Title: The Three Spirits Stealing Blessings
Judges (46) The three spirits that take away blessings (Judges 18:21-31)
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Israel is a covenant community formed when the 12 sons of Jacob prospered into 12 tribes. Among the 12 tribes, the most blessed tribe was the tribe of Judah, who mainly played the role of a starting pitcher. Even when they marched in the wilderness, the tribe of Judah had to stand at the forefront and block the enemies first, so they sacrificed a lot, but with God's blessing, they became the most numerous.
There is a tribe that served as a close pitcher when they marched in the wilderness. It was the tribe of Dan. They had to fend off the enemy's tail attack from the rear. So God blessed the tribe of Dan and became the second most prosperous after the tribe of Judah. The fact that the tribe, which had to make the most sacrifices, became more prosperous when the enemy attacks by being in charge of the front line and the last line speaks well of the basic principle of becoming a more blessed existence when we dedicate ourselves to making sacrifices.
As such, at one time the tribe of Dan was as successful as any other tribe, but afterward, the number gradually decreased and eventually broke away from the 12 tribes of the covenant community. So, when the author of Chronicles introduced the genealogy of the covenant at the beginning of 1 Chronicles, he did not mention a single person of the tribe of Dan. Also, when the 144,000 seals from each tribe of the children of Israel are mentioned in Revelation 7, all other tribes are mentioned, but the tribe of Dan is not mentioned.
Why did the tribe of Dan depart from the covenant community? If you look at the text, you can clearly see the insolence of the tribe of Dan. When a person falls out of the ranks of blessing, there is usually a good reason for it. In particular, there are three great spirits that decisively take away blessings. What is it?
1. The Spirit of Superstition
Why did the Danites plunder idolatry-related items from the shrine of Micah? The main reason was that they thought that the pieces would bring them blessings. How stupid are you? The spirit of superstition, which leads them to fall into such idolatry and seek vain blessings, is what causes them to depart from the blessed community. The spirit of superstition does not bring blessings, but rather loses real blessings.
2. Spirit of Aggression
The tribe of Dan threatens Micah, who came after Micah to plunder the shrine, and sends them back by force (verses 21-26). He also used his strength to kill the people of Laish, who lived in peace, and burned the city (verse 27). The tribe of Dan regarded the war as a 'temple', but in reality, the war was a war of aggression out of their lust for conquest. Their land, which was distributed from the land of Canaan, was taken away, and their aggressive tendencies to attack weak people clearly show the cowardice and depravity of the tribe of Dan. Such a spirit of aggression eventually made them cursed.
Despite the tragic end of the aggressors throughout history, why can't people give up their aggression spirit? It is because of the power to see the invaders and conquerors as heroes and the wrong view based on appearance. When the aggressor becomes a hero, this is what people will think. “Strength is the best. Let's push with force!" What an unfortunate thought. Such misconceptions will eventually provoke historical nihilism, making him and his community unhappy.
3. Spirit of Separation
Why were the Laishites defeated in vain, unable to stop the cruel attack of the tribe of Dan? Because the city was in the valley near Bethrehob, and it was far from Sidon, and he had no business dealings with him (verse 28). With such isolated terrain, there was no communication with the outside world, so they could not get help in a crisis situation. This scene shows just how dangerous it can be in a day of hardship, even though living as a wild goose may seem okay in normal times. What is the division's cutting-edge offensive strategy? According to Satan's motto, “Separate and rule!”, it is a strategy to separate the souls first and then swallow the souls one by one.