Sons of Bilhah: Dan & Naphtali

2/13/2008 8:08 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Sons of Bilhah:  Dan & Naphtali

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Genesis 49:16-18, 21

            Message of the verses:  “16  "Dan will govern his people like any other tribe in Israel.  17  He will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so the rider is thrown off.  18  I trust in you for salvation, O LORD!”

21    "Naphtali is a deer let loose, producing magnificent fawns.”

There are some interesting facts concerning Dan:  His genealogy was left out of 1Chronicles 2-10 where the other brothers are; his genealogy is also left out of the list in Revelations 7:1-8 where the list of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists are listed; however when Ezekiel gives the list of the sons of Israel who will get a portion of land in the Kingdom Age in Eze. 48:1-2 Dan’s name is mentioned. I suppose that there are a number of reasons that his name was left out of these places, and one of them is that after the kingdom was split that an idol was set up in the territory of Dan.

Dan means “to judge” found in Genesis 30:6.  Jacob identifies him as a snake, which means he is crafty.  His territory was by the sea in the Philistine territory; however they were too strong for him to conquer so he conquered the defenseless people of Laish.

“The exclamation, ‘I have waited for you salvation, O Lord!’  (v-20 NKJV) suggests that Jacob was in communion with the Lord while he was speaking to his sons.  Was he asking God for special strength to finish what he had to say?  Or was he announcing that the Lord would soon call him into eternity?  The word translated ‘salvation’ is yeshua, which gives us the name Joshua, ‘Jehovah is salvation.’  The Greek form is ‘Jesus.’”

There is no explanation as to why Jacob spoke to Zilpah’s sons Gad and Asher before going to Naphtali, but that is what he did.  “21  "Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words.”  (NKJV)  Jacob describes Naphtali as a dear in verse 20 and there is a difference in the last phrase when the NKJV and the NAS95 are used as one says that he will make beautiful fawns and the other beautiful words.  Naphtali’s territory was in the northern part of Israel and had the Sea of Galilee in it’s territory.  They were also close to Zebulun as Isaiah describes in 9:1-2, “1 ¶  But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.  2  The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.”  Jesus would minister in this area while on the earth quite a bit as Isaiah describes.  This area was called “Galilee of the Gentiles.”

There were quite a few differences between Dan and Naphtali and there are no judgments against Naphtali like there were against his brother Dan.

Spiritual meaning for my life today:   From reading about these two brothers I would rather be like Naphtali than Dan, and if I had to choose where to live it would be in the hill country near a lake where Naphtali’s descendants lived.  His descendants were more of the common people of Israel, not really special but a steady common people who did not get into a lot of trouble.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust the Lord to teach me contentment through these days of testing and trials He is leading me through.

Memory verses for the week:  Philippians 1:9-11

9. And this I pray, that you love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,
10. so that you may prove the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;
11. having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.