”dry, ” referring to desert regions. This parching process pictures how God uses testing to reveal what lies within us, as seen powerfully when Christ was ”led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil” (Matthew 4:1). After forty days in this desert testing, angels came and ministered to Him, showing how God’s testing ultimately brings refreshing. The Greek term notos (νότος) reinforces this pattern – connecting to moisture and rain, it reveals how testing leads to spiritual renewal, fulfilling the prophet’s words: ”For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud” (Isaiah 55:10)

In Hebrew, east is mizrach (מִזְרָח), from zarach meaning “to rise or shine forth.” The Greek anatole (ἀνατολή) carries the same meaning of rising or dawning. Both terms connect directly to sunrise, reinforcing how God’s revelation dawns progressively in our lives, as “the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18).

The Hebrew ma’arab (מַעֲרָב) for west comes from a root meaning “to grow dark,” referring to sunset. Similarly, the Greek dusme (δυσμή) means “a setting.” Rather than suggesting negative darkness, these terms speak of completion – just as each day finds completion at sunset, God brings each aspect of His work to its appointed conclusion.

These linguistic foundations reveal how God embedded spiritual meaning even in the basic terms for direction. As we study how Scripture uses these terms, their root meanings enrich our understanding of God’s working in our lives. This aligns with Solomon’s observation that “a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).

The North in Scripture: A Place of God’s Judgment and Authority

Scripture develops the north’s spiritual significance far beyond Dan’s initial placement. Job provides foundational insight when he declares, “He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing” (Job 26:7), connecting the north with God’s absolute authority over creation. The Psalmist reinforces this, declaring “Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King” (Psalm 48:2), linking the north specifically with God’s kingship and throne of judgment.

The prophet Ezekiel deepens this understanding through his dramatic vision: “a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it” (Ezekiel 1:4). This appearance from the north preceded God revealing His throne and glory, showing how experiencing God’s judgment prepares us for deeper revelation of His nature.

Through Jeremiah, God reveals how He uses northern powers as instruments of His judgment: “Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 1:14-15). Yet this judgment serves His redemptive purpose, for He promises restoration through this same direction: “In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers” (Jeremiah 3:18).

Isaiah illuminates the north’s significance when recording the king of Babylon’s proud boast: “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14). This reveals the north as the place of highest authority – a position belonging to God alone. As Isaiah further declares, “I am the LORD, and there is none else… I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things” (Isaiah 45:6-7). Through this authority, God works all things according to His will, establishing His kingdom within us.

The South: A Direction of God’s Progressive Judgment

Building on the north’s establishment of judgment, the south reveals how God’s judgment progresses to accomplish His purpose. This progression begins with Reuben’s placement on the south side of the tabernacle. Just as Reuben’s position changed through testing, the south represents how God’s judgments work progressively to transform us.

Just as He told Satan regarding Job, ”Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand’‘ (Job 1:12), every testing from the south operates within His set boundaries. The progression of these tests follows His perfect timing, for ”to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Job provides a key witness to how God uses the south for progressive testing: “Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north” (Job 37:9). This verse reveals how both directions serve God’s purpose – the north establishing judgment and the south advancing that work. The progression through the south appears powerfully in Ezekiel’s prophecy when God commands him with threefold emphasis: “Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field” (Ezekiel 20:46). This repetition emphasizes the progressive nature of God’s work through this direction.

The Psalmist captures the transformative nature of God’s southern working when he prays, “Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south“ (Psalm 126:4). These streams in the south speak to how God’s judgments flow progressively, bringing transformation as they advance. The context reveals the joyful outcome of this work: “When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing” (Psalm 126:1-2).

North and South: The Progression of Judgement

The distinction between the north’s judgment and south’s testing is crucial. North’s judgment establishes God’s authority, like when God told Job from the whirlwind, ”Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2). This judgment firmly establishes God’s sovereign rule.

South’s testing, by contrast, works progressively to reveal and purge what opposes God’s life within us. This appears when God tested Abraham: ”And it came to pass after these things, that God did test Abraham” (Genesis 22:1). Testing reveals what lies within, as Moses explained to Israel: ”to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no” (Deuteronomy 8:2).

Both judgment and testing serve God’s purpose, but in different ways. Judgment establishes His authority and right to rule, while testing progressively reveals and removes what opposes His life. As Isaiah declared, ”when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isaiah 26:9).

North and South: The Boundaries of Judgment 

Unlike east and west which continue without end, both north and south reach definite boundaries. This natural pattern reveals important truth about God’s judgments and testing. As David observed, ”As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). Significantly, David did not say ”as far as north from south, ” because those distances are measurable and finite.

The finite nature of the north and south appears clearly in creation. Traveling north, one eventually reaches the pole and can go no further – any continued movement becomes southward. The same limitation occurs when traveling south. This natural boundary reminds us that God’s judgments and testing serve specific purposes and have appointed ends. As the prophet Isaiah declared, ”In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind” (Isaiah 27:8).

This truth brings comfort during times of judgment and testing. Job learned this when God appeared to him from the whirlwind, revealing that even his intense trials had prescribed limits. The Lord reminded him, ”Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed” (Job 38:11). Just as God sets bounds for the sea, He sets boundaries for every judgment and testing.

The finite nature of judgment appears again when God promises restoration: ”For the Lord shall not cast off for ever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies” (Lamentations 3:31-32). All judgment serves His purpose of transformation, leading to the prophet’s confidence: ”The Lord doesn’t enjoy sending grief or pain.” (Lamentations 3:33 CEV)

The East: The Direction of God’s Glory and Light

The east holds special significance as the direction from which God’s glory and revelation proceed. As mentioned earlier this pattern begins in creation itself when God said “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.” (Genesis 1:16). He established the sun’s daily rise in the east as an enduring pattern teaching how spiritual light and understanding come to His people. After creating man, “the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden” (Genesis 2:8), and when man sinned, God placed cherubim “at the east of the garden of Eden” (Genesis 3:24), establishing the east as both the direction of divine glory and the way back to God’s presence.

Ezekiel witnessed this connection dramatically when “the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory” (Ezekiel 43:2). This appearance carried such power that “the earth shined with his glory,” showing how divine revelation illuminates everything it touches. When Israel’s disobedience caused God’s glory to depart from the temple, it moved eastward in stages, “Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’S house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.” (Ezekiel 10:18-19), yet God promised restoration would come from the same direction, as the prophet later saw the glory return “from the way of the east“ (Ezekiel 43:4).

This pattern of revelation from the east finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ, for “in him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). The wise men declared, “We have seen his star in the east“ (Matthew 2:2), following this light to find Him who would later declare “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). This connects the east’s natural light with Christ as the source of all spiritual illumination.

The east’s association with God’s glory reminds us that even divine revelation serves His sovereign purpose. When the Psalmist declares, “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge” (Psalm 75:6-7), he emphasizes that all true advancement comes from God alone, not from any direction or means.

The West: Completing God’s Work and Gathering His People

The west in Scripture reveals how God brings His work to completion and gathers His people. Just as the sun completes its daily journey in the west, this direction teaches us about the fulfillment of God’s purposes. This completion pattern begins with Ephraim’s placement on the west side of the tabernacle. Through Ephraim’s blessing of multiplication and fruitfulness, the west reveals how God’s work reaches its full increase.

The west’s completion pattern demonstrates God’s sovereign control over every work’s fulfillment. Nothing reaches completion except according to His purpose and timing, for ”In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11).

The west’s connection to completion appears powerfully in God’s promise to Joshua about the Promised Land: “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast” (Joshua 1:3-4). This western boundary, marked by the setting sun, represented the full extent of their inheritance.

The Psalms connect the west to the completion of God’s praise and glory: “From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’s name is to be praised” (Psalm 113:3). This shows how God’s work extends throughout the whole earth, from beginning (east) to completion (west). Similarly, Isaiah declares “So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun” (Isaiah 59:19), revealing how God’s glory fills the entire earth as His work reaches completion.

Christ particularly connects the west to the gathering and completion of His work: “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27). This gathering work culminates in His promise that “many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:11). The progression from east to west in these verses shows how God’s revelation leads to completed gathering.

The Unified Working of All Directions

Understanding how these directions work together reveals the completeness of God’s purpose. We see this comprehensive pattern first in God’s promise to Abraham: “And the LORD said unto Abram… Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever” (Genesis 13:14-15). This all-encompassing view represented not just physical territory but the fullness of God’s spiritual promise.

Isaiah reveals how these directions serve God’s gathering purpose: “Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 43:5-6). Each direction receives specific commands that reveal its role in God’s complete work – the north must “give up,” showing release of judgment; the south must “keep not back,” allowing progression of judgment; while east brings forth “thy seed” and west completes the “gathering”.

The prophet Ezekiel witnessed this comprehensive working through the four living creatures: “As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle” (Ezekiel 1:10). These four faces, looking toward the four directions, show how God’s authority extends everywhere. Their movement according to God’s spirit – “And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went” (Ezekiel 1:12) – reveals how all directions serve His sovereign purpose.

Practical Application of Directional Truth

Understanding these directional patterns transforms how we view and respond to every circumstance in our spiritual journey. Each direction reveals specific aspects of God’s work in us, helping us cooperate with rather than resist His purpose.

When facing judgment from the north, we recognize God establishing His authority in our lives. Rather than resisting these experiences, we can submit like Job who declared “He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). This understanding helps us yield to God’s establishing work, knowing His judgment serves His perfect purpose.

The south’s progressive testing reveals God’s transformative work advancing in our lives. Like the Psalmist, we learn to pray “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24). God’s testing process accelerates our spiritual growth as each trial reveals and purges what opposes His life within us.

When divine revelation comes from the east, it brings increasing light and understanding to transform our walk with God. The prophet captured this progressive illumination: “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward” (Isaiah 58:8). As Hosea declares, “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning” (Hosea 6:3). Each new day presents fresh opportunities for increased spiritual understanding.

The west reminds us that God will complete what He has begun, bringing every aspect of His work to its appointed conclusion. Paul expressed this certainty: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). When circumstances seem to hinder or delay God’s purpose, the west’s completion pattern encourages our faith to trust His perfect timing.

These directional workings ultimately point to internal spiritual realities, fulfilling Christ’s declaration that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20). The north’s judgment works within to establish God’s authority in our hearts. The south’s progression moves us through internal testing that reveals and purges what opposes God’s life. The east’s light illuminates our understanding of spiritual truth. The west’s gathering brings all these workings to completion in our experience.

This internal working aligns perfectly with God’s promise through Ezekiel: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Each direction serves this transformative purpose as God works to conform us to Christ’s image.

Conclusion: The Perfect Pattern

These directional patterns ultimately reveal the perfection of God’s working in every aspect of our lives. From the north’s establishment of divine authority through the south’s progressive testing, from the east’s revelation to the west’s completion, each direction serves God’s purpose of conforming us to Christ’s image.

The prophetic visions of both Daniel and Ezekiel reveal how God orchestrates all powers and movements according to His directional purposes. Daniel’s vision of the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward demonstrated how God uses even earthly kingdoms to accomplish His purpose of judgment (north), testing (south), and moving toward completion (west). Notably, the ram’s inability to push eastward aligns with our understanding that God alone brings revelation and glory from the east.

Together, these prophetic visions reveal how God maintains absolute control over all directional movements in creation. Whether through spiritual beings or earthly powers, every directional movement serves His sovereign purpose, for ”all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand” (Daniel 4:35).

This comprehensive understanding brings peace amidst life’s various circumstances. Whether facing judgment, testing, revelation, or completion, we recognize each experience as part of God’s perfect pattern. As Paul declared, ”we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

May this understanding of Scripture’s directional patterns deepen our walk with God and strengthen our faith in His sovereign working. For truly, ”of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36)

1Ki 12:1-33  “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart” – (Pro 3:3)

[Study Aired March 31, 2022]

1Ki 12:1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. 
1Ki 12:2  And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) 
1Ki 12:3  That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, 
1Ki 12:4  Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. 
1Ki 12:5  And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed. 
1Ki 12:6  And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?
1Ki 12:7  And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. 
1Ki 12:8  But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him: 
1Ki 12:9  And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter? 
1Ki 12:10  And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. 
1Ki 12:11  And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 
1Ki 12:12  So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day. 
1Ki 12:13  And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him; 
1Ki 12:14  And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 
1Ki 12:15  Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 
1Ki 12:16  So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. 
1Ki 12:17  But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 
1Ki 12:18  Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. 
1Ki 12:19  So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. 
1Ki 12:20  And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only. 
1Ki 12:21  And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 
1Ki 12:22  But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 
1Ki 12:23  Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying, 
1Ki 12:24  Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD. 
1Ki 12:25  Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. 
1Ki 12:26  And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: 
1Ki 12:27  If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. 
1Ki 12:28  Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 
1Ki 12:29  And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. 
1Ki 12:30  And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. 
1Ki 12:31  And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. 
1Ki 12:32  And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. 
1Ki 12:33  So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.

In our last study the groundwork was laid to show why God was going to tear the nation of Israel apart, as was prophesied by Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the next two chapters the specifics of how this will happen are going to unfold. Rehoboam’s inability to hear the people, “Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD” was caused by the Lord just as Jeroboam’s actions were “devised of his own heart” (1Ki 12:33), whose heart as all men’s hearts are in the Lord’s hand to accomplish His purpose for humanity (Pro 21:1, Eph 1:11).

Pro 21:1  The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. 

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

1Ki 12:1-33  “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: Both Jeroboam and Rehoboam are being used by the Lord to bring about this division of the nation of Israel as the sins of their fathers, Solomon in this case. As a father of the nation of Israel, the sins were visited on the generations that would follow him (Num 14:18, Exo 20:5-6).

Num 14:18  The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Exo 20:5  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 
Exo 20:6  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 

Jeroboam demonstrates the same spirit as Rehoboam, and Rehoboam shows the same spirit as Jeroboam, telling us that both these carnal kings are all about the power grab and are manipulating the masses to that end as demonstrated in these verses (1Ki 12:31, 13).

Speaking of Jeroboam:

1Ki 12:31  And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi:

Speaking of Rehoboam:

1Ki 12:13  And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him;

The lesson has to be taken inwardly if it is going to be of any value to us today. What we can learn from these two kings is that when Christ is not on the throne of our hearts ruling and reigning as typified by king David (1Ki 11:4), then the body will be divided and brought into captivity (2Ki 17:23, Zec 14:2). When we are blessed to be abased and take the lower seat through Christ, God will be glorified in our life (Mat 23:12, Luk 14:10).

1Ki 11:4  For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. 

2Ki 17:23  Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day. 

Zec 14:2  For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 

Mat 23:12  And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Luk 14:10  But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.

All of this destruction and manipulation in both kings’ lives represent the powers and principalities we war against in our heavens and fail to overcome until we are chastened and scourged of the Lord and brought back to him with a spirit of obedience (Heb 12:6, Tit 2:11-12). It is only a small little flock on this earth today who understand this concept of God’s grace and how all these stories we are reading about are written for the elect’s sake to demonstrate how we all lose our first love, separating Christ from his body as typified by Judah and Israel being divided and brought into captivity. Our goal then as the body of Christ is to “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” Who is not divided (Php 3:14, 1Co 1:13) and has called us to go through a process of overcoming so our hearts can be changed through that process to ultimately bring us to the point where we continue in this life to “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee” as we continue to “bind them about thy neck” and  “write them upon the table of thine heart” (Rev 1:3).

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 
Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. 

1Ki 12:1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. 
1Ki 12:2  And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) 
1Ki 12:3  That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, 
1Ki 12:4  Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. 
1Ki 12:5  And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed. 
1Ki 12:6  And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?
1Ki 12:7  And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. 

What God requires of us is stated this way in Micah 6:8 in order to be kings and priests: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”. This essentially is the counsel that was given to Rehoboam of the “old men” when they spoke these words: “If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever” (Gal 6:2, Mat 23:12, Joh 13:34-35). When we obey the commandments found in Micah 6:8, we can then mortify the deeds of the flesh through our service toward all men, especially unto the household of faith (Gal 6:10), and in so doing overcome the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life so we can then recognize God’s will and fulfill it and abide forever (1Jn 2:16-17).

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

God calls all men to come and learn to bind about our necks mercy and truth expressed in being doers of the word and not just hearers. Then “shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man” (Pro 3:4). Rehoboam did not humbly receive the instructions of those who were old (1Ki 12:13) who represent the safety that is found in the multitude of counselors (Pro 11:14, Pro 20:18).

1Ki 12:13  And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him; 

Pro 11:14  Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. 

Pro 20:18  Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war. 

Rehoboam went to a place called Shechem which means ‘shoulder’ or ‘ridge’, and all Israel came to Shechem to make him king. Rehoboam, at this point, expected smooth sailing and that nothing could prevent him from becoming king, but God had other plans by way of Jeroboam who, when he heard of this coronation that was going to take place, presented some terms and conditions stated this way: “Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.“

This ‘ridge’ would turn out to be more of a ‘cold shoulder’ that was given to Rehoboam than a warm acceptance, and this all transpired as a result of God having Jeroboam ask the right questions at the right time. The intention of how Rehoboam was going to treat the nation did not manifest immediately. “And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed“, showing that negative process of judgment in play in this wicked king’s heart who was going to make the yoke many times heavier than Solomon. This verse: “And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?” reminds us of Ecclesiastes 9:13-18 where the foolish king does not recognize how this wisdom that was with these elders was the way to preserve the kingdom.

H7927 
she kem
shek-em’

The same as H7926; ridge; Shekem, a place in Palestine: – Shechem.

H7926
shekem
shek-em’

From H7925; the neck (between the shoulders) as the place of burdens; figuratively the spur of a hill: – back, X consent, portion, shoulder.

Ecc 9:13  This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me: 
Ecc 9:14  There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: 
Ecc 9:15  Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. 
Ecc 9:16  Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. 
Ecc 9:17  The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. 
Ecc 9:18  Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good. 

1Ki 12:8  But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him: 
1Ki 12:9  And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter? 
1Ki 12:10  And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. 
1Ki 12:11  And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

Rehoboam was going to go where he could get the answer his flesh wanted to hear and “forsook the counsel of the old men.” In type and shadow what was being asked was that the law for the lawless, demonstrated by Solomon’s rule the “heavy yoke“, could be lightened to reflect the joyful burden that we have in the yoke Christ gives us (Mat 11:28-30).

Mat 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

There was a big draw in Rehoboam’s heart to go to “the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him” seeing they would readily agree with him and no doubt be profited by this unholy alliance. What was promised was that Rehoboam would chastise the nation of Israel with scorpions which symbolizes false doctrines that would be coming from the false prophets who are likened unto scorpions in God’s word (Isa 9:14-15). Inwardly these scorpions and the rule that Rehoboam has over us at an appointed time is all of the Lord and for the destruction of our old man, as was being typified with these events with the nation of Israel.

Isa 9:14  Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. 
Isa 9:15  The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

Eze 2:6  And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. 

Rev 9:4  And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 
Rev 9:5  And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.  

Rev 9:10  And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 

His friends, which were really a group of foolish companions, were soon going to be destroyed (Pro 13:20) and did exactly what was expected of them: “The young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins.” ‘Loins’ in the positive represent where God blesses us to “Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins.” So we are being told that the possibility of Rehoboam speaking “good words to them” (1Ki 12:7) which would make for a fruitful nation that was going to multiply was not going to happen. That was because he was leaning unto his own understanding and not honoring “the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase” (Pro 3:9).

1Ki 12:12  So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day. 
1Ki 12:13  And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him; 
1Ki 12:14  And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 

Rehoboam is now emboldened, and the three days that have passed have given him time to establish his perverted judgment he is going to pronounce over the nation of Israel. He “answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him“, and he made it very clear he was going to rule without mercy and truth bound about his neck (Pro 3:3-4). Rehoboam was trusting in his own flesh and this example teaches us that when we lean to our own understanding we will always reap what we sow. That is all we ever can do unless the Lord builds the house within us through much affliction, persecution and tribulation in this life through which He sees us every time, and that makes us stronger in his service (Pro 3:5-8, 2Co 12:8-10).

Pro 3:3  Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 
Pro 3:4  So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 
Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 
Pro 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 
Pro 3:7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. 
Pro 3:8  It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 

2Co 12:8  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 
2Co 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 
2Co 12:10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 

1Ki 12:15  Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 
1Ki 12:16  So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. 
1Ki 12:17  But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 

The prophesied end of the matter was that the king would not hearken to the people “for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat“. All Israel saw that the “king hearkened not unto them” and their concern was expressed this way: “The people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse.” This inheritance, which typifies our inheritance in the saints (Eph 1:18), was extremely important to the nation of Israel, and God put that level of importance in their hearts for our sake. The only viable solution to this wicked king with his unreasonable edicts was to say, “To your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.” That is just another way of saying what is written in Judges 21:25, at least for the time being, until Jeroboam would come along and fill this vacuum as the new king of the northern tribes of Israel which would break off from “the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.” We can also say that both Rehoboam ruling over these cities of Judah and Jeroboam soon to be ruling over the nations of Israel was caused by the Lord “for the cause was from the LORD“, and happened for our sakes as types of our losing our first love and being divided both in our head and in our body, represented by Judah and Israel (Isa 1:3-6).

Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 

Jdg 21:25  In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. 

Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. 
Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 
Isa 1:5  Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 
Isa 1:6  From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. 

1Ki 12:18  Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. 
1Ki 12:19  So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. 
1Ki 12:20  And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only. 

Solomon taxed the people of his time (1Ki 10:14-15) and after Rehoboam’s less than inspiring speech to the nation of Israel regarding how much harder he was going to be on everyone, he then sends for Adoram who is “over the tribute“, He then sees Adoram walk into this ugly mob who will stone him and cause Rehoboam to flee to Jerusalem. This was not a one-time rebellion, but as it says: “Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day“, telling us how our flesh is always against the spirit of God and the spirit against the flesh that only Christ in us can rule over (Gal 5:17).

The tribute seems unfair to our old man, and in fact at this stage in our walk, it is a great burden we don’t yet know how to deal with, as God chastens us for our infidelity via Rehoboam who represents those seven worse spirits that possess our temple after Solomon dies (Mat 12:45). Only Christ, who is the strong man, can come and bind these powers and principalities and liberate us with His spirit (Mar 3:27), which happens only after we experience His wrath poured out upon our old man, symbolized by these events that are going to unfold in the nation of Israel which all typify the Israel of God, the church today that is being judged (1Pe 4:17).

1Ki 12:21  And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 
1Ki 12:22  But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 
1Ki 12:23  Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying, 
1Ki 12:24  Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD. 

Throughout the passages we are reading, we are being reminded that all that was unfolding was “according to the word of the LORD” and that “this thing is from me.” The question for God’s elect is what is this thing God is doing, because we know for certain that it is for our sake (2Co 4:15). God has created this alliance now with the northern ten tribes of Israel that represent our flesh, and the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin that represent our religious man of sin, and these  are against each other. So we read of this prophecy (Rev 17:16) which reveals this same point: “And the ten horns [Israel] which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore [Judah and Benjamin which represent the harlot], and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.” Thinking spiritually and not physically, Israel is going to try to kill the worship in Judah by establishing false idols: “two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt“. This action of Jeroboam is typical of the beast hating the whore!

Regardless of what was in the heart of Rehoboam who wanted to “fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon“, the word of the Lord, the counsel of God, was going to stand which said, “Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.“

1Ki 12:25  Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. 
1Ki 12:26  And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: 
1Ki 12:27  If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. 
1Ki 12:28  Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 

On one side we have Rehoboam who, like Peter, wants to take up a sword and take the kingdom through violence (Mat 11:12, Mat 26:52), and on the other side we have the defiled flesh of man, represented by Israel, that just wants to go back to any kind of false worship as long as it can attract the masses to its gates and rule over the laity (Rev 2:14-16).

Mat 11:12  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

Mat 26:52  Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Rev 2:14  But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. 
Rev 2:15  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Rev 2:16  Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

A tree is known by its fruit, and the actions of Jeroboam are not going to bless the nation, but in time will put Israel further into an idolatrous state that will eventually lead to their being taken into captivity. God is showing us through these two kings how we operate in our flesh before we are dragged out of Babylon and come to understand that God is sovereign over all the affairs of mankind. There is nothing we can do to change the plans He has determined will unfold for each one of us, not picking up a sword as Rehoboam wanted to do, and not by any other measure, including the false worship that initially trips up all flesh. Our former conversation in this world (Eph 2:1-3) is the same as the king taking counsel that leads to our idolatrous ways being exposed: “Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.“

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

1Ki 12:29  And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. 
1Ki 12:30  And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. 
1Ki 12:31  And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. 

Jeroboam set up these two calves which were witnesses to his idolatrous heart, and one was put in Bethel^H1008 and the other in Dan^H1835 , whose names when put together mean ‘striving against the house of God’. It “became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan“. It was already a sin for Jeroboam to set up these idols, and these evil actions represent the leaven that was going to leaven the whole nation (1Co 15:33, Gal 5:9).

1Co 15:33  Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. 

Gal 5:9  A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. 

H1835
dân
dawn

From H1777; judge; Dan, one of the sons of Jacob; also the tribe descended from him, and its territory; likewise a place in Palestine colonized by them: – Dan.

H1777
dı̂yn    dûn
deen, doon

A primitive root (compare H113); to rule; by implication to judge (as umpire); also to strive (as at law): – contend, execute (judgment), judge, minister judgment, plead (the cause), at strife, strive.

H1008
bêyth-‘êl
bayth-ale’

From H1004 and H410; house of God; Beth-El, a place in Palestine: – Beth-el.

Contending with the house of God is all we can do at first until He burns these idols out of our lives. Both kings were self-righteously going about their ways that were bringing the nations further and further away from God. There was nothing but a spirit of wanting to control and rule over the people no matter what the human toll or corrupt means by which this would be obtained, and so we read “he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi“.

1Ki 12:32  And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. 
1Ki 12:33  So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.

Here is the full-blown counterfeit ways of mankind on display that are “like unto the feast that is in Judah“, or like “another Jesus” (2Co 11:4) accompanied with offerings and sacrifices that he had made, and priests who were placed in the high places that he had made. All idolatrous works “in the month which he had devised of his own heart” demonstrated the disobedient spirit that had Jeroboam in the same bondage we read of king Saul being in 1 Samuel 15:22.

2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

1Sa 15:22  And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

It was Jeroboam who “ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense” and although he may have seen these acts as merciful and benevolent in their nature, they were nothing of the sort to God. They bear witness to the truth that neither Jeroboam or Rehoboam, nor any of us in our appointed time, can properly serve God at an altar that glorifies Him, until Christ makes a way for this to happen. The way we can truly  be obedient and pleasing to God is only through our Lord who gives us the power to “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee” as He gives us the strength to “bind them about thy neck” and  “write them upon the table of thine heart” so that we can “find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man”. Christ must judge these wayward kings in our hearts if we are His elect bride, and through that judgment make Judah and Israel one which is the ultimate goal for all of His creation (Eph 2:14, Mar 10:8). Not letting mercy and truth forsake us and having them written upon the table of our heart is what is happening to those who are bound to the altar through the hands of a fit man, Jesus Christ (Psa 118:27, Lev 16:21).

Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

Mar 10:8  And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. 
Mar 10:9  What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 

Psa 118:27  God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. 

Lev 16:21  And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: 

(Key verses: Genesis 49:16-18)

In the final section of the book of Genesis, we see Jacob living in Egypt for seventeen years until his death at the age of one hundred forty-seven years (Gen 47:28). Prior to his death he called his twelve sons together to tell them “which shall befall [them] in the last days”:

Gen 49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
Gen 49:2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

The theme of “the last days” provides important indicators to our own spiritual progress and maturity, especially for those who can see that the “ends of the world are come” on them (Isa 2:2; Mat 24:1-35; Act 2:14-21; 2Ti 3:1; Heb 1:2). What Jacob said to these sons “happened to them for ensamples, and are written for our admonition” (1Co 10:11). In previous discussions we focused on Jacob’s last words to Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun and Issachar. In this discussion, Dan is the focus, and here are the final words of Jacob to him:

Gen 49:16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
Gen 49:17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
Gen 49:18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

“Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel”

Here is the background to the birth of this son of Jacob:

Gen 30:1 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
Gen 30:2 And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
Gen 30:3 And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.
Gen 30:4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
Gen 30:5 And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
Gen 30:6 And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan [Hebrew: dân = ruler/judge].

Dan was Jacob’s fifth son born and the first offspring from Rachel’s handmaid, Bilhah. The Hebrew meaning of the name “Dan” links with God’s judgment. In this regard, it is also interesting to note that the tribe of Dan was positioned on the north side of the tabernacle in the wilderness, and they were also part of the ten northern tribes when the kingdom of Israel split after the death of Solomon. We know that the north is also generally associated with God’s judgment in the scriptures (Lev 1:11; Job 37:22; Isa 14:31; Isa 41:25; Jer 1:14; Jer 4:6; Jer 6:1; Jer 10:22; Jer 25:9; Eze 1:4; Eze 48:1):

Num 2:25a The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side [of the tabernacle] by their armies…

Because of this position of the tribe of Dan with the tribes of Naftali and Asher at the north of the tabernacle, it follows that these tribes were the last of the twelve tribes of Israel to journey or to enter into battle in the forty years in the wilderness. The tribe of Dan is specifically mentioned as being “hindmost” or “at the rear”:

Num 2:31 (KJV) All they that were numbered in the camp of Dan were an hundred thousand and fifty and seven thousand and six hundred. They shall go hindmost with their standards.

Num 2:31 (YLT) All those numbered of the camp of Dan are a hundred thousand, and seven and fifty thousand, and six hundred; at the rear they journey, by their standards.

Dan associates with judgment, and we know that judgment links with a harvest which occurs after a lengthy growth process has taken place where even the seeds of the evil one have had time to mature and reveal their function in our lives:

Mat 13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
Mat 13:37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
Mat 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world [Greek: aiōn = age]; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world [Greek: aiōn = age].

As the tribe of Dan was “hindmost” or “at the rear”, this tribe helps us to see that it is only in our “last days” when we can appreciate God’s judgment through His symbolic seven plagues, as only then it is actually fulfilled:

Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Dan was the first son born of a concubine, but was given full status of sonship by Jacob in these words to him. Dan’s position did not affect his inheritance, even as all in Adam will be conformed to the image of the Son of God through judgment (1Co 15:22-28):

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

“Dan shall be a serpent by the way…”

In our time of spiritual immaturity, we cannot see God’s church as an integrated unit, as at this stage we accept divisions and compare ourselves with others in the household of God (1Co 3:1-9; 2Co 10:12). This spirit was also in the tribe of Dan who were not satisfied with the territory initially allotted to them:

Jdg 18:1 In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.

When we cannot see Christ as the Head of the body having all things under control, our whole perspective of His body and the operation of that body is also twisted. Then we usually do what is right in our own eyes and judge things from that perverted point of view. This is the theme of the book of Judges and that period of physical Israel’s history, for our learning:

Jdg 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

The period of the rule of the judges in physical Israel’s history is very significant to understand our own perverted sense of righteousness – “that which was right in his own eyes”:

Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

The tribe of Dan wanted more land, and their eyes were looking over the fence, so to speak:

Jdg 18:2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah [the birthplace of Samson], and from Eshtaol [Samson was buried here], to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.

We know the number five spiritually indicates grace through faith in our lives, and here we see five men being sent out by this tribe to spy – pointing to their time of unbelief which is the negative spiritual application of the number five (Eph 2:8-10). In this time of insecurity and unbelief about our own spiritual gifts and ministry in the body of Christ, we are ‘spying’ on other’s gifts and ministries, being busybodies and not satisfied with our own “bread” which God have given us, as the apostle Paul also found in the church at Thessalonica:

2Th 3:11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
2Th 3:12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

Within this time of searching and spying, the tribe of Dan found an unprotected city called Laish (also called Leshem) as the inhabitants of this city were “careless…quiet and secure” as “there was no magistrate (judge) in the land”:

Jdg 18:7 Then the five men [of the tribe of Dan] 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.

These inhabitants of Laish lived “after the manner of the Zidonians”, which was a city focused on self-interest and physical prosperity. Earthly things and entanglement in worldly affairs naturally have a tendency to attract the flesh and cause a state of lukewarmness and carelessness about spiritual things, of which we are warned about in the scriptures (1Co 11:28-34; 1Ti 4:16; 1Ti 6:6-11; Rev 3:14-22):

Amo 6:1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

The tribe of Dan was naturally attracted to this city of Laish and saw the opportunity to conquer it. In this they operated like “an adder in the path, that bites the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.” The tribe of Dan, with their carnal aspirations and hunger for more land at this stage, appointed six hundred men with weapons of war:

Jdg 18:11 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.

This is significant, as we know the number six is the number of man and his beastly efforts to establish what he deems important (Gen 1:24-31). This haughty human spirit of pride can also be picked up in the Danites as they also renamed the city of Laish (or Leshem) after their own name (1Jn 2:16):

Jos 19:47 And the coast of the children of Dan went out too little for them: therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.

Physical man is a deluded creature who believes he has a free will and that his works of flesh can establish a name for himself in the earth – and even in the heaven. This is the nature of mankind since the creation, as God Himself causes this worldly spirit to operate in mankind for a period of time (Jer 18:4; Rom 8:20; 1Jn 2:16; Eze 14:9; 2Th 2:11). In this time we cannot help but be convinced that we can build our own heavenly towers with our own ways and methods – spiritual slime and bricks:

Gen 11:3 And they [the people who congregated in Babel after the global flood] said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
Gen 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

This tribe of Dan was very noticeable in the scriptures in their desire to worship graven images as they also appointed their own priests, even hiring a Levite who was not from the line of Aaron:

Jdg 18:19 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?

Jdg 18:29  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.
Jdg 18:30  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.

Another witness to this self-glorification within this tribe of Dan is mentioned earlier in scripture when Israel was still in the wilderness and the following event took place:

Lev 24:10 And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp;
Lev 24:11 And the Israelitish woman’s son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:)
Lev 24:12 And they put him in ward [under guard/type of imprisonment], that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them.
Lev 24:13 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 24:14 Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
Lev 24:15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.
Lev 24:16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.

It was a son in the tribe of Dan who openly blasphemed the name of the Lord and was stoned to death. We do blaspheme and curse God openly by claiming preeminence in the knowledge of His Word but failing to do His Word or apply that knowledge in our own lives and the lives of others (1Ti 6:1-6; Tit 2:3-5; Jas 1-26):

Rom 2:23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
Rom 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

When the kingdom of Israel split under the rule of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, the tribe of Dan was one of the ten tribes who joined Jeroboam to form the northern kingdom of Israel. It was actually in the city of Dan where Jeroboam put one of the two golden calves for the purpose of worship (1Ki 12:26-31). Birds of a feather flock together, the saying goes, as Jeroboam was also insecure and self-absorbed as he wanted to prevent those under his rule from traveling to the temple in Jerusalem to sacrifice and worship there, as prescribed by God. This finds application in us when we worship our own image (our ideas and false sense of importance) which is the highest form of delusion in our mature beastly state:

Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Rev 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Rev 13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads.

“Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan”

Moses expressed these words about this tribe of Dan before the entrance in Canaan:

Deu 33:22 And of Dan he [Moses] said, Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.

We know that the lion is also the sign of the tribe of Judah, as Judah and his tribe grew from being a lion’s whelp to be an old lion. This tribe of Judah was the leading tribe in journey and battles in Israel and positioned first on the east side of the tabernacle in the wilderness (Gen 49:8-9; Jdg 1:1-2) As Judah was the appointed leader in this sense, so was the tribe of Dan appointed to bring up the rear of the people of Israel in their wanderings in the wilderness. This symbol of a lion’s whelp, which is connected here to the Danites, spiritually points out their immaturity in leadership. It is within our spiritually immature state that we actually also project ourselves to importance and rulership over others, like all worldly authorities are given to do (Mat 20:25-28). This type of leadership is also found among God’s people when He takes away the love for His Word and its authority in our lives:

Isa 3:1 For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,
Isa 3:2 The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,
Isa 3:3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.
Isa 3:4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

The tribe of Dan, in its immature state, leaps from Bashan. Bashan was a fruitful district on the east side of the river Jordan, which is spiritually very significant. The tribe of Dan was blessed with strength and could conquer other nations as the scriptures already pointed out. This was also seen in the life of Samson, one of the judges of Israel. Samson was used as a judge in Israel, and he was indeed from the tribe of Dan. He was a life-long Nazarite, which again brings this immature spiritual state to the fore. God in His mercy will bring all babes in Christ to maturity by destroying our inward Philistines, even our many wonderful fruits of the flesh. This is what the story of this Danite Samson brings to us – God designs occasions through which He also brings the immaturity in us to an end:

Jdg 14:1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

It was purposeful for God, who alone can create and use evil, to bring forth good as God “sought an occasion against the Philistines” to remove the dominion which the Philistines had over Israel (Gen 1:31; Gen 50:20):

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

The immature spirit in the tribe of Dan was also seen when Israel had to fight against Jabin, the Canaanite king under a female judge, Deborah. The tribes of Dan, Reuben and Asher were absent in the war, and they could not see God’s purposes in all of these things. This is what Deborah had to say about these tribes:

Jdg 5:16 Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.
Jdg 5:17 Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches.

All authorities, the good ones and the weak or evil ones, are appointed by God for His purposes (Dan 4:25; Rom 13:1). We know that female leadership in a house, a church or a country, is not reflecting the true relationship in the Godhead between Father and Jesus (Gen 2:21-24; 1Co 11:3; Eph 5:21-33; 1Pe 3:1-6). When God goes to such measures, it is to expose our own hearts in the process as we do not know the deceitfulness and wickedness of our hearts (Deu 8:2):

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Jacob’s final word to Dan included this hope:  “I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.”

We all must go through much tribulation to receive God’s salvation, even through blaspheming against God through the spirit of the world with all its lusts and pride in us (Act 14:22). The obsession with their own name and image in these Danites is what we are admonished about, as their name is actually omitted from the twelve tribes in the spiritual city of God in the book of Revelation! However, these self-absorbed Danites in us “shall fall, and never rise up again”, even as spiritual Babylon will fall at the appointed time (Rev 18:1-24):

Amo 8:14 They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

When our old name is blotted out, we are given a new name. The new name comes through the doctrine of Christ which will be engraved on the heart of each person in Adam. Even as Aholiab, who was also from the tribe of Dan, was used by God to work in blue, purple and scarlet, and fine linen with the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness:

Exo 38:22  And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 38:23  And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.

With the building of the temple of Solomon, the king of Tyre, Huram, also advised Solomon of another skillful man, whose name was Hiram or Huram Abi, who was a descendant with the same craft within the tribe of Naphtali, although he was the son “of a woman of the daughters of Dan” (1Ki 7:13-14):

2Ch 2:13 And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father’s,
2Ch 2:14 The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father.

All of these colors, and even the fine linen, speak of God’s righteousness and salvation through His temple in heaven, even as we enter through the veils at the doors of the tabernacle with the cherubims woven in them, which all symbolizes His elect (Gen 3:24; Joh 10:1-18; 1Ti 3:15; Heb 10:19-20; Rev 3:12):

2Ch 3:14 And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.

Dan and his tribe typify our road from being the last to be the first, if we can give a truthful account that we lived by all the words of God (Mat 4:4; Mat 20:1-16; Rom 5:8; 1Co 15:22-28; 1Ti 1:15). The tribe of Dan shows this “strange work” of judgment through which God humbles us through His chastening grace (Isa 28:16-21; Jer 2:19; 1Co 11:31-34; Tit 2:11-12; Rev 21:8):

Deu 8:5 Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.
Deu 8:6 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.

Detailed studies and emails relating to these foundational themes in Scripture are available on the www.iswasandwillbe.com website, including these topics and links:
The Keys to The Kingdom – Part 5
Why Are They Blessed?
Numbers in Scripture
Job 42:9-17 “So The LORD Blessed The Latter End of Job More Than His Beginning”
Fear Not
The Spiritual Significance of The Nazarite Vow