Students of the Bible are well aware of the scarcity of Israel’s historical records, for long periods of time elapsed in which no events or records have come down to us. When invaders destroyed cities, inevitably records would be destroyed; again few books would survive the reigns of Israel’s apostate kings and priests, who would make every endeavour to make sure that no remembrance of the God of Israel would be left to the people, and those who held and knew the laws of God would be slain. So very few scribes and prophets would survive the reigns of Ahaz, Ahab and Manasseh. The rarity of books of the law of the Lord given by the hand of Moses, after the reigns of Manasseh and Amon is shown in 2nd Chron. 34:14, where, in the restoration of the Temple, described here as the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the Lord. This book was given to the scribe Shaphan. Shaphan told King Josiah saying, “Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book, and he read it before the king.” Verse 21 shows the righteous king’s reaction to the information written in the book.
Many of the tribes have no historical records whatever. What do we know of the tribes of Simeon, Reuben, Gad, Zebulun, Asher, Issachar, Naphtali in their hundreds of years as Israelites? Practically nothing. However, there is one tribe which by its actions had a profound effect on the destiny of Israel. That tribe was Dan.
Dan, as a town, is first mentioned in Genesis 14, verse 14; it was the place where Abraham rescued his nephew Lot from Chedorlaomer and his associated kings. Whilst it is called Dan in the Hebrew text, it was actually called Laish or Leshem; and not called Dan until approximately 500 years later as we read in Judges 18:29 “and they called the name of the city Dan, after the name Dan their father, who was born to Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first.” Here is an example of a latter-day scribe calling a place by the name known in his day. In Genesis Chapter 49:1, Jacob called his sons together to tell them “what shall befall you in the last days”. In verses 16 and 17 of this chapter, Jacob gives a character analysis of his son Dan, a truly remarkable prophetic vision, as time would reveal. “Dan shall judge his people (his name means a judge) as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent (A.V. margin ‘arrow-snake’) by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horses’ heels, so that his rider shall fall backwards.” A typical example of a snake in the grass, waiting to strike at the unwary with dire consequences.
How did this come about? First let us look at how the tribe of Dan came to be in the position it found itself in, with dissatisfaction at the circumstances brought about by itself in its efforts to subjugate the land allotted to it. This area of Canaan was inhabited by the Amorites, who, we are told in Judges chapter 1 verse 34, “forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley.” The Danites were like some of the tribes of Israel, unable or unwilling, in obedience to God’s command, to exterminate the Canaanites. Although the Lord said he would drive them out without fail, (Joshua 3:10) this was conditional on Israel by faith and obedience, playing their part. It was ever thus. Judges 18:1 reads “In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of Dan sought them an inheritance to dwell in, for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.” The bounds of their inheritance is described in Joshua 19:40. “And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions.” Joshua 18:10.
To reject their God-given inheritance was a most serious matter, showing a complete lack of faith, resulting in most grievous sin. First the inhabitants of two towns, Zorah and Eshtaol, sent 5 spies to look for a place for the Danites to dwell in. It was not likely that the other tribes would allow them a part of their inheritance, needing all their lands for their future descendants. The spies eventually found a place to the extreme north, outside the land of Israel, which belonged to the Zidonians, but far removed from protection. Judges 18:7-10 gives the events recorded in the spies’ report to their brethren. These two chapters, 17 and 18, record the beginning of Dan’s downfall, which contributed largely to the downfall of Israel. There must have been a lack of faith in the Danites to do what they did. The five’ spies on their journey had come to Mt. Ephraim, to the house of Micah and lodged there. Chapter 17 shows how Micah had set up a house of gods, and a teraphim, an ephod, and consecrated a son who became his priest. Verse 7 reads, “And there was a young man of Bethlehem-Judah, of the family of Judah who was a Levite and he sojourned there.”
Consider that part of the verse, “a Levite of the family of Judah”, and notice the wisdom of God in providing for the instructions in the law of Moses by the Priesthood. As all teaching was by word of mouth and travel was mostly by foot, difficulties would arise in the children of Israel’s spiritual welfare if they had to travel long distances to a separate priestly inheritance. Joshua chapter 21 shows how the Levitical Priests were given cities and suburbs of their own throughout all the tribes of Israel, so that instruction would be easily available. We do not know how many Danites went to Laish — there were 64,400 warriors numbered (20 years and upwards) by Moses as they approached the land of Canaan. So unless Dan’s population was considerably reduced, the six hundred warriors that captured Laish would be the advance guard; and their wives and families would represent a few thousands at the most.
As the six hundred warriors passed through Mt. Ephraim they took from Micah his idols, and the young Levite was glad to go with them, for the Danites said it was better for him to be a priest to a tribe of Israel than to serve the house of one man. “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 captivity of the land. And they set them up Micah’s graven image, which he had made, all the time the house of God was in Shiloh (about 300 years)”. Judges 18:30-31, after their capture of Laish. There was then an apostate priesthood — idolatrous worship —all that time and one does not need much imagination to realise the influence that this tribe’s apostacy would have on the rest of the tribes of Israel. Their ensign was the serpent and as the serpent (one symbol of sin) beguiled Eve, this serpent tribe beguiled Israel. This was probably the reason why Jeroboam the son of Nebat placed one of the two golden calves he had caused to be made in Dan (1st Kings, chapter 12, verses 28-30.) This was the great Sin of Israel.
There was also a prophecy of Moses concerning the capture of Laish. It is in Deut. 33:22, “Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan”. This is an instance of people’s actions, not with intent, but by circumstances of their own choice, bringing about the fulfilment of prophecy. For, crossing the Jordan and passing through the land of Bashan like young lions, they pounced on Laish and destroyed it.
Two Branches Of The Priesthood
The result of this Jeroboam idolatry was to separate the righteous from the ungodly. 2nd Chron. 11:13, “And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted (or presented themselves) to Rehoboam, King of Judah. For the Levites left their suburbs and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem. For Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the Lord”. Verse 15 refers to Jeroboam’s wickedness, “And he ordained him priests for the high places and for the devils (idols) and for the calves which he had made” Verse 16, “and after them (that is the righteous Levites of verse 14) out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel, came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the Lord God of their fathers. So they strengthened the Kingdom of Judah.” Here is set forth the emergence of the two branches of the Levitical Priesthood — the idolatrous branch who followed after Jeroboam and the priests of Zadok, the righteous who refused to worship the golden calves.
Ezekiel’s Temple
This is what Ezekiel was instructing the captives in Babylon in — how to set up the Mosaic establishment. Remember he had been a priest in Judah before his captivity and knew what was necessary to reestablish the nation. I have not the slightest doubt that a temple will be established when Messiah returns, as a house of prayer for all people, but these latter chapters have nothing to do with that. Because of their place in Ezekiel’s prophecy, after Armageddon, we have taken for granted that these latter chapters are subsequent to the return of Christ, but the truth is that the compilers of the Scripture had lots of manuscripts, which were put together to form a book. This had little to do with the chronological order, the disruption of which we have many examples in the Scriptures. So in the various places in these latter chapters where it speaks of priests the Levites, and the sons of Zadok (as per example chapter 44 verse 15) Ezekiel is referring to the sin of Jeroboam. Note the children of Israel went astray. Ezekiel is relating to a past historical event.
When Israel went into captivity by the Assyrian kings, they still continued their idolatrous worship. When Assyria was broken up, many of their descendants would be brought to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, for captive people were the labour force. Many of these would in the process of time return to Israel, when the opportunity arrived. This is what Ezekiel means in chapter 44 — read what he said, verse 6 onwards. The substance is that the returning unrighteous Levites would bear the shame of their iniquity, by not being allowed to minister in the most holy duties, but would do the menial tasks. But the priests of Zadok, who were the righteous priests, would enter into the sanctuary and stand before the Lord, because they had remained faithful when Israel went astray. This 44th chapter, continuing from verse 17 to the end of the chapter, is a restatement of much of the Mosaic law, word for word. The sons of Zadok in this chapter have no relationship to the age to come, for at this time they marry, verse 22. In the age to come they do not, as our Lord said. To get back to the serpent tribe Dan. Since most of the returning Jews to their homeland would be ignorant of where they were to reside, Ezekiel shows them their portion of the land, which was approximately where their tribe came from before the captivity. Now I want you to take particular note of what I consider proves that Ezekiel in his latter chapters is not speaking of the future age.
In chapter 48:1, there is a portion of the land for Dan. Dan goes back to where they were before they went to Assyria. But we read in Rev. 7:12 of the 144,000 sealed of the tribes of Israel and there is no tribe of Dan. The tribe of Dan stands as a type, the serpent type, an unrighteous kind; and this kind will not stand before the Lord in His temple, when He shall dwell among His people. I compare the tribe of Dan’s position in the future age with the twelve disciples — Dan replaced by Manasseh and Judas by Matthias. I do not say that all who were of the tribe of Dan were unrighteous; to do so would be entering into a field where I would be a trespasser. Those who are acceptable to the Lord will be included amongst the multitude whom no man could number, Rev 7:9. It is traditional among us to believe that a Mosaic type of ceremonial worship with its sacrifices for sins will be reestablished in the Kingdom age. I, for one, do not think so, for I see no necessity for it. I believe, as the Apostle Paul writes in the 8th chapter of Hebrews, verse 13. “In that he saith, A new covenant, He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” From the 7th chapter we learn that there is not to be the old Mosaic order of Levitical Priesthood, but a new order — the order of Melchizedek.
In conclusion, Ezekiel’s prophetic visions of the future age appear to be interspersed with his advice to the returning children of Israel, on how to restore again the nation and its worship. For it was necessary that it continue until the coming of Messiah to fulfil all things.
Daniel The Prophet – (Part 3)